Orphaned homes to get sewer link

Pine Haven's Grande Vista Sanitary Sewer Extension Project is anticipated to be complete by the summer of 2025.

To ensure compliance with municipal ordinance, the owners of the seven lots along the southeast end of Grande Vista Drive must connect to Pine Haven's water and sewer lines.

At a recent public hearing in preparation for the project's local improvement district, the council met with property owners to go over associated costs and concerns about this endeavor. Mayor Karla Brandenburg urged guests, "Make sure you know what you want to know before you leave here."

Heath Turbiville of HDR Engineering and town attorney Pat Carpenter was on hand to answer any questions and Turbiville led the meeting.

A few months ago, one of these residents contacted town hall, seeking application for a new septic tank, only to be informed that such applications were no longer available. This was when Mayor Karla Brandenburg discovered the seven lots had never been connected.

"You guys are the only one who aren't on city sewer and we have an ordinance that says no septic systems can be put in," she said.

According to Turbiville, "That led to the town going after some grant money to help with that."

The homeowners who were involved at the time of the last sewer project in that area recalled that their homes were originally part of the development that was connecting everyone else to the main utility lines, but were excluded before the project began.

According to Turbiville, there were actually a number of valid reasons for this exclusion:

"It's been a long time so my memory isn't absolute on some of the reasons...part of it was tied to the grant funding available at the time that the big project went on, they had a very tight time frame of when the funds had to be used and, at the time, there were some challenges getting easements in order to connect these lines to the main line. So, along with the amount of funding available, there were limitations on how far it could go. So, for those reasons and some others, this is the area that did not get finished up."

With a better understanding of why this assessment district must be formed, Carpenter was asked to explain how the assessment is determined:

"The assessment is levied through the local improvement district, which is a statutory vehicle. [This] is the reason we're here tonight, to hear your comments and any objections to the creation of the local improvement district. The assessment is based upon the project costs and the number of individuals among whom the project cost is spread."

When asked about payment options, he responded that as each lot owner benefits equally from this project, "Everyone, I assume, will have an equal share of that assessment...It's probably fair to say that whatever portion is not covered by grant will be covered by the homeowners."

There are consequences from the aforementioned exclusion and delay that concerned the owners who attended the hearing, including the difference in assessment cost. At the time of the last sewer assessment district, material and labor costs were lower, there were more households among whom the assessment was spread and cash value was higher.

However, though the council commiserated, these figures are unalterable.

The assessment will be approximately $22,807.43 for each lot owner. This does not include the connection fee of $3000 or the cost of the private line crossing from the building to the edge of the lot and the filling in and proper abandonment of the septic system, but the council has the authority and desire to allow different payment plans.

Carpenter explained, "Typically, what the council has offered in the past for those who can pay it in one lump sum, they can do that and there's no levy on your property or assessment or lien on your property. For those who can't pay cash, the council typically offers an installment plan and you can pay monthly or annually towards that with a small interest rate."

When asked why the town is apparently not contributing anything, Turbiville explained that the town will contribute any grant money received for this sewer project, however, "Since they're providing new service to these lot owners, [they will] assess the difference from what they get for grant or, if they don't get any grant funding, they can assess the total project cost back to the landowners." Total project cost is anticipated at approximately $380,000.

This agreement is similar to the last sewer project, according to Brandenburg: "We applied for the grants. I know, with Whitetail, we didn't contribute anything [else] there, either. That's the only one that I know of. The homeowners contributed equally, just like what will happen here."

Turbiville suggested, based on previous assessments, the length of time to pay and connect after construction is complete is "decided by the council, but in previous years it was within 18 months".