SHENANDOAH — A Shenandoah Municipal Sewer Authority board member addressed the borough council Monday about creating a separate account for sewer funds.
SMSA member Joseph Gawrylik brought up the issue during the public portion of the borough council meeting. However, several borough officials replied that a separate account already exists for revenues that are not placed into the borough’s general fund.
“My question is about the sewage fund. What I am requesting is that the council transfers the money from the general fund into a separate account to just have the sewage money coming in from the (Shenandoah) Heights and the borough,” Gawrylik said.
“That’s the way is,” council President Donald E. Segal said.
“No, it isn’t,” Gawrylik said. “It can’t be. What we’re getting from Shenandoah Heights and Shenandoah is going into the general fund. We’re like the bottom of the food chain when it comes to getting things fixed.”
The sewer authority owns the treatment plant and the distribution system, but has a management agreement with the borough to run the day-to-day operations with borough employees. Expenses such as salaries and other costs are paid from the revenues collected. The arrangement is similar to that of the Ashland Area Municipal Authority and Borough of Ashland, where the borough operates the water system, with the authority taking care of major repairs or improvements, such as reservoir upgrades or plant improvements.
Gawrylik gave credit to the borough employees who maintain the treatment plant, which is located west of the borough near the West Mahanoy Township village of William Penn.
“Your guys do a beautiful job down there. It’s clean thanks to the maintenance work,” Gawrylik said. “But the plant does need work, and if we can take the money and make a special account and let (the authority) govern that money, I think that would be appropriate. What I think is happening that the sewer money is going into the general fund, and when they (borough) need extra somewhere, it’s taken out and we don’t get that money.”
“That’s not true,” Segal said.
Borough Manager Joseph L. Palubinsky explained that there is a separate fund.
“The Shenandoah Municipal Sewer Authority has an operating arrangement with the Borough of Shenandoah, which has as part of that agreement a sewer revenue account. That’s a separate account that’s used to collect and pay for all of the expenses of the sewer department, including the operation and maintenance of the sewage treatment plant,” Palubinsky said. “There is also the sewer authority, which is responsible for any major capital improvement at the sewage plant.”
“It’s going into the general fund,” Gawrylik pressed his position.
“It is not going into the general fund,” Segal said.
“We are at the bottom of the food chain. We can’t get a motor fixed in two and a half years,” Gawrylik said.
“Well, you’re on the authority, now get it fixed,” Palubinsky said. “I’m simply saying that any capital improvement at the sewage treatment plant is technically the responsibility of the sewer authority.”
Councilman Robert Kulpowicz has served on the authority board for 12 years and explained some of the process.
“Every so often there is a walk around the plant and make a wish list of what needs to be done,” Kulpowicz said. “When we need repairs, we have to go to the engineer first for inspection for what needs to be done. Then what we usually try to do is get a grant, if we can, as the sewer authority.”
Palubinsky said the authority will be receiving a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant of $86,000 to reimburse costs for a capital improvement at the plant.
Palubinsky said the sewer revenue account funds are deposited in First National Bank in Shenandoah.
After the meeting, Palubinsky provided The Republican-Herald with a copy of the “Statement of Revenues and Expenditures-Compared to Budget” for June for the “Sewer Revenue Fund.”
“Here is the Sewer Revenue Fund,” Palubinsky said, holding the budget page. “It’s a separate fund. We have a projected budget of $953,000, which are revenues, and then we have our projected expenditures. This is all a separate fund used for the operation and maintenance of the sewage collection system and issues involving treatment.”
Gawrylik said the treatment plant is in a “nice and safe condition” and he wants to keep it that way.
In addition to Gawrylik and Kulpowicz, other board members are William Grutza, chairman; Ronald Luscavage and Jerry Sadusky.