Dorow hired as consultant for Othello sewage plant

OTHELLO — Othello City Council member Genna Dorow has been hired by the city on a short-term contract to provide consulting services for the city’s wastewater treatment facility.

Council members approved the contract, which runs through Sept. 1 at the latest, at their March 22 meeting. Dorow recused herself from the vote and the discussion, leaving the council table to sit in the audience.

The contract would pay Dorow up to $10,000. City attorney Kelly Konkright said under state law the city could hire a sitting council member, but couldn’t pay that person more than $18,000 in any calendar year. The contract includes a clause putting the $18,000 limit on any compensation paid to Dorow.

Mayor Shawn Logan said Thursday Dorow’s hiring stems from changes in state requirements for the sewage treatment plant. It is operated under a permit issued by the Washington Department of Ecology.

Logan said the facility met the permit requirements when it was built 40 years ago, but it hasn’t been updated since it was built. The DOE issued the city a new permit, and the facility is no longer in compliance, he said.

“We need some advice and help to get compliant,” Logan said. “There are a lot of changes being asked of us and a ton of testing.”

Dorow worked at the plant previously and has kept her certification as a wastewater treatment operator, Logan said.

“She has the experience and expertise,” he said.

Department of Ecology employees will inspect the facility, and the city will have to show it is working to meet the current guidelines, Logan said during the council meeting.

Currently, the water testing lab isn’t certified, so it can’t perform required tests. One of Dorow’s tasks will be to help get the lab recertified.

Dorow said during the council meeting she has experience in the rectification process and experience in the required testing and reporting.

Bringing the facility into compliance will be a “Herculean effort,” Logan said.

“But the city has got to take steps,” he added. “This is just one of the many steps we’re going to have to take.”

Every step is going to cost money, Logan said, but city officials have taken that into consideration by raising sewer rates over the last six or seven years. The city will have adequate reserves to pay for upgrades.

“We’ve been preparing for this,” Logan said. “We intend to be responsible.”