The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

July 24, 2012

City to aid in check valves payments

By Joe Pinchot Herald Staff Writer

FARRELL — With a sewer user fee now in effect, Farrell officials are starting to formulate a plan to spend the extra money.

Council on Monday adopted on their first reading ordinances creating a sewer capital fund and a municipal assistance fund, which will issue low-interest loans for residents to buy and install check valves.

Both ordinances must be adopted again to go into affect, and council members are split on a key eligibility requirement for the assistance fund.

The fund is council’s response to the heavy spring rains that caused sewage backups into homes. The check valve, also known as a flapper and a backflow preventer, keeps sewage from getting into homes.

When the program is created, the city will be able to loan up to $1,000 at a low interest rate for people who want to install them.

“It is in our best interest that people know about the program,” said City Manager Michael L. Ceci. “The cost of the valve is five times less than the cost of the cleanup.”

However, council members are split on whether landlords should be able to take out the loans for rental properties, and whether unoccupied properties should be eligible.

Councilman Robert Burich said he does not want landlords to be able to take out the loans. They receive rents and are supposed to put money back into their properties, he said.

“It’s not like a 90-year-old woman who doesn’t have the money,” he said.

Council member Kimberly Doss supported loaning money to landlords. They would be paying the money back into the city, and noted the city would place liens on all properties to protect the city’s interest.

If officials want to promote residents to stay in town and move into town, and the safety and marketability of homes, landlords should be eligible, she said.

Ceci said he did not have a preference how council should act, but suggested charging landlords a higher interest rate.

Council member Annette Hulley Morrison said the loan period for owner-occupied homes – three years – could be shorter for landlords.

Solicitor Stephen J. Mirizio scratched the eligibility requirements from his draft, saying the ordinance would create the foundation for the program, but certain details could be implemented by resolution.

The money for the assistance fund – up to $50,000 – will come from the sewer capital fund. Officials will need to create a five-plan for the capital money, with the first one approved at budget time, Ceci said.

Ceci added he already has a couple of projects for which to use the capital money – demolishing a couple of no-longer-used drying beds at the treatment plant, and mapping the sewer pipes.

“They would run a camera and record every foot of sewer in our city,” Ceci explained. “It’s a valuable tool.”

The process would show officials the conditions and locations of the pipes and locations of the laterals, which connect buildings to the sewer system.

“We don’t know what we have beneath our feet,” Ceci said.

In another sewer-related issue, council approved a marketing agreement with Service Line Warranties of America, which will offer sewer customers lateral replacement insurance of about $4 a month, similar to a program offered by the water company. The agreement allows Service Line to use city letterhead or a logo in its attempt to drum up business, Ceci said.

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