Authority advances deal for property
REDSTONE TWP. – Although the Colonial Joint Sewage Authority has had some difficulty acquiring land for a new sewage plant, they are now one step closer to owning all of the property they need. At the authority’s meeting last month, Ralph Rosendale and Cletus McConville of the American Legion in Grindstone, told the board that the Legion was not satisfied with the price that the authority offered to pay for their property. But authority members said they had paid a certified appraiser to determine the value of the property, and they believed that the Legion had agreed to accept the appraised value for payment.
Rosendale and McConville returned to the board’s meeting Monday, and while they raised other concerns, authority member Larry Stuckslager said that they had agreed to accept $10,000 for both parcels of Legion property that the board needs for its project.
“There are a few things that are questionable,” said McConville. “It sounds like there is a lot of distance between setting up now really getting the project going.’ He added that because the public knows the authority planned to purchase property from the Legion, people are asking them a lot of questions about the project.
Chairman Ralph Rice assured him that although it seems the project is taking a long time to get under way, the authority is not falling behind.
“We’re actually right on target now,” said Rice.
Engineer Dick Widmer explained that the authority is waiting for the approval of the DEP, and the closing for its loan from PENNVEST will not happen until fall.
“The authority needs a part two permit from the DEP,” said Widmer. “Until we hear from them, the ball is sort of in their court.”
McConville also said he hears the public raising concerns about the cost of tap in fees, but the board is still unsure of how much they will cost.
“When we agreed to form this authority, we knew it would be cheaper for us to join the Jefferson and Redstone townships for this project,” said board member Jeff Redman. “This is one authority serving the entire area, and it makes it cheaper for the residents because there are more people.”
Rice pointed out that it is because the two townships were combined for the project that they were able to get nearly a million dollars in grant money.
“The costs to the public would be higher if this was only one township,” said Rice. “And that amount of grant money would not have been received if this project was only for one.”
Rice added that if the public has questions about the project, they should direct them to the authority.
Jack Murray, the Legion’s financial secretary also attended the meeting, and suggested that in order to get more public attendance, the board might consider having meetings later in the evening, rather than afternoon.
“Maybe you could have some of these meetings in the evening when a working guy could be there,” said Murray. “You may get more of a response.”
Rice said that while they have had some meetings in the evening before, they still did not have much public attendance.
However, board members say they are planning a public meeting at the Grindstone fire hall that will be specifically for answering residents’ questions. They do not yet know when they will schedule it because they are waiting until they have approval form the DEP.