Last year, the Greater Pottsville Area Sewer Authority hired a Mechanicsburg firm to determine if more than 200 properties were in compliance with the state-mandated stormwater/sewer separation project.
At its March meeting on Wednesday, the authority reported Trenchless Resources and Consultants has been unable to contact the owners of 31 properties. Eager to finish the project and encourage the state to lift a moratorium on new sewer connections, Timothy R. Yingling, the sewer authority's executive director, said the authority's street crew will take on the responsibility to finish the project.
"We're going to do that in-house," Yingling said.
"And we're going to complete that by when?" Ian H. Lipton, board chairman, asked.
"Give me two months, until the end of May," Yingling said.
"Let's try to have it done by next month. One of the things that we need to do is get the EDUs back here in order to spur economic development. We can't drag it out because this is critical to growth," Lipton said.
"I'll talk to the street crew and get them started," Yingling said.
The authority paid Trenchless Resources and Consultants more than $20,000 for the study. Yingling did not have the total amount Wednesday night but was planning to do the calculations later this week.
Since 2007, the authority has been struggling to complete the stormwater/sewer separation project. In February 2013, the authority launched the study to make sure more than 200 property owners on Pottsville's west end, from 20th Street west to the city line, were in compliance.
In other matters, Yingling said Higgins Insurance, Pottsville, recommended the authority adopt an employee handbook.
"We've never had an employee handbook. Everything we have is scattered throughout all our files, policies and thing. So I asked for a proposal, just to see what it would cost, and they came back with a fee. To do a handbook for all the employees would be $4,000," Yingling said.
Instead of spending so much, Lipton recommended the authority consider other options.
"We can go to another authority and get an employee handbook that's already been made up and look at that. It's not plagiarism. It's research. So before we spend $4,000, go to your friends in another community and ask them to see their handbook," Lipton said.
But Lipton said he was only interested in seeing employee handbooks from similar municipal authorities.
"I'd like to delay any decision on this unless the board feels otherwise," Lipton said.
The board took no action on the matter Wednesday.
"So, by next meeting you're going to have one for us to look at?" Lipton asked Yingling.
"I'm going to try to get one," Yingling said.
"I know you're going get one," Lipton said.