Point Reyes Light- November 19, 1998
Tomales residents create their own sewage district
After working for more than a year to secede from North Marin Water District, Tomales townspeople gained "conditional approval" last week from members of the Marin Local Agency Formation Commission to operate their own sewer system
More than 80 percent of Tomales residents had signed a petition in favor of creating their own sewer district following a million-gallon spill from the system's holding ponds in October 1996.
In creating the district, to be called the Tomales Village Service District, townspeople "faced serious scrutiny about their ability to function as a formal entity," said Liza Crosse, aide Supervisor Steve Kinsey's. "They've faced the fire and have come through. This is good news."
Julia Carrera, a member of the Tomales Sewer Committee, said she felt "relieved and excited" about LAFCO's approval. "It was very important for us to get out of NMWD for the well being of the watershed and the citizens of Tomales."
Following the 1996 spill, Tomales townspeople grew skeptical of Novato-based North Marin Water District, which operates the sewer system in Dillon Beach and the water system for Point Reyes Station, Olema, Inverness Park.
Last December, at the urging of more than 100 Tomales customers, North Marin directors agreed to allow Gary Phillips of Napa-based Phillips & Associates to operate and manage Tomales' sewer system.
North Marin staff, meanwhile, continued to provide consumer accounting, administrative services, hookup and engineering services, and maintained a general liability-and-pollution insurance policy.
Phillips will continue to run the system once the new service district is formalized by county supervisors, Carrera said.
County supervisors are tentatively set hearing to hear the matter and appoint district board members on Dec. 1, said Kinsey's aide Crosse.
There's still plenty of work to do before the district starts running, she explained. Under conditions outlined by LAFCO last week, townspeople must:
Enter into a "mutually agreeable" memorandum of understanding with North Marin to provide an accounting for the exchange of property, physical plant, and financial assets and liabilities between the two districts.
This memo will be enough to satisfy the county auditor that the Tomales Village Service District is a taxable entity. Normally, newly formed districts must go through the State Board of Equalization, but Tomales will probably miss the state's Dec. 1 deadline for that, Crosse said.
Get a discharge permit for the town's system from the state Regional Water Quality Control Board.
Secure a line of credit from a bank that would be large enough to cover unexpected repairs of the system. LAFCO members recommended that the line of credit be large enough to cover one year of operating and capital expenditures.
Tomales Sewer Committee President Kathleen Crayne said the LAFCOs remaining checklist can be met "easily. We're 90 percent of the way there anyway. We've done all the paperwork behind the scenes."
Tomales attorney Marilyn Yee will represent the town as the agreement is drafted with North Marin, Crayne said.
North Marin General Manager Chris DeGabriele said his staff have compiled the information required and are ready to start on the agreement. "The district's position has been to support the town's efforts, and we support their decision in the town's [sewer district] reorganization."
As it's now structured, the Tomales Village Service District will manage the town's sewage collection and treatment, and provide new recreation services in the town park, the county's Crosse said.
The district's purview can be broadened in the future, she added. "The CSD [community service district] is handy in that it can be used to handle a lot of different functions. For example, the term 'recreation' can be defined more broadly. This might include all activities surrounding the park, such as a community center - if the town ever wanted that."
County planning staff have reported that the newly formed district will have no impact on land-use policy or zoning regulations.