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LOCK HAVEN -- Discussion surrounding Sunset Pines and the city's ongoing stormwater infrastructure project continued to be a central part of council's recent agenda.
On Monday night, council took action on two items regarding Phase II of the project -- which has seen bumps in the road since it first began.
The first action was to issue a letter to Suburban Water Authority, compelling it to move a portion of water line that would hinder the second phase of the project.
The 270 feet of water line has been a topic of discussion for months, as the city and Suburban continued discussion surrounding which entity was responsible for moving the line and absorbing the costs involved.
Initially, Suburban gave the city permission to move the line at its own expense. City officials at the time said it did not have the budget to do so -- and council voted to push back Phase II of its project.
However, through continued discussion between representatives from the city and Suburban, it was determined the authority would move the line and absorbed the subsequent costs.
The letter approved by council states the authority is "provided notice that you must complete relocation of the water line no later than June 30, 2023, and such water line, if relocated in the street right-of-way must be relocated in a manner acceptable to the city engineering department. Their relocation will occur at the authority's sole cost and expense."
Suburban Water Authority Manager Greg Mayes attended council's meeting to offer comment regarding the ongoing issue.
Mayes presented council with a letter from its solicitor, Attorney Paul Ryan.
According to the letter from Ryan, although the city is compelling the authority to move the line -- it is not within its rights to do so.
"I have advised Suburban that because the line was in place prior to the street's dedication to the city, Suburban cannot be compelled to relocate the line," Ryan's letter reads.
According to Ryan, the line was placed when the area was still a part of Allison Township.
Before Mayes could comment further about Ryan's letter, City Manager Greg Wilson stopped him.
Wilson said the issue is now being handled by the city and Suburban's lawyers. It was noted by Wilson that the city's solicitor -- Attorney Justin Houser -- was not handling the case due to he and Ryan's affiliation at the same law firm. Instead, the city is utilizing Chambersburg based firm Salzman Hughes.
Wilson told Mayes that the letter from Ryan, which had not been viewed by council or other city staff prior to the meeting, would be sent to its lawyer to review and offer comment.
Mayes did not offer further comment, but later told The Express that the authority does still plan to honor the offer to relocate the waterline.
"In the spirit of cooperation, we have been offering to move the line at our expense and the city's only finanical responsibility would be the cost of base paving in the trench of the relocated line and waiving permit fees," he said.
Earlier in the year, following Suburban's initial denial of moving the line -- council chose to revoke Suburban's permit fee waiver that had been in place previously.
Mayes said, in speaking with the authority's engineering firm, "in cases like this the municipality and municipal authority traditionally always work together and share the expense."
Council did not offer comment regarding the permit fee.
Following its approval of the letter, council picked up where it left off involving Phase II and accepted a low bidder for the project.
Council unanimously voted to accept a bid from HRI, Inc., of State College, for $240,310. HRI is currently completing Phase I of the project. Phase I consists of work on Pine Tree Road, Morningside Road, Campus View and Sylvan Drive from Hill Street to 30 Sylvan Drive.
Phase II of the project involves improvements to additional parts of Sylvan Drive.
Other phases of the project include:
-- Improvements to Hemlock Drive.
-- Improvements to Hillcrest and Spruce Drives.
-- Improvements to Oak Lane and Woodland Road.