MOUNT VERNON — Knox County Commissioners Bob Wise and Tom McLarnan met Monday with representatives from ADR Consulting of Newark to discuss proposed decentralized sewer planning projects for various hamlets in Knox County. Some of the proposed locations include Millwood, Brandon, Bladensburg and Mount Liberty, among others. The goal of the projects is to fight pollution from small communities.
The discussion was based on several preliminary engineering reports provided by ADR; a major focus of the talks centered on where funding would come from to support the projects. As of now, funding and estimates are by no means set, and there was discussion about the various types of loans and state money that might be available, as well as the possibility of some funds coming from local sources.
Projected scenarios show the average monthly payment for the new sewer systems would range from $60 to $76 per household. ADR representatives said those figures were all preliminary, adding that one important factor is that the more households and businesses that are part of the new systems, the lower the costs will be. According to Jeffery Carr, project manager from ADR, Environmental Protection Agency guidelines will be used for estimating usage from various households and commercial establishments.
Todd Willis, office manager from ADR, told the commissioners it would be wiser to try and obtain a 20-year loan for the proposed projects, as opposed to a longer-term, and ultimately more costly, 40-year loan. The commissioners were also advised to seek the support of state legislators and submit applications for state appropriations for additional funds for the project.
“State money will be key,” said Carr.
Current designs are all preliminary and still have to be improved in order to further reduce costs. There are also some areas that have yet to be surveyed, such as Amity and Jelloway. Representatives from ADR hope to meet with the commissioners in approximately a month’s time, after they have finished surveying and have a better idea of final costs for the project. The meeting was also attended by Ron Simpson, superintendent of the Water and Wastewater Department of Knox County.
