RV park owners seek compensation
By Cherry Sokoloski
North Forty News
As Heron Lake RV Park developed on North Taft Hill Road, many people in
the LaPorte area watched and waited. The coffeehouse talk had it this way:
with Heron Lake owners bringing city sewer services north of the Poudre
River, other development north of the river was bound to follow. The RV
park opened two years ago this spring.
Heron Lake owners Miriam Flood and Jim Gallenstein also thought their sewer
line would lead to more development, and they want to be reimbursed for
part of its cost. The couple constructed a 15-inch sewer line under the
river, at what Flood called "substantial cost," to connect with city sanitation
services. Flood described the line as oversized, with more than enough
capacity to handle other development to the north of the river.
For the past one and a half years, Flood said, the couple have been negotiating
with the city to reimburse them for oversizing the line. "The city expressed
to us that this line was a very important part of their wastewater system,"
Flood said. "It was our understanding that the city was cognizant of the
need to expand the sewer system to the north, because of raw sewage problems
and the number of requests for sewer extension in that area."
Mike Smith, director of utilities for Fort Collins, said the size of the
sewer line was a design issue, needed because of the shallow grade. "A
flatter area needs a bigger pipe," he explained. However, he said, the
pipe does have some excess capacity and "in theory, it could tie in more
customers."
Because of the ongoing negotiations, Flood would not say what the sewer
line to the RV park cost. She said there are several ways she and her husband
could be compensated for part of the cost, including reimbursement from
the city, having the city expand the line north and compensate them for
additional taps, or forming a sewer district themselves with neighbors
to the north.
"LaPorte is ripe for expansion, and sewer expansion is part of that," Flood
said.
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