Tasked with upgrading sewage lines throughout the borough, Trafford Council will pursue state funding to replace all of the outdated or failing lines instead of making short-term, piecemeal repairs.

Under pressure from a mandate by the state Department of Environmental Protection, council voted 5-2 last week to authorize applying to the Pennsylvania Infrastructure and Investment Authority, or PENNVEST, which offers low-interest loans and grants.

In prioritizing a project that would replace century-old terra cotta sewage lines, council took a step toward construction work that eventually could cause an increase to sewage bills to help pay off the borough's financing.

Engineer Don Glenn estimated that the overhaul of the borough's sewage system could cost $5.5 million. At the bare minimum, Trafford is required to spend an estimated $530,000 to fix the most-degraded sections of the system.

But council, which already is paying about $88,000 annually on a five-year, $400,000 loan for a 2011 project to replace 1,600 feet of sewage lines under First Street, decided to undertake the larger project to try to stay in compliance with a consent order with the DEP that dates back to 2004.

Council members pointed to different reasons for their support of PENNVEST funding.

Besides noting the possibility of state fines if Trafford doesn't get the project moving, finance chairman John Daykon said he wanted to avoid taking out another short-term loan at a high-interest rate.

Trafford already will end up paying about $40,000 in interest on the First Street project, and an early payoff isn't feasible because of a $10,000 prepayment penalty, he said.

“These are the bad decisions that were made that we can't keep continuing to make,” Daykon said.

Shoub, the chairman of the sanitation committee, said Trafford needs long-term financing for a long-term project. Some council members over the years pushed off the work despite a state deadline to revamp the system before an audit in 2015, he said.

“Nobody's wanted to face it all the way down the line,” Shoub said.

Jay Race said the borough's choosing to do spot repairs of the sewage system would be like “putting a Band-Aid on a shotgun wound.”

But Schultz, who has made a campaign pledge not to raise taxes or sewage rates, joined Rich Laird in voting “no.” Schultz suggested that Trafford should repair lines as it could pay for them instead of incurring more debt.

He said he already pays $350 per quarter for sewage.

“How can they mandate that you do it when you can't afford to do it?” Schultz said.

If the borough were to address only the immediate fixes for $530,000, Daykon estimated, it likely could use as much as $200,000 from its sewage account. But Trafford still would have to borrow the remainder, he said.

Under the worst-case scenario, Daykon estimated residents would have to pay about $100 more a year to give the borough enough revenue to pay off a 20-year loan. With a 30-year loan, that fee could drop to $60 a year.

Daykon said Trafford's sewage rate is among the lower ones in the region. The minimum quarterly charge of $68 in Trafford is $31 less than in Penn Township, he said.

Chris Foreman is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-856-7400, ext. 8671, or cforeman@tribweb.com.

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