During the April 17 Coplay Whitehall Sewer Authority monthly meeting, David Busch, of Keystone Alliance Consulting, presented a report outlining tapping fees, which are one-time connection fees that new property owners pay to connect to a public utility system, such as sewer.

Each authority calculates its fees based on local infrastructure costs and regulations. The maximum allowable fee is now $4,602 per EDU (equivalent dwelling unit).

The fee currently charged by CWSA is $1,720 per EDU. The fees charged by CWSA have not been reviewed or raised since 2005. The new charge by CWSA has yet to be determined and will only apply to new connections.

Later in the meeting, resolution 386 pertaining to tapping fees was brought up for a vote. The motion was carried.

General Manager Matt Harleman thanked Busch for his tapping fees report as there was a lot of information to review due to the amount of time since the last update.

Also at this month’s meeting was an annual review of four major CWSA affiliates including insurance, financial, legal and engineering companies.

Paul Pugielli, of Brown and Brown Insurance, reviewed the renewal of CWSA’s account. Pugielli said the preliminary increase for 2025 is estimated to be 1.8%, which is well below the national average. CWSA claims have remained good.

Christopher Betley, of Buckno, Lisicky and Company, shared a CWSA financial review. The most recent audit went smoothly as financials that were given to them were confirmed as accurate. Betley thanked the CWSA staff for their assistance.

Attorney Andrew Schantz said it was a quiet year with no ongoing litigations. The Waterfront easement project is an ongoing issue as well as the LCA 537 plan.

Mark Buckvalt, of T&M Associates, gave an engineering review. He spoke briefly about the Riverside Drive project, which has some adjustment, and the maintenance garage on Quarry Street. All in all, 2024 was a good year for CWSA from an engineering standpoint.

Harleman also mentioned the LCA Regional Act 537 plan that has been discussed for years now has officially been delivered to all 16 signatories. LCA correspondence indicates April 16 started the clock for the 60-day comment period from signatory planning commissions.

Harleman discussed a correspondence of the April 3 KISS meeting agenda distributed to the board and highlighted one item as to not be overlooked.

Harleman mentioned Hanover Township, a sewer customer of Allentown, is trying to become a main signatory instead of a sewer customer of the city.

Finally, Harleman said the CWSA staff spent a lot of time on the grounds and the fleet of vehicles at the facility recently and invited everybody to take a look at all the equipment after the meeting.

Chairman James Hahn requested that Michael Melosky, who helped CWSA over Christmas, be brought back for summer work. This motion was approved and carried.