Four of five Towamencin Township supervisors followed through with the promises they made last month and voted Wednesday night to sell the township’s entire sanitary sewer system, the sewer plant, and all sewer amenities, and transfer all sewer easements to NextEra Energy for $115 million.
In doing so, the township will wipe out its outstanding debt entirely, raise new revenue for, among other things, parks and recreation and fire services, increase the Homestead Exemption amount to $76,000 (which can be favorable to the elderly and those of low income), decrease taxpayers’ property tax bills, and improve the intersections of Welsh and Orvilla roads, and Valley Forge/Troxel/Kriebel roads at Sumneytown Pike.
Democrat Joyce Ferguson was the sole dissident on the sewer sale in the 4-1 vote. All her colleagues are Republican.
The vote was not without controversy, as about 30 residents in favor of local system and rate control – a majority of whom are members of the Facebook group Towamencin Neighbors Opposing Privatization Efforts (NOPE) – populated the township meeting hall to vehemently speak out against the sale, accusing supervisors of lining their pockets with kickbacks and threatening to take matters to the Public Utilities Commission, as well as begin the preliminary steps toward rewriting the township’s charter to a Home Rule charter, according to The Reporter.
Talks on the sewer sale began in 2020, with a valuation and analysis of the sewer system done by consultant Public Financial Management. Eventually, five bids were received, with supervisors choosing the highest bid from NextEra Water, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy. Other bids came from Franconia Sewer Authority ($23.5 million), Aqua Pennsylvania ($54.1 million), Pennsylvania American Water ($92.4 million) and VICO ($45 million/$55 million).
NextEra is getting its feet wet in the business of sanitary sewer ownership and management. Six months ago, NextEra Energy announced it plans to buy up municipal and privately-owned water assets, similar to how it spent $45 million to buy numerous regulated water and wastewater utility assets in eight Texas counties, according to Bloomberg.com.
After receiving bids, two town hall sessions were held in April, and it was at the first town hall when Chairman Chuck Wilson — who, on Wednesday night, called the sale “the greatest thing that has ever happened to this township “ — and Supervisors Laura Smith, Kristin Warner and Rich Marino expressed their intentions to sell the sewer system.
Once the township pays of $9 million in sewer debt and $10 million in additional debt, funds $7.5 million in pensions, jump starts priority projects with $5 million, and pays $1.8 million in fees, it has $87 million in the bank at a 3 percent interest earning rate for life.
The township plans to solely use interest earnings to fund the following:
Per the recorded public meeting, Wilson reiterated most of the board’s decision to sell off to a corporate entity, highlighting the $1.2 million in annual budget savings from debt service.
“We can handle all these future needs of the township, without raising taxes. That’s what we’re trying to do here,” he said. “Yes, I feel passionately about this, because I think this is the greatest thing that has ever happened to this township. It’s going to make us debt free, it’s going to enable us to stay debt-free for decades to come, and it’s going to benefit, primarily, the residents of the future.”
“The total tax and sewer bill, to the average resident, in year ten, with the projections we have, is a total of $1,381. That’s with the sale,” Wilson said. “Our projected total tax and sewer bill without the sale is $1,702.”
Residents told supervisors repeatedly that the sale was not a positive benefit, that it was a “dramatic cost increase” with no assurance or guarantee of affordable rates, and that the sewer system was fine and well-maintained.
A couple of residents brought up the fact that there are residents in outlying municipalities, like Hatfield Township and Lansdale Borough, who are connected to the Towamencin sewer system and will be affected from the sale. One resident said she used to live on Vernon Court off Welsh Road in Hatfield, which connects to Towamencin sewer lines, and those residents will not reap the new benefits.
Kofi Osei, the passionate, outspoken spokesperson for Towamencin NOPE, accused the board of taking “backroom deals.”
“I’m giving a warning to your patrons: You do not want someone like me organizing around rewriting this township’s charter,” he said.
James Collins believed it was ignorant of the supervisors to not take residents’ concerns into consideration in their vote.
“There’s a substantial difference between leading and ruling. We elected you guys to lead the township, we didn’t elect you to rule the township,” he said.
Martin Cohen said ratepayer costs would increase 72 percent over 20 years and called it “a hidden tax raise.”
Tina Gallagher claimed sewer bill payments would be funneled to other national NextEra facilities.
“They’re … in it for profit,” she said. “We are providing them with money … to enlarge their corporate gain, all over the place.”
Joann Gable cannot wait to get in front of the PUC.
“NextEra currently has no business in Pennsylvania. I’d like to see it stay that way,” she said.
Judy Phipps was not a fan of the township’s planned expenditures, criticizing its maintenance of roads and the “Bridge to Nowhere.”
“How are you going to maintain the pickleball courts and the ice rinks? Twenty-five percent of your residents are elderly, they’re on fixed incomes, and you want us to pay for the upkeep of these foolish things? I just can’t understand it,” she said.
Wilson and Marino addressed the mysterious ice rink situation.
“There is no intention to build a new ice rink,” Wilson said. “No one in their right mind would do that in this climate.”
Marino explained how a seasonal skating facility had come up in discussion, along with pickleball courts and basketball courts, at open space and parks committee meetings during discussions on future park needs.
“When I was on that committee, people asked for a lot of different stuff. The requests are out there, we didn’t make that up. People have asked for those things. Your fellow residents have asked for those things,” Marino said.
See also:
Towamencin Supervisors Vote 4-1 to Advertise Sale of Sewer System for $115M, Final Vote May 25
Letter to the Editor: Vote No on Selling Sewer System
Residents Speak Out After Towamencin Supervisors Signal Intent to Sell Sewer System
Towamencin Supervisor Majority Says They’re in Favor of Selling Sewer System Despite Opposition
North Penn Says Proposed Towamencin Sewer Sale Would Have Minimal Impact on District
To Sell or Not to Sell: Towamencin Board to Decide Sanitary Sewer Fate in May
Towamencin Inches Closer To Possible Sewer Privatization With Feb. 11 Bid Deadline
Editorial: Selling the Sewer System Would Be Bad for Towamencin (and Elsewhere)
