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More than 200 concerned residents turned out Tuesday for the Barbee Lakes Conservancy District unveiling of the proposed sewage treatment plan.
The plan proposed by the Barbee Lakes Conservancy will cost $18.3 million, said Joseph P. Tierney, Bonar Group, Indianapolis. According to the engineering group the plan provides for a collection system residents would pay to be hooked to and a treatment facility.
How much will the proposed system cost each resident?
A service connection fee of $2,000 will be charged to generate capital for the project, Tierney told the audience. Besides the connection fee an estimated monthly fee of $61.30 will be charged for each individual user.
In addition to these costs, each resident is responsible for connecting from the building to the valve to the valve pits on their property, Tierney said.
Residents must also pay an estimated $1,000 to $1,500 to abandon their septic system in compliance with the Kosciusko County Health Department codes, Tierney added.
Other presenters included Conservancy District Board members, representatives from the Indiana State and Kosciusko County Health Departments, and two representatives from Lagrange County, where a similar project is in use.
County Health Department representative Jon Cupp said he would not officially tell the group that they should go ahead with the project. But, personally, he said "I want you to understand that each and every septic system is an experiment - I don't want to lie to you.
"I can't guarantee where (sewage) goes once we get it under ground, but I assure you we get it underground," Cupp said. "If Barbee doesn't need septics, then no chain in this county does," he said.
A question-and-answer session followed the initial presentations. Several residents had questions as to the source of the nutrients and others only spoke their piece.
"Everyone is concerned about the lakes," said Terry Dennis, EMS B60, North Webster. "I don't think that we should rush into anything," he added.
"Barbee Lakes is not against a collection system," said Ron Burnstrum, EMS B20, North Webster. "But this one is too high priced."
"We are very concerned about water quality," said Leon Bazzoni, EMS 63, North Webster. Bazzoni said he has enjoyed sharing the lake with his children and his grandchildren.
"We know that a lot of it has been going into the lake," he said, adding a concern that property values would go down if the sewer system was not added.
"It seems like most of the opposition is based on the enormous cost," said Don Deemer, North Sullivan Street, Leesburg. "What are the alternate means of funding? What are the appreciable values that will be added to our property?"
Because of the higher-than-median income in the lake chain the conservancy district does not qualify for two of three available grants, according to Jonn Julien, CPA with H.J. Umbaugh and Associates, Plymouth.
In response to Deemer's second question Julien added - based on his experience - the property values of communities that have installed sewer systems usually go up.
All of the comments from the three-hour public hearing will be attached to the proposal that will be forwarded to IDEM along with the plan, a board member said.
