A request by Lansing Township for more participation on the part of the Austin City Council has left some local staff and officials puzzled, particularly, they say, given that the state process to determine who would best provide a sewer system to the township is already underway.

“To be truthful, it caught us really off guard,” said Austin city engineer Jon Erichson, who’s acted as the city point person in the three-party discussions, which also included the township and petitioning community members.

“They’re indicating more involvement, but I don’t know what more involvement would be,” he said.

According to township board supervisor Steve Persinger, more involvement means meetings between the township and the city that would allow board members to correct misconceptions and work toward a common solution over the sewage issue in Lansing Township.

“We just want to make sure that all the information is out there,” Persinger said. “I don’t think the city is understanding that we are capable of meeting the sewer needs.”

“We just want to make sure that there is as much cooperation as possible,” he said.

He said the process underway, which now involves mediation by Administrative Law Judge Scott Newman, should be honored, though he and township members would prefer direct discourse with council members outside hearing settings.

“I think right now they are taking advice from the staff, meaning Jon Erichson,” Persinger said. “Jon is very capable, and he knows how to do his job, there is no doubt about that, but I just think that the city council and the township have to get together to talk about this.”

The conflict stems from a sewage problem in Lansing, which for years has resulted in straight-pipe wastewater discharge into the Cedar River.

“There has been a team effort to stop the pollution to the river, to stop the health hazards,” petitioner Dan Franklin, a Lansing resident, said, adding, “It’s been very frustrating for all of us.”

According to Erichson, community members approached the city in 2006 in hopes of mediating the problem, an effort that eventually led to the July 2007 approval of an annexation agreement by Austin city council members to connect about 700 acres of township land to city utilities, at a cost of $2.95 million. The annexation also meant the gradual assumption of property taxes generated by township residents to the city.

“The City of Austin spent $10,000 and hundreds of staff hours developing the most cost effective and efficient system to provide these services,” Erichson wrote in a memo dated Nov. 15, 2007. “Countless presentations with documentation were submitted to Lansing Township with nothing from Lansing Township in return.”

In October, however, the township did answer, voting to reject the annexation order and build a separate, independent system for about $3.5 million.

A month later, bolstered by a petition, several local residents submitted a request to the Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings, Municipal Boundary Adjustments, requesting that they intercede and conduct an independent evaluation of the issue.

The office would, in turn, make a final determination — city or township solution.

After two failed negotiations this spring, all parties agreed to mediation by the law judge, which was approved by the administrative office April 17.

If Judge Newman isn’t able to help petitioners and the township reach resolution, the case moves to a public hearing setting.

“A neutral third party will make that decision, based on a variety of things that are outlined in the state statute,” Erichson said. The residents and the board will also plead their cases.

The deadline for a final determination is March 31, 2009, or the petition is denied by default. Erichson said a decision could be reach by then.

Some are particularly skittish about the timeline, considering impending fines for some property owners that would reach $500 a month.

“It’s sad to punish people who really want to get in a use our system,” Norm Hecimovich, 3rd ward, said. “It’s very, very important that this process move forward as soon as possible.”

“I don’t think there’s anything else we can do,” he said.