New School May Be A Washout -- Dispute On Water-District Mergers Clouds Plan For A Kent High School

Construction of a new Kent high school could fall victim to bickering among utility districts, the Soos Creek Water and Sewer District attorney, Mike Hanis, has warned.

Hanis said utility officials' greatest fear came to pass last week when the King County Boundary Review Board signaled its intention to deny a merger between the Soos Creek utility district and tiny Water District 86.

After voting 7-0 to deny the Soos Creek district's proposed takeover of the large Covington Water District last Thursday, the boundary board instructed its staff to prepare a resolution denying the Soos Creek-Water District 86 merger as well.

The board will vote on that resolution next month.

Public controversy has focused on the larger Soos Creek-Covington merger, with opponents saying that action offered no benefits to Covington ratepayers.

MERGER FOES ARE HAPPY

"I'm elated," anti-merger activist Tom de Laat said of the board's decision to deny the merger.

Newly elected Covington Water District Commissioner Lys Hornsby expressed relief, calling the proposed takeover "an ill-conceived proposal from the beginning."

Covington Board President Vince Sheridan, a supporter of merger, refused to comment on the board decision.

Soos Creek Water and Sewer District Manager Bob Lyon said he was "surprised that they didn't turn it over to the voters to allow them to make the decision."

A resolution passed by the Boundary Review Board noted that Covington ratepayers would temporarily lose representation on a utility board and would have to do business with an office farther away. From an engineering standpoint, the board concluded, the two water systems are "unsuitable for merger."

Hanis said the District 86 takeover was hurt by the boundary board's decision to hold a combined hearing on it and the Covington merger. He said anti-merger forces had portrayed Soos Creek as a district intent on building a "giant empire."

Opponents of the District 86 merger say it should not be approved unless King County first approves sewer service to Lake Sawyer. Proponents say merger is needed to extend sewer lines to a planned Kent School District high school near Lake Sawyer.

HIGH SCHOOL IS NEEDED

Gerry Winkle, the school district's assistant superintendent for building services, called the Lake Sawyer school critical for a school district overwhelmed by a skyrocketing enrollment. He said there are already enough students in the system to fill the school, scheduled to open in 1996.

"There are no other sites that we know of down there that will meet all the criteria of the state," Winkle said.

If the Boundary Review Board denies the Water District 86 takeover next month, it cannot consider a renewed request for another year.

NO SEWERS FOR SCHOOL SITE

Hanis said it is unlikely the boundary board would allow extension of sewers to the school site if it denies the Soos Creek-District 86 merger.

When the King County Council votes on the Soos Creek Community Plan this week, it will decide whether to designate Lake Sawyer as an area that should be sewered. If the council endorses sewers, Hanis said, it will bolster the Soos Creek utility district's case for merger.