Bellevue officials were given a much different understanding of what it will cost to repair the West Bellevue Station sewer line during Tuesday's council meeting, one week after Avalon officials were told there would be no costs to share.

Officials from the two boroughs have disagreed over what each will contribute to the massive repair job mandated by the Allegheny County Health Department. Avalon officials argued that they should pay an amount equal to the 13 percent of the sewage contributed to the joint line. Bellevue officials maintain that splitting the cost 50-50 was mandated by an ordinance that has never been located.

The matter seemed to have been put to rest when Avalon borough manager Harry Dilmore obtained a $370,000 grant expected to cover the cost of the entire project. Based on those assurances, Avalon Council voted last week to divide evenly any cost overruns.

Bellevue director of administrative services Doug Sample told council members on Feb. 22 that the grant will cover construction costs, and that $40,000 to $60,000 in engineering fees will have to be split by the two boroughs. After the meeting, Sample said that cost overruns could be as high as $100,000.

Dilmore, on the other hand, said that the boroughs already have split $12,000 in engineering costs, and additional engineering fees are expected to total no more than $20,000.

He also said that construction cost estimates were in the area of $340,000, and that officials hoped they could use the remaining funds to cover engineering fees.

Dilmore also said that there is a possibility other grant funds could be available for the project.

Bellevue Council voted unanimously to approve the same resolution adopted a week before by Avalon Council. The resolution agrees that the boroughs will evenly share cost overruns, although the project will not be considered to set a precedent for any future work on joint lines.