Town awaits Shelter Bay's decision on water source

La Conner needs to replace its water mains in 2019, but town officials need a decision from Shelter Bay’s board of directors for whether the Association will use La Conner water service. And the Town needs to know soon, in August, commissioners at the July 11 council meeting said.

Currently Shelter Bay residents are 40 percent of La Conner’s water customers. The pipes are aging. Breaks in the line occur, but how big the next water line the town constructs, and whether it needs to cross Rainbow Bridge, depends on a decision from Shelter Bay, Town Administrator John Doyle said.

Shelter Bay has been in the process of deciding between La Conner and the Swinomish Utility Authority for its future water supply most of the summer.

David Franklin, Shelter Bay community manager, said they are having trouble making a decision because they still don’t have all their questions answered from either the town or the tribe.

“We haven’t really gotten information on the rates, or the terms on the bond, any interest rates, to what degree Shelter Bay is responsible for the cost and how usage will be determined,” Franklin said. He said there has been discussion with La Conner, but he is hoping for paper documents so the Shelter Bay Facilities Committee can make an evaluation.

Last week Doyle said he was working up some numbers for Shelter Bay, but was not at liberty to discuss the pricing until a decision has been made. Franklin said he asked the town for documents with pricing information last week as well.

In June, Shelter Bay had preliminary engineering studies done regarding the possibility of moving to tribal water, Franklin said.

“As far as we could tell, we can move,” Franklin said. “It give us some comfort to know we can get water from multiple places and choose whichever one is best for people here in Shelter Bay.”

But Franklin said he respects and was sensitive to the fact that La Conner has an urgent deadline for a decision. He said August is mostly likely when his board will decide, given they receive the information needed from both parties.

Shelter Bay will first need to weigh both options and pricing with the Shelter Bay Utility Committee, before bringing it forward to the Shelter Bay Board of Directors, who would then decide if they can make the move to Swinomish Utility Authority or stay with La Conner.

If Shelter Bay chooses to go with Swinomish, they would still need to receive approval from the Tribal Senate, which won’t meet again until August.

Franklin also considered how Shelter Bay’s water sourcing will affect either La Conner or Swinomish.

“Is that the best option for La Conner? They have two pipes, it may be cheaper for them to replace just one line,” Franklin said. “And same for the tribe. Shelter Bay is a pretty large water user, so it would have a big impact.”

Swinomish Utilities staff could not be reached for comment.