Sewer districts clash over territory, future plans

Local News X Brown County Commissioners received an update on long-discussed sewer expansion plans Wednesday night, May 20. Brown County Regional Sewer District Treasurer Matthew Hanlon told commissioners that momentum has increased for sewer development around Lake Lemon after the district secured more than $3.7 million in federal funding earlier this year. Hanlon said the district also recently received permission to redirect a little over a million dollars in state revolving fund money originally intended for Bean Blossom planning toward construction at Lake Lemon. The goal, he said, is to have wastewater collection and treatment infrastructure in place around Lake Lemon by the end of 2028. Hanlon said a private partnership may also help move the project forward. “A local Brown County resident has demonstrated both financial and operational commitment to partnering on this effort, reflecting a shared investment in the community’s long-term sustainability and success,” Hanlon said while reading from a prepared statement. Commissioners questioned whether wastewater from Lake Lemon would eventually be sent to the expanding Helmsburg Regional Sewer District treatment plant or handled through a separate facility closer to the lake. Hanlon said the current draft plan calls for a treatment plant on Lake Lemon’s North Shore Drive rather than piping wastewater back to Helmsburg, which he said would be too expensive because of the distance and low number of homes between the two areas. Commissioner Ron Sanders asked how the Lake Lemon plans would affect Helmsburg’s proposed sewer plant expansion, which had previously been discussed at roughly 100,000 gallons per day. Hanlon said Lake Lemon is now expected to operate separately from Helmsburg’s future system, while the Bean Blossom sewer project would still eventually connect into Helmsburg. The Bean Blossom project, however, is currently paused despite engineering work already being completed. Hanlon said the district halted the project after learning Helmsburg’s initial expansion would be built at around 14,000 gallons per day rather than the larger capacity previously discussed, meaning future expansion would likely be needed to handle Bean Blossom customers. Rather than place a major debt burden on future customers, Hanlon said the district decided to pause the project and pursue grants and other outside funding. “We paused the project until we can find more money,” Hanlon said. “We’re not stopping the project, we’re just simply waiting to try to find more money.” He added, “I don’t want to, and I would vote against it as our board, to take out a loan of that size. I’m not going to do that for the customers. We have to find more free money, grants, public appropriations to complete that project.” Commissioner Tim Clark questioned whether enough public support exists in the Bean Blossom area to eventually meet state funding requirements, noting the county has pursued sewer service there for roughly two decades. “My concern is the support you have in Bean Blossom,” he said. Hanlon said the district had planned door-to-door outreach and easement discussions with property owners, but paused those efforts after funding concerns became clear. Much of the discussion then shifted toward whether Brown County should eventually consolidate multiple sewer districts into one larger countywide system. Hanlon said Brown County Regional Sewer District leaders believe one larger utility could reduce administrative costs and eliminate overlap between districts. He compared the idea to Brown County Water Utility serving large portions of the county rather than multiple smaller systems. “In my opinion, that would be more efficient for all of us,” Hanlon said. Commissioner Clark questioned whether consolidation would actually benefit residents, saying, “We’ve got two plants, Helmsburg and Gnaw Bone and Nashville that have been successful for 20 plus years,” Clark said. Hanlon said his focus is on water quality rather than growth and development. “Years ago, I worked at the EPA,” Hanlon said. “I just wanted to try to do the best for clean water.” The discussion became more contentious when Hanlon said Brown County Regional Sewer District and Helmsburg Regional Sewer District had previously discussed possible consolidation if enough infrastructure became shared between the systems. Helmsburg Regional Sewer District President Adrian O’Shea disagreed with Hanlon’s description of past conversations, saying Brown County Regional Sewer District had repeatedly suggested a merger was the only path forward and claimed the State Revolving Fund program required it. “From the very get-go, you guys were cramming it down our throats that the only solution was for us to merge,” O’Shea said. “You guys were telling us that SRF told you specifically that the only way for us to proceed forward was to merge.” O’Shea said Helmsburg later contacted State Revolving Fund officials directly and was told the merger was never required. “We shot you down and said no,” O’Shea said, adding state officials told them “we had never suggested that you guys had to merge.” Helmsburg RSD Vice President Kyle Myers said his district had spent years actively building infrastructure while Brown County Regional Sewer District continued discussing long-term planning and consolidation. Myers questioned why Brown County Regional Sewer District was reluctant to release additional territory around Helmsburg despite not currently being able to provide service there. Tensions increased further over a proposed ordinance on the commissioners’ agenda that would support Helmsburg Regional Sewer District seeking additional territory near its plant. Hanlon raised concerns that commissioners were moving toward giving away part of Brown County Regional Sewer District’s territory after years of planning work. Commissioner Clark disagreed, saying commissioners were not attempting to transfer territory. He said the ordinance only provided a letter of support allowing Helmsburg to begin discussions with state officials if needed and stressed that any actual boundary change would require further discussion and approvals from both sewer districts. Myers, with Helmsburg RSD, also questioned Brown County Regional Sewer District’s decision to redirect remaining state revolving fund money that had originally been associated with the Bean Blossom sewer project toward Lake Lemon construction. Myers argued Bean Blossom residents had waited years for progress and suggested the district had effectively shifted focus away from an area long identified as needing sewer service. He said Helmsburg Regional Sewer District had continued moving forward with planning and construction while Brown County Regional Sewer District redirected resources elsewhere, despite Bean Blossom still being discussed as part of Helmsburg’s future expansion. After commissioners concluded their discussion, Brown County resident Sherrie Mitchell questioned Hanlon directly about Brown County Regional Sewer District’s reluctance to allow Helmsburg to absorb additional nearby territory. “What’s your reluctance to let Helmsburg have that property around their district?” Mitchell asked. “You seem reluctant.” Hanlon responded that Brown County Regional Sewer District had already spent years planning for those areas and said giving up territory was not a simple decision. “We’ve been doing a lot of effort,” Hanlon said, later adding that a territorial change could imply “that we didn’t do our job.” Hanlon said his focus remains on water quality, adding that if sewer systems are eventually installed where they are needed and failing septic systems are reduced, “I’m happy. We did it.” Mitchell continued pressing Hanlon, asking, “So your only reluctance to allowing Helmsburg to take on 60 more customers, is that it makes you look bad?” “No, I didn’t say that,” Hanlon replied. Mitchell ended by asking why Helmsburg should be prevented from serving customers Brown County Regional Sewer District cannot currently serve. “Why don’t you just give up the territory and we’ll all be done here?” she asked before Commissioner Clark redirected discussion back to the board. No action was taken following the presentation. Featured Local Savings