Aug 15, 2006 By Rebekah Sungala 2 min read

FAIRCHANCE – Members of the Fairchance-Georges Joint Municipal Sewage Authority unanimously voted Monday to raise the monthly sewage rate by $10. Effective Oct. 1, people will begin paying $35 a month for sewage. The current monthly rate is $25.

Dennis Eicher, treasurer of the joint municipal sewage authority, said it was “unfortunate” rates had to be raised but said the authority had no other option.

“With sewage plant expansion and service expansion, we had to do it,” he said, noting that everyone is aware the cost of materials has “skyrocketed.”

“I don’t want the rates to be any higher than they have to be,” Eicher said. “It’s unfortunate, but we had no other option.”

According to Eicher, the authority must maintain a monthly budget of $67,650 in order to operate effectively.

There are currently about 1,600 customers, including several businesses, and Eicher said the authority expects to add 25 to 50 customers annually over the next several years. He said businesses pay a higher sewage rate than residential customers.

As for other matters, authority members received a lengthy report from the engineer.

Bruce Chambers of Gaydos-Chambers Associates reported that work at the sewage treatment plant is progressing and that the upgrade project is expected to be finished in October.

He said contractors finished installing sludge piping and reported the plant is now able to pump more than 36,000 gallons of sludge a day. He said new blowers will also be installed in the plant’s garage to replace the existing ones that were excessively noisy.

In addition, Chambers said work is currently being done on the Route 857 sewer project.

Construction crews are currently working on Oliphant Furnace Road and should be moving up Route 857 toward the radio tower, he said.

In further business, the authority agreed to a contract with Gaydos-Chambers Associates that will pay the engineering firm a monthly fee of $6,750 through the end of October when the upgrade work at the sewage plant is expected to be complete.

Chambers had asked the authority to pay about $8,300 a month, saying his engineering firm was being asked to do work above the requirements listed in the initial contract.

The next sewage authority meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 11 in the Fairchance Borough municipal building.