SHARPSVILLE, SOUTH PYMATUNING TOWNSHIP — South Pymatuning Township leaders appear ready to sign a water agreement with Sharpsville, but it’s not clear whether Sharpsville officials still have a deal on the table.

News of a possible pact came after the borough sent a letter to township supervisors and said it “must respectfully decline” the township’s August proposal. One of that plan’s points was that since the township is helping to pay for water-line improvements, it should share ownership of those newly replaced lines and receive royalties – even though the water lines are in Sharpsville.

A committee of Sharpsville council members reviewed the township’s offer and unanimously decided that it was “neither financially or fiscally prudent” for any of the parties involved.

Asked Thursday what happens next, South Py Supervisor Michael Nashtock said, “At this point there’s really not a lot we can do.”

“It’s unfortunate that in our eyes Sharpsville has chosen to be unfair in this relationship. One of the things that meant something to me (is) if we pay 40 percent of the cost, we think we should have gotten some of the ownership of the line,” Nashtock said.

“Obviously, we’re probably going to have to sign the agreement that’s been presented, or at this point we don’t have much of a choice unless we want to put that added cost on our residents and Dean Foods,” Nashtock said.

He expects the supervisors to vote on a motion in October to approve the deal with Sharpsville, and Nashtock said he’d vote in favor of it.

The “added cost” he referred to are higher water rates. Last month Sharpsville council members approved the third water rate increase in two years, $1.45 more for every 1,000 gallons of water used. For customers in South Py, it adds up to a 32.7 percent increase. It’s a hike the borough said was necessary to ensure it has the money to pay back a 20-year, $4.5 million loan for water line improvements completed last year.

South Py buys water in bulk from the borough, but handles the billing for its customers. So far, even though the township soon will receive its first water bill reflecting the higher rates, it hasn’t yet approved a resolution to charge those higher rates to its residents. Sharpsville had said it would rescind that rate increase if the township signed its agreement.

But on Thursday, Sharpsville officials were caught off guard by the indication a deal had been reached.

Council President John Alfredo said he wasn’t sure if a deal remained on the table. “I don’t know if that’s a legal snafu,” but Alfredo said since the borough had sent a proposal to the township, the township responded with a counter offer and the borough then rejected that counter, he wasn’t sure if there was anything left of the original contract.

“Technically, there’s no offer on the table,” Alfredo said.

Still, Alfredo called it “good news,” and said it might merely require the township to submit the borough’s original agreement.

Sharpsville’s Borough Manager Ken Robertson was equally surprised at the news, including when South Py Supervisor Brian Geisel walked in the door and asked to talk to him about the contract.

Geisel said the township was “kind of stuck,” and after talking earlier in the day with fellow Supervisor Mark Presley, Geisel was on a mission to talk to Robertson about the contract “to see where it’s at.” Presley did not return a call seeking comment.

“If they’re not going to budge, (the deal) will save our customers money and save Dean Dairy money,” Geisel said.

Dean Dairy by far is the biggest user of water. The dairy’s vice president and general manager previously told The Herald the $1.45 rate increase would cost the plant about $100,000.

The dairy is a big concern for leaders of both municipalities because it’s also the top employer with 400 full-time employees, but as Geisel noted, “We’ve got other people who can’t afford it either.”

Robertson said Geisel asked for another meeting between representatives of the borough and township.

Robertson called it a “very interesting” and “very hopeful” development.