While the touchy issue of an assessment rate has yet to be determined, work will start Sept. 22 on what is being characterized as the relatively straightforward project of bringing sewers to homes in the vicinity of Sandy Lane.

“We’ll be getting stimulus funding,” Janine Burke, executive director of the Warwick Sewer Authority said Friday. She said the money would go toward principal forgiveness and will amount to about $200,000 of the project. D’Ambra Construction is contracted to do the work for $1,042,225.

Burke anticipates that D’Ambra should be capable of moving rather quickly with construction that will provide 116 service connections and span 5,655 linear feet.

“There’s going to be disruption,” she said. Aspects of the project including how traffic is to be detoured and staging areas for pipe and equipment will be discussed at a public meeting Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Buttonwoods Community Center.

According to the city’s legal notice, “The meeting will provide an opportunity for neighborhood residents to understand the project and the requirements for sewer connections, fees and assessments. In addition it will provide an opportunity for the WSA staff and engineers to learn about special issues and/or concerns of the neighborhood.”

High on the minds of homeowners are what they will end up paying in assessments.

“We’re doing everything to keep the rate at $82,” said Burke.

Residents cited the $52 per linear foot rate charged property owners in the Governor Francis Farms I project during construction of the second phase of the project. Speculation that the rate could be significantly higher, meaning in some cases that neighbors backing up to one another would be paying different amounts prompted a neighborhood outcry.

Basically the rate is determined by the cost of the project divided between the property owners that will gain the capability to connect to sewers. The city has a policy requiring homeowners to tie into the sewers, but the City Council has been unable to agree on a penalty for those that fail to do so.

The length of the sewer line along the property determines the amount owed by a property owner. Hence a homeowner with 100 feet of frontage would be charged $8,200 at the $82 per foot rate. In instances where sewers abut more than one side of a property, the longer line applies. And in cases where the sewer line ends at a corner of a lot, the full property line applies. Homeowners can pay the assessment in installments over a 20-year period.

Burke said stimulus funds would help offset the cost of the Sandy Lane project. Also, she said the authority expects to reduce costs by supplementing inspection services.

“We’re going to try to save a little,” she said.

Burke said the city should receive additional stimulus funds that can be used to stabilize the assessment rate at $82 for Sandy Lane as well as Governor Francis. She also reported that the authority is seeking bids for a rate study to guide it.

The Sandy Lane project is projected for a June 22, 2010 completion. Burke said the repaving of streets impacted by construction should be finished by the end of next summer.