HOWELL — The Township Council has passed two resolutions that will advance an initiative that could eventually bring a sewer system to the Freewood Acres section of Howell.
Freewood Acres is the area of numbered streets that intersect Route 9 just north of Interstate 195.
Estimates place the cost of the sewer project at $13.7 million. Officials have said there is a need to address ongoing issues that involve failing septic systems and noxious odors in Freewood Acres.
The east side of the project will include Wilentz Avenue, a portion of Windeler Road, Georgia Tavern Road from just east of Helen Avenue to Route 9, and all interior portions of Freewood Acres.
The west side of the project will include Hulses Corner Road from Route 9 to Smith Street and all interior portions of the Freewood Acres neighborhood.
Earlier this month, the council passed a resolution authorizing the expenditure of $825,000 for consulting utility engineering services for sanitary sewer design plans and cost estimates for the project.
The cost is being considered a preliminary expense of the sewer utility capital fund, according to the resolution.
According to the resolution, the council does not believe it is feasible to authorize a capital project by ordinance until the design of the sewer system is completed.
The council then passed a resolution awarding a contract to Maser Consulting, Red Bank, for an amount not to exceed $731,500 for utility engineering services for the sanitary system design.
According to the resolution, the contract will be carried out for 2015 with the amount based upon the hourly rates in Maser Consulting’s hourly rate schedule that is subject to change annually on Jan. 1.
Residents of Freewood Acres currently rely on a combination of wells and septic systems, while some homes are connected to a Manasquan River Regional Sewerage Authority (MRRSA) line that runs through the area, according to James Herrman, Howell’s director of community development.
There are 620 residential lots in Freewood Acres, 85 of which are connected to the MRRSA line.
The project that could result in the construction of a new sewer system in Freewood Acres will be several years in the making and will require permits to be obtained from the state Department of Environmental Protection and the state Department of Transportation, according to municipal officials.