Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure Projects topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Bridgeville to resubmit regional sewer project for larger grant reimbursement as construction estimates rise above $1 million
Summary
Borough staff reported that a multi‑municipal sewer interceptor project originally estimated near $400,000 has grown to more than $1 million in recent engineering estimates; Bridgeville plans to re‑engineer and resubmit the project for higher reimbursement (staff cited potential reimbursement increases from 40% toward as much as 80% under the sewer authority's grant program).
Mr. Power described a multi‑municipal regionalization project intended to reduce infiltration and overflow on a shared interceptor serving Bridgeville and neighboring towns. He summarized the project's history: Bridgeville led concept and engineering work to meet regulatory source‑flow reduction goals and initially expected a roughly $400,000 construction cost. "Over the past year and a half detail engineering was done and the project has turned into much more than what ... originally anticipated," he said, and noted that a construction estimator now places the project price at over $1 million.
Because the estimated cost has increased, Mr. Power said the borough is discussing with the sanitary authority program (referred to in the transcript as "Alka/Sand" variants) the strategy of revising the engineering and resubmitting the application for grant funding. He told council the borough hopes to achieve a substantially higher reimbursement rate — potentially as high as 80% under the authority's current grant cycles — rather than seeking a lower, immediate 40% reimbursement.
Mr. Power emphasized local operational reasons to complete certain repairs before turning the lines over to a larger regional authority, noting basement backups still occur during severe wet weather and that regional projects at the larger authority level may be years away to implement upstream solutions. He said Bridgeville has paid for engineering to date and will use a memorandum of understanding to apportion costs among the participating municipalities.
Council asked practical questions about liability and whether partner towns understand their share of any required payment; Mr. Power said a formal memorandum of understanding has been prepared and will be included with council packets. He also noted the borough's sewer fund balance (about $1.6 million) gives the town flexibility to fund its share if necessary.
Separately, Mr. Power summarized flood mitigation and related grant activity: a federal‑level legal dispute had frozen certain brick‑related grant funds for the borough's flood projects, but the borough is pursuing multiple funding sources (including FEMA and state grants) for culvert and clearing work. He reported the borough is tracking a possible FEMA award of about $712,000 for a culvert estimated at $1.8 million, but stressed timing and award outcomes remain uncertain.
Next steps: the borough plans to rework engineering estimates, resubmit the sewer project application to seek higher reimbursement, and include the multi‑municipal memorandum of understanding in the council packet for member review.
