Sewer plans greeted coolly (02/10/2009)

For two Dunkirk areas, it's a gamble to play against a mandate.

That was the focus the Jay County Regional Sewer District took in a public hearing Monday night as it presented plans to install sewer systems in areas north and south of the city.

The plans include installing sewers to two regions, named the Willow Drive and Skeen's Addition projects.

The Willow Drive installation, southeast of the city, will include adding sewers to Arlington, Willow and Barbier streets to connect to existing city sewers.

The Skeen's installation will add county road 1150 West north of Blackford Avenue (county road 400 South) and will pick up Skeens Drive and a few locations on county road 300 South - including Miller's Merry Manor.

While the Indiana Department of Environmental Management has already mandated the county to install sewers on Foxfire Drive near Portland - the other of the three projects in this phase of installations - the sewer district wants to knock out the two Dunkirk areas, which have been identified as problem areas, before IDEM slaps a mandate on those and while grant funding is still available.

"It's a matter of moving on them before I-D-E-M moves on us," said Gerald Kirby, board president.

Several residents in the affected areas around Dunkirk weren't pleased with the plans.

"Has there been a study done of the whole county that shows these are the worst three areas?" questioned Jay County High School Principal Phil Ford, whose home is on the east side of county road 1150 West, north of county road 400 South.

"How were the priorities set? You're saying 'We've got to start somewhere.' That's not a good answer."

Enginneer Ben Adams of Commonwealth Engineers Inc. and Kirby said Monday the Willow Drive and Skeens areas are problem areas identified by an IDEM study. A mandated sewer project is likely in the near future if the county doesn't act now, they said. By starting now, with grant funding available, the cost will be overall lower than waiting.

Other areas around the county have been noted and may be handled in coming years, but the Foxfire and Dunkirk locations are high-priority for the county now.

"Kirb doesn't play politics," Kirby said. "Do I think we can avoid it - no. ... This is a chance to get it done with grant money."

Adams presented the preliminary plans and explained the projects in detail, from the creation of the sewer district, to the identification of the sites, to possible funding sources, to, most importantly, what it will cost each user.

"There have been some areas of failing septics," Adams said. "Other areas in Jay County were identified for us. ... These were the two initially targeted areas (after Foxfire)."

Adams stressed that an advantage of moving on the project now comes in a mixture of grant funding and hungry contractors in a job-starved economy.

Through grants from the United States Department of Agriculture, the county would likely obtain at least 45 percent of the project cost. However, with the government's multi-billion financial stimulus package being tossed around in Washington D.C., Adams said there is a possibility for even more money to be available for these types of infrastructure projects, which has been an area where President Barack Obama wants to focus funding.

"Conceivably, (stimulus money) can help us out," he said. "(The USDA) have the ability to convert those funds into grant dollars. We can pursue this grant financing ... that will make this project more favorable."

Then the meeting took an expected turn for the worse as Adams got into what this project would cost each household hooking into the sewer line.

"You'll all be required to pay back your fair share of the debt," he said.

Adams drafted some figures for those on hand to chew.

The estimated total cost for all three projects is $1.2 million. With an expected 45 percent covered by grants and a 40-year loan to cover the remaining balance, the expected monthly cost to the user would be about $59.78, which would include debt repayment as well as sewage treatment costs paid to the City of Dunkirk.

The users would also incur one-time costs including the dismantling of their septic system and installation of pipe to connect to the sewer system.

Local residents were expectedly not happy to hear about a $60 monthly bill and questioned why the area was added. Although the county was required to do something about the Foxfire area, the Dunkirk area was not under a mandate. Several people commented that it seemed like the sewer district decided to tag on Dunkirk to help drive down the cost - at least partly true.

The sewer district was formed countywide to help garner funding, since if it was focused only at Portland, the district wouldn't have been eligible for any funding due to the local income around the Foxfire site. By expanding the coverage of the district to the entire county and adding Dunkirk to the project, the district was eligible for the grant funding.

Adams stressed that the numbers he presented were an engineer's estimate, but in all of the recent projects he's worked on, construction bids have come in 10 to 15 percent lower than the estimate, which would lower costs to the user. With construction firms being hungry for work and material costs lower than the past year, he repeated that now is the best time to start.

"I'm pretty sure the cost will be less than that," he said. "We can get even better prices here in Jay County."

If the project continues on its timeline, Adams expects work to begin in the early summer and be completed by winter. Users would be expected to connect to the sewer by the beginning of summer 2010.

And while one woman asked if the residents could remonstrate the project, Kirby basically said the sewer district should and likely will continue even in the face of public resistance.

"I know it doesn't make anyone happy, but it doesn't make us happy either," he said.[[In-content Ad]]