Paul Kamin, general manager of the Eastsound Water Users Association, sent a letter to EWUA members on Sept. 18. The document outlined the Guest House Upgrade Initiative, which requires members who have a second living space on their property to upgrade their memberships to reflect two buildings.

Members of the Orcas community, Leslie Liddle, Doug Betchel and Susan Malins, responded to this letter with criticism, stating that it was unfair, aggressive and that the cost was too great.

“This initiative is poorly thought out, arbitrary and punishing,” wrote Liddle.

(You can read Liddle’s guest column here. A letter from Malins here. Bechtel’s letter ran in the Oct. 15 edition of the Sounder.)

Kamin said the upgrade is not meant as a punishment, but rather a way for people to update their properties. The upgrade costs a one-time fee of $3,000. EWUA’s base rate is $45 for 5,000 gallons for each “equivalent residential unit” or ERU per month. The upgrade will now require a single family home with a guest house to be signed up for a 1.5 ERU, costing $67.40 per month for 7,500 gallons. If more than the allotted “gallons per month” allowed are used with the base rate, then the charge is $20 per 1,000 gallons.

If you have property with two residences that was built in the 1970s or before then your property is grandfathered in and you do not have to pay the $3,000 charge, but you will have to pay a monthly bill to reflect 1.5 ERUs.

Kamin said the initiative may be more cost effective for some home owners with two residences as they now have access to 7,500 gallons and are less likely to use more water and be charged the surplus usage fee.

Liddle, on the other hand, is not sure that there will be any cost benefits.

“Those in the lowest usage category with a guest house can expect a $200 bill every three months for water regardless of how large or small that guest house or the primary home is, or how much water has ever been used by that tax parcel,” she wrote.

Kamin said there are two ways to look at how people are charged for water. One argument is that if someone uses 10 gallons a month, they should only pay for 10 gallons a month.

The counter argument is that people are not just paying for the water, but also the costs to operate the entire water district.

“Somewhere there is a balance,” said Kamin.

For instance, he added, if someone is a low-water user and pays less, someone else in the system will have to pay more.

Kamin said this does happen: those using more water do pay more.

“We have a base rate that is a reasonable amount to pay,” said Kamin.

Beyond that, Kamin said members have a responsibility to follow the rules.

“Properties that have an ‘undocumented’ guest house are out of compliance with EWUA bylaws and the EWUA membership agreement they signed when they purchased the membership, or a property with a membership,” said Kamin.

One problem homeowners could run into is if they want to sell their home. According to Kamin, if you have a guest house that is not compliant you will not be able to transfer the water district membership to the new homeowners.

For Bechtel, Kamin’s letter about  the upgrade said to members, “We [EWUA] know you are out there and we know you are crooks and we’re going to catch you and we’re going to make you pay and pay.”

He went on to write that, “I wouldn’t be surprised to find Paul Kamin peeking in my windows or the windows of my out buildings to see if I have an illegal toilet hidden somewhere.”

Conversely, Kamin sees the initiative as a benefit to all members.

The district could charge $6,000 for the upgrade, but is offering a 50 percent discount for members of only $3,000.

“We are trying to be gentle and have an incentive approach,” said Kamin. “If we do nothing, we are perpetuating a model that doesn’t support good planning and is not economically fair to a vast majority of members.”

For those who have been using guest houses and not paying for an additional membership, Kamin said that is not a fair practice.

“We are offering you an opportunity to fix the situation and charging half of what we could and we are not trying to collect back fees,” he said. “There are no punitive actions and no judgment. We want you to help us get upgraded. The intention of the program is to develop ‘fairness’ among the EWUA members.”