WESTOVER — Critical numbers tied to Westover’s Holland Avenue and pump station replacement plans came to light on Monday, including how much the parallel projects will impact residents’ sewer bills.
City Attorney Tim Stranko explained an ordinance enacting a 33.7% rate increase is expected before Westover City Council for first reading at its Feb. 20 regular meeting.
Stranko said the West Virginia Public Service Commission uses 3,400 gallons as the default usage level when calculating rate increases. At 3,400 gallons, a customer bill will climb from $28.98 to $38.74, an increase of $9.76 per month.
This is the second and larger of two rate increases tied to the project in less than a year. Council approved the first increase in March 2023.
The additional revenue will be used to underwrite a $3.875 million loan through the Department of Environmental Protection.
The 20-year loan at 3% interest is covering a little less than half the $8.25 million cost of the Holland Avenue work and replacement of the city’s main pump station, which delivers all Westover’s sanitary sewer flow beneath the Monongahela River to join the MUB system.
The rest will come covered by the city’s American Rescue Plan Act dollars ($1.9 million), anticipated grant funding from the West Virginia Water Development Authority ($2 million) and contributions from the county and state.
Sticking with Holland Avenue, it looks like August is currently the projected timeline for the start of construction.
The long-coveted improvements will address about 2,000 feet of the roadway, replacing broken sanitary sewer and stormwater lines beneath the street’s surface as well as the large retaining wall that runs along its lower portion.
Project Engineer Doug Smith said the design work is essentially complete and plans have been distributed to the various state agencies, including the DEP and the Division of Highways.
“The big one on this, of course, is going to be the DOH. We know that Holland Avenue is highly traveled. It is also a relatively narrow road. We’re going to have a storm sewer and a sanitary sewer occupying different areas in the road,” Smith said, explaining the DOH is looking at the potential traffic impacts of various work schedules.
“We can’t go into this thinking it’s all going to be sunshine. It’s going to be extremely disruptive. There’s just no way around it … Bottom line is this is going to come down to the DOH. They’re going to tell us what to do.”
Lastly, incumbents Edie Viola and Duane Tatar are joined by Randy Barnett and Mark Robert Gall as candidates for at-large seats on Westover City Council when voters go to the polls in May.
Mayor Bob Lucci is unopposed in his bid for reelection.
In addition to the makeup of council, city voters will also weigh in on a ballot question seeking to extend the term of office for mayor from two to four years.
