By: Stephanie Prokop
MANSFIELD The Township Committee announced at its July 25 meeting that the Lynwood Farms sewer project will cost each homeowner about $10,000 over the period of 20 years, significantly less that previously predicted.
Todd & Black of Cherry Hill, the appraisers hired by the township, will be giving a presentation at the Aug. 22 meeting to discuss the final report and answer questions.
Township Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Joseph Monzo also said that letters would be mailed within the first few days of August to each of the 43 affected households explaining the outcome of the assessment.
In the past few years, many residents were divided about the sewer project, with some residents leaning toward it because they said it would abolish worries of septic problems.
Some residents had cited difficulties in the past with stagnant water too close to homes, while others had stated that they were perfectly content with the septic system.
In 2004, former Township Attorney Brian Guest estimated that the township’s share of the project should not exceed $500,000. This estimate would have put each household’s responsibility at around $11,600. This figure did not include the sewer hook-up fee, slated to be in the $5,000 range, which according to some residents, is what they had been quoted in the late 1990s.
Earlier last year, it was estimated that the township would be expected to pay about $900,000 of the $1.8 million bill and then be reimbursed by the development’s 43 residents over the next 20 years. Based on that calculation, each house in the development would be responsible for paying about $21,000.
Now the township is estimating that the project will cost around $1.3 million, although that figure may be a bit higher because all of the bills aren’t compiled yet, said Township Administrator Joseph Broski.
"No one house is going to be worth more than another (in terms of the assessment for the sewer project) and that was one of the big questions that a lot of (residents) had," he said.
Approximately 15 of the 43 residents showed interest in hooking up to the sewer immediately, because of the poor condition of their septic systems.
Mr. Broski said that he thinks the remaining people were hesitant to commit to hooking up to the project before they knew how much it would cost them.
Bill Steele, a resident of Lynwood who lives on Oak Lynn Drive, said that he was "ecstatic" about the outcome of the assessment.
"This figure is much lower than what we were anticipating," he added.
Mr. Steele said that he and the community of Lynwood Farms had been really frustrated about the length of time that the project had taken, but is satisfied that there is now a sound figure in sight. The $10,000 figure does not include the sewer hookup fee, which may be waived by the township depending on when people hook up to the project, said Mr. Broski.
Residents who have specific questions about the Lynwood Farms sewer project can address their questions to the Township Committee on the Aug. 22 meeting, at 7:30 p.m. at the Mansfield Municipal Complex.

