The engineers and lawyers must be paid, too.
The Schuylkill County Municipal Authority is hoping to borrow $2.6 million more from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority to cover its projected $20 million regional sewer service project for the Deer Lake area.
The cost of the project is now $2 million over the original project price tag.
"While the cost of hiring the contractors came out to nearly $18 million, we have to cover our soft costs, which include engineering and legal fees," said Patrick Caulfield, SCMA executive director.
PENNVEST is expected to make a decision on the loan application at its next meeting Tuesday, Caulfield said at SCMA's October meeting Wednesday morning.
In 2008, the Schuylkill County Municipal Authority acquired the Deer Lake Municipal Authority, including the Deer Lake Wastewater Treatment Facility along Route 895. The plant, built in 1973, serves 310 customers in Deer Lake, 325 in Auburn and can process up to 228,000 gallons of sewage a day.
The authority plans to build a plant on five acres of ground just west of the Deer Lake treatment facility that can process 1 million gallons of sewage per day.
SCMA also plans to build three sewer pumping stations and install more than 10 miles of pipeline, Caulfield said.
This will allow the authority to serve the property owners in Deer Lake and Auburn as well as new customers from West Brunswick Township and Orwigsburg along Route 61 and Route 895 - an estimated 2,500 customers, according to Caulfield.
PENNVEST has already awarded SCMA a $1.5 million grant for the project and has given the authority a $12.5 million loan. Earlier this year, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Financing Authority awarded a H20-PA grant of $4 million to the authority for the project.
Meanwhile, Caulfield said SCMA is still collecting legal paperwork from the contractors hired for the Deer Lake project, which consists of nine projects and 15 contractors.
The contractors SCMA hired in August and their contract prices are: Doli Construction Corp., Chalfont, three contracts at $587,674, $460,463 and $277,085.; J.B. Electric Corp., Minersville, two contracts at $48,000 and $830,875; Delaware Valley Utility Contractors Inc., Reading, $193,803.09; Pact Construction Inc., Ringoes, N.J., two contracts at $1,453,515 and $3,149,335; HRI Inc., State College, two contracts at $1,389,863 and $558,900; Worth & Company Inc., Pipersville, $7,845,000; Master Mechanical Corp., McAdoo, $146,704.; A.N. Lynch Co. Inc., Spring City, $83,530; Stoneridge Inc., Feasterville, $479,400; A.N. Lynch Co. Inc., Spring City, $87,720.
"The total of all contracts is $17,591,867.09," Caulfield said Wednesday.
Caulfield expects the paperwork related to these contracts to be completed by December.
In other matters at Wednesday's SCMA meeting, the authority agreed to help Norwegian Township deal with its sewer delinquents with a new tool, a "water shut-off agreement."
Norwegian Township provides sewage service and treatment to its residents, while SCMA provides water services to township residents, Caulfield said.
If the township's sewage customers fail to pay their bills in a timely manner, the township has the legal right, under Section 502 of the Water Services Act, to request SCMA shut off those customers' water supplies until all overdue bills are paid, according to the agreement.
"This is very common throughout our industry," Caulfield said.
SCMA has similar agreements in place with local sewer authorities, including the Greater Pottsville Area Sewer Authority and the Saint Clair Sewer Authority, Caulfield said.
Norwegian Township hasn't ordered any water shut-offs yet, Caulfield said.
"We're going to do it very shortly but I don't know how many. There's quite a few who owe a couple thousand dollars," Stanley Petchulis Sr., chairman of the Norwegian Township supervisors, said Wednesday.