Sewickley Hills Could Alter Sewer Repair Plans

The general council meeting on Monday night focused primarily on the issue of to the borough's sewer system.

Last month, council members voted to award a contract to Fleming-Walker Inc. to repair the sewer system. However, council President Tom Klixbull raised concerns about water leaking into the sewer system.

The leakage, he said, was just discovered in the last week and could affect the repairs that the contract will cover.

Engineer Emile Ketterer agreed and said that the contract doesn't account for excessive inflow of water.

Council then had to decide whether to sign the contract, which must be signed by Sept. 25.

Klixbull said he believed it would be best to ask the contractor for an extension and to take time to figure out what the issue was with the water flowing into the sewage system.

Council members agreed to authorize Larry Hermes, borough treasurer, to speak with an employee of the who could explain to them the cause of the leakage.

The extent of the problem will determine whether Klixbull will ask the contractor for an extension.

Other points of discussion included the installation and maintenance costs of traffic lights on Mt. Nebo Road, which will average about $4,000 per year.

Council member Klaus Gross noted that traffic on the road does not come from Sewickley Hills. The council then decided to look into sharing maintenance costs of the lights with .

Separately, Council Vice President Cindy Phillips asked  Norbert Miklos if large-scale fireworks were allowed to be set off on private land within the borough.

"There were fireworks being set off nearby on Saturday and it definitely wasn't your run-of-the-mill fireworks," she said.

Before Micklos could answer, Councilwoman Kim Holzer replied, "I saw them -- they were great ones. It was a pretty good show."