Terrebonne sewer vote update: Seven more ballots arrive in mail, leaving result up in the air

(Update: Ballot count shows measure failing by just one vote)

Was losing by a single vote Tuesday night; state law now says postmark is key

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Tuesday night’s ballot count showed the proposed formation of the Terrebonne Sanitary (sewer) District failing by a single vote – but seven more properly postmarked ballots arrived in Wednesday’s mail, meaning the results are up in the air until they (and possibly others) are counted next week.

A revision to state election law by the Legislature in 2021 means any ballot that has a postmark by 8 p.m. on Election Day will count, and they have a week to arrive at the proper county clerk’s office, Deschutes County Clerk Steve Dennison noted. In the past, they had to arrive at the clerk’s office or a valid ballot drop box by 8 p.m. that Tuesday night.

A total of 154 ballots were mailed out for the special election, and a total of 24 (just under 17%) had been returned in time for Tuesday night’s count.

It showed the measure garnered 11 yes votes and a dozen no votes, along with one “under vote,” which is the case in which neither oval is marked on the ballot. (An “over vote” occurs when more than one oval is filled in for that measure or race.)

There already was one more Terrebonne election ballot to process in hand Wednesday morning, before the day’s mail arrived. Dennison said that ballot was in one of the two Redmond drop boxes that were open until 8 p.m. Tuesday and was not processed in Tuesday night's count, posted shortly after 8 p.m.

"We received seven more ballots in the mail today (Wednesday) with valid postmarks," he said, "so we’ll have at least eight more ballots to include in next week’s results, assuming there are valid ballots within each envelope.”

Dennison said they will wait until next Tuesday to count those that arrive and are postmarked on or before Election Day.

Actually Dennison noted, under the new state law, the late-arriving ballots within a week are to be counted, even if they have no postmark, or one that is illegible (light or smudged, etc.

He said he's "not a fan of that portion of the rule."

"The thought is that the voter is signing under penalty of perjury that they did cast the ballot on or before Election Day," Dennison said. "Hoping the legislators shore this one up in the future, but as of today, these are the rules we're following."

Guy Vernon, one of four people elected to the district’s board – but only if it’s formed – and father of the sanitary district's petitioner said he understands the results will be finalized on Friday, allowing time, as in all elections, for any ballots sent in by Tuesday night to arrive by mail.

“It is what it is,” he said.

The proposed sewer district is the next step toward a system the community does not currently have.

A petition for the formation of a wastewater system for Terrebonne was submitted to the county because of the potential environmental and economic harms related to not having one and relying solely on septic systems.

"It’s called septic failure -- it’s quite prevalent in that part of the county, because everything is on rock," Deschutes County Commissioner Patti Adair said last Tuesday.

Parker Vernon got the whole project off the ground. He is the son of Guy Vernon, one of four people also on the ballot for the sanitary district's first five-member governing board, if voters approve the district.

After gathering 100 petition signatures for a sewer system, Parker Vernon asked county leaders to start the process.

He came across older sewer feasibility studies, with one based in the 1980s and a couple in the '90s.

"And I read the whole thing, and it said at the end of it, Terrebonne needs a sewer system," Vernon said. "There’s a 50 percent chance of higher septic failure rate than the rest of Deschutes County.”

The latest study was done in 2019.

Right now, the goal is to first develop the planned sewer infrastructure in Phase A, the first of three phases in the project, for an area where there are mostly commercial businesses, the primary proponents for the change. 

"Interestingly enough, the business owners don’t get to vote though in the upcoming election," Vernon said. "Only the residents of the area.” 

But there is opposition, too, he said, mostly from residential homeowners.

“Moreso the process that has been in opposition when we were going through, putting this all together, (so) we decided a phased approach would give us the best shot of getting sewer into the area," Vernon said. "The primary opposition just wanted all of Terrebonne to be included at once instead of a phased system.".

Adair says some residents also worry about incurring costs.

Vernon says much of the cost would be covered by grants and loans, but residents would be paying for system development charges.

This is not a measure requesting funds to create a wastewater system, just for creation of the district -- another vote would be needed to seek funding for a project. County commissioners approved the special election last fall.

If the measure passes and the district is formed, it would be billed for the cost of the election, which Dennison estimated at around $1,000. If it fails, he said, the county would foot the bill.

"We haven't had a small special election like this in a few years," Dennison noted.

As of last Tuesday, a week before ballots will be counted, only about 7% of the 154 ballots had been returned.

(By the way, this week also brings deadlines for park, fire, library, school and other board candidates to file or placing measures on the May 16 election, which now includes Bend and La Pine fire local option levies.)

Here's the notice for the Terrebonne sewer district election: