Franklin Looks at Grassland Project

Franklin looks at Grassland project

Mayor John Schroer and city aldermen will vote Tuesday night on whether they’ll agree to treat the sewage from those homeowners, even though those homes are not in the city nor in land in its urban growth boundary – the land outside the city limits set aside for cities’ growth.

So far, no costs for the project have been presented to aldermen, but Mayor Rogers Anderson said the county will reimburse the city for any costs in the project.

“This would be the easiest solution, we think,” Anderson told aldermen.

County officials have paid $1.7 million for the project and had planned to pursue working with Lynnwood Utility District to treat the sewer. But Anderson went to city leaders in September to ask them to cover the sewage treatment costs instead.

While the project has support from Mayor John Schroer, Aldermen Dan Klatt and Mike Skinner voiced reservations this week about taking on the added capacity.

Klatt asked Anderson if he would support the county relinquishing their planning authority over the land in Franklin’s urban growth boundary land in exchange for the city taking on the sewage treatment of the homes in Grassland.

Anderson balked at that idea: “I don’t think that’s the way to get things done,” he said.

[Editors note to Mr. Klatt and Skinner: Please don't derail a solution. Too many homeowners are in need. We are neighbors. We need you to be neighborly. This is a great time to be a hero and a true leader.]