Sewer project likely to start soon

Many residents will have to pay $3,200 in fees for the new sewer.
By SEAN BARRON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
PETERSBURG -- If everything moves forward without further glitches, a long-awaited sanitary sewer project is expected to get under way here beginning this summer.
That was one of the main messages Joe Warino of the Mahoning County sanitary engineer's office delivered at an informational meeting Tuesday at Petersburg Presbyterian Church on state Route 170.
About 100 people attended the 90-minute session, set up to brief them on the status of the project and to allow them to ask questions and voice concerns about progress and funding related to the work.
Warino said plans for the sanitary sewers, estimated to cost about $3.2 million, have been submitted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which has yet to make a final approval before installation can begin. The USDA will pay roughly 50 percent of the cost, he added.
"Right now it's kind of in a holding pattern," Warino said of the sewer plan.
The township will kick in about $100,000, and much of the rest of the funding will be provided through a variety of grants. A $150,000 loan has been secured in case additional money is needed for cost overruns.
Length of project
The work could take about a year, with six to eight months needed to build necessary pumps, Warino noted, adding that his office has advertised for bids for the work. Officials need to get additional closing instructions from the USDA before bids can be accepted, he continued.
As part of the project's main leg, three pumping stations would feed into a main station near East Garfield and Unity roads. From there, waste material would be fed through a force main pressurized pipe running along East Garfield to the wastewater treatment plant on Unity Road, explained William Coleman, office manager at the sanitary engineer's office.
After the work is completed, many residents will pay about $3,200, which will include a $1,300 mandatory tap-in fee. That figure also will include other costs for homeowners such as abandoning their on-site septic system as well as paying for necessary plumbing work and running a line to their property, he noted.
After the project wraps up, Warino said, the county health board will send letters to homeowners stating they have 180 days to connect and pay the flat-rate permit fees. Such fees could be higher for some businesses, depending on their square footage and capacity, he noted.
Several residents expressed concerns about where the funds will come from. Others were worried about the impact resurfacing a portion of Route 170, which is in poor shape mainly due to heavy truck traffic, might have on the sewer project.
A few complained about their water quality, but one man predicted that better water and sanitary sewers would bring more businesses to the area.
Coleman added that as the project nears completion, meetings will be set up to explain programs designed to assist low- and moderate-income people regarding the fees.