Sewer is a messy issue, but things got even messier July 16 when Sedona police officers were called to the city’s Chapel area sewer meeting.
Chapel area resident Jim Shaffer doesn’t think the city should spend $10 million on connecting Chapel area homes to the city’s sewer when they have perfectly working septic tanks, he said.
Shaffer was loudly voicing that opinion and wouldn’t sit down despite threats of calls to 9-1-1. Soon the police officers arrived and talked to Shaffer outside.
By Alison Ecklund
Larson Newspapers
Sewer is a messy issue, but things got even messier July 16 when Sedona police officers were called to the city’s Chapel area sewer meeting.
Chapel area resident Jim Shaffer doesn’t think the city should spend $10 million on connecting Chapel area homes to the city’s sewer when they have perfectly working septic tanks, he said.
Shaffer was loudly voicing that opinion and wouldn’t sit down despite threats of calls to 9-1-1. Soon the police officers arrived and talked to Shaffer outside.
Shaffer was butting heads with the city’s Project Manager/Engineer Cullen Hollister, who was presenting Chapel area residents with the sewer project.
“I was blocked by Cullen [Hollister],” Shaffer said. “I tried to give a counter proposal. I wasn’t able to give it because he didn’t want to hear it.”
Shaffer calmed down and was allowed back inside, but the issue remains — some Chapel residents don’t want to pay to connect to city sewer and pay a monthly sewer bill if what they have is working fine, he said.
If City Council approved Tiffany Construction Company’s contract for the $10,131,143,38 project, Tuesday, July 22. Work will begin Monday, Aug. 4.
A large portion of the project will be funded by a revenue bond for $9,350,000, passed in 2007, Assistant City Manager Alison Zelms said.
The bond is sales-tax based, which does not mean an increase of the sales tax rate, and will be paid back over 20 years, Zelms explained.
The money is there to fund the project, Zelms assured. What Shaffer and others at the meeting complained about are property owners’ individual expenses to connect to the sewer pipe once it’s installed.
Homeowner costs
To connect to the city’s sewer, Chapel area residents will be responsible for four costs.
Financial assistance programs are available for the connection fee and a pump, if needed, but the city won’t accept an application for financial assistance unless it’s accompanied by a rejection letter from a commercial loan company.
Connect to lateral
The first cost to homeowners will be to hire a contractor to connect to the lateral that Tiffany Construction will install.
If the pipes don’t flow by gravity, an ejector pump may be required to guarantee the home’s wastewater reaches the main pipe.
If the house is located where the city’s sewer pipe is already on a pump, due to an incline instead of a slope, a grinder pump will have to be installed — raising the homeowner’s costs.
One Chapel resident at the July 16 meeting had heard it could cost around $12,000 to hire a contractor for that work.
It depends on too many variables to give an estimate, Hollister said, like how far it is to the lateral connection, how deep they have to dig, how much rock they hit and if a pump is required.
“It’s been, in the past, $1,500 to $5,000,” he said. “It’s very difficult to tell how much each lot will cost.”
Deactivate septic
A second homeowner expense will be to deactivate current septic systems.
Homeowners will have to remove the top and fill it in, Hollister said. They can’t just cut the engine, according to rules from Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.
According to local contractors, it’s impossible to estimate what that cost might be until they visit the site.
Prices to deactivate a septic depend on the size of the septic, where it’s located and the soil condition where it’s located.
Capacity fee
All residents must pay to connect to the city’s sewer system.
The cost in 2011, when Chapel residents are projected to hook up, is $5,325, and it goes up slightly each year.
The one-time fee helps to offset the capital improvement done at the city’s wastewater plant, Hollister said.
Monthly bill
Once residents are hooked up and have deactivated their septic tanks, they will start receiving a monthly sewer bill.
The fee for low-flow fixtures is $29.52 per month; homes with regular fixtures are charged $32.54 per month.
If someone proves they have a hardship, their monthly bill can be reduced to $22.54, Zelms said.
Alison Ecklund can be reached at 282-7795, Ext. 125, or e-mail aecklund@larsonnewspapers.com
