YC council to take up Hillcrest vote, again

Hillcrest residents may have to endure another round of protest hearings and more debate over a water surcharge.

Or a private water company could take over their water supply in a deal with the city to purchase the Hillcrest water plant.

The next step in one of the city's most contentious issues depends on what the Yuba City City Council decides tonight. The council will meet to talk about the next move for a surcharge that has divided some residents.

One possibility could be another surcharge proposal for the 4,000 Hillcrest households — basically a do-over of the contentious Proposition 13 protest hearings that resulted in just over 50 percent vetoing the city's nearly $20-per-month charge to pipe in surface water.

But there would be one difference. The city would split out Hillcrest Region 1 east of Highway 99, which approved the surcharge proposal when tallied separately from the entire area, and count their protest separately.

Region 2/3 on the other side of the highway could also get another chance at a protest hearing —an idea that doesn't thrill some of the surcharge opponents who walked for miles to gather signatures in a successful protest of the city proposal.

"I'm against it because we already had a vote and we won," said Nepal Court resident Lynn Horn.

Utilities Director Bill Lewis said another protest hearing for Region 2/3 is on the table as an option because some residents said they didn't understand what they were signing when they put their name to petitions protesting the surcharge.

Costs to connect to surface water are estimated at $3,415 or $18.95 per month per household for Region 1, and $3,990 or $22.10 per month for Region 2/3. The costs include a water meter.

Yet another possibility is the sale of the Hillcrest water plant to a water company. Yuba City has received four letters of interest from water companies just before the deadline Monday, said Lewis.

Horn doubts that the city really intends to sell the plant despite repeated claims by City Council members that the plant would have to be sold if the surcharge is turned down.

"Personally, I don't think they ever intended to sell it," said Horn.

The city surcharge to connect the Hillcrest region to the city's main surface water plant was proposed after the Hillcrest Region 2/3 water showed arsenic levels in excess of federal standards.

Chemical treatment has since brought the arsenic levels down but it may only be a temporary fix. Arsenic levels have been trending upward this year and the city may have to issue another notice that the Region 2/3 water exceeds federal standards if tests next month come in too high, said Lewis.

Contact Appeal-Democrat re-porter John Dickey at 749-4711 or jdickey@appealdemocrat.com.