Freeport sewage project cost swells to nearly $16M

Freeport’s sewage project won’t cost $11.6 million after all. It will be $15.8 million.

That’s what Freeport Council found out Monday night from Kevin M. Creagh, the new project engineer from KLH Engineers Inc.

That’s an increase of 36%.

According to Creagh, the $11.6 million figure was from a construction estimate done in 2011, making the number meaningless by the time council voted to move ahead with the project in April 2017.

“We cannot afford a $16 million sewage plant in a town with only 800 customers,” Mayor James Swartz told Creagh.

Councilman Justin DeAngelis said he expected the cost figure to be adjusted somewhat but did not think it would climb that high.

“When we see what the actual dollars are, I don’t think anyone here can swallow that,” DeAngelis said.

The sewage project, including separation of storm and sanitary sewer lines near the current plant, which is more than 50 years old, and replacing that plant with a new one, was one of five options council considered in 2017.

The borough was facing a June deadline that year from the state Department of Environmental Protection on submitting a long-term control plan for how it was going to handle sewage in the coming years.

Construction of the sewage plant, slated for completion in 2024, was the borough’s solution.

But with the revised cost, that project may be in doubt.

Council will review the other options it had in 2017, including tying into the Upper Allegheny Valley Joint Sanitary Authority system. Swartz had advocated that option as being the most economically feasible.

“I think the best course of action over the next couple of months is let’s step back and take a look at everything,” Creagh said.

“The first thing is, you’re going to have to talk to DEP about an extension,” Councilman Sean McCalmont told Creagh. “If they don’t give us an extension, we’re going to be in real trouble.”

The borough planned to finance the new sewage treatment plant with a loan through PennVEST. Creagh said he thinks that the state agency would consider increasing the loan, but that is a route borough officials seem opposed to taking.

“Loans aren’t going to help us,” Swartz said. “Leechburg got an $8 million grant to do their sewers. I see no reason why we can’t get one for $8 million or $10 million.”

“There is no way we can take out a loan for $14 million,” DeAngelis said. “We’re back to, ‘What options do we have available to us?’ ”

Creagh said the sewer separation part of the project is pretty much completed by Jet Jack Inc. He said there is some paving work that has to be done along with restoration of some residents’ yards.

He said that part of the project was initially $779,000 but, because of some change orders, the cost will likely be between $800,000 and $850,000.