(6/14) The Liberty Township supervisors unanimously voted at their June meeting to reject a proposed water and sewer service agreement with the developer of the Greenview Estates development.
The proposed development would span Washington Township in Franklin County and Liberty Township in Adams County, with ten lots lying within Liberty Township, and the balance to be sited in Washington Township.
The developer had sought to gain the township’s approval of entering into an agreement wherein the township would assume maintenance of water and sewer lines installed within the township and would bill residents of the development.
In summarizing the developer’s proposed water and sewer agreement, Township Solicitor John Lisko stated that, "What they want is, they (the developers) want to put the water and sewer lines in (in the Liberty Township portion of the development), but they want us to maintain them, but they also want us to bill the customers."
Lisko noted that the developer suggested in the proposal that there would be a meter installed in Franklin Township, and that Liberty would then be billed for the water used by the residents in Liberty Township. Liberty Township then would have to bill the residents of the development and maintain the water and sewer lines within Liberty Township.
"You’re not in the water and sewer business, so basically you’d have to almost have to start a water and sewer authority for ten persons (properties)," he stated.
Lisko said what Liberty Township should allow is to permit them to lay the water and sewer lines for the development within Liberty, provided that the developers maintain the lines and be responsible for billing the service customers, adding, "We don’t want any involvement. We don’t need the administrative headache – not for ten people."
While the supervisors unanimously rejected the Greenview Estates proposed agreement, they did indicate the developer would be advised that the township would allow the developers to install water and sewer lines within Liberty with the conditions stipulated by the township solicitor.
