Published: June 18, 2009 01:38 pm      

Georgetown residents have their say

Floyd County Commissioners host town hall meeting to discuss sewer plant, rates

Elected officials have all had their say about Georgetown’s sewer problems. On Wednesday night, the residents finally got to talk back.

The Floyd County Commissioners hosted a special town hall meeting at Georgetown Elementary School with homeowners concerning sewer rates and the construction of a sewer plant for the town. Around 100 people accepted the invitation and spent two hours listening and asking questions.

Georgetown’s sewer problems began in 2006 when the previous town council signed an agreement with the New Albany Sewer Board that stated the town would be off New Albany’s sewers in 30 months. The 30 months expired Feb. 1 of this year.

Georgetown asked out of its contract with New Albany because it planned to build its own plant on 23 acres of land referred to as the O’Brien property. But lawsuits over annexation of the property and not getting zoning approval from the county kept the town from building on that site, which made the deadline impossible to meet.

The town and county came to an agreement last fall to help solve the problem. The county will provide $1.4 million from a Rural Development Loan, to Georgetown for relocation and engineering costs if the town agreed to move the plant west of the city. The town is currently studying four sites, and will soon have those locations appraised. Offers will then be made following environmental studies and planning and zoning approval from the county.

County Planner Don Lopp said he has worked 14 months and the county has logged between 600 and 700 hours working with Georgetown officials concerning the sewer issue.

“We could not have done this without the county’s assistance,” said Georgetown Town Council President Billy Stewart. “We just don’t have the resources to get things done that need to be done.”

While the history is complex, most residents are curious about the final outcome — their monthly sewer bill. Georgetown officials have said the town’s residents pay one of the highest rates in the state. Currently, a Georgetown resident who pays around $70 a month, $16 to $18 of that bill goes to New Albany while the rest is used to pay on bond-anticipation costs associated with the sewer plant.

“Some of you think all of the money goes to New Albany and that is not the case,” said Commissioner Chuck Freiberger.

Residents like Keith Dempster, however, only care about how much they pay each month and how much they may pay in the future.

“My water bill and sewer bill is outrageous. I have four kids and a pool,” Dempster said. “What is my bill going to be. We really can’t afford this if it wasn’t for Floyd County coming to the plate.”

Stewart said if the town had its own plant, it would allow for growth which could lower rates. There is a proposed development slated for the old Knob Hill Golf Course which is currently on hold.

“If all the stars line up perfectly, the rates could go down,” Stewart said. “But I’m not going to make any promises. You get in trouble when you make promises.”

Stewart hopes rates would at least stay where they are currently, he said, when the plant becomes operational.

Georgetown attorney D.A. Andrews said the town has trouble paying down sewer costs because it is unable to use EDIT funds like larger cities. He said all of the costs fall back on the shoulders of the 1,200 homeowners currently on the system.

Calvin Schindler asked the commissioners if this was the first step in a possible county-wide sewer system.

“It is not our intention to have county-wide sewers,” Commissioner Steve Bush said. “This is just to help the residents of Georgetown.”

Georgetown residents were facing a large sewer rate increase after the New Albany Sewer Board voted recently to begin charging the town retail rates, instead of wholesale. However, the New Albany City Council gave the town and sewer board 60 days to come up with an agreement which will allow Georgetown to remain on the city’s sewer system without being charged wholesale rates, while town officials move forward with the construction of their own plant.

“At no time did New Albany tell Georgetown to get off the system. They came to us,” said Commissioner Mark Seabrook, a former member of the New Albany Sewer Board. “It was never our intention to get involved in this fight between the city and Georgetown. The reason we stepped in was to help with the rate issue.”

Once a site is selected and all the paper work completed, it will take between 12 and 18 months to construct a plant.