Bally lawmakers will begin looking at options for a new or additional borough engineer after Council President Glenn Mutter railed against System Design Engineering (SDE) at Tuesday's meeting, citing missteps and miscommunication about the borough's costly infrastructure problems and building inspections.

        Mutter, who emphasized at the meeting that he was speaking for himself and not on behalf of council, said the borough has been having problems with the company "for years." 

        SDE has served as the borough's engineer at least since 1964, but now, plagued by a crumbling sewer infrastructure and lack of adequate communication and action by the company, Mutter has seen enough.

        "System Design has too many things [they are working on in the borough] and they are slow to respond to our needs," Mutter said. "We have to fight with them to get answers. We have to fight with them to get permits…"

        "We always have to pay for their mistakes."

        Specifically, Mutter was referring to SDE's analysis of borough sewer pipes. After the costly installation of cameras and flow meters in the borough's pipes, as mandated by the state Department of Environmental Protection, SDE's plan to monitor flow near the well reportedly failed to reveal the cause of blockages.

        One potential major block was discovered by the ingenuity of borough Public Works Superintendent Nate Heffner, who fashioned a boat out of PVC piping and sent his own GoPro camera, covered in a waterproof case, and some LED lights down the sewer pipes to reveal a tree rootball that had nearly overtaken a line near the waste water treatment plant. No cameras were installed in the pipes investigated by Heffner and Borough Manager Leo "Boots" Mutter, even though DEP and borough officials had suggested that a blockage may be occurring closer to the plant site.

        Heffner, who has been superintendent at the plant for about a year, said he and Leo Mutter identified the potential blockage by simply looking at two manholes in the borough that were about 100 feet apart: one was clogged, the other was flowing normally.

        "I thought the whole [sewer] system was being camera-ed so we knew what our priorities are," Glenn Mutter said at the meeting, noting that SDE's $2.1 million plan to address the sewer system problems was rejected by the state. The true cost of repairs won't be known until the borough reports data to DEP from the recently installed flow meters.

        Council is hopeful that addressing the blockage will reduce at least some of overflow issues in the borough. Removal of the rootball line will begin on Thursday.

        Borough Council Secretary and Treasurer Wendy Mutter also criticized the lack of communication and documentation by SDE regarding building permits.

        Mayor David Schott requested that he receive copies of all bills from the borough engineer for review. Secretary/Treasurer Wendy Mutter agreed to supply copies of the bills to all council members, saying that others had issued similar requests. 

        A committee comprising Glenn Mutter, Council Vice President Edward Agnoli and Councilmember Matthew Gehman will interview new engineering firms to see if part or all of SDE's current work can be redirected to another company.

        However, despite the criticisms of SDE, council voted to move forward with having the company develop specifications for a new 500,000 gallon water storage tank at the borough's new well. Development of the specs will cost an estimated $7,500. It was a move that some council members felt could not be delayed any longer. Inspections will cost an additional $5,000.

        Gehman said the "top priority" of the borough should be ensuring that the storage tank has enough capacity to provide borough residents with water in the event of a problem at the well that would require several days to address. Gehman stressed the urgency of the situation and was hesitant to concede additional time to look at other engineering firms for the project.