Ken and Maudené Hogue of Chapel Road , along with some of their neighbors, objected to being added to the system, saying they do not need public water or sewer service.

Ken Hogue said the majority of residents on McCloskey Road want public water and sewer, while a large majority – 80 percent or more – of the homeowners on Chapel Road do not want the service.

He also noted that earlier plans for the water and sewer system did not include Chapel Road , and he asked why it was added to the project.

Supervisor Gene Frederick said there were malfunctioning on-lot sewage systems in the area.

Ken Hogue disputed that, and several of his neighbors said they had no such problems. At a work session last month, Hogue and others said they had good quality spring and well water.

Maudené Hogue asked the supervisors and others how much money they were making from the project.

Supervisor Dave Crise noted he has abstained from any vote involving one of the contractors for the project for which he does electrical work.

Maudené Hogue then turned her attention to township secretary Nancy Mellon, asking if she was connected to the water and sewer systems.

Mellon reacted sternly to any hint she was receiving any favorable treatment or rate, and said township records were available to the public.

Maudené Hogue said residents were being railroaded into connecting to the system by the township, and said “the people will speak in November,” particularly targeting supervisor Matt Ellenberger, who is running for election to the state House this fall.

Ellenberger repeated that township records are on file and available to the public.

Maudené Hogue then turned on a man in a suit, and asked if he was involved or benefiting from the project.

The man in the suit was Tom Lynch, an attorney there to handle legal matters relating to the township’s bond issue to finance the water and sewer expansion.

Lynch asked for supervisors’ permission to respond to Maudené; receiving permission, Lynch turned and looked silently at Hogue for a few seconds, then said “I’m done with this,” and turned away.

Maudené Hogue the meeting shortly after.

A Chapel Road area resident spoke up to say his water was of higher quality than that provided by the system and purchased in bulk from Pennsylvania-American Water produced at the firm’s Clarion treatment plant.

He said the township was forcing him to purchase the water, which he said he would dump into Chapel Run.

Supervisor Gene Frederick said he did not agree with the resident’s assessment of the quality of the township’s public water.

He later said Phase IV plans have been publicly discussed for some time, and residents were raising concerns at the end of the process.

Water and sewer systems in rural areas must often include every possible customer in order to be financially viable, and municipalities are required to adopt ordinances requiring residents within a given distance of the lines to connect to insure viability.

Frederick said the ten residences along Chapel Road make up 20 percent of the customers added in Phase IV.

Debt ordinance

Lynch said the township must adopt an ordinance to authorize incurring debt for the Phase IV water and sewer extension.

He explained the township would first take out a “bridge loan” for $1.4 million at 3.5 percent interest rate to cover construction costs; that loan would later be covered by a bond issue at 4.5 percent.

Lynch said both were very good rates, and supervisor voted unanimously to adopt the ordinance. Supervisors then turned to the matter of spending that money.

Bid opening

Project engineer Harold Bloomgren of Northwest Engineers read off the bids for three different contracts for construction of Phase IV.

Bids on the main construction contract were submitted by ten different firms, and ranged from a low of $867,010 of to a high of nearly $1.6 million, with most between $1 million and $1.2 million.

Two bids for the supply of grinder pumps – needed for moving sewage uphill – were received: one at $116,111 and one at $117,815.

A single bid was received for the supply of water meters at just under $10,000.

Engineers will study the bids to make sure they meet specifications and will make a recommendation on which firm to award the contract.

Permits for the work must be in place before construction contracts can be awarded, Mellon said.

Frederick said if things go well, contracts could be awarded as soon as the June 4 township meeting.

He said he was very pleased with the bid amounts as they were lower than expected, and the township may be able to reduce the rates customers will pay for sewer and water service.

Also, some of the money allocated for Phase III was not needed, and the township recently received permission to apply that money to Phase IV.

 “We’re in great shape,” Frederick said.