Audience members criticized the Tuolumne City Sanitary District board at a special meeting Wednesday, expressing concern that its conduct could lead to rate hikes and funding shortages.

At issue was whether the board was putting the district at risk by negotiating behind closed doors with representatives from the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians, which is disputing $2.9 million in charges from the district. The tribe contends the bill is based on faulty data. Some in the audience, including district staffers, said it appeared the tribe is controlling the negotiations.
 

The district had been counting on the tribe’s money to help pay for sewer plant costing nearly $6 million, which was substantially completed earlier this summer. The district still owes the project’s contractor several hundred thousand dollars.

Without an infusion from the tribe or a loan it is scrambling to secure, the district will not only be unable to pay the contractor, it will be in the red later this year.

The sewer project was designed largely to accommodate growth at the tribe’s nearby Black Oak Casino.

Tribal officials did not attend Wednesday’s meeting and could not be reached for comment by press time.

“You guys are the board, and they (the tribe) are the client,” said audience member John Feriani, a Tuolumne area contractor. “You guys are not qualified to talk to them alone.”

Feriani was referring to the fact that district engineer Harold Welborn has been excluded from the district’s talks with the tribe. Others in the audience expressed agreement with Feriani.

Board Chairman Kevin Burns confirmed that two members of the board, in addition to the district’s attorney, Pat Greenwell, have been meeting with a group of experts hired by the tribe, including attorneys and engineers, in negotiations.

Welborn noted that he created the formula the district uses to bill the tribe, and, he said, it therefore makes sense that he participate.   

“Why am I excluded?” he said. “Now it’s a negotiating session with my stuff and I’m not even in the know. I’m frustrated.”

Welborn has defended his billing formula, which calculates how many homes the casino is equal to, on several occasions. Black Oak Casino, per Welborn’s formula, accounts for about two thirds of the sewer plant load.

Welborn speculates that he’s been excluded from the negotiations at the tribe’s behest. Welborn has been critical of the tribe’s reasoning for not paying the $2.9 million tab, which is for dwelling-unit-equivalent sewer connection fees.

The tribe had originally paid $4.75 million to the district for connection fees — which come to $7,200 per home — but later district calculations showed the figure was $2.9 million too low. The tribe didn’t express concern about the figure back then, according to district officials.

According to the district, the billing figure is still too low. Figures released at Wednesday’s meeting show that over a four-month period the strength of the tribe’s casino wastewater is about 14 percent higher than previously thought.   

The tribe and district have entered into a 45-day parallel testing program, with the final results scheduled to be set in the fall.

Tampered data?
    Danny Tuel, the manager of the Tuolumne sewer plant, also expressed frustration.

He noted that the tribe hasn’t paid its bill for services in six months.
 

“The tribe says I’m not even allowed on casino property,” Tuel added.

Tuel finds himself in the center of the tribe’s reasoning for not paying its bill. The tribe argues, with two former district employees as witnesses, that Tuel tampered with samples of wastewater from the casino to make it look like it was using more sewer plant capacity than it actually was. This, if true, would allow the district to overcharge the tribe.

Tuel denies the allegations.

A formal complaint has not been filed in court by the tribe. In a past interview, Lester Lingo, of the tribe’s economic development authority, said legal action is the tribe’s least-preferred option, but the tribe will go that route if necessary.