By John Schwing

WESTPORT — The largest sewer assessments in recent town history — nearly $51,000 — are in the pipeline for residents of a six-street neighborhood if plans for a new sewer line win final approval.

The Board of Selectwomen on Wednesday learned about recently amended fees for the project, which have skyrocketed from the initial estimated assessment of $39,533 last March to fees projected as of last month at $50,855.55.

The sewer project would encompass 37 homes on Whitney Street, Roseville Road, Fernwood Road, Plumtree Lane, Pamela Place and Ledgemoor Lane.

It was planned in response to a residents’ petition because of the neighborhood’s saturated soil quality and large areas of ledge, according to Bryan Thompson, the Water Pollution Control Authority coordinator for the Department of Public Works.

Thompson, describing the latest assessment figures as the highest he can recall, detailed the sharp cost increase for informational purposes at Wednesday’s meeting.

The sewer line proposal, with a projected total budget of $1,881,656, has yet to win final approval. The next step, he said, is to ask the Board of Finance to approve extra money to cover the unexpectedly higher costs.

Thompson said that when plans for the new sewer line were drawn up last March, with an estimated $39,533 assessment per household, bids later received for the work were “dramatically” higher than anticipated.

Officials decided to reject those bids and seek new construction estimates.

The project went out to bid again last December and attracted six bidders. But the bidder submitting the lowest cost estimate was the same firm that tendered the same figure in the first round of bidding, which works out to the $50,855 per household assessment.

The overall $1.9 million construction budget has a 5 percent built-in contingency, Thompson said, adding that factor and other cushions mean the $50,855 assessment is a “worst-case scenario.” The final figure could be somewhat lower by the time work is completed, he indicated.

The higher costs, he said, reflect rising expenses for construction, with materials, fuel and labor all higher.

Despite the spike in estimated assessments, Thompson said based on the majority of contacts he has had with neighborhood residents, many still appear to support the project, although he admitted some have questioned “the dollar value.”

John Lamie, a Fernwood Road resident, came to the Town Hall podium, prefacing his questions about the sewer project by remarking it’s a case of where “the affluent meet the effluent.”

He wanted to know if the project could be re-bid again, since he said prices for some construction materials have recently declined.

Thompson said officials have no plans to seek bids on the contract for a third time, particularly since the most recent bids were submitted just last month.

Two other neighbors — a resident of Ledgemoor Lane and the other of Roseville Road — both supported the project in brief remarks.

Other business

• The selectwomen on Wednesday also approved the use of town roads for the annual Memorial Day parade, which will take place Monday, May 29.

The parade is scheduled to follow the traditional route through downtown, starting near Saugatuck Elementary School on Riverside Avenue, heading north, turning right onto Post Road West, crossing the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge, turning left on Myrtle Avenue, passing Town Hall and Veterans Green, and ending in Parker Harding Plaza.

• The board also approved the use of town roads for a new season of the weekly races for the Road Runners Series this year, and to coordinate with the Connecticut Traffic Authority for special races planned by the group on state roads Aug. 5, Aug. 12 and Sept. 1.

John Schwing, the Westport Journal consulting editor, has held senior editorial and writing posts at southwestern Connecticut media outlets for four decades. Learn more about us here.