SEWER INFORMATION MEETINGS BEING SCHEDULED
Sewer Petition For Blue River 14 (Excludes S17) In Progress

Written By Bob Phillips For Neighborhood Net(tm)


Informational Meetings

Rob Miller, Planning/Project Engineer, Johnson County Waste Water Department, states that the Water District has requested the Board Of County Commissioners to set an information meeting date for Section S17 (W 159th to W 167th, Metcalf to Nall), Oxford Township, generally referred to as the Blue Valley Riding area. The information meeting will be about low pressure (also called grinder pump) sewers for Section S17 and probably will take place in October [see, detailed discussion of system, issues, neighborhood reaction, etc.].

Meetings about low pressure sewers already have been scheduled for two other neighborhoods:

The informational meeting is to explain to residents the pros and cons of the sewer proposal, all the costs, how the neighborhood can get a district formed if it wishes, and related topics.

Developments Over The Summer

Progress on low pressure sewers has been delayed over the summer while charter changes to the Waste Water District were made. A 60 day period to allow residents to petition against the changes took place. That has now passed. The major charter change lets the District set up an umbrella fund to pay for maintenance of the low pressure sewers. Each household on such a system will pay $36 per year into the fund. The fund is dedicated to maintaining all the low pressure systems, which are designated as the Consolidated Lateral Sewer District.

While the legal aspects were being handled, the Water District determined that the cost per household would be approximately $8,500 for complete installation. A brand of grinder pump manufactured by Environment One in Schenectedy, NY, will be purchased from MidWest Environmental, a local firm, which will also be responsible for maintenance. The District's own personnel would provide maintenance backup.

Firms will be given a chance to bid on the installation of the pumps. Although MidWest Environmental normally does not install pumps, this contract will be so large, that it may bid on it.

One other development over the summer: the sewer pipes may be laid using horizontal direction drilling, rather than trenches. This causes less disruption and might be at approximately the same price as digging the trenches. This is still being evaluated.

Next Steps

Usually within two weeks following the informational meeting, the District mails out a post card survey to the affected residents. The survey helps the District decide whether to proceed with a formal, legally binding petition. If landowners holding 50% or more of the acreage sign the petition, the sewers will be installed.

Rob says that the response rate on a post card survey is "lucky to be 60%" and often will be divided evenly. So there often has to be a second mailing. However, the Blue Valley Riding area in the last survey (which was for gravity sewers, not low pressure sewers) had a 90% return rate of which 90% were opposed to the gravity sewers. Rob pointed out that the Hidden Valley area also rejected gravity sewers, largely because of cost.

According to Rob, a rule of thumb on post card surveys is that "unless a majority of the whole neighborhood are opposed", the Water District will prepare a petition. If a petition is circulated, every signature on the petition is considered a vote for the sewer. One time a resident signed the petition and wrote she opposed the sewer. This was still considered a vote for the sewer.

Blue River District 14 Petition Begun

There are two types of sewer districts:

Blue River 14 is an SSD generally west of Highway 69 and south of 151st street. It includes new schools that need sewers. The Water District already has begun circulating a binding petition to bring sewers into this SSD. The Blue Valley Riding area was included in Blue River 14 on the last post card survey, but has now been excluded from the SSD. So Section S17 will not be affected by the Blue River 14 petition.

Blue River Riding area is now being treated as its own Lateral Sewer District, even though it is unusually large to be a LSD. According to Rob, it is rare for such a large area to be developed and on septic. Since it is a LSD, only residents of Section S17 will determine whether the low pressure sewers are installed or not in the area.



Written by Bob Phillips. All rights reserved. Copyright 1997, All rights reserved. August, 1997.
Any reproduction by any means of this material without the explicit written consent of the author is forbidden.
Displayed on NeighborhoodNet(tm) with permission of the author


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