Elizabeth Township commissioners ‘misinformed’ on pump station costs

Questions about the status of the Lovedale pump station project in Elizabeth Township were raised at the commissioners’ recent workshop meeting.

During July’s regular meeting, commissioners passed a motion to reject all the bid submissions for the pump station’s upgrades contract.

“I won’t say we were misled, but I will say we were misinformed about the overall cost of the upgrade of the Lovedale pump station,” Commissioner Kyle Walk said. “We weren’t really concerned about that number because we can definitely move forward with that out of our existing sanitary budget.”

A request for bids went out in mid-May, but when the board realized the upgrade costs jumped from around $300,000 to about $2 million, they didn’t award the contract, according to Walk.

“We don’t have that money, period. Can’t do it,” Walk said. “And so we had no other option than to reject the bids. Now as far as financing, our intent is to move forward with asking for another PENNVEST (Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority) loan for that amount or whatever amount we determine proper. That certainly takes some time.”

According to Walk, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection agreed to an extension for the township to complete the project by June, 30, 2026. He added that they are going to try to get it done before that deadline.

Commissioner Adam Musisko said the DEP knows there is only a small percentage of the Lovedale pump station that needs to be finished, and that PENNVEST bonds are “very reasonable” to take on if local legislators endorse them.

Musisko added that it can be simple to add on to previous bonds, and that the DEP and PENNVEST understand “the hardships” they are facing.

“For some reason, we had it budgeted for less money,” Musisko said. “It turns out it’s less of what it’s going to be when the bids are coming in. We weren’t prepared for it without having to do some weird loan lengths that we didn’t want to do.

“So when we got the big number, we said hold on, can we put a pause on it? We are very confident that we can get the extension that will give us more time and allows us to get our ducks in a row and not have to spend irresponsibly to do it now.”

Bad debt resolution

Elizabeth Township Manager Tammy Firda said Solicitor Matt Racunas is working on a resolution for commissioners to vote on in August that will get rid of the minimum household fee for properties with demolished houses. Firda explained that if the township tears down a blighted house, there is still a collection for the tap-in minimum household fee.

“So that continues to collect, (and) it looks like bad debt on our part when it’s not and it affects our bond rating and scores. So it’s best to get those off,” Firda said.

Racunas said this was a request by township administrators to be able to “clean up the books” in conjunction with the township auditor — wiping off some of the old debt that will never be collected. He added that it would also be for accounting purposes.

In other business:

• Xpel Nuisance Wildlife Control presented a $1,000-per-month contract proposal to deal with nuisance wildlife in the area.

• The Allegheny County Snow and Ice Agreement is up for renewal at the August meeting. The county pays the township to plow county roads in the area so they are done in a timely manner.

• Pennsylvania Resources Council will hold a hard-to-recycle collection event Aug. 2 at Elizabeth Forward Middle School. There is a $5 participation fee. A list of unlimited recycling of electronic devices and more can be found at https://prc.org.