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Sullivan Septic in the News
The Daily Times-Call
News and information for Longmont and Northern Colorado
www.timescall.com
By Vickie Taylor
Line of Duty
Lack of sewer system limits Mead business park
Times-Call photos by Chip Litherland
Kevin Sullivan pumps the septic tank at Star Precision, Star has been forced to move to meet its sewer and employee growth needs.
MEAD — Having a septic system pumped weekly is excessive and expensive, but it is the only way Mark Hayes can keep his 135 employees happy.
Afer all, the alternative is, well, messy.
"It's a crappy situation," joked Mark Hayes, vice president of finance for Star Precision, a full-service, precision sheet-metal manufacturer that opened in the Sekich Business Park four years ago.
Problems for Star Precision arose when business started booming. The company started with 13 employees in 1997, he said, but it now has 135.
It also has a state-of-art water-jet that cuts 18 inches of aluminum like butter and can cut marble with precision. It even designed and produced a belt buckle for heavyweight boxer Evander Holyfield last year.
All of the water used during manufacturing is recycled through a Genesis Recycling Unit. "The biggest difficulty is keeping our employees from using the restroom," Hayes said.
With a septic system built for 15 workers, Hayes must have the septic pumped weekly, at a cost of $20,000 annually, he said.
Hayes is in the process of moving to the Frederick West Business Center where the company is building a 100,000-square-foot facility served by public sewer lines.
Hayes is the first in what may become a string of businesses to move out of the Sekich Business park, located on the northeast corner of Interstate 25 and Colorado 66. Lack of a public sewer system, and limits on septic systems, are preventing more than 50 neighboring businesses from expanding.
Hayes said he approached the Mead Town Board in 1998 and requested the town extend sewer service to the Sekich Business Park. He even offered to help finance the venture, he said.
"I was trying to put some additional emphasis on either we continue in this way, or we move," Hayes said. "I called them a month ago, and I got the extended pause that I didn't want to hear.
"There are a lot of plans, and this is really holdng back business in this area," he said. For example, the Conoco gas station and convenience store would like to add a carwash, but the septic system is not adequate to hold the run-off, he said.
Matt McNeely of Star Precision waits for a laser to cut a piece from a sheet of metal.
Mead officials are currently reviewing plans for an intergovernmental agreement with the St. Vrain Sanitation District.
"It's really an attempt, from Mead's effore, to be in control of the planning and standards in that area," said Wally Grant, president of the St. Vrain Sanitation District board of directors.
The concept of the IGA is simple. The St. Vrain Sanitation District could serve everyone north of Colo. 66, within a mile of I-25, but those requesting service would first have to annex to Mead. "Mead buys the service and resells it to their customers for a period of 10 years," Grant said.
The St. Vrain Sanitation District has already extended its lines to the south side of Colo. 66, Grant said.
Now, the line must be carried underneath the highway and extended into the Sekich Business Park.
The hitch is that the town of Mead must fron the costs for boring underneath Colo. 66 and building the infrastructure for the line in the business park.
Mead officials this week debated the urgency of the sewer line extension. Trustee Don Brewer said the epside is that the town will get a bigger tax base. "We have an opportunity to expand and gain some businesses," he said.
The town's engineering firm, JR Engineering, offered a preliminary estimate that it would cost about $500,000. However, businesses would still have to pay for hook-ups to each building and meter taps, Brewer said.
He said he has worked on the IGA for about six months now and has contacted about 20 businesses owners who expressed interest.
With a draft IGA to consider, the next step is to survey the businesses, show them the poposed IGA, and get definite input by those willing to participate, he said.
Hayes said it is a timely endeavor, but he can't wait any longer.
"I sometimes wonder if they want growth to stall," he said. "They may be thinking, 'I've lived here 40 years, and I like it the way it is,' or they do not like sprawl in these areas.
"We all realize there is not a quick resolution. However, if you tell me it's going to take nine or 10 months, I can build a building somewhere else.
"It's too easy to table conversations. There is very little accountability on their part."
Vickie Taylor can be reached at 970-352-2508 or by e-mail at news@times-call.com.
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