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Sewers are Coming Beaver
County Times July
29, 2002 |
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The
Harmony Township Municipal Authority and the Harmony Township Commissioners
held a joint meeting on Thursday, July 11, 2002. DEP had
sent the Township a letter regarding violations of the Sewage Facilities Act
and Clean Streams Law. They have to
install sewers, and provide DEP with monthly progress reports. The letter
ensued because DEP was receiving complaints about violations, and about people's
inability to sell their homes. Two areas
are involved. The Ridge Road Area
extends generally from the golf course to Ray Road, including the side
streets. The Woodland Road Area encompasses the streets above Panek Road. 277 homes are involved, at a total cost of
$2.7 million. That's about $9,750 per
home. Larry
Gaparatto of Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PennVest) told
how they offer low interest loans to fund sewer, storm water and water
projects. It has over 50 projects in
Beaver County. The payback period
tends to be 20 years, there is a flat payment structure, and the Township has
to guarantee any loan made to the Municipal Authority. Lambert
Rosenbaum of USDA Rural Utilities Services (WEP) told how they provide loans,
grants and loan guarantees for sanitary sewer, and storm drainage facilities
in towns of 10,000 or less. It has a
40-year payback period, and a regressive payment structure based on the
ability to pay. Every
household would have a quarterly service charge. These will be determined by 1) the amount of hook-up fee, 2)
the amount of grant that is not to be paid back, and 3) how the remaining
loan is structured. The charge has to
equal the operating and administrative cost of the system, plus the loan service
payment. PennVest and WEP each
provide payment assistance to the needy, including almost everyone over 62. The
Township is hurrying its application because grants are still being based on
1990 Census figures. These show our average income level at $23,000. The 2000 Census set it at $37,000. As income level goes up, the amount of
available assistance goes down. The
Commissioners and the Municipal Authority unanimously adopted resolutions, on
June 11, to submit a WEP application.
They are doing this, with Rosenbaum, on-line. Rosenbaum expects to process the
application within 45 days of completion.
The earliest the project could be awarded is November 2002. The Township has also provided status
reports to DEP. Things is happenin! |
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Sewers are Coming Beaver County Times April 28, 2003 I published a letter
on July 29, 2002 about what was happening with the sewers in Harmony
Township. It’s time to give you an
up-date. As I mentioned, 277
homes are involved, at a total cost of $2.7 million. That's about $9,750 per home. We’ve gone
with the federal Water and Environmental Program funding, which is
administered by the Department of Agriculture, because of the 40-year pay
back period. Once the sewers are
installed, each of the 277 households will have a quarterly service
charge. The amount will be determined
by 1) the amount of hook-up fee, 2) the amount of grant that is not to be
paid back, and 3) how the remaining loan is structured. The charge has to equal the operating and
administrative cost of the system, plus the loan service payment. WEP has payment assistance to the needy,
including almost everyone over 62. The Township got its
grant application based on 1990 Census figures. These show our average income level at $23,000, rather than the
$37,000 shown in the 2000 Census. As
income level goes up, the amount of available assistance goes down. It has taken this
long to get all the letters the USDA wants.
Agencies I’ve never heard of had to agree they didn’t object. The US Bureau of Mines letter came in on
April 17, and was forwarded to USDA on the spot. There’s nothing to do but
wait for USDA. We hope ground will
break in about May 2004. There is also some
activity regarding the streets. The
cost of paving all the remaining streets in Harmony Township was estimated at
$3.5 million. That was in
1991. The Township borrowed $2.3
million for this in 1996. Now the
Township has gone through Beaver County to bond the project in two aspects:
1) Streets with sewers and 2) streets without sewers. The Township
Commissioners are prioritizing which streets are to be done in which order. The Township has
also applied to renew its Community Development Block Grant. This money has been used for streets on
three occasions, and twice for sewers. The request last year, and again this
year would be for Woodland Road. That’s what’s
happening. I’ll keep you posted. Roger
Thomas Note: The author is Director of the Conference of Consumer
Organizations. |
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Clearing up Harmony projects |
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Beaver County Times 05/07/2003 |
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Sewers are Coming to Harmony Township The
Beaver County Times May 2003 |
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I appreciate the Harmony Township Council Chair August Antonini
fleshing out my April 28, 2003 letter about the progress being made to get
sewers here. It will be great to be
part of the team working toward this end. The basic purpose of our Sunshine Law is for the public to know
both the ends and means of our policy making process. The problem is the volume of material and
the complexity of many processes.
Our sewers, for example, have involved reams of paper and years of
incremental details. So did closing
the Ambridge Landfill. “Transparency” under the Sunshine Law means the records are
open, and status reports are provided to the public when measurable goals –
like completing all the details in the USDA application – are achieved. This is one of the most important
functions of policy articulators. Again, thank you for fleshing out my April 28 letter. I only had 200 words. Roger Thomas |
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