Discussions that could lead to the sale of a portion of the city’s water system will move ahead, the Bend City Council decided Wednesday night.

Earlier this month, representatives of Avion Water Co. and Roats Water System approached the city about purchasing the Juniper Utility Co., a water system that was condemned and merged with the city system in 2002. The city has since spent $5 million to $7 million upgrading the old Juniper system, and paid out $9.6 million to settle a lawsuit brought by its former owner.

In keeping with a 2011 agreement between the city and the four southeast Bend neighborhoods served by the former Juniper system, the city has announced its intention to phase out a canal-fed system that provides irrigation water to the neighborhoods next year.

Wednesday, councilors voted to ask city staff to craft a one-year extension of the deadline to phase out the irrigation system, to be voted on by the council at a future meeting if talks with Avion and Roats are productive. Efforts to install new city water lines to the affected neighborhoods will remain on hold.

Representatives of three of the four affected neighborhoods addressed councilors Wednesday, encouraging the city to move ahead while asking that they be kept informed of how talks are proceeding.

Brad Kent, president of the Nottingham Square neighborhood association, said although residents of his neighborhood support further study into the possible sale of the old Juniper system, they’re concerned they could have little time to convert their irrigation systems to city water if negotiations between the city, Avion and Roats fail late this year.

“At the end of six months, we could find out this whole thing has fallen through, and then we’ll have from October to January to make the conversion,” Kent said.

At the suggestion of Councilor Sally Russell, the council agreed any extension of the deadline include opportunities to assess the progress of talks with the two utilities at the three- and six-month marks to determine whether negotiations should continue.

In other business Wednesday, Chuck Arnold of the Downtown Bend Business Association asked the council to consider funding a new study to assess downtown parking.

Arnold said the study that is currently being used to set time limits and other parking policies in the downtown core was conducted in a single afternoon in October 2001. Since then, commercial space in downtown has expanded by 47 percent, he said, and the city’s public parking garage has opened.

Although the council took no action on Arnold’s request, members were supportive, suggesting a new study examine parking patterns at different times of day and days of the week, and during high-traffic events such as the monthly First Friday art walk.

— Reporter: 541-383-0387, shammers@bendbulletin.com