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The change of heart followed a series of meetings with representatives of the East-West Gateway Council of Governments (EWGW), Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Franklin County officials.
EWGW received a grant to update the 1970s Brush Creek Watershed Study known as the 208 Plan, which assigned the city of Pacific to manage the wastewater development of Brush Creek watershed.
Steve Nagel, EWGW representative, and Tom Siegel and Bruce Holt of DNR visited with county officials and Selby to discuss modifying the 208 Plan.
"What the 208 plan determined was that there needed to be someone in charge of the whole area," Selby said. "And at that time, the whole Brush Creek drained down to Pacific. Pacific agreed to be in charge."
After reviewing the plan, Nagel, Siegel and Holt said Pacific should continue as the manager of the entire 208 area.
"This leaves the way for us (the city) to return to our objective of bringing all the partners to the table for a discussion and then conclude the purchase," Adams said.
Prior to the meetings, the city had previously come to a tentative agreement to purchase half of the district.
"We had a letter of intent with the county," Selby said. "Negotiations broke off over timing. We needed time to look at different funding possibilities."
Selby said the city could use the existing USDA loan, initiate a new state revolving fund (SRF) loan or use stimulus money to complete the purchase.
"What we wanted to do was to provide the lowest possible sewer costs for the users in the district," he said. "We didn't want the customers to be hit with big sewer bills."
Adams said the city still needs time to determine which funding proposal to take to EWGW and DNR.
"We have to figure out how to educate the Brush Creek users and the citizens of Pacific who own the lagoon about what is going on," the mayor said. "We have to get the information out to the people."
Adams said it was up to someone else to give Brush Creek users an explanation of what happened up to now and explain who has been paying the difference between their bills and the cost to operate the district.
"After that, we'll explain the direction the city intends to take," he said.
"We think the entity that can best serve the customers with the best rates is Pacific," Adams said. "Since EWGW, DNR and EPA have determined that Pacific is the sole authority, we're hoping that the old perceptions are gone."
Selby said it's important to move forward on the purchase of the sewer district because of new and pending development in the district. He said the region could not be developed until ownership of the sewer district was settled.
"You have to have sewers to have development," he said.
Reached by telephone, Franklin County Presiding Commissioner Ed Hillhouse said he had not been notified that Pacific was considering buying the entire sewer district, but at first glance it didn't seem to be impossible.
"I don't see that we are at odds on it," Hillhouse said. "The county didn't see a problem when Water District No. 3 offered to buy the entire district."
Hillhouse said it appears that the county will not be able to complete the sale of the sewer district Water District No. 3.
"First District Commissioner Terry Wilson met with EWGW and it appears that we can't conclude the sale," Hillhouse said. "But this is all preliminary. We don't have any official notification on it yet."
Hillhouse also noted that he was only one commissioner and his comments were speculative.
"I need to talk with the other commissioners. We need to hear officially from Pacific," he said. "We need to hear what the attorneys have to say. And, of course, there is still Water District No. 3 that has a stake in all this."
Hillhouse also said timing is a factor from his point of view.
"We wouldn't want this to drag on and on," he said. "If Pacific is serious about wanting to buy the district - part or all of it - they need to come up with a time line. We would want this concluded in a timely manner," he said.
