Kirk Boxleitner

kboxleitner@ptleader.com

At times during their remarks July 9 to the Brinnon Booster Club, the two candidates for Jefferson County Public Utility District 3 commissioner came across almost more as a partner act than as competitors for the same office.

Tom Brotherton, of Quilcene,  and Dan Toepper, of Port Ludlow, were often in agreement in their answers at the candidate forum and even came close to finishing each other's sentences, such as when they were asked about how likely it was that Brinnon residents would actually be allowed to hook up to the county sewer system.

“To build in a floodplain with a septic system is very difficult,” Brotherton said. “You usually have to raise the septic system because of concerns about drainage from the tank. But with a closed system like a sewer, there's not the danger of drainage.”

Brotherton did acknowledge that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had tightened its rules regarding insurance for sewer systems in floodplains, which led Toepper to note that a number of factors can put strings on federal funding, but by working with the state and county, the PUD could help to mitigate such restrictions.

“A lot of this has to do with zoning,” Toepper said. “The county is in the process of wrapping up its comp plan update, but it's extended its critical areas update by about four or five months.”

As such, Toepper suggested now would be the time to lodge some inquiries with the county's Department of Community Development and concluded, “A sewer system here seems very doable.”

When asked about installing solar power in certain Brinnon properties, Toepper sought to pin down the more nebulous aspects of the proposal right away.

“Who owns the property, and who pays for it?” Toepper asked.

Although Toepper shared details of a solar project in Port Townsend allowing a certain number of people to buy into the undertaking, he noted the hard limit on practical solar power applications imposed by the Bonneville Power Administration, since the PUD is contracted to buy a certain amount of power for the BPA regardless of how much power is fed into the system by solar customers.

“The PUD makes its money from the property taxes you all pay, which is why you get to vote for commissioners,” Toepper said. “Self-generated power is more expensive for the PUD than what we buy from the BPA.”

Toepper added the PUD still has a $104 million debt to pay off from its original purchase of the utility district and is currently on track to clear that debt no sooner than 2042, “so the last thing I want to do is add to that debt.”

Brotherton agreed solar power requires “a large grid to do anything meaningful” and not only would not yield lower costs, but also offers no comparative environmental benefits.

“This system is already as green as you can get,” Brotherton said.

The one area where Toepper and Brotherton seemed to disagree was on the relative merits of exploring broadband internet coverage by the PUD, with Toepper prioritizing the topic far below meat-and-potatoes concerns such as water, sewer and septic systems, whereas Brotherton saw it as enhancing quality of life and adding to tourist appeal.

“High-speed internet is not something we want to start up just for the heck of it,” Toepper said. “We need to make sure it can pay for itself before we proceed.”

District 3 encompasses unique boundaries, including West County, Gardiner, Discovery Bay, Brinnon, Port Ludlow and Quilcene.