They didn't like it, but members of Pratt Town Council agreed Wednesday to turn over operation of the town's troubled sewer system to the Chelyan Public Service District.
PRATT, W.Va. -- They didn't like it, but members of Pratt Town Council agreed Wednesday to turn over operation of the town's troubled sewer system to the Chelyan Public Service District.
"I really think we've made the best choice we could make," said Mayor Gary Fields.
Kanawha County officials have been trying to force a merger between Pratt's ailing sewer system and the better-managed Chelyan Public Service District for two years. Audit reports show that Pratt's water and sewer systems have lost about $500,000 over the past three years, the utilities owe the Internal Revenue Service almost $60,000 for improperly withheld payroll taxes, and the sewer system needs almost $75,000 in repairs to keep from spilling raw sewage into the environment in Pratt.
But managers of the troubled utilities and town officials have been reluctant to give up control of the sewer system. A February agreement to allow the Chelyan PSD to help manage the sewer system fell apart because officials in Pratt and Chelyan couldn't get along.
The sewer system was on the brink of going into receivership when a new bailout deal was announced last month. But that management agreement appeared headed the way of the first after members of Pratt Town Council balked at a provision that would give Chelyan control of the sewer system for the next 50 years.
"We inherited something that already should have been taken care of," Fields said Thursday. "[Council] wanted to try to hang onto that, but it's too far gone. It came down to the point where there was no choice."
At a special meeting Wednesday, members of town council reluctantly agreed to the new management deal.
PRATT, W.Va. -- They didn't like it, but members of Pratt Town Council agreed Wednesday to turn over operation of the town's troubled sewer system to the Chelyan Public Service District.
"I really think we've made the best choice we could make," said Mayor Gary Fields.
Kanawha County officials have been trying to force a merger between Pratt's ailing sewer system and the better-managed Chelyan Public Service District for two years. Audit reports show that Pratt's water and sewer systems have lost about $500,000 over the past three years, the utilities owe the Internal Revenue Service almost $60,000 for improperly withheld payroll taxes, and the sewer system needs almost $75,000 in repairs to keep from spilling raw sewage into the environment in Pratt.
But managers of the troubled utilities and town officials have been reluctant to give up control of the sewer system. A February agreement to allow the Chelyan PSD to help manage the sewer system fell apart because officials in Pratt and Chelyan couldn't get along.
The sewer system was on the brink of going into receivership when a new bailout deal was announced last month. But that management agreement appeared headed the way of the first after members of Pratt Town Council balked at a provision that would give Chelyan control of the sewer system for the next 50 years.
"We inherited something that already should have been taken care of," Fields said Thursday. "[Council] wanted to try to hang onto that, but it's too far gone. It came down to the point where there was no choice."
At a special meeting Wednesday, members of town council reluctantly agreed to the new management deal.
But they didn't go down without a fight. Chelly Morrison, who attended the meeting on behalf of the Kanawha County Commission, said members of Pratt Town Council and the town's utility board were angry over being forced to accept the agreement.
The discussion became so heated that Fields offered to resign if council members weren't happy with the way the town was heading.
"I don't think they really understood the whole picture," Fields said. "With the situation that we're in, and the money over our heads, we didn't have a choice but to turn loose [of the sewer system]."
In the end, council voted 4-2 to accept the merger. Representatives from West Virginia-American Water Company are expected to talk to council on Sept. 8 to bring up a proposal to help the town's troubled water system.
"This is in the best interest of several thousand community members," said Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper. "This has been an unpleasant, and at times, ugly, fight. Sometimes, that's what has to happen."
Reach Rusty Marks at rustyma...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1215.
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