Luzerne authority to decide in July when to begin accepting tap-in fees
LUZERNE TOWNSHIP-The Luzerne Township Sewage Authority will decide in July when it will begin to accept tap-in fees for the sewerage system to service the LaBelle and Maxwell areas. Secretary Tanya Capuzzi said that she has received numerous calls from people asking when they should pay their tap-in fees.
The authority is reluctant to accept fees now, because the sewerage plant is not yet complete.
“If someone pays their fee, they’ll feel they have a right to tap in. They’ll start digging, and we can’t let anyone tap into the system until the plant is done,” said board member Tony Capuzzi.
Engineer Rob Kuchar said that he feels the authority should accept payments from anyone who want to pay.
“I can’t see why you can’t accept fees and tell people not to dig,” Kuchar said. “The tap-in fee has nothing to do with the lateral. The only thing that (tap-in fees) says it that you can use the system when it is ready…”
Solicitor Jack Purcell said he believes people should know that they cannot disconnect from their old sewerage systems until the new system is ready.
Kuchar also noted that not accepting fees could delay the actual tap-ins and cause people not to be hooked up to the system when the system is complete and monthly billing for service begins.
Purcell said the authority should be given prior notice of the sewerage plant’s completion so they can be sure people are tapped-in before the monthly billing process begins.
Kuchar said the sewerage system, which will service the new state prison, SCI-Fayette, as well approximately 180 homes in the LaBelle, Dutch Hill and Maxwell areas, is expected to be complete in August.
In reviewing the three separate contracts for construction of the entire system, Kuchar said that the construction of the sewer collection system for the prison west to LaBelle is complete. He said the sewer collection system for LaBelle, Dutch Hill and Maxwell is 75 percent complete and the sewage treatment plant and the pump station is 70 percent complete. All three phases of the project are connected to one another.
Bob Lent, treasurer, suggested they decide when to accept tap-in payment at the next regular meeting.
The price to tap into the system is $800 per household. The board will also decide the “discount period” when customers will be charged only $750 for early payment.
They briefly discussed charging the discounted fee from July to December but no decision was made.