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Council mulls option of merging sewer projects

By Jenny Susa 3 min read

WEST BROWNSVILLE – Members of the Centerville Borough Council urged the Center West Joint Sewer Authority Thursday to consider merging with California Borough on a sewer expansion project the borough’s sewer authority is developing. After the Center West Joint Sewer authority has spent years planning for a new sewer system that would service Centerville and West Brownsville, they are now faced with the possibility of going over the budgeted amount for the project when it goes out to bid in the next two months.

“We are expecting this to go over budget,” said Chairman Dan Kendall.

One of the main concerns is the cost of the sewage treatment plants that the project will require, and Centerville council members are convinced that combining the authority’s efforts with California’s sewer expansion project would be a major cost savings.

“This could be a savings of $5 million or more,” said Centerville Council President Patsy Ricciuti. “We’re looking for a long term savings for the people in the borough.”

Ricciuti added that with the direction the authority’s current project is headed, he is afraid they will have to demand a large tap-in fee and monthly rate from customers.

He said the council is not resisting what the authority is doing, but they have to consider the option that will save the most money.

Kendall said that Rural Utility Service (RUS), the authority’s funding agency, has told them that they have to send the project out to bid before looking at other alternatives.

“We intend to bid by the end of September,” said Kendall. “The estimates probably will be too high, but then we can look at other alternatives.”

Engineer Bob Bible said the authority will need to consider all options if the project cost is over budget, including cutting parts of the project or seeking more grant money through RUS. While considering alternatives, the authority may decide if an agreement can be made between California, Centerville and West Brownsville for a joint sewer system.

“Everyone will come together to look at the alternatives and decide what will work best for all the customers,” said Bible.

While Kendall said they could not be sure how long it would take to reorganize the plans for the project if necessary after they receive bids, he expects it would take at least another year to redesign.

California solicitor Keith Melenyzer said that California is interested in going together with the other boroughs on a project for the benefit of everyone concerned, and officials think they have the capacity to do it.

“Our engineers would look at the data that you have and determine what needs to be done to enter into a tri-party agreement between the three communities,” said Melenyzer.

He further said that the boroughs would need to share the cost of the study conducted by the engineers to see what would be feasible, and then the authority could decide if they would like to merge with California.

Kendall said the authority will move forward with the bidding, and then determine what RUS can offer for additional funding before making a decision.

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