News file photo of a large water tower in Alpena.

ALPENA — City of Alpena and Alpena Township authorities attended a status conference on Tuesday at the 26th Circuit Court to determine new dates for the municipalities’ trial which began in 2014 over water and sewer rates.

The township purchases water from the city and resells to its own township customers.

Judge Ed Black told both legal counsels that the original trial date set for June would be changed to late November or early December.

Black added that he will want all motions heard before late August or early September.

He added that the trial will be scheduled for three days as he doesn’t believe it will take longer than that time frame to move through the trial.

“I’d love to schedule it for one day,” he said.

The township’s attorney Eric Conn told The News that at the last hearing, there were motions pending to dismiss a portion of the city’s complaint. At that time, Black gave the city the opportunity to amend its complaint.

Between February’s status conference and Tuesday, Conn stated that the city had amended their complaint.

He added that Black moving the trial date is “standard procedure” to allow both legal teams time to properly prepare for a trial.

The city and township’s lawsuit began in 2014 when the township refused to pay a rate hike. The township claimed that it is a wholesale customer and is therefore entitled to reduced rates.

The township has continued to pay the lower rate it paid before the rate increase, though city authorities hope to use the lawsuit to collect the difference between the original and increased rates.

Since the city filed the suit against the township in 2014, the two parties have continued to negotiate. In 2017, the circuit court ordered mediation between both parties, which lasted only one day.

A settlement appeared likely early in 2018, when both governing boards voted to approve “principle terms” for an agreement. This agreement was not to settle the lawsuit, but rather to seek a process for establishing rates that could end the dispute.

After negotiations failed to yield a deal, the local court ordered the two sides to adhere to the terms the municipalities had previously agreed upon in early 2018.

Following this court order, 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 yielded no agreement.

The appeals court ruled that the 2018 proposed agreement was non-binding, which the township appealed to the state Supreme Court. The state’s highest court declined to hear the case and sent it back to the circuit court in Alpena.

Since then, the dispute has continued in the Alpena courts.

Kayla Wikaryasz can be reached at 989-358-5688 or kwikaryasz@TheAlpenaNews.com.