A North Bryan church will soon move forward with plans for expansion after a decision from the Pembroke City Council on Monday.
The council unanimously approved to abandon a sewer easement and under city supervision allow the Pembroke Christian Church to dig up a sewer line that lies in the middle of property owned by the church.
The church’s board of directors in a letter to the council said the church for some time has tried to expand and build new facilities but couldn’t because of the easement and sewer line, which dead ends in the center of the property. The church plans to build a new social hall, Sunday school building and sanctuary, according to the letter.
The city’s engineer, Matthew Barrow, said he along with City Project Manager Ricky McCoy had examined the sewer line and surrounding area and found that it is not currently used by any homes or buildings. Barrow said he believed abandoning the easement and removing the line would cause no problems.
“They (board of directors) have investigated and researched those lines, and to the best of anyone’s knowledge alive here and available, there are no other connections to that line,” Barrow said. “There’s no record, no flow, no evidence of signs or use (of the sewer line).”
He suggested the council abandon the easement, which would allow the property owner, Pembroke Christian Church, to take ownership “with the understanding that any improvements that are made on that property, or any other extension of sewer main on that property would then at that point become the responsibility of the property owner.”
Barrow added the sewer line could be operational, but he again noted there were no other facilities using the sewer line.
“There is presently not a connection beyond (the church’s) facility that’s in operation today,” Barrow told the council. “There are some old abandoned services connected to that line that were formerly utilized by other buildings on the property owned by the church, which have since been removed.”