The City of Lakewood has begun notifying property owners in Tillicum, one of its two poorest neighborhoods, that they must connect to a new sewer system within 90 days or start paying a monthly charge.
The mailings are going out as city officials announce completion of the $18 million project to extend sanitary sewer into the Tillicum and Woodbrook areas. Notices to Woodbrook property owners will be sent as early as next month.
Earlier this year, the city changed its connection policy to mandatory from voluntary due to a lack of interest in hooking up. Owners who don’t connect within three months of receiving the notice will be assessed a monthly fee, known as an “availability charge.” It obligates households to connect within five years – earlier if they sell the property or its septic system fails.
The monthly charge is $38.02 a month for single-family homes.
Between eight and 10 property owners are ready to hook up now, city spokesman Mike Savage said, and officials expect that number to increase as owners receive notice.
The first 250 notices were mailed Friday. More than 340 properties will be required to comply.
McDonald’s, which is expanding its Tillicum restaurant, and the local Habitat for Humanity chapter would be among the first property owners to hook up to the system. Habitat is working with the city to construct 30 homes for low-income families in the same neighborhood.
City Manager Andrew Neiditz praised his public works staff for leading the project.
“We are more excited about the opportunities for growth the sewer system represents for the residents and businesses in Tillicum and Woodbrook,” he said.
Jim Taylor, vice president of the Tillicum-Woodbrook Neighborhood Association, said most people he’s talked to are OK with the monthly charge because they “couldn’t afford the price tag of actually hooking up.”
Taylor, who received his notice, will pay the charge initially. He plans to connect once crews install a planned sewer line that is closer to his home so it will cost less to hook up.
The city had to make concessions to Pierce County before the county would start running the sewer system with too few customers. The city managed the construction and turned the system over to the county to own and operate.
The city made $164,000 in capital improvements and agreed to pay an estimated $55,200 a year so the system can operate under low-flow conditions. The maintenance cost will decrease as the number of connections increase and will go away completely when daily usage reaches 70,400 gallons.
The city estimates it will cost between $4,700 and $13,700 for a property to hook up a home, duplex or triplex, including construction and county permit and connection fees. Commercial and industrial properties will pay more. The city offers loans to assist property owners in hooking up.
The city began the project in 2005 after the City Council identified extending sanitary sewer into the neighborhoods as a top priority to prevent contamination from failing septic systems and to bolster economic development.
The Tillicum-Woodbrook neighborhoods weren’t included when Pierce County extended sewer lines into Lakewood beginning in the 1970s, prior to the city’s incorporation in 1996.
Christian Hill: 253-274-7390
christian.hill@thenewstribune.com
Twitter: @TNTchill
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