Oct 31, 2002 By Jenny Susa 3 min read

EAST BETHLEHEM TWP. – A water line project in the Scenery Hill area is half finished and is “proceeding well,” members of the Tri-County Joint Municipal Authority heard Wednesday. The authority met with the president/owner of Excavation Technologies Inc., Dave Sugar, to discuss the progress the company is making on the project.

The board’s major concern was with a lack of saw cutting and waterline testing. The authority had to determine whether Sugar would be able to get the testing completed in a reasonable amount of time.

“We’ve tested the first 8,000 to 10,000 feet, and we hope to have all the testing caught up by the next meeting,” said Sugar. “We’re testing a really high pressure, so it takes a long time to get the lines pumped up. That is what makes it so time consuming.”

Superintendent of Excavation Technologies Inc. Jerry Blair said that, to his company’s credit, they have been able to save the authority a lot of money by placing many of the lines out of the road and behind guardrails.

The authority voted to pay the company, although the work is not yet complete, so that they would have the funding to keep the project moving along.

“The authority has approved payment with your assurance that you will work diligently to get all of the testing done,” said engineer Daniel Slagle.

Sugar said he would “do everything in his power” to have the testing done by next month, and he told the authority that he would report at their next meeting.

Helen Gaskey of Conti Road also appeared before the board Wednesday night, hoping that they could help her obtain some money that was owed to her. She said she had previously made an agreement with the authority about a waterline that she had installed. She provided them with a copy of the agreement, which said that she was entitled to a proportionate share of all tap-in fees for that waterline, as she was the developer of the line.

She reported that a family recently put a new house in the area and tapped in to that waterline, which is now owned by the authority.

“They told me that they were paying the authority, and that was it,” said Gaskey. “They said there was no reason for them to pay me. Now they are already getting water and they never will.”

She claimed to have called the authority before they tapped in, but the board members were unaware of when she had called.

Although the authority told her they were sympathetic to her situation, they said it was not their responsibility to reimburse her, or to collect the money for her. Solicitor Melinda Dellarose explained what action they could take to assist her.

“According to the agreement, you are entitled to reimbursement from the person who is seeking water service. We will support you in pursuing that reimbursement from them, but we cannot pursue it ourselves,” said Dellarose.

The authority agreed to have the solicitor send a letter to the family stating that they should have paid Gaskey for the tap-in.

“In the future everyone should be told beforehand that they must pay you before tapping in,” said Chairman Ron Dellarose.