Published: August 29, 2007 11:32 pm      

Franklin Borough mulls sewage repair

Franklin Borough officials are poised to make a critical and potentially expensive decision about the future of the financially distressed town’s sewage system.

The small borough’s sewage lines require costly repairs mandated by state regulators.

Franklin has two choices: Undertake the job on its own, or allow the larger, neighboring Pegasus Sewer Authority to take over and replace the borough’s lines.

Either way, bills soon will rise for Franklin residents. Facing a Sept. 4 deadline set by the state, Borough Council is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. today to decide.

“I guarantee you, we’ll do the best thing we can for Franklin Borough,” council President Richard McNulty told citizens at a public meeting Wednesday.

The problem in Franklin and other area municipalities is simple: Too much surface water infiltrates sewage lines, causing overflows throughout the entire Johnstown Regional Sewage system.

Pegasus, which covers Conemaugh Township, Cambria County, has been planning a sewage-line expansion. So the authority made an offer: Pegasus would, as part of its project, also fix sewage-infiltration problems in both Franklin and East Conemaugh.

Pegasus would take control of both boroughs’ sewage systems and offer those municipalities representation on the authority board.

“It would become a joint authority,” Pegasus Chairman Kurt Freidhoff said.

However, East Conemaugh already has rejected that plan. And it appears that Franklin may follow suit.

In East Conemaugh, officials believe it is cheaper to go it alone and have asked an engineer to proceed with a sewage project, council President Steve Coy said.

East Conemaugh residents’ “collection” fees – a small sewage bill charged by the borough separately from the treatment bill residents receive from Johnstown Regional Sewage – certainly will increase dramatically.

The fee now stands at $3.33 monthly, or $40 annually. How much residents will have to pay depends on project costs.

“The fees are going to rise as the project goes along,” Coy said.

It is the same story in Franklin, where citizens now pay only a $1 monthly sewage-collection fee.

Borough Solicitor Nicholas Banda said that may gradually rise to $35 monthly by 2013 to cover sewage-line repairs. But that still is less than the amount residents would pay if Franklin joined with Pegasus, Banda contends.

However, there are risks if Franklin does not accept the Pegasus offer. The community’s finances remain shaky, though officials are hoping their “distressed” status helps land state grants and other financing.

Also, borough engineers have not yet completed their studies of Franklin’s sewage system, meaning project costs for the borough and its residents could rise.

“(Costs) are a projection based on what they’ve seen so far,” Banda said.