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Olympus Terrace Sewer District
and
Mukilteo Water District Propose Merging Into a Single District
For more information, contact:
Patrick Sorensen,
General Manager, Olympus Terrace Sewer District - 425-353-6000
Dan Hammer, General Manager,
Mukilteo Water District - 425-355-3355
Mukilteo, Wash. (March 20, 2007) – The Olympus Terrace Sewer District (OTSD) and the Mukilteo Water District (MWD) will hold an Open House on Wednesday, April 4 to inform, educate and solicit input from the public regarding an upcoming resolution to merge the two districts. The Open House will be held from 7 pm to 9 pm at the Mukilteo Water District offices, located at 7824 Mukilteo Speedway in Mukilteo. Refreshments will be served.
Engineering maps will be on display and key officials from both Districts will be on hand to guide interested customers through the proposed merger process and answer such questions as: What’s the benefit (why are you doing this)? How will it impact my sewer rates? Will my water rates be impacted? Are there any savings resulting from the merger? Am I going to be paying for sewer repairs in Big Gulch? Will the bill paying process change? And how will I do business with the new District? A formal question and answer period will start at 8:00 pm.
The Open House is a prelude to individual meetings to be held by each District: On April 9, OTSD Commissioners will vote on merging their district into the Mukilteo Water District to form a single utility district to serve both water and sewer customers. The MWD Commissioners will vote on the same issue on April 11. Both of these meetings are open to the public as well. If the merger is approved by both sets of Commissioners and approved by both Snohomish County and the Snohomish County Boundary Review Board, it will be placed on the November 6th, 2007 ballot to be voted on by registered voters in both districts.
One governance versus two will be a more effective and efficient way to administer and deliver water and sewer utility services to the public, as well as better comply with the Growth Management Act’s objectives according to a feasibility study performed by FCS GROUP. The study, which commenced in 2005, compared three options: 1) A statutory merger or consolidation of the two districts; 2) a statutory Joint Operating Agreement; and 3) no change or status quo. FCS GROUP is a Redmond-based financial and management consulting firm specializing in utility mergers & acquisitions, rates, finance and infrastructure capital funding for the public sector.