NORTH SMITHFIELD — Another crowd of homeowners is expected to turn out Wednesday, April 22, for a follow-up public meeting on the town’s controversial sewer expansion project.

This time, the meeting is being hosted by the Town Council, which agreed to hold the second session at the request of residents. The meeting will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the North Smithfield High School auditorium.
The meeting is being held to follow-up on questions people have on the sewer bond and is essentially a continuation from a similar meeting held with the Sewer Commission two weeks ago.
At that meeting, a crowd of more than 300 homeowners came out to voice concerns about the three-year sewer project, which is being financed by a $21 million sewer bond approved by voters in 2007. The bond will be paid off over a period of 20 years by the approximately 1,000 homeowners required to tie into the system. The first phase of the project is completed and the second phase began last week.
Beginning this month, residents in the area of the completed first phase will receive letters notifying them that the system has been completed and accepted by the town, and that the one-year period to connect into the municipal system will begin. Homeowners who connect to the sewer system must obtain a permit as well as hire a contractor and electrician to install grinder pumps, which will be provided by the town.
But many homeowners are concerned about the long term cost of the project, which they claim was never explained in detail before voters went to the polls in 2007. Residents are up in arms over new estimates that could see the average homeowner pay about $21,000 — perhaps as much as $30,000 with interest — over 20 years. There is also the issue of thousands of dollars in separate costs for homeowners to connect to the new sewer grid.
In light of those estimates, a petition has been circulating throughout town to ask the Town Council to stop the project.
It remains to be seen, however, whether the council can legally stop the project.
At the meeting with the Sewer Commission, many residents said they are frustrated that people who either didn’t vote for the bond or were misled about the actual cost are now being forced against their will to tie into the system and pay thousands of dollars at a time when the economy is in shambles, people are out of work and the retired and elderly are struggling to pay their bills.
Residents also question the fairness of the assessments, saying it is unfair that the owner of an older home with two bedrooms and one bathroom would have to pay the same amount as the owner of a million-dollar home with five bedrooms and three bathrooms.
Town Administrator Paulette Hamilton attempted to quell some of the anger, stating that her office has been working the past few weeks to find outside financial assistance to help offset the cost of the project.
Hamilton said her office was also preparing an application for a Community Development Block Grant in the amount of $20,000.
The second phase of the sewer expansion project, which began a few weeks ago, will focus on the St. Paul and Great Road East area, while the third phase – scheduled to go out to bid in the fall with construction to begin in the spring of 2010 – will target the Willerval, Tanglewood and Victory Highway area.
As part of the second phase, one work crew is working on Green Street from Country Way and will be heading east toward Victory Highway, while a second crew has begun work at the intersection of Green Street and Country Way and is proceeding along Country Way to Ridge Road.
John Roccio Corp. was awarded a $2.14-million contract for the first phase of the project last fall. That phase of the project, which targeted the Waterford Stree, Warren Avenue, Park Drive and Green Street areas, has been completed.