Lock Haven council hears budget plans for sewer upgrades, new meters and a wastewater solar field

Lock Haven City Council convened a public hearing on the proposed 2026 budget where public works staff walked council through planned sewer, water and street projects and related funding.

Dave Sorgan, superintendent of sewer, said the wastewater treatment plant has been operating for 11 years at its current location and that the plant’s ultraviolet disinfectant system is “outdated” and increasingly difficult to maintain and source parts for. He told council the city plans to apply to PENVEST in the first quarter and that, if approved, the grant would be reimbursable after the city advances the work. “We will be going in the spring for that application to Penvest,” Sorgan said.

Council and staff discussed staffing and costs in the sewer fund. Staff confirmed a foreman/instrumentation position was restored, which raised personnel costs for the wastewater treatment program. On utility costs and alternatives, staff said a planned solar field — being advanced by a third‑party developer — should be bid this winter with an installation timeline that could put the system online by late 2026. Staff noted the solar contract includes a long‑term guaranteed price around $0.055 per kilowatt hour, which they contrasted to current purchased power rates around $0.0708/kWh.

On general public works, Jared Gist outlined a new asset‑management tool, Biolytics, the department is piloting to rate pavement condition, track street signs and integrate with the city’s Esri GIS data. Gist said the system was negotiated at a discount for early adopters and will, over time, help prioritize paving and stormwater projects with visual evidence from sewer and storm infrastructure inspections. “It’s gonna be very user‑friendly,” he said, describing forthcoming staff demonstrations once budget season concludes.

Kyle Dale, foreman for Streets and Stormwater, summarized street maintenance and traffic signal upgrades and described a multiyear Glenwood repair estimated at roughly $250,000. Staff also described a shift to move a street‑cleaning line from the general fund into the stormwater fund (Fund 14) to better align labor and benefits with stormwater responsibilities.

In the water fund presentation, Hunter Stover listed recent monitoring and meter upgrades, system‑wide leak detection and about 250 completed lead and copper inspections with roughly 600 remaining. Stover said the city plans to replace many of the oldest customer meters and that about $106,000 of meter purchases will be reimbursed from Lock Haven City Authority capital projects when those assets are transferred back to the city. “That $106,000 will be from their capital projects fund,” he said.

What happens next: council will continue budget review and is scheduled to discuss the proposed millage ordinances in subsequent meetings ahead of adoption votes later in November and December. The hearing provided staff direction and public visibility into capital priorities but did not itself approve spending beyond the required ordinance process.

Ending: The council took no final appropriation vote at the hearing; further discussion and formal adoption steps remain on the calendar.