MILLTOWN GETS PLANS FOR NEW SEWER SYSTEM
Plans meet with the approval of the Commission. A special election will soon be called.
MILLTOWN, Oct. 24 – A meeting of the Milltown Sewer and Water Commission was held last night. Present at the meeting were Mayor Conrad Richter, Charles Richter, John Booream, E. J. Jaeger, C. W. Waddington, R. B. Sheppard, and Engineer Clyde Potts.
The plans and specifications, drawn up by Engineer Clyde Potts and approved by the State Board, were accepted by the local commission. It is likely that a special meeting will be called soon to make a report for submission to the Borough Council. Once the final report is received by the Council, steps will be taken to hold a special election, allowing the residents to make the final decision.
Engineer Clyde Potts provided the following report to the commission:
“On August 3, 1912, I presented complete plans for a water and sewerage system in the Borough of Milltown to your commission. Copies of these plans were filed with the State Board of Health. The water plans were approved in July 1912. Application was made to the State Water Supply Commission for approval of the source of supply, which was granted on August 13, 1912. However, plans for the sewerage works were taken under advisement by the Board of Health. A public hearing was held in the State House at Trenton on August 27. Various citizens and officials from New Brunswick objected to Milltown’s plans, fearing it would contaminate New Brunswick’s water supply.
Post the hearing, negotiations were held with New Brunswick authorities about altering the plan. On January 3, at a joint meeting of the sewerage committees of both Milltown and New Brunswick, it was proposed to pump Milltown’s sewage into New Brunswick’s sewers. This proposal formed the basis for an agreement on September 16. According to this agreement, Milltown will dispose of its sewage by pumping it through a force main on Main street to New Brunswick’s sewers at the Musical String factory. New Brunswick will share the cost of this force main and pumping station, contributing $12,500.
Supplemental plans were prepared in line with this agreement and filed with the State Board of Health on September 30. They were approved on October 7. These plans include a map showing the pumping station’s location and the force main’s route, a profile of the force main, and details of the proposed sewage pumping station near Lawrence Brook at the foot of Church street.
Due to the change in plans, it becomes necessary to modify the specifications attached to the August 3, 1912, report. Appended is a schedule of the necessary changes in the specifications for the sewers and sewage disposal works from the original report. The original specifications have not been rewritten. However, when printed for distribution among contractors, the printer can make corrections by referring to Appendix 1.”
The estimated cost of the sewage disposal works, as originally planned, was $21,505. The cost for the pumping station and force main to the New Brunswick sewers was estimated at $22,775. Of this amount, the City of New Brunswick will contribute $12,500. This leaves the net cost to the Borough of Milltown at $20,275. Regarding the operation of the pumping plant, the costs are estimated not to exceed $1,000 per annum for the first three years. For the fourth and fifth years, the cost is projected to be about $1,500 per annum.
In conclusion, I’d like to state that if the sewerage contract between the Borough of Milltown and the City of New Brunswick contains a clause where New Brunswick agrees to handle and dispose of Milltown’s sewage indefinitely (or as long as Lawrence Brook’s water is used by New Brunswick), I believe this plan, as proposed in the supplemental report, is superior to the original plan from August 1912. The members of your commission should be commended for finding an effective solution to this sewerage issue.
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