Sewer sale study report coming soon
TOWAMENCIN » Residents are still asking questions about the possible privatizing of Towamencin’s sewer system, and township officials say they could have those answers within weeks.
Supervisors Chairman Chuck Wilson addressed several questions about the possible sale at the start of Wednesday night’s board meeting.
“At this point, we are only taking a look at whether it makes any sense to look at selling our sanitary sewer system,” he said.
Towamencin’s sewer plant on Kriebel Road was shared by Towamencin and Upper Gwynedd from 1964 to 2015, until the two townships separated while planning a diversion project for Upper Gwynedd to send sewage to their own plant instead. That diversion project is now almost finished, and Towamencin’s board voted in September to authorize an outside firm to study the system, its future obligations and upgrades needed, and possible benefits of selling it to be run privately.
In October, Wilson addressed several questions from the public about the study, and did so again at the start of Wednesday night’s supervisors meeting. The first comment asked about the total debt obligations of the township, and asked “why are you considering selling the only revenuemaking entity?”, while a second asked if all residents would be allowed to vote on any possible sale, a third asked if the township had a specific dollar amount “that would justify this impact to the community,” and a fourth asked if sewer rate customers would have
input into the decision.
After reading the four comments, submitted beforehand instead of asked in person due to COVID-related restrictions on meeting attendance, Wilson answered.
“We have only engaged someone to look at whether there’s a market, and what that potential market value would be, and how that fits with what our needs would be,” he said. “Nothing’s changed since our last meeting.”
A report back from the outside consultant could be made to the board and public as soon as January, Wilson added. No formal board meeting schedule for 2021 has yet been adopted, but if the board stays with the normal dates of the second and fourth Wednesday of each month, those meetings could be held on Jan. 13 and/or 27.
“Many municipalities have gone through this process, just to take a look if it’s something they want to pursue further. Some of these transactions go all the way through to the end, some do not,” he said.
As for the debt question, the township’s September 2020 financial report lists a total of roughly $21.7 million in outstanding debt: $3.1 million left from a 2002 borrowing, $2.1 million from a 2012 borrowing, $6.2 million from a 2019 borrowing for the Towamencin Township Infrastructure authority, $1.8 million from a 2013 sewer borrowing, $7.6 million from a 2019 Towamencin Municipal Authority borrowing, and $944,000 from a 2019 general obligation borrowing.
During a special budget workshop held after the formal supervisors meeting Wednesday night, Towamencin’s staff said the township’s draft 2021 budget does include a projected drop in sewer revenues due to the diversion project, and talks on that loss of revenue and anticipated capital needs will continue as that budget is finalized.
“The fact that we’re looking at this, doesn’t mean that we’re going to move forward with it. And if we were to move forward with it, it has to make sense for our community,” Wilson said.
Towamencin’s supervisors next meet at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 24 and will hold a special budget work session at 7 p.m. on Nov. 18; for more information visit www.Towamencin.org.