City residents who refuse to pay their sewer bills may soon find their water cut off.
The Westbrook City Council Monday approved a program whereby the Portland Water District will be able to disconnect water service to residents who don’t pay their sewer and water bills.
Currently, the city is owed nearly $120,000 from more than 400 residents in liens resulting from unpaid sewer fees. According to City Administrator Jerre Bryant, the lien process, while effective, can take as long as a couple of years to collect payment.
An agreement between the city and the Portland Water District would allow the water district to disconnect water service to customers owing more than $200 in fees for more than 50 days.
According to Bryant, service would be cut off only after multiple notices from the Portland Water District via certified mail. Also, customers who are making a “good faith effort” to pay their bills through payment plans would not have the water cut off.
In other action Monday, the council gave preliminary approval to a $16,000 contract with an architecture firm to develop possible uses of Wescott Junior High on Bridge Street, should a new junior high school be built on Stroudwater Street. A decision to build a new school on Stroudwater Street will be decided in a public referendum expected at the end of May.
Harriman Associates, the architecture firm working with the city on the new junior high, could also decide the fate of the old junior high. Before a decision to build a new junior high at a new location, Harriman Associates performed analyses on the old school. Those analyses could soon be used to determine potential uses of the school as a community facility.
“The bulk of the cost was already paid for previously,” said City Councilor John O’Hara. “New we just need to put the finishing touches on.”
The council also set April 2 as the date of a public hearing on whether the Westbrook city clerk, an elected official, would become a city employee instead.
The hearing will be held at 7 p.m. in room 114 of Westbrook High School.
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