Lairdsville community sewer project faces funding hurdle as construction-related prices rise

The Lairdsville community sewer plan hit a snag when low bids submitted for the work came in higher than expected.

Lycoming County Water and Sewer Authority Executive Director Christine Weigle told the board at its monthly meeting that bids from four firms to Franklin Township for different aspects of the project exceeded grant funding by $1.1 million.

The township project was to be covered entirely by $2.8 million in grants including PennVEST dollars.

Weigle noted that simply rebidding the project might not be feasible given the changing market conditions and rising costs of construction materials.

"They might come in higher," she said.

Other possibilities are to seek American Rescue Plan funding or to tap the authority's Community Development Block Grant monies.

However, CDBG dollars are normally reserved for other purposes.

Increased project costs, she noted, would most likely result in higher sewer rates for the 27 customers tapping into the system already expected to be between $105 and $110 per month.

In other matters, the authority approved a $3 million line of credit with Citizens and Northern Bank. The line of credit will allow for funding capital projects and other needs.

The authority also approved the purchase of a dump truck from Sunbury Motors.