Residents concerned with costs associated with tying into town sewer lines filled the Board of Selectmen meeting room Tuesday to hear estimated sewer betterment fees in the Parkwood Beach and Oakdale/Cromesett neighborhoods.

The betterment fee is the amount each household along a new sewer line is required to pay to cover the cost of the sewer extension. Parkwood Beach residents could pay $15,337, while Oakdale/Cromesett residents could pay $22,091.

"I can't stress enough, these are estimated numbers," explained John Sanguinet, assistant to the Board of Selectmen. The final betterment fees will not be known until the projects are completed.

Residents in both neighborhoods have been concerned about the betterment fees and have asked the Board of Selectmen, which also serves as Sewer Commissioners, whether the costs of the two projects could be combined, as well as how $1.4 million of state stimulus money, awarded for both projects, could be used, in order to lessen the blow for everyone.

For the purposes of his presentation, Sanguinet divided the stimulus funds evenly among both projects. The Parkwood Beach betterment cost is lower because it is spread across 438 properties, compared to 257 Oakdale/Cromesett properties. The Board of Selectmen can choose how to divide the funds, Sanguinet said.

Combining the two sewer projects, which has not been done in the past, would divide the total cost of both projects among the residents of both neighborhoods, making the betterment an estimated $17,623 for everyone, Sanguinet said.

That option is not popular among Parkwood Beach residents, who would see a fee increase. The Parkwood Beach Association presented a petition to the Selectmen at the beginning of the meeting, asking that the board keep the contracts and costs of all sewer projects separate from the Parkwood Beach ones.

The petition read: "Any proposed combination of the sewer project contracts is unprecedented and will unjustly enrich parties who are not the intended users and/or ratepayers of the sewer project at our expense."

Selectman Walter Cruz, serving as chair because Selectman Jane Donahue recused herself from the discussion because she owns a home in one of the neighborhoods, suggested that residents review the information and present questions at the public meeting scheduled on Saturday, July 31 at 10 a.m. in the Town Hall auditorium. Town officials, as well as representatives from consultant Camp, Dresser, & McKee, Inc. and contractor P. Gioioso & Sons, Inc. will be on hand to answer questions about the projects.