Delays could cost sewer district an additional $80,000 if work is not completed by year’s end
By Mike McGann, Editor, UnionvilleTimes.com
More than 200 homes have been connected to the Southern Route 82 Sewer District, but there are concerns about the remaing 59 who have not been tapped in.
EAST MARLBOROUGH — The township is pushing some homeowners to get connected to the Route 82 South Sewer District — in part over worries that delays could lead to an additional $70,000 to $80,000 in engineering costs to the sewer district if the tie ins aren’t completed soon.
Township Manager Jane Laslo said 59 of the 270 homes slated to be connected to the sewer line have not been connected, although she allowed some of the delay has come from the overbooking of a local contractor. Still, if those homeowners don’t get the work done in a timely fashion, additional funds will need to be spent to pay for engineering inspections, she told the township’s Board of Supervisors, Monday night.
“Most of them have a contract and are ready to go,” she said, noting there are only a few holdouts. “But there are a small number of recalcitrant property owners.”
Laslo said that there were 12 property owners who had not paid any of the $8,000 hook up fee — although some of them have actually been connected to the system. Many of the 59 are currently paying for sewer services they’re not able to use until connected
Initially, supervisors’ chair Cuyler Walker seemed to think that the township should be patient — at least with those who have paid and are just awaiting connection. But as he learned of the financial implications, he warmed to the idea of at least getting a status update from the homeowners — but said he didn’t think imposing a hard deadline was the right move at this time.
“They need to show us their commitment to getting it done,” Walker said.
Laslo suggested that some of the homeowners should consider looking at other contractors if the one of their choice is unable to get the work done in a timely fashion — noting that other contractors seem to be able to get the job — which takes roughly two to three days — done on fairly short notice.
“We really need to come to the end of this project,” said Laslo, who is also a homeowner in the area and has been connected to the sewer system.
In related news, the board of supervisors set a Nov. 1 hearing on a proposed hydrant ordinance hearing. Those with properties within 780 feet in street frontage from a hydrant will be assessed a yearly hydrant fee, expected to range from between $20 and $30. The assessment system will be similar to that used to pay for some streetlights in the township.
The hearing is scheduled for 7:15 p.m., Nov. 1, immediately before the regularly scheduled Board of Supervisors meeting.
