[Adopted 3-20-1956 as Ord. No. 717, approved 3-20-1956]
A system of sanitary sewers is necessary for the disposal of sewage matter in the Borough of Prospect Park, County of Delaware and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as included in and shown upon plans of the said sanitary sewers of the said Borough of Prospect Park, and said system of sanitary sewers shall be constructed in accordance with specifications prepared by or approved by the Borough Engineer.
The places fixed along the streets, alleys, courts, lanes, roads or avenues where such sewers, mains or drains and branches thereof shall be laid are those places along the said streets, alleys, courts, lanes, roads or avenues in the said Borough of Prospect Park where sewer mains, drains and branches thereof are designated on the plans hereinbefore referred to as prepared by the Borough Engineer.
As soon as directed by the Borough Council of the Borough of Prospect Park after the final passage of this article, the Borough Engineer is authorized, empowered and directed to advertise for the receipt of bids in accordance with the law for the installation of said sanitary sewers included in the Borough of Prospect Park as aforesaid; and the proper officers of the said Borough of Prospect Park are hereby authorized to make and enter into a contract or contracts on the part of said Borough for the construction of the said system of sanitary sewers herein adopted and directed to be constructed or any part or parts thereof as the Borough Council of said Borough may direct to be constructed.
The costs of constructing said system of sanitary sewers herein adopted is hereby assessed upon the property or properties benefited and/or adjoining or adjacent to the streets, courts, roads or avenues wherein are fixed herein the places where such sewers, mains or drains and branches thereof shall be laid by the front foot rule. The cost of constructing as above referred to shall include all costs of publishing of ordinance or ordinances therefor, the costs of the acquisition of any property or damages thereto and all engineering and legal costs incidental to the work and installation as aforesaid, plus all secretarial costs, costs of service of notices and writing of bills; and if such sewer construction shall be made or done in conjunction or cooperation with any other governmental agency or agencies, such cost of construction as above referred to shall include all costs of labor, materials and equipment, as well as inspection, publishing, engineering, and legal costs and services incidental thereto.
Where any property shall be situated at the intersection of and shall thus be adjacent to or adjoining more than one street, court, road or avenue in which sewer mains, drains or branches thereof shall be laid, which mains, drains or branches shall therefore pass in front of and be contiguous to both sides of such property, it is hereby declared for the purpose of making an equitable assessment there against, that in such event, the owner or owners of such lot shall be assessed for the full frontage on the one or, if unequal in length, then on the shorter side of such property, which shall be known or designated as the front thereof; and on the other or, if unequal, the longer side of such property, such owner or owners shall be exempted from any assessment for all of the length or depth of said property which is not in excess of 100 feet from such intersecting corner. If said sewer mains, drains or branches thereof shall be laid only in the street, court, road or avenue along one or, if unequal in length, then along the shorter of the two sides of said property, then and in such event the owner or owners of said property shall be assessed for the full frontage of said one or shorter side; and if, thereafter such sewer mains or drains and branches thereof shall also be laid along the other or longer side of said property, then and in such event, said exemption of not over 100 feet shall apply as hereinbefore set forth. If, however, said sewer mains, drains or branches thereof shall be laid only in the street, court, road or avenue along the longer side of said property and provided that the other or, if unequal, then the shorter side of said property shall be of the length of or shall exceed 100 feet, then and in such event, the owner or owners of such lot shall be assessed for all frontage on each one or, if unequal, then longer side; but if such other or, if unequal, then shorter side shall be less than 100 feet, then and in such event the owner or owners of such lot shall be assessed for all frontage on such one or longer side which shall not be in excess of the sum of both frontages less 100 feet; and if any sewer mains, drains or branches thereof may or shall thereafter be laid along the other side or, if unequal, then shorter side of said property, no further assessment shall be had or laid against such property by reason of further or additional laying of such sewer mains, drains or branches thereof except as to so much of such additional frontage as shall be in excess of 100 feet.
It shall be the duty of the Borough Engineer, as soon as conveniently possible after completion of the work or improvement, to calculate and ascertain the assessment or assessments assessable upon the property or properties adjoining, benefited by or adjacent to the aforesaid sewer or sewers constructed and laid as aforesaid in the streets, courts, roads or avenues, for which assessment, when calculated and ascertained, he shall prepare assessment bills or certificates and certify to the Borough Council the correctness of the same, which assessment and assessment bills or certificates, duly certified under the seal of the Borough of Prospect Park and attested by the President and Secretary and made payable at the office of the Borough Secretary, shall be collectible from the owner or owners of such property or properties adjoining or adjacent to the sewer or sewers constructed and laid in said streets, courts, roads or avenues.
All assessment bills or certificates shall be payable to the Borough Treasurer, except as hereinafter provided.
Said assessment bills or certificates, when executed as provided in § 138-17, shall be served upon the owner or owners of such adjoining or adjacent property, either personally or by leaving same with an adult member of the family with whom the said owner or owners reside, if the owner or owners can be found within the Borough of Prospect Park. If the said owner or owners of the said adjoining or adjacent property have no residence or cannot be found in the Borough of Prospect Park, then the bills shall be posted upon the premises or a copy left with the occupant, if there be one, and shall further be mailed by registered mail to the owner or owners or their agent or attorney to their last known address. If the owner or owners of said adjoining or adjacent property be a corporation, said bill may be served either upon the president, secretary or person in charge, if it has an office or place of business in the Borough of Prospect Park. If, however, said corporation has no office or place of business in the Borough of Prospect Park, then said bills shall be posted on the premises and a copy left with the occupant, if there be one, and shall further be mailed by registered letter to the said corporation to its last known address. In all cases where said bill is sent by registered mail, the time herein provided shall be computed from the date said letter is mailed or registered, provided a bill has been previously posted on the premises.
Should any owner or owners of said adjoining or adjacent property, against which an assessment for sewerage tax or assessment shall have been made, refuse or neglect to pay such assessment within 30 days after notice of the same as above provided, the Borough may immediately file a claim therefor, together with 10% as penalty added of legal interest thereon, against the property upon which such assessment or assessments have been made; and it is hereby made the duty of the Borough Treasurer that after 30 days' notice shall have been given to said owner of adjoining or adjacent property and assessment bill served as aforesaid, he shall certify to the Borough Solicitor all unpaid bills. It shall be the duty of the Borough Solicitor, when any such assessments or assessment bills shall have been certified to him as aforesaid, to file a claim in the proper office of the County of Delaware, therefor, against the property or properties upon which such assessments or assessment bills shall have been made.
Any owner or owners of property adjoining or adjacent to said sewer or sewers shall have the privilege, upon written request direct to the Borough Treasurer within 30 days after receipt of notice and assessment or assessments bill, as provided in § 138-19, and upon payment of an installment of 1/5 of the amount of the assessment or assessment bills against the property of such owner or owners and a sum sufficient to cover necessary legal expenses, of paying the remainder of said assessment or assessment bills against such property of such owner or owners in four annual installments, the first of which shall be due and payable one year from the date of the payment of the first installment, as above provided, which installments shall bear interest at the rate of 6% from the date of the presentation of bills for such improvement, provided that a claim shall be filed as provided in § 138-20 hereof in the office of the Prothonotary of the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County; but no penalty shall be added thereto unless there shall be default on the part of any owner or owners in the payment of any installment and interest as aforesaid for a period of 60 days after the same shall become due, in which event the entire assessment and accrued interest shall become due, including the penalty of 10% of the unpaid balance.
After the filing of claims or liens, said assessments, together with interest and costs thereon, shall be payable to the Borough Solicitor.
Any owner or owners of such property or properties against which any such assessment has been made or claim filed may pay the same or the balance remaining due, as the case may be, in full, at any time, with interest thereon, together with legal interest, costs and penalty if same shall have accrued; and such payment shall discharge the lien or claim against such owner or owners of property or properties.
The maintenance of the said sewer system, including any annual charges fixed by any sewer authority or authorities for the use of its/their sewerage facilities in accordance with any agreement or agreements made or hereafter to be made with the said Borough of Prospect Park, may be levied as an annual sewer rental tax equitable against each property abutting on the sewer or benefited thereby.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Art. I, Sewer Rents, of this chapter.
It is hereby declared to be the intention of the Borough Council of the Borough of Prospect Park to enter into such agreement or agreements with other municipalities or sewer authorities receiving sewage from the Borough of Prospect Park, conveying same, through its system and providing treatment at its sewage disposal plant, and further agree to pay such rentals for said conveying and treatment, and paying such proportion of costs of the said municipalities' or authorities' system used in conveying said sewage of the said Borough of Prospect Park as shall be agreed upon; and the aforesaid proper officers of the said Borough of Prospect Park are hereby authorized to enter into and execute such agreements with the said municipalities or authorities as are necessary to execute and make possible the construction of the aforesaid system of sanitary sewers. Should such agreements as authorized be executed, any cost of construction of the aforesaid system necessary within the limits of the surrounding municipalities or authorities shall not be assessable against the abutting owner or owners in that municipality, but said cost of construction and connections with the system of the adjoining municipality or authority shall be deemed a part of the costs as above set forth in § 138-15 and made assessable against the properties lying within the said Borough of Prospect Park.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 17, Joint Authority.
In the event it shall be come necessary to acquire any property owned by private persons in the construction of said system of sewers as hereinbefore set forth, the proper officers of the said Borough are hereby authorized to acquire the same by gift, purchase or condemnation thereof to the extent that the same shall be deemed necessary.