Council settles sewer dispute

The Lorain Utilities Department will change its service area as the city settles a legal fight over sewer costs with residents of Amherst Township.

On Feb. 1, Lorain City Council passed three pieces of legislation that will settle a court fight that started in 2013.

Council passed the legislation with no substantial discussion. But the dispute has been well documented in court records, news reports and now the settlement agreement.

The issue dates to 1974, when the city began providing sewage treatment for the Hidden Valley subdivision of Amherst Township.

In May 2012, Lorain City Council considered an increase in rates paid by sewer customers outside of Lorain.

They were to pay 130 percent of the city rate, plus an additional 150 percent of the costs of debt reduction and capital improvements.

The residents went to Lorain County Common Pleas Court to file a class-action lawsuit to challenge the city’s action, according to the history included in the settlement agreement.

In the deal, which needs approval by the Lorain County Commission, the county will assume ownership and maintenance of the Hidden Valley subdivision sewer system. Lorain will continue to treat the sewage that flows from there to the Philip Q. Maiorana Waste Water Treatment Plant in Lorain.

Residents at Hidden Valley subdivision will pay a sanitary sewer fee that will be more than city residents and that will increase 5 percent a year for five years.

The Hidden Valley sewer fee will start at the city rate plus 5 percent, or 105 percent of the city rate, and increase every year, up to the city rate plus 25 percent, or 125 percent of the city rate.

Even with the rate more than in-city customers, Hidden Valley residents will save more than $2.4 million in sewer fees over 10 years, according to figures from the court agreement.

The city will pay $371,670 to a settlement fund, which includes at least $21,670 toward the case expenses of the residents’ lawyers. That money will come from the city sewer fund and Council approved an appropriation for it on Feb. 1.

The residents will give up legal claims against the city, according to the settlement agreement. Meanwhile, they will begin paying an operations, maintenance and repair fee to Lorain County for the sewer system.

That cost will start at 25 percent of the county fee, then increase to 50 percent, then 75 percent, finally to 100 percent, or the same amount that other county sewer customers pay.

Council also approved an agreement for the city and county regarding water and sewer systems of the Hidden Valley subdivision, Amherst Township, New Russia Township and the Lorain County Regional Airport.

Lorain County will take over the underground pipes and the city will supply the fresh water for the residents. The city also will treat the wastewater generated in those areas.

The 2013 court case became known as Winrod vs. City of Lorain, named for Hidden Valley resident and plaintiff Christine Winrod. An Amherst native, Winrod, nee Camarillo, was a homecoming queen of Marion L. Steele who made a career as a nurse and earned an associate’s degree in paralegal studies. Winrod, 50, died Jan. 20, 2019, at the Cleveland Clinic.

The 2013 court case became known as Winrod vs. City of Lorain, named for Hidden Valley resident and plaintiff Christine Winrod. An Amherst native, Winrod, nee Camarillo, was a homecoming queen of Marion L. Steele who made a career as a nurse and earned an associate’s degree in paralegal studies. Winrod, 50, died Jan. 20, 2019, at the Cleveland Clinic.