MAUMEE, Ohio — Theresa Grzecki was one of the hundreds of people at a meeting private for Maumee residents on July 15 to discuss a controversial ordinance passed by the city to require owners of for sale properties within city limits to get their sewer line connections inspected.
Her home, which is currently on the market, failed its inspection and has created a significant financial problem for her.
"I set up my transaction such that we agreed to have the work finished, completed and approved by the city before closing," Grzecki said.
Grzecki's home, put up for sale on July 2, is set to close with a potential buyer on Aug. 21 — but not before she pays approximately $12,000 for repairs to the clay-tile sewer line under her tree lawn that leads to the road.
More specifically, it's to the Y-line, which is shared with a next-door neighbor who does not have to pay for it.
"I asked (the city inspectors) if my neighbor can share the cost with me since he shares that sewer line with me, and they said it's not mandatory," Grzecki said.
She received three different estimates from third-party vendors after receiving a failed inspection from the city, each estimate coming back with a price between $12,000-17,000.
It's a price tag that is tough to swallow for Grzecki, and is one she wishes the city would have gone about requiring in a different method.
"I just wish that there was another solution, where ... everyone pays a tax or a fee because all will benefit from it," she said.
Maumee mandated the inspections back on June 17 through ordinance 20-2024, part of the city's goal to eliminate illegal discharge Into the Maumee River.
The city of Maumee provided WTOL 11 with the following statement:
"City officials have been alerted to a range of quotes, some of which appear to deviate significantly from market rates. Residents who are concerned about the information they have received for repair work may want to seek additional quotes or they can reach out to a city official anytime for a comparison of the quote with the inspection report requirements."
But Grzecki thinks the city did not expect the type of response from the community, which has included the creation of a citizens initiative: a group of citizens who have submitted a petition to get an ordinance repeal onto the November ballot.
"I honestly do not think this was done with evil intentions," she said. "I think it possibly wasn't thought out, and I think they didn't anticipate the amount of support that this community was going to offer."