photo by Joe phalon

Residential and commercial properties will soon be able to hook up to the newly installed sewage system in the Pompton Plains business district of Pequannock.

Modern technology is coming to the business district in the Pompton Plains section of the township. While the outhouses may have been replaced by indoor plumbing decades ago, that plumbing will soon be able to be hooked up to the sewage system that has been under construction for the past year.

The township will be taking possession of the system from the contractor after all inspections and punch-list items have been completed, said Township Manager David Hollberg, most likely in the next couple weeks.

The portion of the system west of the railroad right-of-way, part of a $13 million project to install sewers in several areas of the Pompton Plains section of town, including the neighborhood known as The Village, is all but complete, Hollberg said. Work on the areas east of the railroad, which include The Village, are continuing on schedule, he said, with a completion date expected later this year.

Homes on Sunset Road and side streets, such as Leeland and Atwood avenues, will also be able to hook up to the system, Hollberg said.

Although hooking up to the sewage system and disconnecting from septic systems is mandatory, most homeowners will have up to three years to complete the process, Hollberg said.

Some businesses, however, are expected to want to hook up quickly, Hollberg said. Quick Chek convenience store on Jackson Avenue has indicated it would like to connect as soon as possible. Quick Chek relies on a sealed septic system, which requires emptying several times a month.

In general, Hollberg said, the ability to hook into sewers should improve the business environment in the area.

"We hope this will make the area more attractive to businesses that consume a lot of water, such as restaurants," he said. Just this week, Friendlys on the Turnpike abruptly closed, and last summer, Gillys, a restaurant just a few blocks north, also closed with little notice and remains shuttered.

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Sewer project is about ready to be hooked up

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Dresbach's hopes for a communal solution to its residents' sewage problems are in doubt after a 5-2 vote by the Winona County Planning Commission to recommend the denial of a conditional use permit (CUP) for a waste water treatment plant. The multimillion dollar sewer project has caused a political upheaval in Dresbach Township. Was the county's decision the one that Dresbach residents wanted?

Tucked between the Mississippi River and Interstate 90 with homes on tiny lots built long before modern regulations, many of the homes in the unincorporated cluster of riverside homes known as Dresbach have septic systems that do not meet state requirements. Fourteen have been labeled "imminent threats to public health" because of sewage reportedly seeping to the surface of residents' lawns or running down ditches. The owners of those systems and many other noncompliant septic systems have been under pressure from state and county regulators for years to install new systems that will not contaminate ground water or the Mississippi River. However, the tiny lots do not have room to have new septic systems installed.

"On some of these lots there isn't room to walk between the house and the neighbor's garage," explained Planning Commission member Richard Hunnewell.

Some do not have enough room to meet county setback requirements, and variances are commonly granted to allow them to be squeezed in. Others are too close to the property owner' wells or neighbors wells, and some Dresbach residents have been forced to drill new wells when they replaced their septic tanks. Some lots are too small for buried septic tanks and are forced to install above-ground mound systems. An average mound system costs $15,000 and last 30-40 years, according to Winona County Zoning Administrator Eric Johnson. Lots that are smaller yet must use holding tanks. Toilets, washing machines, and showers drain into the tank until it is full and the wastewater must be pumped and hauled away by truck at a cost of about $100. Tanks serving a three-person home typically need to be pumped every two weeks, according to Johnson. According to the Dresbach Township Sewer Committee, some lots are so small they cannot even accommodate holding tanks.

"When they built I-90, they left a little sliver of land right next to the highway, and they should have bought those houses," Town Board Chair Joan Solum said. "They have right-of-way that has more square footage than what they left there with people's houses. And then the rules change. You used to be able to have this much room for septic and then they cut it down and cut it down, and now they're all in violation and there's nothing they can do."

The neighboring city of Dakota has similar problems, and for years, Dresbach and Dakota have been studying and planning a potential sewer system that would serve the two communities. Dakota scrapped its plans to be part of the sewer project and withdrew from the process. Now Dresbach is pursuing the sewer plant alone, increasing the cost of the project per property.

Just how expensive would it be? Solum stated that there were no definite cost estimates. However, SEH Engineering submitted an proposal estimating the sewer plant would cost $2.4 million and would incur ongoing operational costs of $28,000 per year. If the township receives a 50 percent grant from the state, the project would cost the average home $118 per month or $1,416 per year, SEH reported. County Board Chair Marcia Ward, who served on the Planning Commission as a substitute for commissioner Steve Jacob at last week's meeting, claimed she had heard much higher cost estimates. "I'd seriously have to look the number up," Mike Davy of Davy Engineering told Ward. "Oh, come now," Ward responded. She asserted that it was approximately a $4 million project. Davy did not refute her.

Davy helped prepare designs for the sewer plant, which the township wanted to locate in a gravel parking lot on Riverview Drive. The lot is surrounded by houses and currently provides overflow parking for a nearby park and boat launch. The sewer plant would consist mostly of buried tanks with hatches for each tank above ground and a small concrete control building. Once a month, sludge from the plant would need to be hauled to Winona or La Crosse for disposal.

Sewer committee member Stephanie Swartz explained that the township had considered piping their sewage all the way to La Crosse, but that was too expensive. They considered piping it to La Crescent, but La Crescent insisted on annexing the township, she said. The township considered other sites, but the one promising property, a gas station, was rejected as an option because of the cost: around $490,000.

"After years of study, literally years of study, they determined this is the only site they have available for a wastewater treatment plant," Davy said. "It is not the first choice. No engineer would pick a small site in the middle of town that's small and try to build a wastewater treatment plant there as their first choice."

Excerpt from:
Dresbach sewer plans derailed

Nye County Commissioners on Tuesday finally approved a rezoning and master plan amendment for a recreational vehicle park, but without the planned three-acre artificial lake.

Commissioner Frank Carbones motion was to rezone 17 of the 55 acres owned by American Eagle RV and Resorts as neighborhood commercial for the RV park and the remainder general commercial. The company was given a master plan amendment changing the entire 55 acres from mixed use and low density residential to general commercial.

American Eagle has plans for an Alzheimers care facility, a senior center, medical professional space and retail space, in addition to the 213-slip RV park.

The Pahrump Regional Planning Commission originally voted to deny the applications by a 5-2 vote Aug. 13. County commissioners Sept. 16 remanded the application back to the planning commission for reconsideration, after the applicants were supposed to discuss it with the Nye County Water Board and the county didnt have information about the planned improvements to the rest of the property. One of the requirements was that developers acquire three acre feet of water rights to every acre foot used and relinquish the other two acre feet to the Nevada Division of Water Resources.

The Planning Commission recommended denying the project at a follow-up meeting Oct. 15. County commissioners Nov. 12 voted to table the item until Tuesdays meeting.

CivilWise Services, which is representing American Eagle, said Leslie Street is a designated truck route with other commercial businesses. Visitors from California would travel up Highway 372 to Leslie Street, those from Highway 160 would travel three miles down Wilson Road. The traffic impact report estimates daily traffic of 1,150 to 1,500 vehicles per day, a figure the planning department said was vastly underestimated when including a proposed restaurant, retail shops and other establishments. American Eagle proposes to pave Wilson Road through their property, completing a portion between Leslie Street and Happy Lane.

CivilWise Services President Dave Richards said they still have to submit an application for a conditional use permit for the RV park. But he expressed impatience with all the meetings, saying, we got a leap frog thing going on that we cant seem to recover from.

The water board suggested the acquisition of three acre feet of water rights for each acre foot used, a standard Commissioner Lorinda Wichman was told would apply to all projects from now on, to help balance the number of acre feet of water rights on record in the Pahrump Basin more in line with the actual water available.

American Eagle will be allowed to build up to 12 RV slips per acre. But Richards unsuccessfully asked for the right to submit a water development plan showing actual water used and water that goes back into the hydrographic basin, prior to the three-to-one water right relinquishment. Consultants said water usage doesnt count recycled water for landscaping.

Its still a substantial amount of water thats going to be dedicated to the state but its on calculated, determined water use projections, Richards said.

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County approves RV park minus artificial lake

December 17, 2014, 5:20 PM Last updated: Wednesday, December 17, 2014, 5:20 PM

FRANKLIN LAKES The Borough Council this week unanimously adopted an ordinance authorizing construction of a sanitary sewer line by developer Franklin Lakes Realty on Colonial Road.

Franklin Lakes Realty is required to install the line as part of an agreement between it and borough Planning Board for an 87-unit residential development it is building along Colonial Road.

The 27 other residential properties along Colonial Road, now with septic systems, may connect to the sewer line by paying an $8,000 connection fee, but One important point is that property owners are not required to connect, Borough Administrator Gregory Hart said.

The developer will bear the full cost of installing the sewer line, which will go from the developers property at 556 Colonial Road to a trunk line owned by Northwest Bergen Utilities Authority at the intersection of Colonial Road and Franklin Avenue.

Under the ordinance, Franklin Lakes Realty must install the sewer line within 90 days from the starting date on the project, which will be determined by the borough.

Email: villeneuve@northjersey.com

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Franklin Lakes green-lights Colonial Road sewerage

Things may have quieted down in Hollis, but reaction to a proposed natural gas pipeline has started appearing in Merrimack, Mason and elsewhere as more people consider the new route put forward by the energy firm Kinder Morgan.

Were trying to come up with a game plan of questions for the town council, said Don Miner, of Merrimack, who has cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens on a small farm on Peaselee Road, next to the possible route of the interstate gas pipeline though the Horse Hill Nature Preserve. He expressed a number of concerns about the pipeline. ... Subscribe or log in to read more

Things may have quieted down in Hollis, but reaction to a proposed natural gas pipeline has started appearing in Merrimack, Mason and elsewhere as more people consider the new route put forward by the energy firm Kinder Morgan.

Were trying to come up with a game plan of questions for the town council, said Don Miner, of Merrimack, who has cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens on a small farm on Peaselee Road, next to the possible route of the interstate gas pipeline though the Horse Hill Nature Preserve. He expressed a number of concerns about the pipeline.

Tim Tenhave, chairman of the Merrimack Conservation Commission, is among those asking questions about the pipeline and its effect on the preserve, a well-used, 560-acre recreational and wildlife site along the Amherst border of town that Merrimack bought in 2002. Miner said a number of people in town have begun discussing the issue and are organizing for a response.

Its still developing, Miner said. There are lots of questions lots of concern.

Texas-based Kinder Morgan, through its Tennessee Gas Pipeline subsidiary, wants to build a 75-mile gas pipeline through southern New Hampshire, most of it alongside or underneath PSNH power lines. The route, which has only been sketched out at the point, would enter the area from the Monadnock Region; cross Mason, Milford, Brookline, Amherst and Merrimack; pass underneath the Merrimack River near the Anheuser-Busch plant; then cross Litchfield and connect to existing pipeline networks in Londonderry.

It would bring gas from shale fields in New York and Pennsylvania, meeting demand for more natural gas in New England to produce electricity and heat homes, with the possibility that some would be exported.

Kinder Morgan previously wanted to build the pipeline through northern Massachusetts, with a small connection through Hollis, but formally shifted its preference to the New Hampshire route Dec. 8.

The company plans to have public meetings with town officials and residents throughout the state in January and February. It already has met informally with selectmen in Milford and elsewhere. It wont formally launch the next phase of the long approval process until fall 2015 before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The state Site Evaluation Committee also must give its approval. The pipeline would not go into effect until 2018 at the earliest.

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In Merrimack, some are raising concerns about proposed natural gas pipeline

Posted on December 11, 2014 | By Zach Despart

BRISTOL About 20 members of the Bristol Fire Department crammed into the basement of Holley Hall Monday evening to hear how the selectboard planned to fix their crumbling headquarters on North Street.

Firefighters expressed a general sense of frustration that the town has not yet approved a plan for a new firehouse structure, and that the current firehouse does not meet the needs of the department.

The structures wooden frame, which dates back to 1897, cannot support the weight of 21st-century firetrucks. Last month, an engineer determined that the sagging second floor of the building could not safely support more than a handful of people.

As a result of these deficiencies, the department rents space around Bristol to store its apparatus and meets at the American Legion hall.

The most recent problem to befall the North Street firehouse is a faulty septic system, which firefighters believe is eroding the foundation of the structure. On Monday evening, the selectboard unanimously passed a motion to spend up to $10,000 to make structural and electrical upgrades to the station. The board also decided to file an application for a new septic system, in case it decides to install one in the future.

Some firefighters were dismayed the board did not take the additional step of deciding to replace the septic system. At issue was whether the faulty septic should be declared failed. The board maintained that because no sewage had surfaced near the firehouse, it had not failed, even though no one knows exactly where the sewage is ending up.

If youre not seeing it and youre not smelling it, you cant say it has failed, said Selectman Brian Fox.

A major issue is that no one knows exactly where the septic system lies, or even what type of system it is. Anyone that was alive when it was installed at the end of the 19th century has long since died, and the fire department cant locate any relevant records.

Fire Chief Brett LaRose took issue with the boards characterization that the septic had not failed.

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Time short for Bristol firehouse; fixes needed

Residents seemed to have mixed views about a county project to bring sewer lines to the Lono Kona subdivision. But even those in support of the plan at a public hearing Tuesday night in Kailua-Kona worried about how the system would impact their wallets.

Tuesday was the last day to postmark testimony from the property owners who will ultimately pay for the work. It is likely but not yet known for certain if there is enough support for the plan.

Caroline Smith, a 46-year resident of the subdivision, said her cesspool has been working fine and questioned the necessity of the project.

I am retired. How am I going to pay for this? she asked.

The owners of only 16.5 units protested the plan at a March hearing, nowhere close to the half of affected owners needed to put the project off for another six months. Many of the condominiums, duplexes and apartments in the subdivision are hooked up to large-capacity cesspools. Some property owners requested the district be formed because they didnt have room to install a septic system.

The $6.5 million project is funded by a $4 million grant and $2.4 million in loaned money from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The county will bill $9,090 for each single family equivalent unit, payable in $498 increments each year.

The project area contains 145 assessment units in the subdivision mauka of Kuakini Highway and Kailua Bay. The design and bid process is expected to take at least a year.

Residents questioned whether the cost will be the same when the digging is done.

This is a good thing. If we had to put septic systems in there, it would never happen, said Robert Hamilton. But he concluded his comments by asking: Is this what were going to pay? Is this a firm estimate?

The district brings sewer lines to the propertys edge, but owners must also foot the bill for the lines needed on their own property to hook up to the system, plus the cost of closing the cesspools.

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Residents express concern about sewer system costs

Residents seemed to hold mixed views on a county project to bring sewer lines to the Lono Kona subdivision. But even those in support of the plan at a public hearing Tuesday night in Kailua-Kona worried about how the system would impact their wallets.

Tuesday was the last day to postmark testimony from the property owners who will ultimately be paying for the work. It is likely but yet not known for certain if there is enough support for the plan.

Caroline Smith, a 46-year resident of the subdivision, said her cesspool has been working fine and questioned the necessity of the project.

I am retired. How am I going to pay for this? she asked.

The owners of only 16.5 units protested the plan at a March hearing, nowhere close to the half of affected owners needed to put the project off for another six months. Many of the condominiums, duplexes and apartments in the subdivision are hooked up to large-capacity cesspools. Some property owners requested that the district be formed because they didnt have room to install a septic system.

The $6.5 million project is funded by a $4 million grant and $2.4 million in loaned money from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The county will bill $9,090 for each single family equivalent unit, payable in $498 increments each year.

The project area contains 145 assessment units in the subdivision mauka of Kuakini Highway and Kailua Bay. The design and bid process is expected to take at least a year.

Residents questioned whether the cost will be the same when the digging is done.

This is a good thing. If we had to put septic systems in there, it would never happen, said Robert Hamilton. But he concluded his comments by asking: Is this what were going to pay? Is this a firm estimate?

The district brings sewer lines to the propertys edge, but owners must also foot the bill for the lines needed on their own property to hook up to the system, plus the cost of closing the cesspools.

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Sewer system costs worry residents

By LORI WINCE Monday November 17, 2014 9:03 AM

Pataskala City Council on Nov. 10 began an in-depth review of the 2015 budget.

Finance Director James Nicholson said the city is expected to collect $16.5 million in total revenue for 2015, which is lower than in 2014 because the city is expected to receive fewer loans and grants.

According to Nicholson's budget draft, the 7-percent decrease over the 2014 revenue is due to "the one-time receipt of $2.81 million in intergovernmental grants and loans that are not included in 2015."

City Councilman Mike Fox raised the most objections to the proposed figures. He said the city needs to put more money into streets and the police fund than into parks improvements.

"First and foremost, I believe our highest priority is police and roads," Fox said via email after the meeting. "Although I believe parks are important, I do not believe they are more important than police and roads.

"In the next five years, the city is projected to spend ($500,000) on the parks. We are borrowing funds to complete road projects. We are putting infrastructure improvements that are safety issues on hold. I do not believe a walking path is more important than a road."

During the meeting, Fox said: "We can't keep taking (money) away from the high-priority things in the city."

Nicholson's proposed 2015 budget includes $160,000 for improvements to parks.

The money would pay for revitalizing the Conway Trail in Thomas J. Evans Foundation Park, estimated to cost up to $74,000; link the current septic system in Foundation Park to the city's sewer system, estimated at $40,000; and install an asphalt trail and gardens with access in Karr Park, estimated to cost $12,710.

Originally posted here:
Funding for parks prompts budget debate