TRUMBULL COUNTY Officials weigh putting sewers in area

The county finds failing septic systems through real estate transfers.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
BROOKFIELD -- Township trustees will be meeting with Trumbull County officials in an attempt to get sanitary sewer service in the Yankee Hill area of Brookfield.
Frank Migliozzi, county director of environmental health, said none of about 40 septic systems tested there by the county are functioning properly.
Residents of Yankee Hill on Golf, Wintergreen and Spring drives have petitioned for an alternative sewer system, Migliozzi said.
Migliozzi and Gary Newbrough, county sanitary engineer, and trustees will meet with Yankee Hill residents at 6 p.m. Nov. 9 at the township administration building, 6844 Strimbu Drive.
Migliozzi said trustees and the county had explored the idea of lowering the cost of sanitary sewers by including a larger area that would serve Yankee Hill, old state Route 82 (Warren-Sharon Road) and state Route 7.
Cost too high
Residents, however, found the cost too high, having to pay $1,200 annually for 20 years. That wouldn't include a tap-in fee of about $1,000 or installing the line from the street to the house.
Another problem, Migliozzi explained, is that the county has been allocating money for sewer construction that has been mandated by the Ohio Environment Protection Agency. Yankee Hill doesn't have such a designation, but those property owners with faulty septic systems have been ordered by the county to upgrade them because of waste being discharged off their property.
A household septic system costs between $12,000 and $15,000.
The faulty systems have been found as the county health department responds to complaints and through real estate transfers. A house can't be sold until its system is inspected, Migliozzi explained.
Trustee Gary Lees said he's glad that Migliozzi and Newbrough will be at the meeting to answer residents' questions.
"We want to make sure we're telling them thorough information because the plan has changed," Lees commented.
Value of houses
He noted that most of the houses in the development on a hill above Yankee Run Golf Course range in value from $90,000 to $200,000, and some people want to sell. The difficulty is factoring in the price of the house with the cost of sanitary sewers as opposed to improving their septic systems.
Trustees also want to find out if property owners qualify for low- to moderate-income status, thus making the area eligible for government grants and loans.
yovich@vindy.com