Scottville commission to discuss grinder pumps tonight.

SCOTTVILLE — The topic of sewer grinder pumps will come up again tonight during the city commission’s regular meeting. For the past few months, the city, its infrastructure committee and residents have been coming up with a compromise to the issue of the grinder pumps. The pumps were installed at select properties in the early 1990s when the city’s sewer system was expanded. The pumps are used where gravity does not allow the sewage to flow freely.

Since that time, the city has maintained the pumps. However, there has been some neglect over the years, causing the city to pay for repairs and replacements. In September, some residents spoke at the city commission meeting stating that they have not been negligible nor should they be responsible for the grinder pumps.

The infrastructure meeting is making the following the recommendations about the pumps:

• Continue with the department of public works repairing/replacing the pumps.  In the event the repair/replacement is caused by homeowner negligence, they will be billed back 100% of the costs to repair or replace.
• The residents at 201 W. Johnson and 423 E. State Street will be given one grinder pump at no charge when their pump needs to be replaced (their pumps have never been replaced to date, while all others have been replaced at least one time).  After the one pump they are subject to replacement at the 50/50 cost share.
• In the event a grinder pump needs to be replaced, at no fault of the homeowner, the city crew will replace it; however, the cost of the pump will be split 50/50 with the homeowner.  The city will cover all labor costs associated with the install, including pumping the grinder pit.
• If the homeowner cannot pay for any of the above costs out of pocket, it will allow the homeowner to pay over a period of 3 to 5 years by placing a special assessment on their summer taxes, with an interest rate of 5%.