By Susan Bromley

Staff Writer

Ortonville

– The topic of sewer surfaced again at a meeting Wednesday in the village.

Nearly 40 people were in attendance at the April 26 meeting to which about 200, mostly business owners, were invited by Village Manager David Trent to continue what is now a more than 60-year dialogue about sewers. The intent of the meeting, as described by Trent in a letter dated April 17, was to “provide information and receive feedback on a new collaborative regional initiative to establish a sewer system to accommodate the needs of the commercial and business community.”

Trent said he has 80 percent of business owners in favor of sewers thus far, based on response from emails and input he received at the meeting, with nine business owners indicating support of sewers on index cards and two rejections.

“Over the next three weeks, I will reach out to business owners in the village limits who were not able to attend and ask if they’re interested in sewers and what value having sewers who be to their business,” said Trent, who upset some village councilmembers on Monday who had not been informed of his plan to convene a forum. “If we have over 75 percent, including township businesses, we will proceed with figuring out the costs over the next few months.”

A cost analysis study could be financed by some individual business owners who have indicated their willingness to do so, he added.

In addition to business owners within the downtown district, also invited to the forum were those who own businesses along a stretch of the M-15 corridor that extends south to Bullfrogs II in Brandon Township and north to Bueche’s Food World in Groveland Township. Government officials in attendance included Brandon Township Supervisor Kathy Thurman, Groveland Township Supervisor Bob DePalma, and Village Council President Wayne Wills. Leanne Panduren, CEO of Rowe Engineering, and Phil Sanzica of the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner’s Office, answered questions and provided background information on much of the previous efforts to bring sewers to this area, including the most recent failed attempt, a fall 2015 ballot proposal which would have ultimately levied an approximately $25,550 special assessment on each home in the village and a discussion from a decade ago to connect to a Genesee County system that also failed due to cost.

As Thurman noted, if price were not a consideration, she would support sewers, but without a pricetag and knowing what interest there is from businessowners she is unwilling to commit to the concept. The regional initiative may also include homeowners, particularly those residing next to Bald Eagle Lake and Lake Louise in Brandon Township, both areas where a need has been expressed for sewers.

“I am willing to survey business owners or even homeowners, but at this point, I don’t have any concrete information to give them on any proposed plan,” said Thurman. “A lot of times people won’t tell you if they are interested until they know how much it will cost… The business owners need to be approached first and if there is enough interest, then at that point, we would approach residents that live around the lakes.”

Cost was the answer many of those in attendance seemed to be seeking, but for which there is no answer yet. The most recently failed ballot proposal figured a cost of roughly $20 million to provide a low-pressure sewer system to service every building within the village limits, with each home given a residential equivalency unit of 1, but businesses, schools, and other facilities have varying REU’s depending mostly on water usage. The school district, which has multiple buildings within the proposed service area, previously had an estimated REU of about 80, for example. With reconfiguration of school buildings and the planned sale of both Brandon Fletcher Intermediate School and Belle Ann Elementary, that number will likely change.

The school district has been a proponent of bringing sewers to the community, particularly as it faces a looming mandate from the Department of Environmental Quality to replace its wastewater treatment plant servicing both the middle school and high school by November 2019, a move that has a cost between $1 million to $1.5 million.

Arlene Thompson, owner of Thompson’s Hardware, said she believes sewers are long overdue. She expressed amazement Wednesday afternoon that the DEQ or Environmental Protection Agency had not yet stepped in, despite numerous instances of Kearsley Creek registering high e.coli levels, to the extent that wading in the creek has been prohibited on multiple occasions, including Creekfest. But she also believes the cost is too high to bear, even if all 200 business owners whose input is sought said they were on board.

“It’s just not feasible,” said Thompson. “If the cost is $20 million, that would be $100,000 per business owner.”

Panduren said that $20 million cost for a low-pressure grinder system, the less expensive and more effective system for this community, could be considerably less— perhaps as much as $5 million or $6 million less.

“The key factor is you need a treatment plant that can be expanded,” she said. “Regardless of opinions or votes (on sewers), the reality is there is a problem. A system can’t just be for businesses.”

While building a system to service the entire area is most cost effective, she noted the reality is that any system would probably be piecemeal. If business owners committed to establishing a system, more components and connections could be added later for residents, particularly those around Bald Eagle Lake, Lake Louise, and within the village. Those tapping in later would also reduce costs for those already on the system.

A Rural Development Loan funding option, promoted with the failed ballot proposal that would have allowed village residents to finance the system over the course of 40 years, would be off the table in the proposed scenario in which business owners establish the system, due to income requirements and other considerations. Sanzica said most consultants recommend 20-year financing anyway as the payments don’t drop measurably with longer loans and the interest charged makes the total cost much higher.

Dennis O’Malley, owner of O’Malley’s Galley Restaurant, 1595 S. Ortonville Road, said he is in for sewers regardless of the quoted price.

“Sewers are not a luxury, it’s a necessity,” he said. “About 30 or 40 percent of my customers ask me when we are going to make the restaurant bigger. It would cost me more than $100,000 to expand our septic system to add 30 seats. I maintain my system and do the preventive maintenance, but some businesses are on their last leg with their septic systems.”

“Overall, I feel good about this (forum),” said Trent, who is also seeking information on what septic costs business owners have incurred over the last five years and what they anticipate those costs will be for the next five years. “A lot of good questions were generated and it will help us going forward for business owners to make good decisions.”