EDTOR’S NOTE: The Jefferson County Public Utility District commissioners authorized $4 million to refurbish the district building. Tom Brotherton has approved the correction of his quote in the story.
PORT LUDLOW — Jefferson County Public Utility hopefuls discussed their backgrounds and takes on the management of the utility at a candidate forum hosted by the League of Women Voters and the American Association of University Women of Port Townsend.
Tom Brotherton, 73, of Quilcene and Dan Toepper, 58, of Port Ludlow are vying for the District 3 seat now held by Wayne King, who decided not to run for reelection Nov. 6. Ballots will be mailed on Wednesday.
Brotherton, a retired Boeing engineer manager, has worked as a deputy prosecutor for the county and was a county planning commissioner. He re-opened the Quilcene Village store with the only gas station in town. He and his wife, Cass, were awarded the 2013 Heart of Service Award for community involvement.
“I believe in science,” Brotherton said at the Thursday forum. “I believe in teamwork. I’m a problem solver and I like to think out of the box. I make decisions based on facts and analysis.”
“Climate change is here and the PUD has to plan for it,” Brotherton said. “I believe they should work to decrease their dependence on Bonneville Power. I support efforts to increase solar and increase conservation and to improve broadband throughout the county.”
Dan Toepper said he is a life-long blue-collar worker.
“I worked my up from working in the fishing industry, the logging industry, the mining industry and turned that experience into becoming an operating engineer for the past 28 years,” he said.
“I put infrastructure into the ground — water, power, sewer, telecom. I know it from the ground up, literally. I’ve been in the trenches and know what it takes and how much it costs.
“I believe in science, too,” Toepper said. “I’m very methodical and very pragmatic. I like the facts.
“But I think something that’s missing here is math. We need to look at the strategic plan and see what needs to be adjusted, added or subtracted.”
Brotherton said he wanted solar power when he moved to Quilcene in 2005 and has been attending PUD meetings.
Toepper served on the PUD’s Citizen Advisory Board for two years from 2015-17.
“PUD meetings piqued my interest because of my background. I saw inconsistencies. That’s what led me to getting on that advisory board and help. My involvement has been going to a lot of workshops, a lot of PUD meetings and lots of things the PUD has been putting on. “
The candidates agreed that smart meters should be studied in depth before the PUD invests in such a change.
“Smart meters have been put on the back burner by the PUD,” Toepper said. “The Citizen Advisory Board was tasked to look into smart meters. The utility was losing $1 million a year in revenues because of the old style meters. They also said reading the old meters was costly.
“There is no evidence to make the case we need smart meters. I want to have everyone in this room to decide what kind of meter they want.”
Brotherton said the smart meter program was not popular.
“The PUD handled it badly. It got delayed and deferred and a lot of people came in and complained about it.
“We need a business study and we need to study the health effects,” Brotherton said. “I have not seen that, but there seems to be concerns. We can’t go anywhere without facts, then a business decision will be made.
“If it happens, people should be able to opt out with a minimum price possible. Will have to change the old ones, eventually.
They agreed that carbon emissions could be lowered through supporting renewable energy.
Toepper said promoting electric vehicles and putting in charging stations is one route to cutting carbon emissions.
“We have to ask you if you are willing to take on more debt,” he said. “We still have to maintain the infrastructure we have to get you power whether it comes from solar, wind, nuclear or hydro.
“PUD is a utility. It isn’t supposed to make money, but it sure can’t lose money. We have to figure out what we can afford that fits into the strategic planning when it comes to green energy, renewable energy and the projects that we choose as a local utility to move forward with.”
Brotherton said last year the PUD made $6 million in profit.
“They authorized $4 million to refurbish their building. Why don’t we spend it to incentivize people to get rid of wood stoves? Replace them with heat pumps. What if we used it to support more electric vehicles? I have a gas station and have a charging station because electric vehicles are the future. Are we willing to pay for it ourselves?
“Nothing is better than electricity for fuel,” Brotherton siad. “If we can get ourselves weaned off of petroleum products, we’ll do more than the last hundred years have done to improve our environment.”
Infrastructure projects were a focus of discussion, including the need for sewer and broadband.
Brotherton said the proposed Hadlock Sewer is the biggest unfunded project.
“I don’t know if it will ever get funded,” he said.
“In Brinnon, Quilcene and Discovery Bay, none of those lots are big enough to have a septic system under our rules. If we could get good infrastructure in those commercial zones, then it would increase property values, jobs and income, and reduce pollution.”
Toepper said the PUD is tasked with infrastructure and that’s costly.
“If you are going to have housing you need water, power and sewer. Those are the basics necessities.
“As for broadband internet, it costs $125,000 per mile to put fiber optic infrastructure in the ground,” Toepper said. “if we look at miles of roads, one mile a week, 50 miles a year. For 1,000 miles, we’re looking at a couple decades. We need a public private partnership to make it work.”
Toepper said one of the reasons he’s running is because of a “deficiency and inadequacy in emergency response and emergency management.”
“The PUD has not taken steps to get involved with county entities and local associations getting ready for emergency preparedness,” he said. “We’re spending millions on infrastructure and we don’t have a plan on what happens if that infrastructure is disrupted or destroyed.”
Brotherton agreed that the PUD lacks good planning. He said he wants to contribute to that process.
“We don’t have measurable plan. I don’t intend to be a caretaker for an electric utility. I want to involve the public. We need better infrastructure, power independence, efficiency and good internet. We need science-based decisions.”
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Jefferson County Editor/Reporter Jeannie McMacken can be reached at 360385-2335 or at jmcmacken@peninsuladailynews.com