SOUTHWICK – During last week’s Sewer Implementation Committee meeting, the options regarding the Congamond Rd. sewer project continued to be discussed.
At the last meeting in January, The Westfield News reported on the three options that DPW Director Randy Brown came up with as he presented the options to the rest of the committee members.
On Tuesday, Brown added a fourth option to the mix. Similar to the first option, the fourth one would have a combination of gravity and force main along Congamond Rd.
The difference is that all property owners would be responsible for the hook up to the force main or pump station. The town would charge the connection fee to the property owners.
Each option provides some of the same similarities with one another but the third option would also include a connection fee charged to the property owners and having them responsible for the hook up to the force main or pump station.
In option three, a force main would go along Congamond Rd. to the pump station in the Gillette Corner neighborhood of town. This would allow the property owner to decide if they want to have the sewer lateral or not.
“If they choose not to install it, they would bear that responsibility to install it at a later date,” said Brown.
The total project cost for option three was estimated to be about $1,240,000. The anticipated connection fee for the property owners would be $8,000 to $12,000. Additional on-lot costs could be over $10,000.
DPW Director Randy Brown presented a fourth option to the Sewer Implementation Committee during Tuesday night’s meeting. (WNG File Photo)
Options one and two both feature a connection fee to the property owners. Mentioned earlier, option one would have a combination of gravity and force main. The total cost for that option would be around $3,700,000. The additional costs to the property owner would include an on-lot cost for service and grinder pump assembly that could be anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000. Abandoning the septic tank would also cost about $1,500.
The difference with option two is that not only would there be a force main along Congamond Rd., but a gravity sewer and pump station in Gillette Corner.
Brown projected that the total project cost for option two would be around $2,040,000. For the property owners, they would most likely pay anywhere from $13,000 to $18,000. Paying around $1,500 for abandoning the septic tank, property owners would also have an on-lot cost of $8,000 to $10,000 for service and grinder pump assembly.
Brown explains that the force main would get rid of any gravity sewer along Congamond Rd. and replace it with a low pressure service. The upfront costs seem appealing but Brown says that there are additional costs that are attached with it.
“It’s a lower initial cost option but then there’s a higher maintenance cost associated with maintaining grinder pumps,” said Brown.
While the committee went over all four options, Brown reassured them that the options are still just ideas and that there will be no decision on which option to choose at this time. The option selected would have to be fully-vetted by legal counsel.
Moving forward, Brown does believe that one of the four options could end up being a good choice for the town in the near future.
“That is our hope that we can identify an option that we think will get the support of the town,” said Brown.
The Sewer Implementation Committee has recommended that they set up a meeting with both the Select Board and Finance Committee to go over all four options.
The hope for the town of Southwick is that a draft will be written up as a warrant article so the options can go to a vote at the annual town meeting in May.
