Lansford Borough Council on Wednesday tabled a bid on a dormant sewer line replacement project to explore financing options to pay for the work.

ARRO Engineering, the borough engineer, opened and reviewed bids for the Powell Street project, which will install three manholes and 260 feet of 24-inch sewer line.

ARRO recommended Doli Construction of Chalfont, Bucks County, which bid $211,690 on the project.

Council President Bruce Markovich suggested council table the bid for up to 60 days to review ways the borough can pay for the work. Council agreed, tabling the bid.

The project has sat idle since 2020, when the borough planned on using a local contractor, Radocha, along with the borough crew to do the work, but ran into issues, Markovich said after the meeting.

Radocha opted out, he said, and the borough bid the project, which came in around $150,000 to $160,000 and no contract was awarded.

ARRO suggested the borough make changes to the project and put it out to bid again in 2025, Markovich said.

The project will fix a broken sewer line installed in 1910 which runs from Ridge Street to Front Street that now serves about 80 homes, he said.

There were no homes on East Snyder Avenue when the line was installed, and one home, 400 E. Snyder Ave. has a 20-inch sewer line running through the yard and under the porch, Markovich said. The line continues into a vacant lot and empties into manhole on Snyder Avenue, he said.

The line was broken in several places in the yard, where the house has been vacant for years, and in the vacant lot, Markovich said. The project sat idle because no one complained, he said.

The borough needs to look at its expenses out of the Sewer Transmission Fund for this year, including new sewer inlets, camera work and sewer cleaning rental fees, Markovich said. The borough may also need to relocate a sewer line on East Patterson Street this year, he said.

“I don’t have accurate costs from the borough crew on what they expect to spend the rest of the year,” he said. “We always need to keep about $250,000 available for emergencies.”

The Sewer Transmission Fund was at $551,138 as of July 31, and additional sewer funding is invested in CDs.