Kittery workshop to discuss sewer extension project and hook up costs

thOctober 16. 2015 7:00PM

KITTERY, Maine – The Town Council is planning a workshop on Monday with the sewer department to work toward determining the betterment fee for the ongoing sewer extension project near Route 236.

The discussion Monday at 5:30 p.m. will be to revisit the funding formula for the sewer betterment assessments enacted in April, as well as additional financing information that town staff would like reviewed. The formal process for assessing the betterments, including public hearings, will also be discussed.

Any formal action determined at Monday’s workshop will be handled during the regularly scheduled council meeting on Oct. 26.

The $7 million sewer extension project began in March, and is designed to provide sewer hookups to several residential areas near Route 236 that currently have septic systems, as well as providing sewer hookups to attract commercial properties on a patch of land on Dennett Road.

The project encompassed portions of Route 236, Martin and Stevenson roads and Manson and Dana avenues.

The project impacted more than 160 residential lots, and dates back to the 1991 sewer master plan and was approved by voters in 2013.

The cost of connecting the sewer line to each residential plot varies drastically, based on square footage away from the line, amount of sewer line in front of the property, and several other factors. Each resident is obligated to connect the sewer line to their property within 90 days after being notified by the town. Residents will also have to have their existing septic tanks pumped and subsequently filled with gravel.