Mar 13, 2014 3 min read

Former officials in Robinson Township dished out more than $776,000 for a water line extension project, but the new board of supervisors voted to cancel that contract and get their money back.

Board Chairman Rodger Kendall and Vice Chairman Steve Duran, who both began their terms in January, voted at Monday’s meeting to cancel the contract with Pennsylvania American Water and make a “good faith attempt” to renegotiate with the same company. Incumbent Supervisor Mark Brositz voted against the resolution, arguing the contract approved last November was sufficient.

The project would extend water lines to about 15 households on Natures Way and Old Steubenville Pike. Many households have contaminated or undrinkable well water, and Brositz said it would be a stepping stone for a longer-term project to bring public water to more residents.

Kendall and Duran said they felt the cost of the project was simply too high. The project was estimated to cost more than $900,000, but the water company agreed to pay more than $158,000.

“It put the township at a financial disadvantage,” Duran said, adding the township couldn’t repair its plow truck last week because there was not enough money in the general fund.

After the water company refunds the township, Duran said they will apply for low-interest loans and grants. Supervisors also voted to approve a $50,000 tax anticipation loan until the money is returned in order “to survive temporarily,” Kendall said.

In addition to the cost, Kendall took issue with the township being held responsible for overage fees.

“Cost was the biggest motivation, and the second part is the contract was open-ended,” Kendall said. “The way it was written was any and all above-and-beyond expenses fell back on the township.”

Both Kendall and Duran want the water company to consider a new plan that would shorten the Old Steubenville Pike line. This would remove one household from the water extension plan, but Duran said it would save the township more than $300,000.

“We have to do it in a financially responsible manner,” Duran said.

Brositz, who wanted to keep the original contract, said he felt “the price per foot was one of the best deals ever.” He said the water company was charging around $100 per foot, which he described as being lower than average.

Brositz said Kendall and Duran are doing some political maneuvering to reverse action taken by the previous board. More than half of the water line project was financed by the township’s fund for Act 13 drilling impact fees, which was nearly depleted after making payments to the water company.

Brositz said Kendall, a lease-holder, previously filed a complaint with the Public Utility Commission asking it to withhold Robinson Township’s impact fees while the township was involved in Act 13 litigation. After Kendall and Duran came into office, the new board voted 2-1 to remove Robinson Township from the ongoing Act 13 case.

“My huge problem is that half of that money – $397,000 that we used from the Act 13 impact fees from 2011 and 2012 – half of that money, the township would not even have if our current Chairman Mr. Kendall had his way,” Brositz said.

Duran argued the Act 13 case was a “whole different issue,” and supervisors still plan to use impact fees after the project is renegotiated. The board has begun developing a capital improvement plan in the hopes of securing more grants for the water line extension project.