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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend October 20, 2005 Subdivision out of luck Commission rejects rural residents’ request to hook up to water supply By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune The Westwood subdivision may be lacking a suitable water supply, but it won’t be getting help from the Medford Water Commission. The five-member commission voted unanimously Wednesday to deny an extension of service to the rural subdivision. "I just don’t think it fits with the goals of Medford," said Commission Board Chairman Leigh Johnson. Westwood subdivision, on Ross Lane between Medford, Central Point and Jacksonville, relies on wells which have been dwindling. During hot months, many residents must haul water. Most of the residents want to pay for distribution lines that would connect them to the Medford Water Commission’s municipal supply. Advertisement But the commission’s policy is to provide water only to urban areas with infrastructure in place. "I think we’ve done our due diligence in discussing this problem," said board member Jack Day. He said he sympathizes with the residents, but the board would need to "address comprehensively" the issue of distributing water to rural areas before granting it to one subdivision. "I would have to say no, I do not approve it at this point," he said. Board member Tom Hall said that opening up water to Westwood is not in the best interest of Medford residents, one of the criteria listed in the commission’s charter. Board member Cathie Davis pointed out that Westwood is not alone, and other subdivisions with well problems have established their own water system. She said the municipal water system is owned and operated by the residents of the city of Medford. "I don’t believe it would be in good policy to provide service to Westwood or any other rural subdivision," she said. Westwood residents took their case to the state Legislature last session in the form of a bill introduced in May by Rep. Dennis Richardson, R-Central Point, whose district includes the subdivision. The bill would have forced the commission to provide water to the subdivision. The bill was withdrawn after Medford Mayor Gary Wheeler sent Richardson a letter suggesting a "good faith" meeting between the commission and Westwood residents, which took place in September. Wednesday’s meeting was the final vote on the matter. Board member Lou Hannum said he wondered whether the Westwood issue would end up back in the Legislature again. "I have some serious questions that the Legislature has the ability to change this (charter) without breaking their own constitution," he said. Chairman Johnson said staff may need to put guidelines in place in case "we were to have this shoved down our throats in the future." "The other unknown right now is the RPS (regional problem solving) process," Johnson said. "We don’t know how many acres the cities are going to be adding to the urban growth boundary." Half a dozen Westwood residents attended the commission meeting. Afterwards, several expressed disappointment but not surprise. "We’d hoped we could work this out," said resident Cliff Beebe, adding that he wasn’t sure what the next step would be. "We have to decide and have a meeting between our politicians and see what’s the best action to take," he said. Trent Nistler, president of the Westwood Subdivision Water District, said he thought the district had presented a reasonable solution. "We should never have removed the bill," he said. Nistler said he felt like the "good faith" meeting was just for show and that minds were already made up. He said Medford leaders "chided" the residents for taking the issue to the state level. "What else do you do?" he said. Commission OKs timber transfer In other business, the Medford Water Commission approved transferring ownership of 30,000 board feet of timber in the Big Butte Springs watershed to the U.S. Forest Service in exchange for building a road and removing the timber at no charge to the commission. Manager Larry Rains said it would cost the commission $31,000 to build the logging road, but the timber is valued at $6,000. The logging is part of a thinning project the commission has undertaken. Rains said the Forest Service is already working on an adjacent logging project in the Big Butte Springs watershed. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail Subdivision out of luck ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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