Zelienople becomes last to join stormwater authority
ZELIENOPLE — Borough council voted to join the new Southwest Butler Stormwater Authority during its monthly meeting Monday, Aug. 26.
With the vote, Zelienople became the last municipality to sign on, joining Harmony, Jackson Township and Evans City. Harmony and Jackson Township joined in June, while Evans City joined in early July.
The authority is intended to effectively manage its stormwater responsibilities. The authority will function as a utility similar to water and power, and will be responsible for collecting fees from residents of all four municipalities, which will fund much-needed stormwater improvement projects.
A motion for Zelienople to join the authority came up during council’s July 29 meeting, but council members voted unanimously to table it for further review.
Initial talks between municipalities in southern Butler County began in 2019, shortly after a run of costly flooding that summer. The need for a stormwater authority was driven home this April, when destructive floods struck the county twice in less than two weeks.
The unanimous vote to join came despite opposition from some residents who expressed concerns about the implications about how hard the added fees would hit their wallet, and potentially the borough’s coffers.
“We just got hit with a school tax. That was significant,” said Donna Statzer. “Now you're going to impose another fee, and that’s money that small businesses in this town rely on. That’s money that I’m not going to have to go get wings at Fisher’s on Monday night.”
Another resident said her property values already had taken a hit as a result of nearby construction work by the Western Butler County Authority — a separate organization which oversees Zelienople’s sewer system.
“On top of the devaluation of my property, I’m wondering how fair it is that I’m going to have to pay a fee for this flood mitigation,” the resident said.
In addition, multiple residents said they felt Zelienople did little to get the word out about the possibility of them becoming part of a new stormwater authority. In response, multiple council members, as well as borough manager Andrew Spencer, showed where they could find information on the stormwater authority on the borough’s website.
Just before the vote, Spencer said that while the current membership consists of four municipalities, the door is open to others who are interested in joining.
Conversely, multiple council members agreed Zelienople had the ability to exit from the authority if events did not go according to plan.
“This is one time where, if it doesn't go well, we get out,” Spencer said. “Usually we’re pretty committed when we do things, but ... if it's not in our best interest ... we just don’t stick with it.”
