Jul 21, 2017 3 min read

About four dozen residents of McClane Farm Road in Chartiers Township may soon see work begin on a project to extend about a mile of a sanitary sewer line past their homes.

The township supervisors are expected to award a contract for the project at their meeting Tuesday afternoon. The township also received notification it was approved for an $875,000 loan from PENNVEST to install 5,036 feet of 12-inch sanitary sewer lines and 4,603 feet of 8-inch lines. The apparent low bid of $847,570 was submitted by Ligonier Construction of Laughlintown.

The project has been in the planning stages for about two years, said William Kiehl, chairman of the township’s board of supervisors. The supervisors met with residents to outline the project in February 2016. He said the new sewer line will begin where the existing sanitary sewer lines built as part of a housing development on McClane Farm end and go about a mile out the road.

“We got mostly positive feedback from the residents although a few were not supportive,” Kiehl said. “Some were faced with rebuilding their septic system, which would have cost about $25,000, so this was a cheaper option.”

“Those homes in that area are some of the original ones,” he added. “Some of their systems were failing.”

To qualify for the state loan, Kiehl said a certain percentage of the systems had to be failing. The township also received $250,000 from the Local Share Account and $200,000 from Act 13 gas impact fees to help finance the project that will cost more than $1 million when all is said and done, the supervisor said.

There will be 51 taps along the line, with each customer paying a $3,100 fee. They also will pay a monthly debt service of $70 to $80 over 20 years to pay off the loan, Kiehl added.

“I commend the officials for their efforts to bring public sewers to the residents,” said state Rep. Brandon Neuman, in announcing the loan. “Their efforts will improve pubic health and increase property values.”

Kiehl said that residents who were selling their homes along that stretch of road had to get a letter from the township indicating the project was being planned before prospective buyers could get mortgages from banks.

The interest rate on the loan is 1 percent for the first five years and 1.743 percent for the last 15 years of the 20-year loan, Kiehl added. He expects construction on the project to begin in October. Kiehl said because some of the work will be done in the winter months, it is difficult to predict when the project will be completed.