PONCE INLET -- Gary Comfort favors conversion of the town's desire to convert the remaining half its residences from septic to the more costly sewer service hook-up with nearby Port Orange, especially as a benefit for the environment, but like all causes, it comes down to money.
"I'm certainly am in support of it," the six-year Ocean Way Drive resident said. But then again, Mr. Comfort readily acknowledged he can take great comfort knowing it wouldn't be such a financial hardship personally since his home was built with a sewer line already in place. All he had to do was plunk down a couple of grand for the connection."
And that's the rub. Individual hook-ups could cost $10,000 to $12,000 per homeowner, according to municipal estimates and the question is whether individual homeowners bear the brunt or have a shared cost spread across the municipality.
"I'd be willing to share in the cost, but a lot of other taxpayers might feel it's not their problem, either because they're already hooked up to the sewer or their feeling is just let the individual homeowner on a septic decide if they want to pay for it out of their own pocket," Mr. Comfort said. "I think we should do what is best for the community, especially since we choose to live on such a narrow barrier island."
That is what Ponce Inlet Town Council members will have to consider when they host a joint meeting with the Port Orange City Council at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Town Hall, 4300 S. Atlantic Ave.
What Ponce Inlet hopes to accomplish at the meeting is to brainstorm on a schedule and negotiating costs for converting the town's remaining 367 homes, slightly less than half of all its residences, from reliance on septic tanks to full sewer service, Interim Town Manager Jeaneen Clauss said.
A cost analysis done by Quentin L. Hampton Associates Inc., the same consulting firm for Port Orange, put Ponce Inlet's costs at between $2.1 million and $2.2 million, Ms. Clauss said, adding the conversion is partof the town's comprehensive amendment plan for proper land use.
"The question is do we do it piece by piece and have only the people receiving it pay for it or try and spread it around through ad valorem (taxes) or maybe some kind of combination?" Town Manager Clauss asked
rhetorically. "The way the streets are laid out, you could do as little five to 10 homes at a time."