Program Moves to All Option 2

Happy March everyone! The sun is staying longer, the air is getting warmer, and the snow keeps falling (ahh Valdez). During this time of season change, we also have a lot of Program changes to report. The big one we just sent a mail out about is that during a work session involving the discussion of 2010 City Projects, the City Council, with the support of City staff, decided to move forward with the program for the summer of 2010 as Option 2 only. For the time being, the City is not proceeding with Phase III so anyone enrolled in Option 1 is encouraged to move forward under Option 2.

Moving forward with Option 2 does require more work from each individual homeowner, but the work directly benefits each homeowner. One of the chief complaints Phase I and Phase II residents had with the program is the lack of communication they had with the contractors and sometimes a feeling of powerlessness over what the contractor’s did. Under Option 2, the contractors are directly responsible to and in constant communication with the homeowners. There should be much less miscommunication and the homeowners will likely feel the installation went much more according to their plan and their liking. It is our hope that Option 2 will give the homeowner greater knowledge of the workings of their septic and greater pride in its installation and maintenance.

Under Option 2, the homeowner can choose whatever type of system they like and they can hire whatever engineer and installer they wish. The two big constraints to that freedom are: the ADEC has to approve the system the homeowner and engineer design and the City will only reimburse for the minimum amount required to bring the system into compliance. The minimum amount supports excellent systems, but will not cover increases in septic size due to possible future expansion of bedrooms or high-end systems that go above and beyond what the homes requires. Any additional expense the homeowner would like to move forward with during the replacement needs to be declared up front to the City, with the understanding that the homeowner will be responsible for the extra cost.

Interdepartmental Transition

The City is trying to redistribute responsibility of the Replacement Program a little to make it run more smoothly and to keep the workloads equitable. The new City Engineer, Allen Minish, has a great deal of experience in septic engineering, review and installation and will be taking over the review and project management for Option 2. He will be conducting inspections at critical stages in the septic installations and will issue the final okay for Community Development to create a certificate of completion for each Option 2 septic installation.

The office of Community and Economic Development will still be where homeowners submit their notarized agreements, apply for permits, and submit their drawings and documentation. Community and Economic Development will maintain your permanent septic replacement file alongside your permanent building file. Should you ever have questions about or need copies of anything you previously submitted, this department will be your first stop. This will also be where you bring your receipts and invoices for reimbursement for the program.

That’s a lot of change in a short amount of time, we know! We apologize for not getting the news out sooner. The City is trying very hard to make sure all the details are accounted for and the process for Option 2 can move forward smoothly. When a good friend texted me the other day, he wrote, “Perfection is the enemy of Done”. I found that very appropriate for how we have been struggling with the release of this Option 2 only news to Alpine Woods Area residents. Please bear with us as we try to balance the best program we can make with the timeliness of its release.

Other Tidbits

The Option 2 Guide is done and posted on the website, click here to download the PDF.

Allen has made a simple & easy checklist for homeowners to use as they take themselves through the process. We highly recommend that you keep one of these for yourself and submit a copy to the City for your permanent file. Click here to download the checklist.

The blog should pick up a little as spring begins. We will get details out about the completion of final grading, hydro seeding, and final paperwork for Phase II. So check back a little more often.

That’s all the tidbits we have for today. Let us know what you think!

Effluent Results

Greetings Savvy Septic Readers. The City has been working on the draft effluent testing results for some time now and has a largely complete version ready for public consumption. We want to warn readers however, that the summary about the regulations from Origin Technical Services (OTS) is very technical. Unfortunately the issue that they speak to in their summary of the results cannot be easily condensed.

Click here for the November Effluent Testing Results.

Basically, when the City got the effluent testing results back we asked OTS to give us a summary stating which systems, if any, were not meeting ADEC standards and what the overall performance of the systems appeared to be to them. Their answer to us was there aren’t any well-defined ADEC standards to impose on our AdvanTex treatment systems. OTS has been working with the ADEC to get something in writing that will define those standards once and for all, but so far we have not reached that point. As soon as we get standards from ADEC in writing, we will share them with the Alpine Woods community as well as the larger Valdez area (these standards impact everyone). We are hopeful the standards will be available for the Septic Work Session with City Council that is still being scheduled. In the meantime, Anchorage Tank and the service provider Mike Congel continue to monitor these systems closely. Having instant feedback on how a septic system is working is a new process for everyone and we intend to work through it and learn together. The City will be testing all systems in late winter and then again in spring.

City Hall has been working hard on setting a date for the City Council work session involving an ACAT presentation of their concerns with the replacement program and suggestions for moving forward (we affectionately call it Septic Summit #2). It was originally scheduled for December but ACAT did not have enough time to put their presentation together and City Council did not want to have the meeting unless everyone was prepared and everyone could attend (that includes ADEC, Origin Technical Services, ACAT members, ACAT guests, Lanning Engineering and an Orenco systems engineer). So far we have not been able to find a date that suits everyone’s calendars. We will keep trying however, and will post the official date as soon as it is set.

Finally, Community and Economic Development is happy to announce the links to the installation pictures on the Phase I and Phase II pages of the septic replacement program website have finally been uploaded. For anyone who has ever tried to click on the photo link and been disappointed by the lack of a hotlink, today is the day to try again. We will be working on more things to add but if anyone would like to see something different or better on the City’s Alpine Woods website, please send us your suggestions. We love input! Hope everyone’s Holiday time was merry and warm. Stay tuned for more septic savvy updates.