By Meg Peters
Review Co-Editor
For several months Lake Orion Village Council has been trying to determine the precise language needed to amend ordinance 51.09.05., which is the village’s sanitary sewer lead responsibility.
The crux of the amendment depends on whether council believes it is the responsibility of a homeowner or the village to repair and/or replace residents? sanitary sewer leads.
Council reviewed possible amendments to the ordinance Monday night, which Village Manager Darwin McClary strongly recommended not adopting.
As it reads now, the homeowner is responsible for the maintenance and repair of the sewer connection between their building up to the sewer main.
The proposed ordinance, as of the Monday night village council meeting, would make property owners responsible for sewer lead maintenance from their building up to the property line, and the village would maintain the portion of the connection that lies outside the boundaries of the premises from the property line to the lateral.
Responsibility for street repairs would be based on the location of the sewer lead damage.
McClary was not comfortable with the proposed change as previously directed by council, and recommended further language clarification.
‘If you’re going to adopt a policy, adopt one that if the sanitary sewer lead extends beyond the center line of the roadway, that the village takes responsibility of that sewer lead’from the center of the roadway to the opposite side of the road’because it’s clear that property owners do not have an interest in that portion,? he said.
On the contrary, President Pro-Tem John Ranville is sticking to his guns.
‘A homeowner cannot be responsible for something not on their property. That’s plain and simple.?
He suggested setting up a separate sewer fund that would help repair costs if it were the village’s responsibility, and to purchase a camera with a 100 foot cable to videotape lead damage. The camera, he said, would help determine whose responsibility the break is.
‘Breaks that are 40 feet down are not the homeowner’s fault.?
The village’s water and sewer systems depreciate out at 50 years, which the Lake Orion systems are nearing. If the village were to take sole responsibility of repairing the 1,200 sewer leads in the 45-year-old system, it would cost about $12 million, assuming it could be spread over a 50 year period.
The $12 million would ultimately come out of the taxpayers’pockets, at an additional $200 a year, McClary said, adding that some village residents are struggling to pay their water and sewer bills as it.
Additional costs are only one of his worries. McClary also struggles with giving up governmental immunity, which would happen if the village took partial responsibility for sewer lead repairs.
‘There’s a reason we have immunity. It’s to protect our citizens, not to protect our village government, from having to pay for claims,? he said, citing examples of cities that are still paying off lawsuits from lack of immunity. ‘You can never imagine all the possible scenarios when you give up that immunity and what impact it may be for us financially, and that’s why it scares me.?
Council member Christian Mills sought compromise.
‘I think we have a responsibly to make a budget now and not pass the buck, so we either put it back on an individual homeowner, and they get through it, or I like the idea of some kind of compromise. We could compromise on the liability as it relates to gross negligence, and give people an insurance option while we build a fund. I don’t think there’s any one solution. I think we need to incorporate all of these suggestions.?
Ultimately the council called to postpone any decision on the ordinance, and McClary requested each council member to submit thoughts, suggestions and questions to him in an email.
For now, the administration will continue to work out the language of the ordinance to protect the village while offering some give to homeowners.