NORTH WEBSTER — Thanks to the work of numerous contractors, board members, DLZ project engineers and local homeowners, Lakeland Regional Sewer District is expecting to complete the $29 million sewer project just $15,000 over budget, a .07 percent change.

The board met Monday night, Feb. 13, during a special meeting. The meeting was held at the North Webster Community Center, a location the board decided to keep on a month-by-month basis until they felt their customer base is comfortable with their new office location.

Since the district will be mailing letters notifying customers of the ability to connect with several documents that need to be completed, board members suggested during a discussion the location of the office remain unchanged and easily accessible for these reasons.

Also on the positive side of discussions, the board members reported excellent progress on restoration throughout the district. The board members agreed in some places the roads were left in better condition. Casey Erwin, project engineer with DLZ, cautioned the district on maintaining extensive documentation on each of the contracted areas.

The board and Erwin agreed there will be property owners who bring damage claims to the board that are either false or are not due to the work of the district. Erwin referred to the start-ups as “1,800 small projects” to keep track of with thorough documentation. Both Erwin and the board agreed this will be a tedious and time-consuming project.

The board will meet again for the March 2 regular meeting at the NWCC beginning at 6 p.m.

In other news:

Contract A reached substantial completion Feb. 3; contract B reached substantial completion in fall 2016; contract C and the wastewater treatment plant reached substantial completion Jan. 13.

Although the $689,041 contingency fund was barely touched during the course of the project, the district is not permitted to use any additional funds for construction without appealing to the USDA.

The March 2017 bill will begin the first full charges for each customer of the district.