The Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority and the city are working together to make sure that all sewer connection fees for building projects since 2006 have been paid, an engineer said Tuesday.
Brian Grant of Grant Engineering & Construction Group LLC said he has the entire log for 307 projects and suggested that builders contact the authority to find out whether they were assessed connection fees. Grant said lack of a permit "may result in a lien."
Grant was among venders for various services who introduced themselves and spoke at the invitation of PMUA Board Chairman Charles Tyndale Tuesday.
"Do you know presently how many projects are finished or underway and haven't paid their sewer fee?" PMUA Commissioner Harold Mitchell asked Grant.
"As of now, we don't have a number," Grant said.
Mitchell said he wants a policy set for those who haven't paid.
Asked where a builder would pay, Tyndale said, "Here," meaning the office at 127 Roosevelt Avenue where the meeting took place.
Assistant Comptroller and now also "Acting Interim Chief Financial Officer" Leanna Walcott said normally the authority gets information from its sewer operation and gets an escrow deposit, but she said, "Lately it's been really a struggle."
In 2006, the city had numerous redevelopment projects, not all of which came to fruition. Some received all necessary land use approvals from the city early on, but delayed building until the economy improved. Recently, perhaps due to the promise of a one-seat ride to New York City on the Raritan Valley Line, development applications have increased, with many multi-unit apartment buildings approved or proposed. See a development overview here .and a downtown development map here.
In February, the PMUA board passes an increase in sewer connection fees, which are calculated per dwelling unit. From a previous Plaintalker post: The increase in the sewer connection fee will be from $2,140 to $2,300. As explained at a recent PMUA meeting, this charge is per dwelling unit, so for example a proposed 200-unit new development would require an additional $34,000 in fees over the 2014 rate.
Grant said his firm had also updated maps for the entire city, which has a 110-mile sewer system, and an 8- by 10-foot wall map is now installed at the authority's Cottage Place location.
Sewer information is posted on the PMUA web site and residents can also sign up there for notices and advisories.
--Bernice
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The fee might as well be a million dollars. The amount is irrelevant because the PMUA doesn't have the ability to monitor and collect it. Nine years of untracked delinquency. Wonderful. Bill Kruse
ReplyDeleteExactly what do they get for $2300 per unit. No new pipes the contractor does the tie in with one pipe and they are billed once usage starts from the water bill. I thought government fees are supposed to cover costs not for a profit. Sounds like an eventual lawsuit and havin to return fees.
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