By NORMA LERNER

Special to the Argus

“This will pass, and you will get over it. My job as commissioner is to tell you, ‘don’t let it happen again,’” Dwight Dyes told the Ontwa Township Board at its regular meeting Monday night.

That was the advice given to Ontwa Township citizens and board members when Cass County District 3 commissioner Dyes visited the meeting. He told them in 1996 a sewer was built at Paradise Lake with similar problems. One was built in Porter Township also, he noted.

Dyes was referring to Ontwa Township’s ongoing sewer controversy about building a new $8 million sewer plant near Garver Lake or to continue to send sewage through an existing force main to the Elkhart sewer plant for processing.

The controversy is between citizens in the township who are against a new sewer plant and the township board that has contracted with Wightman and Associates of Benton Harbor to continue with planning it.

About 60 township citizens who attended the Ontwa Township board meeting Monday night continued to speak out against the project with one man being asked to leave, which he did.

Patrick Doyle told the board during an allowed three-minute comment period that the proposed 20-acre site for the sewer plant on Elkhart Road was overly priced at $115,000.

“That is more than what he paid for his whole farm,” he said. Doyle was referring to property owner Ladd Howe.

Noted were associated costs to break the contract with Wightman and Associates, which board members said was approximately $72,000. They also said attorney bills were not received yet that would add to the cost. It was also noted that fines are still being paid to Elkhart for hydrogen sulfide in the present line.

Then recently, a backup of the sewer line caused about 12 homes in the Garver Lake area to receive overflows on their property on Labor Day.

Those affected told board members they didn’t know who to call in an emergency with Supervisor John Brielmaier noting a number to call is on their sewer bill. The repair of a failed pump at the lift station that caused the problem was immediately fixed.

Being considered by the board are refrigerator magnets to be made for residents with all sewer emergency numbers listed on it.

In the meantime, the recall of five board members that will appear on the Nov. 4 ballot upset Treasurer Meryl Christensen. Christensen, who is being recalled, read a statement saying she has been treasurer for 11 years.

“I have never felt so threatened as I have at the last three to four board meetings including the one board meeting when I did call the police,” she said. “I do understand the frustration you are having with the sewage backup. I don’t live that far from it. We have had several people come into the office and a lot of phone calls. Cathy, Paula and I try to help as much as we can. Jim Robinson has called back the majority of the phone calls.”

Others under recall are Brielmaier, Clerk Paula Ralph and trustees Nathan Brousseau and Norman Krupp.

One citizen summed up the meeting by saying, “Let the bickering stop.”