Lansford Borough Council agreed to pay a contractor for a sewer line repair along West Patterson Street.

Council split 4-3 to pay Joe Hutta for the emergency repairs on West Patterson not to exceed $8,000 from the sewer transmission fund. Council members Michele Bartek, Bruce Markovich and Gwyneth Collevechio voted no.

Council President Joe Genits explained that he, Councilman Joe Butrie and code enforcement responded to an issue with sewer water percolating up through a sidewalk at 361-363 W. Patterson St.

They said to the property owner that they had to repair the line, as the property owner is responsible for the lateral that extends from the home to the sewer main, Genits said.

They were told if they did not repair the line, the borough would shut off their water, he said. One of the homes was a rental, while the other owner occupied, Genits said.

The property owner hired a contractor who opened the sidewalk in front of the home and found that at 15 feet the lateral from the home connected to a larger pipe, or submain, and into a “Y” that crossed the highway into the main sewer tunnel, he said.

The problem still existed when the property owner’s line was wide open, Genits said, but water wasn’t running properly through the larger line and water filled the hole.

The contractor found the break and replaced the line under the highway, he said.

The homeowner was going to be billed for the first 15 feet of the work, which was the lateral, and the borough would be responsible for the rest of the line that connects to the main, Genits said.

“We basically made an agreement that he would do the fill and that the borough would consider paying for the black top on top of the highway,” he said. “Today they finished putting in the cold patch for a repair.”

The patch must sit for 90 days, and the contractor will come back and do the final road repair, he said.

Council members, however, disagreed on whether the line repaired was a submain or a common lateral, which would be the property owner’s responsibility.

Councilman Joe Butrie said that he talked to several plumbers and an engineer and got different answers on whether or not it was a common lateral.

Councilman Bruce Markovich pointed to an issue on East Patterson Street, where the properties shared a common lateral and homeowners were responsible for the repair, not the borough.

“Bruce, I agree with you, if it’s running from people’s yards and stays on private property, this was out in the street,” Councilman Jack Soberick said.

Markovich insisted that it’s a common lateral, not the borough’s lateral, and the homeowner is responsible to the point of connection, and Soberick asked what that was, if it was established.

Councilwoman Michele Bartek and Markovich said that point of connection is the sewer main.

Council continued to debate the issue of common laterals and then where funds collected by the sewer authority go and how much comes back to the borough for repairs.

Genits sketched out the lines coming from the home to the sewer line for council members to visualize the situation, and the meeting broke off into numerous side conversations among council members and residents alike.

Resident Robert Gaughan, a former councilman, had an actual map that he was discussing and showing another resident, and then shared that with council.

Genits explained that the original estimate was $10,000, but the contractor came back under $8,000, he said.

Soberick moved to pay Hutta an amount not to exceed $8,000 for the borough’s share of the repair work, and Butrie seconded the motion. Voting in favor of paying the bill were Soberick, Genits, Butrie and John Zym.