Terrebonne Sanitary District had its monthly board meeting on December 19th. At that meeting the board discussed the establishment of the mission statement and vision for the district. Although we believe most mission statements have become rhetorical they can be a way to keep an organization accountable. The question always is, do they really believe them and most importantly do they live by them. Read through the proposed mission statement and vision and then we will discuss them.

Mission Statement:
To support public health and safety by providing safe, reliable, and efficient disposal of wastewater for the unincorporated community of Terrebonne, Oregon, while protecting Terrebonne’s drinking water (1) and natural environment.

Vision:
To be a leader in sustainable wastewater management, ensuring the protection of our community’s health and the preservation of our natural resources for future generations.

Values:
– Public Health and Safety: Prioritizing the well-being of our community through effective wastewater management.
– Environmental Stewardship: Committed to protecting and preserving our natural environment.
– Reliability: Ensuring consistent and dependable services for all residents.
– Efficiency: Striving for operational excellence and cost-effective solutions.(2)
– Transparency: Maintaining open communication(3) and accountability to our community.
– Community Engagement: Encouraging active participation and
feedback from residents to continuously improve our services.

In all fairness, most of these statements can only be judged in the future. A good organization would review every action they take to assure it fits within their adopted mission statement and vision. Too many times a mission statement is adopted then forgotten. It becomes just so much goobly goop hanging on the wall and forgotten.

That being said we will only discuss those parts of the statement that we feel the district and thus the board may not have adhered to at this point.

In the mission statement: …while protecting Terrebonne’s drinking water… In highlighting this statement we are referring to the district’s attempt to locate a sewer line near one of the community’s public wells. Now, we understand that TSD is now going to relocate that line but that was only after a fight with our local water district. Only after a community petition and calls to our local County Commissioners did the district relent on this issue. Did they ever offer an apology to the community for trying to threaten our water? That would have gone a long way with us.

Under Efficiency: Striving for operational excellence and cost-effective
solutions.(2) Cost effective solutions…what does that mean. We have talked ad nauseum about the cost of this project both to the district and the community. At this point we are talking close to $7,000,000 to build this system. That does not include the $15,000 to $32,000 per home or business. WE have calculated there will be no more than 100 units covered in the first phase so that is over $70,000 per unit.

Under Transparency: Maintaining open communication… As we reported in our last post there is an individual that speaks at most meetings and says they never answer the questions he submits.

We can all agree that communication that only goes one way is just talking and NOT communication. Do they even want questions? (As a side note we here at Terrebonne Sewer have submitted one, yes only one question and as of this date have not received an answer.)

Community Engagement: Encouraging active participation and feedback from residents ….Again as far as the speaker at the last meetings noted, he feels he is being singled out and ignored at every meeting. Maybe they only want certain people and views to fully
participate in the meetings.

Those are our concerns at this point. If you are going to talk the talk you better walk the walk. Live, eat and breathe your mission statement in everything you do and say. At this point we do not believe they are.

Again we welcome all comments and concerns here at Terrebonne Sewer District. We will rely on every comment sent to us and we will correct any post we may error in. We especially welcome, but do not expect comments and corrections from the Terrebonne Sanitary District.