Ortonville-Sanitary sewers or wastewater treatment system.
A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
The village council took another step toward improvement to the village by passing a formal resolution requesting assistance from the county at their Dec. 15 meeting.
The resolution, unanimously passed, notes that the village is ‘in need of acquiring and constructing sewage disposal system improvements to serve the residents of the village,? and requests assistance from the county in preparation of a contract to provide for that acquisition and construction, as well as financing.
‘The county has a better bond rating than us and we are taking advantage of their rating and experience in bonding projects,? explained Village Manager John Lyons. ‘The county will issue the bonds. It’s not a direct loan from the county, but they can obtain a lower interest rate.?
The interest rate will not be known until the bonds are sold. The county requested a resolution as the village has been down the road before toward a sanitary sewer collection system, or wastewater treatment system as Village President Wayne Wills prefers to call it.
‘They don’t want us to do that work and have us drop it again,? said Lyons. ‘This means we are moving to find out if we are going to do it or not.?
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. Time and again, village officials have researched the issue, but Lyons said the village is the closest it has ever been to making a wastewater treatment system a reality. 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. Officials were disappointed earlier this year to learn they were not selected for a $2 million grant from the Department of Environmental Quality, but the denial did not deter village officials.
‘The evaluation process has and will continue,? said Wills. ‘As part of that process, timelines have to be set out and met. We are dotting our i’s and crossing our t’s so we can give the public the very best and most accurate information and strategic options. The resolution is basically step one in seeing what financing options are available.?
Rowe Professional Services, an engineering firm, will give an estimated cost for a sewage disposal system that will serve the entire village, as well as possibly a few businesses just outside the village limits and schools including Brandon High School and Brandon Middle School.
‘Brandon School District has been put on notice (by the DEQ) they will not be given an extension, they have five years to put a million dollars into their existing system or hook up with us and that is it,? said Wills.
The most recent estimated costs of a villagewide wastewater treatment system are about $15,000-$18,000 per resident. The village expects to use a rural development loan that would allow the cost to be spread over 40 years.
The village has faced some opposition to a sanitary sewer collection system, but Lyons notes that the county is requiring larger, more expensive septic systems, ones with engineered fields that cost more than $20,000 and would have to be paid for immediately when existing septic fields fail. He believes sanitary sewers are a better option.
Phil Sanzica, Oakland County Chief Deputy Water Resources Commissioner, agrees and said he is excited to prepare a contract between the village and county to define the system, scope, and estimate of cost of a wastewater treatment system and then design, construct, and maintain such a system.
‘For the public health and safety of the community, this is really needed and long overdue,? said Sanzica. ‘The community has septic systems, but they also drink groundwater and it can be contaminated from sewage effluents. There are high levels of nitrates and issues of e.coli in Kearsley Creek. A sewer system will spur development, promote public health and safety and help the community become more vibrant and grow. It’s a win-win for everyone.?
A revised proposed sanitary sewer system timeline released Dec. 12 has the next step as executing a contract with the county, publishing a notice to issue the bonds, and holding at least one public hearing in March. A 45-day referendum period will follow, in which residents can review the proposed project and petition to have the issue placed on the ballot. The signatures of 10 percent of registered village voters would be required to have a sanitary sewer collection system put to a vote. The village has 1,117 registered voters.
The current preliminary schedule calls for a collection and treatment system to start construction in January 2017, with completion by May 2018.