The chairman of the Williamsport Sanitary Authority said the authority should not take over management of the city stormwater system without further discussion with Lycoming County and city officials.

“My suggestion is not to do it,” said Eiderson Dean, sanitary authority chairman, at the joint-water and sanitary authority meeting this week.

Dean said he had no question of the authority’s capability — with the proper assets, personnel and equipment — in managing the stormwater system, which the city wants to see transferred to the authority.

His concern was, rather, the impact on the ratepayers and the financial costs of the management of intake systems.

“We agree we need to be a part of the solution,” said Kent Trachte, a new board member and president of Lycoming College.

But Trachte also noted it was important for whichever agency takes control to “know what (it is) taking over.”

“We need to solve this and there is a process in place,” Trachte said. Should it not be resolved, there are “serious implications for authority customers,” he said.

Steven W. Cappelli, city municipal water authority chairman, said his concern is the matter has languished for two years.

The authority spent $125,000 to $150,000 on Arcadis, an engineering firm, to develop a possible fee schedule that might be insufficient to cover what is discovered beneath the city in its stormwater drainage and intake systems, he said.

Cappelli said the management and repair of these system might end up “quadruple” for ratepayers. “It’s been missing in action,” he said of the council on the matter.

The last time the matter was brought to the attention of council was earlier this summer, according to Joseph Orso, the authority solicitor.

Jonathan Williamson, former council president, said a meeting of the city and authority could be arranged but it never occurred.

Recently, Councilwoman Bonnie Katz, chairwoman of the public works committee, said the ball remains in the authority’s court. She also said if the Grafius Run issue for the city isn’t taken seriously by Loyalsock Township, that a hard discussion and then possible litigation may be a necessary course of action. But, she said, first the parties need to sit down and hash out details.

Authority member Gregory Zeitler said the endless bickering and blame games are not serving the ratepayers justice.

Zeitler noted the process stopped once the authority asked for the city to pay for the related costs.

“The pig is out there,” said Johnny Meyer, authority member. “The poke is in the ground.”

The consensus of the board was to arrange a meeting with the county and city officials to move ahead on how best to tackle the necessary repairs, a requirement to reduce nutrients in silt and other minerals from getting into the West Branch of the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay.