Council denies sewer hookup exemption request

PRIEST RIVER — While they sympathize with his situation, Priest River officials said they were unable to grant a resident's exemption request for connection to the city’s sewer system.

The council also denied a request by Rich Sonntag to connect to the system for the amount he paid in the 1970s but never used. Instead, the amount would be counted as a credit toward the current amount of the fee.

"It appears that if we did anything but that, we'd be treating some people different than other people," Priest River Mayor Jeff Connolly said. "So it would be problematic, to say the least."

A similar instance occurred a few years ago when a resident asked for an exemption for connection to the water system after paying for it in the 1970s but never using it. After hearing the request, City Clerk Laurel Thomas said the council voted to grant them a credit for the amount paid toward the cost to connect at the time of the request.

Sonntag approached the city seeking to continue work on his drainfield bed after being advised by the city that he needed to stop work and instead connect to the septic system because of its proximity to his home.

While he has occasionally had to drain the tank several times sporadically over the years, when he did so last year, Sonntag said he was advised he should consider updating the field as a precaution. After initially getting a permit for the work from Panhandle Health, Sonntag told the council he contracted with a company to begin work only to get halfway through when he was advised to stop work by the city.

Priest River City Code requires residents to connect to the sewer system if their property is within the system’s boundaries and their septic system is failing.

"My request is to allow me to finish what I started, the drain field update, and continue to use the septic tank, which has nothing wrong with it, and the drain fields, which have worked for 48 years but do need to be updated," Sonntag told the council. "So I'm just hoping and praying that you'll let me finish what I started."

Sonntag said while his system hadn't failed, it wasn't working as it had and he wanted to be preventative and have the work done before something did happen.

However, city officials said that Panhandle Health referred to his system as a "failing system," which prompted their design to issue a permit for the work. Thomas said PHD officials advised they rely on applicants to note whether they are within 200 feet of a city sewer line.

"I understand where you're at, and it's unfortunate that you got this far into it," Connolly said.

Sonntag said he decided to approach the city and appeal to the council in hopes there was a "grandfather thing" that would allow him to complete the drainfield work.

While they sympathize, Councilman Doug Wagner said the city could be "opening up a can of worms" if they let him keep the septic system when city rules stipulate otherwise.

There are multiple septic systems in Priest River, and, in an effort to be lenient, Connolly said the city only requires residents to connect to the system when their system begins to fail.

With a septic system of her own, Councilwoman Ann Yount said she sympathized with Sonntag but said she faces a similar situation. 

"I've known for years that if something happens to it, we are going to have to hook up," Yount said.

The council advised Sonntag that he would have to hook up to the city system, which prompted a second request — to allow him to hook up under the amount he paid back in the '70s.

Sonntag estimated that, with interest, the $500 he paid at the time would be roughly the same amount to connect to the city sewer system today.

"If you allow the $500 which I paid to suffice as the hookup fee, then that'll help me a lot," he said. "Because I did pay it, and it's worth that much now."

However, city officials said while they could grant a credit for the amount paid, they could not count that as the full fee to connect to the system.

"One of the reasons we're making this decision is that we've made a decision similar to this in the past, and this is how we've chosen to handle it," Connolly said. "… This is about what we're interpreting our laws to say, and that's why we're moving forward the way we are. This isn't personal."