ROSS TOWNSHIP — Butler County is going ahead with engineering work for sewer installation in the Venice Gardens neighborhood, even though residents could reject the project.

        A majority of the households must sign forms agreeing to connect to the sewer lines before the county can install them.

        By a June 10 deadline, the county's Department of Environmental Services received 107 responses in favor of the project and 98 opposed. Although the department still hasn't received forms from 78 percent of the households, the county will go ahead with engineering work, department director Tony Parrott said.

        After the engineering is complete, the county will present the project again to residents and let them vote whether they want the sewers, he said.

        “If they decide they don't want the project, the $188,000 cost of engineering is something the county will have to absorb,” Mr. Parrott said.

        Venice Gardens is a low-income community that has been beset by malfunctioning septic systems. But some residents are balking at the $2.7 million sewer project because they don't know if they can afford to pay the costs.

        According to estimates, each household would pay a $3,600 assessment fee and about $60 per foot for a connection from the curb to the house. The county would waive a $1,800 treatment capacity fee.

        Completing the engineering work will enable the county to get a better idea of how much the project will cost and what the assessment fees need to be, Mr. Parrott said.

        The county will continue seeking funding from other sources, he said.

        “If we're able to get additional funding, the assessment fee may be lower this fall,” he said.

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