New sewer system coming to Marion without tap-in fee
A new sewer system. It’s an overwhelmingly a positive change, but often when tap-in fees are involved, it makes the proposed infrastructure improvement a little harder to stomach.
Though grants are often sought to help soften the blow to residents, the cost still seems to come back at a number too prohibitive for many.
Considering keeping people on the same page for most things is a challenge, it’s just not very feasible to get everyone in a municipality to plan their finances around a project like this. It’s not realistic at all for everyone to be able to afford such an upgrade.
Fortunately for the 96 homeowners and 15 businesses in the Boyers area of Marion Township, they will not have to pay a tap-in fee alongside the construction of a public sewer system.
A nearly $3.8 million grant announced Tuesday is what was needed to move forward with the system.
The township had inherited an aging lagoon sewer system more than 50 years ago when an industrial plant moved out, but the small township couldn’t keep up with maintenance. Thus, it’s unsurprising to see how things evolved to where they are today.
In fact, the current sewer system is in such bad shape that the state Department of Environmental Protection issued a consent order in 2014 mandating the township rectify the situation, the Butler Eagle reported Wednesday.
We’re grateful to see these funds coming to the aid of Marion Township, and further, we are grateful for the people who came up with a way to “roll tap fees into the construction funds.” That was a seriously smart move.
—TL
