The county planning department and commissioners are trying to help property owners in the Boyers area of Marion Township who have been left with a failing public sewer system.

The county commissioners on Wednesday approved a measure to allow the department to apply for a $1 million loan to go toward the $4.3 million cost to bring the sewer system up to modern standards.

Mark Gordon, county chief of economic development and planning, explained that the system was left behind by U.S. Steel decades ago when it ceased operations at the Boyers mine, now the Iron Mountain specialty storage facility.

At the time, the lagoon-type sewer system served 50 homes and was operating properly. But no plan was ever put into place for routine maintenance of the plant, and it has deteriorated immensely, he said.

The state Department of Environmental Protection placed responsibility for the sewer system in the hands of Marion Township after U.S. Steel ceased ownership.

Engineers more than two years ago estimated the project cost at more than $6 million, and Marion Township in 2018 submitted a request for $500,000 in funds from the county Infrastructure Bank, which is operated by Gordon.

As Commissioner Kim Geyer pointed out, when Gordon saw the modest means of the homes involved in the project and the financial limitations of Marion Township, he decided to collaborate with Joe Saeler, director of the Community Development Corporation of Butler County, and others to study ways the project cost could be decreased and how to avoid financially burdening the homeowners involved.

The men got the project costs reduced to $4.3 million, and continue to search for ways to have the system repaired at the least possible cost.

Once repaired, the sewer system would serve more than 100 homes, and tap-in for homes new to the system would be mandatory.

Commissioner Kevin Boozel said his friends and family in that area of Marion Township believe they will be obligated to tap in because the original 50 homes are in need of an updated sewer system.

Gordon said he wants to avoid a situation in which a tap fee would cost more than the value of a home in the area, where some roofs can be seen sporting tarpaulins to keep the rain out.

County officials will continue to work on a feasible option for the Boyers sewer system.

Also at the meeting, Wendy Leslie, the county Community Development Block Grant coordinator, asked the supervisors to approve moving more than $95,000 in grant money made available to 48 low-income Mercer Township homeowners to connect their homes to a new sewer line, into the Harrisville Borough Park project.Leslie said $95,151 is left over from a pool of grant money used to connect the homes to the sewer lines.She said only 21 homeowners received the funding because many did not want to divulge the personal information on the grant applications, such as annual income.Leslie held public meetings and attended borough meetings to convince residents that the information would be in a locked cabinet and would only be viewed — but not copied — by the state Department of Community and Economic Development, which is the department that provided the funding.“It's not for a lack of trying,” Leslie said of the low number of households that applied for the grant.Geyer said that type of thinking could prevent other upgrades in the northern part of the county, such as broadband internet service.“That reluctance, for whatever reason, is difficult, and you have an understanding of why (modern infrastructure) doesn't exist up there,” Geyer said.She said the county is considering using a portion of its Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funding to install broadband in the northern part of the county, particularly at a time when students may be facing learning at home because of the coronavirus pandemic.Leslie Osche, commissioners chairwoman, said providing cable along one road in the Moniteau School District would cost $1 million, and houses and businesses are sparse along that road. Of those few businesses and homes, many may not want to connect to the cable.“I think that's a challenge we're just going to have to meet,” Osche said of modernizing the rural sections of the county.The commissioners approved using the leftover sewer connection funds to complete all three phases of the Harrisville Borough Park project.The project will include a concrete sidewalk around the park that will allow wheelchair access to all sections of the park.Leslie said she hopes to advertise the park project for bids in the fall or in early 2021.