Monroe calls on Gregoire in dispute

Published 9:11 pm Monday, June 15, 2009

MONROE — The city and state have bickered for years over water and sewer service at the Monroe Correctional Complex.

This spring, the dispute finally appeared to be over.

It isn’t.

Now the governor’s office is trying to fix things. Meanwhile, the parties are back to arguing about who should pay for what, and whether the state is being a bully.

The dispute has serious implications, especially when tens of thousands of dollars are at stake and budgets are tight.

“We do want to be seen as good neighbors,” said Scott Frakes, prison superintendent. “We do value the relationship. In today’s economic climate, it’s not as easy to make some of these decisions.”

The dispute hinges on utility taxes, water and sewer rates and impact fees.

The prison complex now contains about 2,500 prisoners. Water and sewer service has been provided under a series of agreements, some reached years ago.

One agreement allows the prison to forgo a utility tax.

A second lets the prison pay discounted rates on sewer since the prison collects sewage in lagoons before it’s sent on to the treatment plant.

Another complication is the city’s collection of $117,000 each year in impact fees to compensate Monroe for troubles linked to having a prison in city limits. That’s a unique arrangement that the state doesn’t have with any other prison city.

Officials from the Department of Corrections and Monroe seemed to have resolve most of their differences in an April meeting.

Talks fell apart, however, over back utility taxes.

Mayor Donnetta Walser said the state agreed to pay $180,000 in back utility taxes.

Corrections officials, however, said they only agreed to start paying utility taxes July 1.

The state doesn’t want to give up their sewer rate discounts until they can get money to remove the prison complex’s sewer lagoons. The city would like the state to commit to paying the standard sewer rate everybody else does by 2013 — whether the lagoons are gone or not.

A May 4 letter to the city from John Scott Blonien, an assistant state corrections secretary, says the state is disappointed that Monroe has raised “new issues and makes new demands that were not previously the subject of our discussion or negotiations.”

The state is “ready to initiate legal actions” with the city over the validity of two of the agreements, Blonien wrote.

The mayor fired back with a May 8 letter to Gov. Chris Gregoire, blaming corrections officials for delays and thousands of dollars in legal fees.

The Department of Corrections is “a bully, not a good neighbor,” Walser wrote.

Rep. Kirk Pearson, a Republican who represents the 39th District, said he has been involved with this issue for eight years. To him, the issue is cut and dried.

“It’s simple,” he said. Officials at “the Department of Corrections think they have a sweetheart deal and they don’t want to pay.”

He’d like to see the governor step in. Her office already is trying to mediate the discussion but he’d like to see even more involvement.

“It’s a frustrating issue,” Pearson said. “It should haven’t gone on this long. It’s going to take her help now.”

Debra Smith: 425-339-3197, dsmith@heraldnet.com.