The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

March 12, 2010

Sewer authority gets plant grant

By Courtney L. Anderson

SHARON — Sharon Sanitary Authority this week got the big chunk of change they’ve been waiting for since it was announced last summer they were awarded a $9 million state grant.

“It’s great news for the city,” said Authority President Frank Connelly. “It’s a win-win for everyone involved.”

The money will be put mostly toward paying down debt for the $45 million project, which had to be built to meet Department of Environmental Protection requirements.

Connelly said they hope to be able to lower user’s bills by at least $5 a month in the near future as a result of the cash infusion. The board will discuss that in the coming months, he said.

The grant funding is through the H20 PA plan, which will provides $750 million for water, sewer and other infrastructure projects in Pennsylvania.

Connelly said they’ll likely pay off a $2.4 million short-term loan used for the project and the $6.5 million balance would go toward buying back construction bonds and possibly a new truck.

Connelly credited the authority’s staff and state Rep. Mark Longietti, Hermitage, D-7th District, for securing the grant.

Over the past year, Longietti has attended several of the authority’s meetings and heard people complain about the rates, which doubled for most customers to $54 a month in 2009.

The rates had to be hiked in order to guarantee the authority could pay back the money borrowed for the project, officials said.

The authority took out $27 million in bonds and received a 1-percent interest, $15.7 million loan from PENNVEST, the state agency that provides loans to improve public infrastructure, to build the new plant.

Construction of the plant cost about $34 million; the rest of the funds are for engineering and operating costs.

At this point, Connelly said the project is 1.5 percent over budget, which is so low it’s “really unheard of” in the business.

The grant program requires a 50 percent match, for which the bonds or loan counted.

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