Mayors Corner

As noted in our most recent mayors corner, the 2017 construction season for the City of Kellogg’s Sewer Rehabilitation & Replacement Project has begun.

While work is getting underway I thought it would be a good time to provide some more information on what’s driving the project and what we believe our sewer rates will be when it’s completed. While no one wants to see our rates go up, as with everything else, its time has come.

Most of our existing system is well over sixty years old and in bad shape. Over the last few years, costs have steadily increased to provide weekly maintenance and repairs at over fifty chronic problem areas. In addition, massive amounts of groundwater is leaking into the old system and creating regulatory problems associated with the discharge permit held by the South Fork Sewer District (SFSD) for its Page Treatment Plant. That same leakage continues to cost us all more money as the groundwater has to be treated at the Page Plant right along with the sewage.

Some good news associated with our project is that by doing it in conjunction with the State/EPA Roads Program, there will be significant savings by allowing sewer line repair along with some of the water and gas lines now which will reduce the likelihood of having to dig the roads up again later.

Back to the issue of sewer rates and how they will be affected. In the City, we pay two separate bills for sewer service. One is to the City to operate and maintain its collection system. The second bill is from the SFSD for them to treat our sewage at their Page facility.

The price tag for the Kellogg Sewer Replacement Project is approximately Thirty One Million dollars. When you subtract out the State/EPA road dollars, the Community Block Grant we received and the largest sewer grant in the state (nearly $5 million), from the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development, local residents will be paying $8.4 million through the bond levy passed in 2014. Final project costs won’t be available until the bids for Phase III have been received and all the work has been completed, but in addition to the funds listed above, the City has applied for a second Community Block Grant for $500,000 and we hope to be able to add that to the project to reduce any additional burden on property owners.

As noted in past articles, the ongoing sewer project will not address lateral service lines on private property. As required by City Ordinance, and to eliminate groundwater from entering the system from private sewer lines, all sewer laterals will be videotaped. Those lateral lines that are not water tight, will have to be replaced at the owner’s expense. Property owners will be notified by letter as to the condition of their lateral service line and given the opportunity to view the video tape of their line. Owners whose lines are not water tight will then have two years to complete their replacement project. Shared/party lateral service lines will need to be replaced sooner. Some funding may be available through USDA Rural Development’s “Rural Housing 504 Loan/Grant Program” for those owner-occupied homes that qualify. The South Fork Sewer District may also be able to assist with partial funding for lateral service line replacement.

Please note the chart for residential sewer rate projections for both the City and the SFSD. Also provided, is a chart showing sewer rates elsewhere in the region.

Anyone who has questions or needs additional information can call City hall at any time. We can be reached at 208- 786-9131.