Orange Sewer Hearing Tonight: Carlson Road and Bull Hill Lane Owners Get Their Say on Assessments (Note: It’s at High Plains, Not Town Hall)

ORANGE — Property owners on Carlson Road and Bull Hill Lane get their say tonight on what they’ll be charged for new sewer service.

Orange’s Water Pollution Control Authority will hold a public hearing tonight, Thursday, Oct. 22, at 6 p.m. on a proposed sewer benefit assessment for Carlson Road and Bull Hill Lane, according to the meeting notice the authority filed with the town clerk.

Note the location: the meeting is not at Town Hall. It’s in Rooms 4 and 6 of the High Plains Community Center, 525 Orange Center Road, and the notice flags the change in bold.

The authority could vote tonight

A benefit assessment is the charge a town places on properties that gain access to a new sewer line, to help pay for building it. The hearing is the first item on tonight’s agenda. The second is “discussion and possible action” on the same assessment, so the authority could act on it right after residents speak.

The agenda doesn’t list the proposed assessment amounts or how many properties are affected. Residents who want the figures before the meeting can call the WPCA through Town Hall at 203-891-2122, the number on the authority’s letterhead.

How we got here

The project has been on the authority’s agenda since the summer, according to the minutes of its Aug. 20 special meeting:

• Town Engineer Robert Brinton told the authority he didn’t yet have the final numbers for the Carlson Road and Bull Hill Lane sewer design, and the item was tabled until the October meeting.
• The authority then went into executive session to discuss the Carlson Road and Bull Hill Lane sewer assessment.
• Afterward, members agreed the public hearing would be planned for the October meeting. Brinton noted it would have to move to the community center because of early voting at Town Hall.

Also on tonight’s agenda

• An update on the Carlson Road and Bull Hill Lane sewer design
• Approval of the Aug. 20 special meeting minutes
• The Veolia operations and maintenance report
• Repairs at the Woolco pump station
• Sanitary sewer relocation work required by state DOT Project 106-108, the widening of Boston Post Road from Lambert Road to the Milford line
• The town engineer’s and treasurer’s reports
• The authority’s 2027 meeting schedule

Earlier this year

At the Aug. 20 meeting, the authority raised its sewer use charge from $8.50 to $8.60 per 1,000 gallons for properties whose sewage is treated at the West Haven Water Pollution Control Facility, and approved a five-year extension of its service agreement with Veolia, running from Sept. 1, 2026, to Aug. 31, 2031. Chairman C. Robert Sigler and members Michael Richetelli and Michael Visnic were listed as present.

Get Milford’s best stories first — subscribe to the free Milford Voice newsletter

Have a tip? Email news@milfordvoice.com