By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
Hiring a civil engineering firm
to help plan a sewer program may be a good idea but Mona
City Council is not far enough along in the planning process
to consider such a move.
Travis Higby and Jared Ingram,
representing Forsgren Associates/Inc., met with Mona City
Council members to discuss the project on
Tuesday.
Ingram, who grew up in Nephi,
noticed in the Times-News that the city was discussing a
wastewater system. That consideration came as a result of a
meeting the city council had with Sydney Fonnesbeck,
Director of Training and Communication for the League of
Cities and Towns.
"She said we might look at
developing a sewer system," said Bryce Lynn,
mayor.
At the present, said Gordon
Anderson, council member, the council is just beginning to
consider the possibility and realizes that there is a lot to
think about before making such a decision.
"It is just a thought process,"
said Anderson.
Higby said he would be happy to
meet with the council in a pre-planning session so they
could consider some of the issues, such as property
acquisition, that would need to be addressed.
He presented council members with
a checklist of things needing to be accomplished and also
with a list of funding sources for small rural
communities.
"You sound like a pretty
forward-looking group," said Higby.
Lynn said that he had talked to
Bruce Hall, a retired health department supervisor for the
area, and learned that the city would, most likely, not need
to be concerned about developing a sewer system until they
reached a population of 2,000 to 3,000 residents.
"He said Mona can handle the
septic system really well," said Lynn. "Our soil is
porous."
Lynn said he was concerned about
the expense as a similar study for Levan would cost $30 or
more per household. That was an expense he was not certain
the city needed to consider as yet.
"We are closer to 2,000 residents
than you might think," said Harry Newell, council
member.
He said the number was for
residents and not households, so that when the children of
the community were added in, the population number may be
close.
"There are 980 registered voters
in Mona," said Newell.
He said it was also reported that
wards were growing quickly in the community and that,
looking at the number of new homes under construction and
proposed for construction, that number may be reached sooner
than the mayor may expect.
There are 434 gas utility bills
sent out each month.
Lynn said Fairview, in Sanpete
County, where a sewer system was recently built, had a high
water table but that was not a problem in Mona.
However, Allen Pay, water master,
said there were problems with the septic system. A lot of
field drains fail and have to be relocated.
"After the second set fails,"
said Cory Squire, council member, "they just switch them
back to the first site."
Homes on the septic system have
two zones for a reason, he said.
Newell said it would be wise to
plan ahead for the future. Sewer systems took some time to
plan and there was much to do before such a system could be
built.
"It is rare that action is taken
so far ahead," he said. "We could begin to lay some ground
work."
For example, a sewer impact fee
could be set for new residents. The money could be set aside
for the new system when it was needed.
"The population of Mona might
reach the 2,000 resident mark in the next five to 10 years,"
said Newell.
The best move the city could make
at the present, said Lynn, would be to pick a
site.
Higby said that would be one of
the things his firm could help the city accomplish. Such
work, depending on what was required, could cost the city as
little as $20,000 or as much as $70,000.
The price would also depend on
the firm selected.
"Twenty-years ago, the city had a
master plan done," said Lynn. "That plan indicated that the
town should move to grow toward Cemetery Lane. We pretty
well have done that."
Squire said he was interested in
what sort of fee needed to be charged residents in order to
do the necessary work to have a sewer system.
"I have seen small towns have to
charge residents $62 per month because there had been no
planning and the community had to react to a crisis," said
Higby. "There are a lot of funding agencies that help small
rural communities."
Pay said he would be interested
in seeing the city develop some sort of master plan to show
where pipelines would need to be placed. Then, if the city
had those pipelines in place through the new construction
areas, it would not be as difficult to get a system
completed.
"There has to be some sort of
design," said Higby. "It is wise to react now before it gets
more expensive."
He said that impact fees were
very helpful and that it should be the new folks, who were
creating the impact on the city, who should pay such
fees.
"There is only a certain load the
ground can take, as far as septic systems are concerned,"
said Higby.
Anderson said he would like to
see some science. He also had questions about how and what
kind of sewer system the community may build and which they
may need.
He also was curious about whether
a small system could be built and then added to as the need
arose.
Lynn said that it might be more
than just population that determined the need for a sewer
system.
Higby offered to meet with
Anderson and give him some pointers on what should be done.
|
