Residents of the Tyrone Forge, Ironville and Cook Hollow areas of Snyder Township will soon receive an important questionnaire in the mail and township engineers are hoping these resident will respond in a timely fashion.
If so, and everything goes as expected, costs for an extended collection system in those areas could be much cheaper than projected currently.
“In order to qualify for Community Development Block Grant money for this project, a certain percentage of the residents have to be considered in the low to moderate income ranges,” said William R. Gohn of the EADS group, less commonly referred to as Engineering Architecture and Design Services. “The supervisors believe most of the people who live in these areas will fall in this range. If so, and the survey shows that, we’ll be able to apply for that state-generated money.”
According to Gohn, who is the Snyder Township engineer, the amount sought would total about $500,000. That’s nearly one-third of the project costs, projected at $1.6 million.
Currently, the project, which would provide sewage service to 66 homes – 34 in Cook Hollow, 13 in Tyrone Forge and 19 in Ironville – is on hold as the township is waiting for more funding for the project. Much of the project costs will be covered by a low-interest (1 percent) loan the group has acquired from PENNVEST.
“It’s important for the residents to note that these surveys are extremely vital to acquire this funding,” said Gohn. “If we want to keep the rates low, we need this survey to be completed and returned as quickly and as accurately as possible.”
Gohn also noted that because this project is already under design, residents will not be affected with the Northern Blair County Regional Sewer Authority’s proposed hike that’s set to initiate on Feb. 1. Effective on that date, tap-on fees will increase from $1,000 to $3,200 and monthly rates are expected to climb from $36 to $40.
According to Leo Matuszewski, secretary/treasurer of NBCRSA, if there is anyone who is planning to tap into the NBCRSA line should do so before the higher rates take effect.
