Water district adds to county’s Hawkins tab

Estimated costs went up this week for Whitman County’s financial obligation to help Boise-based Hawkins Companies build a 714,000-square-foot shopping center in the Pullman-Moscow Corridor.

County Prosecutor Denis Tracy advised the county commissioners in a memo last week the county will have to pay upwards of $100,000 to form a utility district to run a new water and sewer system at the stateline shopping center.

“While the board has never asked what it would cost to form such a water district, I am informing you anyway,” wrote Tracy.

The prosecutor said neither he nor any attorney on his staff has the legal expertise to form such a district, and the county would need to hire outside counsel to do so.

“We’ve known all along there would be costs,” Commissioner Greg Partch noted at Monday’s meeting.

Whitman County has agreed to repay Hawkins $15 million for infrastructure construction at the shopping center site. Included in that is the cost of new water and sewer systems to service tenants that lease space in the shopping center.

That infrastructure would have to be managed by an independent district, explained Gary Petrovich, county administrator.

“The county has no one that has done this before,” said Petrovich.

Public Works Director Mark Storey compared management of the system to building bridges. Storey said his department regularly enlists the help of consultants because the county does not have a bridge engineer on staff.

Tracy urged commissioners to have Hawkins pay the cost of hiring an attorney to establish the district.

“There have been no discussions about them paying for the district,” said Petrovich

Petrovich said costs to establish the district could be recouped by adding it onto fees charged to water and sewer users at the site.

“I don’t think the rate difference would be materially significant,” he said.

Partch agreed.

“I think it pays for itself if its done right,” said Partch.

The county has already enlisted the aid of outside attorneys for the project. Milton Rowland is representing commissioners Partch and Pat O’Neill in an injunction suit filed by the citizen Organization to Void Illegal Conduct aimed at nullifying the contract.

Commissioners are working with Hawkins on an amendment to address the lawsuit’s legal arguments. Jeff DeVoe, project manager for Hawkins, was scheduled to meet with county officials this week on the amendment. Commissioners met in executive session with attorneys Monday.

They could approve the amendment as soon as next Monday, but have already delayed several possible decision dates.