Committees advise waiving tap-in fees

Avon City Council’s Finance Committee will consider waiving fees to residents impacted by a sanitary sewer project.

On Oct. 7 a joint meeting of Council’s Finance and Service Committees voted unanimously to waive tap-in fees as part of a $4.2 million sanitary sewer project.

About 100 homes on Elizabeth Avenue, Joseph Street, Puth Drive and Detroit Road could see more relief from the City of Avon as Finance Committee debated waiving tap-in fees to affected homeowners.

The upgrades are slated to begin in April 2021. Under the plan residents are required to pay an assessment fee capped by the city at $12,000. The city made clear the assessment fees are not payable until the 2022 tax year, with payments being spread out over 20 years.

Tap-in fees of slightly over $2,300 per household enable homeowners to connect to the new sewer.

The proposal to waive the estimated $330,000 in tap-in fees for the Elizabeth, Joseph, and Puth sanitary sewer project and 36 homes on French Creek Road encompassing 140 homes.

Finance Director Bill Logan said the fee waiver would be paid for through the city’s Sanitary Sewer Replacement and Depreciation Fund which they have used in the past to build sewer lines.

Logan added the city collects an average of about $300,000 in tap-in fees annually, so the city is essentially forgoing a full year of fees in making the move to

lower costs for affected residents.

The legislation will move to Avon City Council’s regular session on Oct. 15.

Mayor Bryan Jensen said any resident who has already paid their tap-in fees before potential legislation is passed will be eligible for a refund. He is supportive of the waiver and said the legislation would extend to future projects in the city requiring tap-in fees for existing homes.

Jensen said Sept. 4 the city would cap assessment fees on the Puth, Joseph, Elizabeth sanitary sewer project at $12,000 to provide some certainty to homeowners.

“I think the uncertainty is something that had really gotten a lot of people troubled,” Jensen said.

Giving residents a fixed amount that they can plan for hopefully will ease some of the anxiety, he said.

City Engineer Ryan Cummins said at the time the upgrades are mandated by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency with the main focus to install a new sanitary sewer system to provide service to 112 affected parcels to lessen environmental concerns.

Residents demand answers

At Avon’s City Council work session following the committee meetings, several residents who live in the impacted area of the sanitary sewer project were in attendance, expressing anger and outrage at city officials.

Heather Arkley of Elizabeth, argued that costs would have been lower in 2013-2014 and questioned why the city waited so long after receiving the EPA mandate. In addition, Arkley expressed a belief that residents would have to pay the estimated $12,000 assessment fees immediately.

Law Director John Gasior set the record straight noting the steps the city has taken to lower assessment fees and working to waive tap-in fees.

“Nobody up here has any reason to want to gouge residents. I mean, think about that. It doesn’t make any sense for us to want to charge you people more than we have to charge,” Gasior said. “It doesn’t make any sense. These people are elected officials. They’re not trying to do things to get unelected. They’re trying to do things to help you.”