Mount Pleasant Waterworks (MPW) has embarked on an almost $3 million project to improve pump station efficiency for the growing area of Hwy. 41.

However some residents in the Phillip's Community are not pleased with the agency's means of compensation for property that must be used as easements.

General Manager Clay Duffie said that the MPW service area, the wastewater collection system and water distribution system must be upgraded to ensure that the pump stations operate efficiently, thereby reducing operating costs. The project cost is $2.5 million and is being funded by impact fee reserves, which are fees paid by developers to ensure that growth-pays for growth. Chandler Construction won the bid for the construction and came in under budget.

Work is projected to be complete in the fall. Much of the work performed will be with a directional drill method that is less invasive to the native vegetation and more convenient for residents living in the area.

Phillip's Community member Richard Habersham said a handful of residents in this community have been asked to allow MPW to take over portions of their property for needed easements to complete the waterworks project. Some have agreed and accepted the compensation, but others, he said, don't feel they are being compensated justly and have refused. In fact a portion of at least one resident's property has been condemned.

Jimmy Swinton said he was notified last Friday that a portion of his property had been condemned although clearing and grubbing had commenced almost a week prior to that.

The Phillip's Community is located in Charleston County, although it sits within the Town of Mount Pleasant's boundaries.
Habersham said residents there are not interested in annexing into the town, therefore do not qualify to receive water and sewer services from MPW.
His complaint, however is that residents here are being forced to give up their property to serve citizens who do use the services provided by MPW.
William Meyers would rather see MPW purchase the portion of his land in question. He said he has not signed off on the easement agreement, although work began on his property Feb. 22 - what he says is a week before the date a front door placard said work would begin.
If an easement is granted and MPW compensates a homeowner for use of the property, then the homeowner must not construct a permanent structure, according to MPW Engineering Manager David Niesse.
"They still own the property," he said. "All we're using is the portion underground. Because we still need access to get in and maintain and replace pipes if necessary, we can't allow permanent structures, but if they want to plant grass or shrubs they can do that with the understanding that if we have to come back and do anything it is their responsibility to put those type of items back if they are removed."
He explained that if MPW were to purchase the property from individual owners, their lots size would decrease, but an easement actually increases their buffer and setback lines.
In addition Swinton and Meyers owned two of three properties that were still in negotiation and their condemnation did not happened until March 2. Niesse said MPW put flyers on occupied homes indicating when work would begin and any work noticed before that was contractors surveying routes, placing tree barricades and silt fences.
He said there was some clearing done of underbrush so those fences could go in.
"When we start any project we look at a multitude of routes for easements and road right of way. When we select routes we send a note out to residents in the area that survey crews will be in those areas pulling data for design purposes," Niesse said.
"We make selections based on the most efficient and effective route and then we get an appraiser involved and appraise all of those parcels and record the plats. That information is given to the homeowner and we make personal contact to finalize those documents and get them recorded. Compensation is dictated by the appraisal and varies based on a number things such as commercial versus residential or road frontage."
If a resident refuses to sign off on an easement agreement, MPW will then go through the condemnation process and the resident will still get the appraised value, Niesse explained.
Meyers said this easement essentially makes the 9,900 sqft. of his property useless. He said he was offered only $4080 for use of the property and he is "still stuck with the tax burden forever and a day."
According to Duffie, "MPW has to have easements and we pay people a fair price for those easements. We had to condemn some easements in that area because when you have heirs property it is impossible to run down all the family members and get them to sign these documents. If they refused to sign, and we need to move forward with the project, then yes we will take to condemnation."
Duffie said MPW officials have tried to negotiate in all cases and stands by what he believes were fair compensation offers.
"We use people qualified in this type work and treat everyone fair. By the same token we don't want to over compensate one person. That's not fair to the other people," he said.
Other properties along the Hwy. 41 corridor were also subject to condemnation or easement agreements including areas in Ivy Hall and Ellington Woods. "Growth in that area calls for upgrading the system and to provide a lower energy cost. That's the biggest thing customers are going to get out of this. We're pumping waste water a long distance and we needed a more efficient system help. In the long run we can expect lower electric bills," Duffie said.
Habersham argued that MPW already had a 20' right of way through Park West but was told by MPW officials that it was not cost effective to construct this project using that right of way.
Swinton said he has no problem with MPW coming through with their lines, but he's looking for what he calls just compensation.
"If I am going to lose the right to the use of the property I want to receive equitable compensation. And to top it off they proceeded with their work without permission to be on my property. They started work before they notified me of condemnation," he said.
"They've now created a hostile situation and I consider them as trespassing on my property which violates my civil rights."
Beatrice Coleman said she is being offered $1800 from MPW to go across nine acres which won't even cover her taxes on her land for one year.
The group as a whole said their options are limited in regards to fighting back. No one has the money to spend on lawyers.
"This project is not benefitting anyone in this community unless we pay the fees to tie in which we've been told are $10,000, and we would have to annex," Habersham said. "I'm not anti-annexation. We just want to be treated fairly."
Niesse reiterated that the line is needed to improve efficiency.
"All pump stations in Rivertowne, Dunes West, and the Park West area all flows through one regional station and we're trying to bypass that. By doing so we need an additional line and we have weather problems which cause the pump stations and force main not to operate under optimal conditions and most of that is related to the growth that has occurred in that area," he said.
(Sully Witte can be reached by e-mailing editor@moultrienews.com.)