Sewer authority dismisses director

Ed Lennex had been group’s leader since 2005

OXFORD >> Longtime Executive Director Ed Lennex was dismissed by the Oxford Area Sewer Authority Board at the close of their Jan. 18, meeting, effective immediately. The only nay in the six-toone board vote came from West Nottingham Township representative Jeff Williams.

Lennex has been in the position since 2005, and has been responsible for overseeing operations, handling emergencies, planning expansion for growth and more.

In November, Oxford Borough Council sent a letter to the authority asking for the immediate dismissal of Lennex in the wake of funding problems at the sewer authority.

“Just in general, I think the supervisors in Lower Oxford had lost confidence in Ed,” Lower Oxford Township Supervisor Joel Brown commented.

At that time, the authority was not in favor of terminating Lennex, “It was the feeling of the (authority) board, that at that point in time, it wasn’t the right time.” Lower Oxford Township Supervisor and Authority Board Member Ron Kepler said.

In 2016, the authority was unable to make its scheduled payments on a $27 million loan from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), putting them $1.3 million in arrears. To meet budget deficits, a 30 percent increase in sewer rates was imposed last year, but the authority is still faced with somehow making up for the missed payments, as well as paying the debt service on the loan going forward. Should the USDA call the loan, the authority’s member municipalities – Oxford Borough, Lower Oxford, East Nottingham and West Nottingham — could be forced to come up with that money,

“My feeling is the sewer authority has dug a hole so deep we can’t get out of it,” Kepler said.

After discussions with USDA, Lennex developed a “work out plan” that shows how much of the deficit the authority will be able to pay back over the next five years, with no new rate increase, a 1.5 percent increase or a cumulative 3 percent increase. If there is no rate increase, the authority would be able to repay only about half of the amount in arrears, assuming there are no other financial needs, and with no savings set aside.

“We’re going to present it all to USDA and let them give us some guidance,” Kepler said. “It’s the best we can come up with.”

The USDA loan was taken out for construction to expand the sewer plant. That project went over budget when the original contractor was dismissed and another brought in to complete the project. Adding to the problem was the absence of a reserve fund to cover debt service, and anticipated new revenues never materialized.

There have been a number of changes on the authority board, which is composed of two members appointed from each municipality. Several members are recent appointees, coming to the board in the past few months, plus there is currently a vacancy for East Nottingham. Former Chairman Percy Reynolds resigned at the end of the year. Board member and Lower Oxford Supervisor Ron Kepler was named chairman. Frank Lobb of West Nottingham is the new vice chairman.

Last fall, the member municipalities formed a committee to look for ways out of the sewer authority’s financial problems, including the possible sale of the sewer system to a private entity.

“Having a well-run sewer system is necessary for Oxford ever to develop a tax base,” Brown said. “I guess some of us have watched Chester Water do a really

good job of providing public water where it’s needed and we’re not seeing that on the sewer side.”

At its meeting, the authority board voted to become a part of that committee as well. “We voted to do an intergovernmental agreement and have one (authority board) member from each municipality join that,” Kepler

said.

The sewer authority is continuing to operate as usual under current staff. The board hopes to select a consultant as interim replacement for Lennex at a special meeting set for Wednesday, Jan. 25.