Gilpin waiting to see if water system can be sold

The fate of the Gilpin Municipal Authority is up in the air after officials were unable to fill soon-to-be empty positions.

According to township Supervisor Charles Stull, the authority has two employees who are set to retire at the end of the year and officials have been unable to find new hires to replace them.

During a Nov. 19 meeting, Supervisor Jeremy Smail laid out a couple of options the township could take.

“Basically, what’s happening is the Gilpin Township Water Authority is folding. Then what happens is that responsibility falls to us, the supervisors, whether we decide to take it on and try to maintain it, hire workers, run it, fund it, etc.,” Smail said during the meeting. “The other option is to entertain offers to have it purchased by another water authority.”

Stull said the township taking over the authority would present a few challenges considering how little time is left until the new year.

“We have about 20 days,” Stull said. “That does not seem feasible in my personal opinion.”

Smail previously said supervisors were notified of the situation just a couple of months ago.

“(It) isn’t a whole lot of time because it’s a long process to take it over,” Smail said.

Stull said supervisors submitted a request to the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County to see if that large entity would be interested in purchasing Gilpin’s system. The township currently purchases its water from the authority.

“It’s just to get an idea of what we’re working with,” Stull said.

Matt Junker, a spokesman for the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County, said, “speaking hypothetically, if we receive interest, then we respond if someone contacts us.”

“I can’t say one way or another what we’re going to do with Gilpin, but when we’re contacted, we will respond,” he said.

Junker said it’s his understanding that his authority is aware of the situation at Gilpin but that it would be premature to say how his authority would proceed.

Stull said residents may see slight changes no matter what supervisors decide to do.

If the township takes over, there will be new hires to work directly with the authority and to help manage the water and sewer fund, which is required to stay separate from the township’s general fund. Gilpin’s authority handles water and sewer services including billing, safety tests and managing waterlines.

If the systems are sold, there would be price and rate negotiations, as well as a question of how the systems would be paid for.

Stull said it’s common for third party companies to take on an authority’s debts – which in Gilpin’s case would be around $1 million – or for the third party to just outright pay for the systems.

“We want to do what’s best for the residents,” Stull said.

He said supervisors were hoping to have an offer from the Westmoreland authority by the township’s next public meeting Tuesday.