Peters council approves bond issue agreement with Peters Township Sanitary Authority
Peters Township Council on Monday approved an agreement and authorized an ordinance between the township and the Peters Township Sanitary Authority that will enable the authority to take on a $7.5 million bond issue – guaranteed by the township – for expansion of the Donaldson’s Crossroads Sewage Treatment Plant on West McMurray Road.
The authority plans to combine the bond issue with an $11 million PennVest loan and a Local Share Account grant to cover the nearly $21 million cost of the expansion.
Patti Mowry, financial controller for PTSA, said the authority is on schedule to begin construction in January. The project is estimated to be completed by December 2017.
Mowry also told council that taxpayers, who currently pay about $35 a month, can expect to pay about $44 or $45 per month by 2018, a bit lower than the original estimate. The first rate increase of approximately 13 percent will be implemented in January.
Sean Garin, of Dinsmore & Shohl’s Public Finance Group, reviewed the agreement and terms of the 25-year bond issue with council members.
Peters Township Business Manager Michael Silvestri said the township owns a AA credit rating; if the authority had taken out a bond issue itself, it would have paid as much as $1.3 million more.
Councilman Frank Arcuri cast the lone dissenting vote.
The authority, which predominantly serves Donaldson’s Crossroads and surrounding residential developments, wants to expand capacity by 45 percent to meet increased demand and will build on a 3.5-acre parcel next to the Donaldson’s Crossroads treatment plant.
In another matter, council members unanimously approved a new five-year contract with Teamsters Local 205, which represents the township’s 22 full-time police officers.
The contract calls for annual raises of 2.5 percent and requires officers to wear bulletproof vests while on duty. It also includes provisions that call for at least three officers to be on duty at all times, places restrictions on sick leave and calls for increased health care contributions for new hires.
Silvestri said newly-hired officers will earn about 80 percent of the full rate of $36.76 per hour, which is reached after four years of service. Officers who receive the full rate also are eligible for 20 cent per hour raises based on longevity. The union had previously approved the agreement.
Also on Monday, township resident Bob Donnan showed council maps of Pittsburgh-based EQT’s Lutes well pad site in Nottingham Township. He said the company plans to drill 24 wells on the site, which is located less than 1/3 of a mile from Rees Park and a half-mile from residential homes in Peters Township, and voiced concern about the impact an accident at the Lutes site would have on Peters residents.