By JOSEPH FITZGERALD

NORTH SMITHFIELD — Residents will have to wait for the Town Council to make changes to the town charter before they are able to receive refunds for fees associated with phases 1A and 1B of the town’s controversial sewer project.

At a joint meeting between the Town Council and Sewer Commission last week, the council voted to refund any fees people spend to tie-in to the first phase of the project and absorb them into the general fund. However, in order for that to go into effect, the council must first amend the sewer ordinance which lists those fees, according to Town Administrator Paulette D. Hamilton.
And that’s something that won’t happen immediately, she said.
“The process to accomplish this is to put the (ordinance) change on the Town Council agenda, followed by a first and second reading at two different meetings,” Hamilton explained. “Then a final adoption of the changes needed to get the refunds issued will take place.”
Hamilton says she has been getting phone calls from residents who were expecting the refunds right away.
“It’s not as simple as that,” said Hamilton, who is urging the affected residents to be patient.
Hamilton said her office is keeping a list of residents who have requested the refunds and will notify them when this process is complete.
“I have advised the council as to the overall reduction in associated fees and how it will impact the sewer and general fund so they will have a full picture of the impact returning fees will have on the overall budget as well as sewer users,” she said. “After reviewing all this information and weighing the fiscal impact not only on the town, but on current sewer users, the council must then make the choice to move ahead or determine it cannot be done.”
The Town Council and Sewer Commission met last month to discuss possibly awarding a construction contract for the second of the sewer project’s three phases to a contractor, but the panels decided instead to hold off on that action until July 13 when another meeting will be held at the North Smithfield High School auditorium. At that meeting, it is anticipated that the council will determine whether or not to proceed with the project.
The town has already completed construction of the project’s first phase, contracts listed as Phase 1A - streets off St. Paul Street and Mendon Road area - and Phase 1B - including Greene Street, Ridge Road and a section of Victory Highway in Slatersville. Phase II of the project, an extension into Great Road, St. Paul Street, and Lincoln Drive, has received bids, but a contract has not been awarded yet. The final phase of the project would include portions of Old Great Road and the Willerval and Tanglewood area.
Hamilton and a number of local residents who maintain the project, as planned, is too costly for the homeowners it would impact, have objected to awarding a contract for the second phase. Rather than begin the next phase in the current economy, Hamilton and the affected residents believe the project should be delayed or even scaled back.
Many residents say they can't afford the $30,000-$40,000 it will cost to connect. While still others say they don’t need new sewers and hadn't been adequately informed that they would need to tie in.
The issue has created a divide in town that is pitting members of a new opposition group, the Rightsewers Citizen Group, against town officials who believe the downturn in the economy has created an opportunity to save money over the original cost forecasts of the project.
The town has already incurred $2.4 million in costs for construction of Phase 1A and $2.1 million for Phase 1B. Phase II was projected to cost the town $7.8 million and Phase III $8.3 million when built.
The town could win a share of the state’s federal stimulus funding award for public works projects to lessen the impact of Phase II since that project has not yet begun. But it would not secure the $1.7 million to $2 million in the windfall federal funding if the project is delayed.