Ortonville-Village residents? at least the majority of the ones present at a standing room only village council meeting on Monday? want a vote on sewers.
‘A decision this large, the only honorable thing to do, ethical thing to do, right thing to do is to put it to a vote of the people,? said village resident Kevin Vogler during the Feb. 23 meeting. ‘If it passes, everyone will live with it fine and dandy.?
Vogler’s comments were met with resounding applause from the many citizens in attendance. The overall tone of the meeting was one of concern over cost of a proposed sewer system, roughly $20 million, that was revealed by Oakland County Water Resources Commission officials to village council members during a study session Feb. 18. The study session was not well- publicized, and sparsely attended.
The village council had been waiting to hear back from the WRC since passing a resolution in December requesting assistance from the county in preparation of a contract to provide for acquisition, construction, and financing of sewage disposal system improvements to serve village residents.
For years, the community has wrestled with the issue of sewers as business is impeded, e.coli levels rise in Kearsley Creek, and septic fields fail. Within the last three years, the council has secured property on Narrin Street that can be used for a wastewater treatment plant, completed a required environmental study, and obtained the required DEQ permit.
During the Feb. 18 study session, WRC officials, including Chief Deputy Phil Sanzica, presented a proposed disposal system that requires individual grinder pumps and easements for each village property. The low pressure collection system is the only option available due to the high water table in the village. The wastewater treatment plant would treat approximately 320,000 gallons of sewage per day. Grinders would be located close to homes, in the approximate area of existing septic fields, and the pumps are described by Sanzica as ‘very quiet, subtle.?
Construction of the system would be $13,983,400, with engineering design and construction to cost $1,534,900, legal and financial costs estimated at $397,000, project management $1,166,660, right of way and land acquisition costs $516,660 and contingency of $2,446,340 for a total estimated cost of the system at $20,000,000.
The county would finance the project through a 40-year U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Loan with an interest rate of approximately 3.75 percent. However, the interest rate passed on to residents will be about 1 percent higher to cover billing and other costs.
If the project is approved, all village residents would have a special assessment on their tax bill for 40 years. The construction cost per residency equivalent unit is $25,550 with the average tax bill over 40 years (including interest) $1,200 annually. A payment schedule provided by Bendzinski Financial Advisers to Oakland County shows principal payments consistently at $638.75 annually for the 40 years. However, the interest payments (at 4.5 percent on the schedule) would be sliding, with the first interest payment at $1,121.01, for a total special assessment in 2017 of $1,759.76 for each residence, and decreasing from there annually until the final payment in 2055 of $667.49 (interest and principal). In all, a village resident paying the special assessment for 40 years, including interest, would pay $47,970.13.
Sanzica stressed that the $20 million project cost is estimated high and could be ‘much lower? after construction bids are received and may also be reduced through a grant if the average median household income in the village is less than $56,000.
There will be other costs to residents, however, including a maintenance fee to Oakland County of roughly $600 per year that will be adjusted in the future based on inflation and the cost of living. Residents will also be responsible for contracting a plumber to connect their home to the grinder pump, which Sanzica estimates would be a one-time cost of $300-$400.
Residents who sell their homes would be responsible for paying off the special assessment, as it can’t be passed on to the purchaser. A new homeowner would assume the maintenance fee.
Bob McArthur, village resident and former Brandon fire chief, spoke in favor of sewers at the Feb. 23 meeting.
‘I can’t wait, I need it,? he said. ‘Folks around me have had to pay a huge amount (for engineered septic fields). I am flirting with disaster.?
Ron Sutton agreed that sewers are necessary.
‘I’ve lived in Ortonville all my life and seen the community darn near die,? he said. ‘Anything worth having costs money. I don’t see how you can watch the village die. Sewers are the right thing to do and I don’t want to see Ortonville die in my lifetime.?
But others in the audience said all their questions had not been answered.
‘The Ortonville Council needs to slow down,? said Karen Sleva. ‘The Brandon School District has been put on notice by the DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality). Why is it necessary to have a $20 million sewer project through a special assessment district for 700 residents? It’s far cheaper to help the BSD fix their existing system.?
The DEQ has informed the district that a wastewater treatment plant servicing the high school and middle school has to be replaced by November 2019. Brandon Schools Superintendent Matt Outlaw said the district has received an estimate that replacement of the system will cost a little more than $2 million. A treatment plant at Fletcher Intermediate School will also need attention in the next few years, with an estimated cost of $250,000.
If the district ties in to a village wastewater treatment system, the estimated cost for the district will be a little more than $1 million.
‘We have a big cost no matter what,? said Outlaw. ‘We would be a beneficiary (of sewers), but we did not initiate this project. We would support the initiative because it’s good for economic development of the area, it benefits the schools and benefits the community, but it is a village project. If they do not do it, we will redo our plant. It’s a major cost to the district, but we will figure it out.?
‘This seems to be rammed down our throats,? said Pam Schoemer, village resident. ‘We have homes in town that are $60,000 (in value) or have been foreclosed on that are going to have a $40,000 special assessment. I’m going to be dead when this is paid off. It’s not a democracy that we have to pay for this. It’s a disgrace. This needs to go to the people.?
Village Manager John Lyons requested the council to pass a resolution that would approve the intent to sell bonds for the project, noting that it would not obligate the village to do anything, but would set in motion a 45-day referendum period in which questions could still be answered and any resident wanting to send the matter to a vote could gather petition signatures from 10 percent of the village’s registered voters to put the issue on the ballot.
‘If achieved, the election will be scheduled,? he said. ‘If the referendum is not met, we will sell bonds. We can have a frequently asked questions on the website and will have a public hearing prior to the end of the referendum period.?
Lyons noted that a disabled veteran in the village recently had to have an engineered septic field put in after his failed, at a cost of $27,000.
Council President Wayne Wills said that while the village has debated sewers for years, the cost of installing a wastewater treatment system keeps increasing, and Lyons added that the e.coli levels in Kearsley Creek over the last few years are increasing, too.
Multiple council members speculated on what the cost of sewers would be if the Oakland County Health Division or the DEQ ‘forced? the village into getting a wastewater treatment system at some point.
‘It’s very unlikely that the health division or the DEQ would force the village into a sewer system, unless there was a blatant issue of contamination,? Sanzica said on Wednesday. ‘Right now, the creek’s e.coli is high and a lot of the residents are installing engineered septic systems, but you can’t do any major development without an approved septic system by the health department. There will be very limited growth in the community if they maintain the existing status quo and the alternative is engineered septic systems, $17,000-$20,000 on average, paid by residents upfront… I feel very confident in what we are proposing. I’ve been working on a (sewer) system for Brandon-Ortonville for 19 years, and it’s on my bucket list. It’s in the best interest of the community to have a sewage disposal system, for quality of life, the environment, and the viability of the community.?
Residents at the meeting questioned why the village wouldn’t join in a sewer system to the north in Genesee County, or draw in Brandon Township, particularly residents living on Bald Eagle Lake and Lake Louise.
But a proposal to Genesee County is not viable due to cost and a lack of interest by other communities Sanzica said. A village system could be connected to in the future by Brandon Township, but there is currently no interest there, either.
The village council ultimately decided, unanimously, to table the resolution ‘until further information can be gathered.?
‘It’s possible that the council will put this on the ballot without a petition,? said Wills. ‘Just because the county says these monies are available, it doesn’t mean we have to do it immediately. I can’t guarantee it will be on the ballot this year. Theoretically, council does not have to bring it to the public, but is that wise? For all I know, the rest of the community can outvote Crescent Hill, and the subdivision off Oakwood.?
Residents of the Crescent Hill sub, who have larger lots, were well-represented at the council meeting and appeared opposed to a special assessment for sewers.
‘My mind is not made up,? said Wills. ‘I’m not going to say this is what we will do. But we will take a wholistic standpoint for the good of the community… If you have a failed system, you will say yes to sewers, if you have a good system, you will say no. Does that do justice to the situation? Absolutely not… We need to have sewers to be environmentally safe and have thriving businesses. There is only one reason Cranberries is in downtown Goodrich today. Because sewers were put in 25 years ago. Without sewers, Cranberries would not be there. Do you want a thriving downtown or a ghost town??