The Clancy Water and Sewer Board voted to move forward with drafting a test well easement proposal during its Sept. 27 meeting, two years after the same site sparked controversy in the community and led to the resignation of several board members.
The decision followed an Aug. 30 vote which approved a test well draft easement agreement on Steve Marks’ property, just north of the Legal Tender near Cutoff Road and Chokecherry Lane. Since then, the board explained, Marks has asked that the board consider other options.
In the wake of this decision, Great West Engineering identified six other sites for the board to consider.
Site #7, as identified on Great West Engineering’s most recent possible test well locations map, is a vacant lot south of the Legal Tender and east of Red Cliff Estates.
Clancy Water and Sewer District board member Bob Johnson said the site has high groundwater levels which decreases its commercial value, making it a more appealing option for a test well.
In October of 2020, Clancy residents from within and beyond the water/sewer district expressed their opposition to the use of the site, citing a concern that the test well could deplete their private wells to the point of pump burnout.
At that time, those living in Red Cliff Estates told the board they would pursue legal action were the board to continue pursuing that property.
Red Cliff Estates is not a part of the Clancy Water and Sewer District.
Those who joined Red Cliff Estates in opposition of the test well location in 2020 included former Clancy Water and Sewer District Board President David Leitheiser as well as fellow neighboring landowners Charles “Chuck” Notbohm and Bruce Nevins, saying they didn’t want the well “in their backyard.”
Johnson told The Monitor following the Sept. 27 meeting that the board previously chose to abandon constructing a test well on the site due to the opposition and pursued other sites; however, he added that the board is “running out of places for a test well.”
“We thought we had more options,” Johnson said.
Clancy Water and Sewer Board Chair Lori Gilliland added that Mark’s had also changed his mind about allowing a test well on the site south of the Legal Tender. “But now he is reconsidering that decision,” Gilliland told The Monitor. “We hope to have him sign an easement agreement soon.”
A concerned Red Cliff resident – who requested they remain anonymous – informed the board that the subdivision chose to raise their Homeowners Association fees to monitor its private well levels.
Red Cliff Estates HOA President Tammie Chenoweth confirmed that the subdivision had hired a company to water monitor levels to “make sure it doesn’t have a negative impact” on their water supply.
Johnson said it was “fantastic” that Red Cliff had chosen to do this. “If it does have a negative impact on them, we’ve got the numbers to support it,” he said.
Board members agreed during the meeting that if the test well negatively impacted the subdivision, all work would cease.
“We don’t want to go into this butting heads,” Johnson added.
Although Marks did not give a reason for the change, board members speculated that the previously approved site may have commercial value.
Marks was unavailable for comment before The Monitor’s press time.
Despite Red Cliff taking precautions, Chenoweth expressed some support for the project.
“I can appreciate the need for what they’re doing,” she said. “We’re just concerned that some of their locations – we’ve been told – could have a negative impact on our water supply.”
Following the 2020 opposition, Johnson and Gilliland turned in their resignations. A third board member, Bill Hammer and Leitheiser surrendered their seats on the board.
“My short-term resignation from the [Clancy Water and Sewer District] board was because of the apparent lack of support for either a public water or sewer system within the [Clancy Water and Sewer District], and also because there appeared to be no clear path forward to solving our contaminated groundwater problem,” Hammer told The Monitor on Monday, Oct. 3.
Hammer said he realized that the problem wasn’t going to go away by itself, and that community members did still support the project.
Although Johnson, Gilliland and Hammer returned to the board in varying positions, Leitheiser has not.
Leitheiser did not respond to requests for comment before The Monitor’s press deadline.
Great West Engineering Project Engineer Joel Pilcher, who is filling in for Collette Anderson while she is on maternity leave, did not respond to requests by email for comment on the project.
