Ready for growth in Spirit Lake
<p>Head spirit Lake Sewage Plane Operator Luke Eastman converts measurements taken from pond 1 and records them during the March 20 shift.</p>
<p>Anthony Brandt, operator in training with Spirit Lake Sewage , takes a pH reading from pond 1 on March 20 at the sewage lagoon in Spirit Lake. Once the wastewater has gone through a series of filtration systems it will be used in the growing of alfalfa.</p>
SPIRIT LAKE - Spirit Lake is planning for future growth, which means buying property to dispose of its treated wastewater.
The city is purchasing 34 acres a mile north of town in Bonner County for $120,000 ($3,529 per acre), adjacent to its current land application site, from Russell and Betty Brown. The deal is expected to close in May.
"It's a bit more than what we wanted to pay, but the advantage to us is that we don't have to put in infrastructure, so that made it awfully handy," said Mayor Todd Clary.
Clary said sewer expansion is as an ongoing project for the city, especially since it needs to keep an eye on when land becomes available and is priced right.
The city has sewer lagoons and land-applies its treated wastewater to 68 current acres of farmland and forest. The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality regulates the land application permit. Farmers lease the land from the city.
"As the city grows, we need to dispose of more effluent so we're always looking for ways to expand," Clary said.
The land is being purchased with impact fees generated from new growth and will not increase sewer rates, Clary said.
"If you're patient (to make purchases), you can pay with impact fees and not with loans or rate increases," he said.
Spirit Lake's monthly sewer fee is $26. The last time the city had a sewer rate increase was 2006.
Clary said the city also made an offer on 160 acres on the back side of the mill pond on Spirit Lake when the property was in foreclosure, but the offer was declined by a bank.
The new owner who bought the property at auction then approached the city about selling 120 of the acres to the municipality, but wanted $4,500 per acre. The city council declined.
"Had we acquired that, it would have almost completed the sewer needs throughout the estimated buildout of Spirit Lake," Clary said. "It would have taken a considerable amount of infrastructure to utilize that area (since it's not near current sewer operations), but it was just large enough to be attractive."
He said the city will continue to keep its options open when planning for future growth.
"It's not anything that we're trying to get done this year, next year or even in the next five years," he said.
Planning is key, he said, because during the building boom in 2005 the city came close to maxing out its sewer capacity due to rapid growth. Builders were limited to one connection per month with no more than four total connections allowed during one stretch.
"At this time, we have sufficient capacity with the current growth rate for the next three to four years," Clary said. "At that point, we should have another property online."