POLAND SEWERS Upgrade would be a cost to residents

Another meeting will be scheduled soon.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
POLAND -- Some township residents will be getting a new sewer line, if they agree to pay more than $4 million.
Several dozen homeowners turned out to hear a proposal from Mahoning County sanitary engineer Joseph Warino concerning the line, which is designed to run through parts of Arrel Smith Road, Struthers Road and U.S. Route 224. The 4.5-mile line would tie into the Struthers Water Pollution Control Facility.
Officials say the line would service about 73 single-family units along its route as well as a densely populated area of residential units south of 224 that have malfunctioning septic systems. The project also would provide for residential and commercial growth.
For homeowners at Wednesday's informational gathering, the estimated price of about $11,000 per household was a major concern.
There are 73 structures and 16 vacant lots adjacent to the line's path. State law mandates that any home built within 200 feet of the line is required to tie into the system.
In an effort to drive the per-household cost down, county officials asked developers who plan to develop the 2,100 acres slightly outside the 200-foot requirement to agree to tie into the system. Commitments were made for 433 of those acres.
Warino said the commitments on undeveloped land and the structures make about 522 units, bringing the cost to $7,854 per home with an additional $3,100 connection fee. The cost could be assessed to each homeowner's taxes at $392 annually over 20 years.
What's next
Fifty-one percent of homeowners in the area would have to agree on the project before officials would move forward, but Wesley Vins, of the Mahoning County Environmental Health Division, said they could be forced into a sewer system upgrade should the area be deemed a public health nuisance because of bad septic tanks. Vins has made three trips to the area in three weeks for septic problems but could not determine the likelihood that the area would be declared a nuisance.
Township officials are now considering sending letters to all potentially affected homeowners before another meeting is scheduled.
jgoodwin@vindy.com