Joint board asking for a rewrite of cities' agreement

The management agreement for Grand Coulee and Electric City’s shared wastewater treatment facility — written in 1984 — needs a rewrite, according to the Electric City Council members.

The plant is jointly owned by the two cities and overseen by a “joint board of operators” made up of council members from both jurisdictions. However, Grand Coulee is effectively the majority owner, meaning, among other things, it was the only signer with SJ Environmental, the contractor operating the wastewater plant. That contract is currently up for renewal.

At the Nov. 7 joint board meeting, council members from both cities, as well as Mayor Ruth Dalton of Grand Coulee, discussed the possibility of a new xainterlocal agreement to clearly spell out the roles and responsibilities of each city regarding the facility, as well as the oversight authorities of the joint board.

But board members agreed that assigning the task to either city’s attorney could be a conflict of interest, and might result in an imbalanced contract.

So the joint board resolved to present a proposal to both councils that would allow the board to hire an independent attorney to write a clear and fair agreement up to 21st century standards. Electric City considered the item Nov. 12 and passed it unanimously. Grand Coulee’s next city council meeting is Nov. 19 where the issue is expected to appear on the agenda.