Opponents of Question 2B assert that there is an “affordable” alternative to Santa Rita Park for Durango’s wastewater treatment plant. As City Council liaison to the Utilities Commission, I am writing to assure the public that there is not.
The city commissioned a detailed evaluation of constructing equivalent plants at four sites. The estimated cost for renovation of the Santa Rita plant is $58 million; for the other sites, the costs would be larger by $19 million to $36 million. The allegation that these estimates were “cooked” to justify a predetermined outcome insults the integrity of city staff and that of the consulting engineer.
Opponents tout Cundiff Park as an alternative, ignoring multiple deficiencies of this site. Figures in the consultant’s report imply that Cundiff construction would cost roughly $15 million (about 25 percent) more than Santa Rita renovation. Reducing the size of the plant to meet only immediate needs would affect all the estimates only at the 10 percent level and bequeath even greater costs to future rate payers.
To maintain and upgrade wastewater infrastructure under the current plan, minimum monthly residential sewer bills rose from $7.82 in 2012 to $27.95 today. For Santa Rita, this will increase to $45 by 2019; for any alternative site it would be at least $62. Average users pay 26 percent more than the minimum; businesses, 3.8 times more.
While many vocal citizens would readily pay the higher bills, many others who already struggle financially in Durango could not (e.g., more than a third of families with children in Durango schools). None of the 2B opponents – including the Durango Herald – have even acknowledged this consideration.
After long deliberation, the City Council concluded that there is no suitable alternative site to Santa Rita. One of the reasons is the urgency of upgrading the plant to meet new permitting standards that will apply in 2018. Without debt funding authorized by Question 2B, initiating the needed improvements would require additional steep rate increases – placing especially heavy burdens on our neighbors who can least afford them.
Vote YES on 2B.
Dick White
Durango
