Commish talk sewer-project concerns

Harrison News-Herald Reporter

FREEPORT — The Village of Freeport hosted a special meeting for residents to hear more about the ongoing sewer project.

Commissioners Amy Norris, Dustin Corder, and Paul Coffland were in attendance, along with representatives from each aspect of the project including engineering, safety, and construction. Over 50 residents came to the meeting, some just looking to listen, some to ask questions, and some to voice concerns or complaints.

Coffland opened the meeting by introducing Engineering Field representative Tom Reid who spoke briefly about safety concerns surrounding the trenches being dug throughout the village.

“When we’re out there excavating these trenches,” he said. “We’ve got some that are up to 15-feet deep. … We don’t want anyone to get hurt. Do not get close to the trenches. … Please keep that in mind. I know you’re inquisitive and you want to come over, I don’t know your experience with construction but safety first.”

Project Engineer Austin Prokup spoke next and shared in more detail when residents can expect work to begin around their homes. “The plan in approaching this is to basically go from south to north then west to east. So if you’re curious as to when construction is coming to your house, it’s hard to say because things continue to change as we move through, but we do have a tentative schedule.”

He showed on a village map the general directions and roads they would be working around next.

“The sewer system and waste-water treatment plant should be wrapping up early 2024,” he said. “At that time, there will be notification sent out to everybody to let you know that it is time to connect into the system. Please do not try to [connect] before that. That’s the general timeline, as we can all appreciate things can change as everything develops but that is our tentative timeline for now.”

One resident spoke up to ask how much advance notice they would have before needing to hook into the system. Prokup said the notification would be sent about 90 days before they needed to join the system.

Senior Engineering Project Manager Cheryl Green spoke next, sharing a short list of residences who still need to sign off on a user agreement. The agreement allows county contractors to put the tap on private property so residents can connect to the system when ready. Several attendees pointed out some people on the list were deceased or had since moved away.

Green switched over to speak about homeowner responsibilities. Homeowners will be responsible for abandonment of their existing septic systems and replumbing the sewer drain to the new sewer lateral connection. Owners can use any approved contractor for replumbing or do the work themselves, but the conneciton will have to be approved by the county.

Finally, Pam Ewing from the Rural Community Assistance Program (RCAP) stepped up to talk about possible funding available to homeowners for these projects.

“Based on the schedule right now, we’re going to have substantial completion by the end of January,” she said. She explained homeowners would have from substantial completion to roughly the end of May to figure out their home’s connection. She acknowledged that the timeline could be extended depending on how quickly the work gets done.

“In the meantime, we’ll be working with the county to develop the approved contractor list,” she said. That list will be sent out to residents for them to find a contractor that works for them, if that is the route they want to take with connecting to the system. There will also be a letter sent out with a chart that will show eligibility for grant funding to cover costs. Some residents may be facing a $2,500 bill to connect their home to the system while others might be looking at more than $10,000. Each house will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis because each house will have slightly different needs.

If you have questions or concerns about the project, feel free to call the Harrison County Water and Sewer Board at 740-942-4623 or one of the project engineers: Cheryl Green at 740-815-3688 or Austin Prokup at 614-732-4273.