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ALPENA — Despite Alpena and Alpena Township officials going into closed session and meeting often to negotiate, it is unknown if any progress has been made on the creation of an Alpena Water and Sewer Authority or ending the ongoing litigation between the two municipalities over water rates.

On Wednesday, during a special meeting of the Alpena Township Board of Trustees, the board went into closed session mid-way through the meeting to discuss the ongoing issue that goes back nearly a decade and has cost millions in attorney and consultant fees combined for both sides.

Township Supervisor Nathan Skibbe said he had no comment when asked if there was any light at the end of the tunnel toward finalizing the details for the proposed authority and ending the lawsuits.

Alpena City Manager Rachel Smolinski had no comment either.

In December 2020, the township and city issued a joint letter telling residents a long-term solution to the water matter is in the best interest for all and that the differences of the two systems and the way they operate make the process more complex and difficult to navigate than a one-size-fits-all approach would entail.

In 2014, the city sued after the township refused to pay a rate increase. Township officials believed the township should be considered a wholesale customer entitled to lower fees because of the volume of water it purchases from the city for township residents.

In 2017, the Alpena County Circuit Court ordered the two sides into mediation. That lasted only one day, however, as city officials didn’t see enough progress being made to continue.

A settlement appeared imminent early in 2018, however, when both governing boards voted to approve “principle terms” for an agreement. That vote wasn’t on a deal on rates, but on seeking a process for establishing rates that could end the dispute.

However, after continuing negotiations failed to yield a deal, the local court essentially ordered the two sides to adhere to the “principle terms” they’d reached earlier in the year.

Shortly afterward, however, the township appealed a portion of that ruling to the Michigan Court of Appeals, and the city filed a cross appeal. The appellate court also ordered mediation, which also yielded no agreement.

The appeals court ruled that the proposed agreement being considered earlier was non-binding, which the township appealed to the state Supreme Court, which refused to consider the case and sent it back to local court in Alpena.

The idea of a water authority was proposed early on in the dispute, but was squashed by the township at a joint meeting between the two governments in 2014.