NKY sewer fixes coming, but no rate hike

Northern Kentucky residents will not see sewer rate increases this year.

Kenton and Campbell counties' judges-executive voted Monday not to increase Sanitation District 1 rates, just as the SD1 board recommended in June.

Boone County Judge-executive Gary Moore was out of the country and unable to vote.

A major difference in the decision of the board and that of the judges-executive was this: Kenton County Judge-executive Kris Knochelmann and Campbell Judge-executive Steve Pendery managed to include a sewer lateral program that the board did not.

The judges also included projects that specifically help with Boone County development and ultimately pump up economic growth in Northern Kentucky.

For months, mayors and other officials from Kenton and Campbell counties have been asking SD1 to reinstate a program that would help with crumbling, old pipes underneath streets. The deterioration is causing streets to develop sinkholes, and residents are required to pay for it all: the pipes from their house to the street, the pipe underneath the street to the sewer and the street repairs.

"It's a huge burden for somebody to have to cope with," Pendery said. "But it's not just that. The work that gets done is very uneven in quality."

Knochelmann said it did not make sense for residents to have to pay for all of the costs.

"When you have a sewer underneath a public right-of-way, that should be taken care of by the utility," Knochelmann said.

The county leaders said that $600,000 will be included for a sewer lateral program for fiscal year beginning Wednesday, and after that SD1 will need to figure out a funding plan.

Knochelmann said the funding this year will come from $4 million in cash reserves that the SD1 board had already committed to the new budget, which in total is about $95 million.

It was a relief to urban officials, especially in Covington, where so many sinkholes have appeared in streets that the city doesn't have enough steel sheets to cover them.

"We're very pleased," City Manager Larry Klein said. "It does a great service for all rate-payers."

Boone County Administrator Jeff Earlywine said Monday's decision helps Boone County, too.

"We're very pleased that ... projects were included in the budget that are very important for our county," Earlywine said.

One is a $3.4 million sewer main project to redirect flow from the Richwood Pump Station to the Western Treatment Plant. That is the area of Boone County for which Triple Crown developers could not get permits reserved in May for sewer tap-ons for 100 new homes. Richwood is at capacity.

The second is design and engineering for solutions to a sewer capacity problem at the Sand Run pump station in Hebron. That station also is reaching capacity, and if the issue isn't fixed, Boone County would lose substantial housing development.

"We're certainly taking a very important step forward," Earlywine said, adding that "the county will partner with SD1 on the cost of engineering and design."

Also during the meeting Monday at SD1 offices in Fort Wright, Knochelmann issued the board a challenge:

"I challenged the board to come back to us with a true, long-term plan that addresses all of our capital needs," he said, "and how we're going to pay for it."