BIEHLE INCORPORATES: TOWN OF EIGHT WILL CONSIDER SALES TAX

BIEHLE -- In the town of Biehle, city business is a family affair, brought on by an effort to help start up a rural fire department.

A 56-acre area, which includes Buchheit Inc. a general merchandise, farm and building supplies store that has long been a fixture here has been incorporated as the town of Biehle, population 8.

Plans are being made to levy a 1-cent sales tax on sales at Buchheit's store, the only business in the incorporated town. The tax revenue would help fund the recently formed Biehle Community Fire Protection Association.

The new town's residents consist of the Buchheit family, which owns Buchheit Inc., and Tim Peters, who works for the business.

The Perry County Commission approved the incorporation of the town on Sept. 16 in response to a petition from Ken Buchheit and his wife Rhonda; his mother and father, Irma and Rudolph Buchheit; and Peters.

The five petitioners currently serve as the town board, with Ken Buchheit, manager of Buchheit's, serving as board chairman.

"We formed this town just to try to get fire protection for this rural community up here, not just for ourselves," Ken Buchheit said Friday.

To that end, the incorporated town's voting residents are expected to approve a 1-cent sales tax measure in an election March 3.

Perry County Clerk Randy Taylor, the county's chief election official, said that with so few voters the election likely will be handled by mail.

The 1-cent sales tax is expected to generate about $90,000 a year in revenue, said Don Barry, secretary-treasurer for the fire protection association.

Much of the money would be used for the purchase of two fire trucks and construction of a fire station, fire protection association officials said. Down the road, some of the money may be used for construction of a water tower and water system, officials said.

Biehle area resident Bill Doan, who was recently named fire chief for the volunteer fire department, said the association will receive 75 percent of the annual sales tax revenue.

The town of Biehle will keep the other 25 percent to pay for operating expenses, basically legal and bookkeeping costs, and provide for a reserve fund, Doan said.

He said the volunteer fire department is looking at making use of a substantial amount of sales tax revenue for the next three to six years to get the operation going, after which funding could be lowered to a maintenance level.

The incorporation of the town has sparked some criticism because the boundaries exclude St. Maurus Catholic Church, a restaurant and bar, and other properties in the Biehle area.

The Biehle community has existed for more than a century, although not as an incorporated town.

Bertha Laurentius, whose home borders the city limits along Route B, said Friday that her property was not included in the new town. She estimated that 20 other households in the immediate Biehle area were also excluded from the incorporated town.

Barry of the fire protection association said that at least 20 families live within 1 miles of the Buchheit store.

Laurentius said the incorporation caught her and others by surprise. "Everything was done in secret," she said.

Laurentius' home is near St. Maurus Catholic Church, founded in 1870.

Laurentius' great-grandfather, Maurus Biehle, for whom the community was named, donated the land on which the church is built.

She maintained that the incorporated town's boundaries should have included the church for which the community's founder was so closely associated. "To me, the heart of the town is the church.

"Without my great-grandfather, the name Biehle would not have been here," she said.

Doan said the church property was excluded because of the length of time it would have taken to secure the necessary authorization through the governing bodies of the Catholic Church.

"They (the town board) are not opposed to annexing different parts," said Doan. "But right now they wanted to get this off the ground and get the city organized."

Ken Buchheit said, "We've got no problem in putting it (the church) in there."

But he said there's no real benefit in being within the town's corporate limits as the town has no police department, street lights or sewers.

Buchheit said the incorporation was done to provide needed fire protection, not just within the town's boundaries but for the whole area.

"It is a good thing for the whole community," he said.

There is a Perry County fire department, but it is headquartered in Perryville, 10 miles from Biehle, Buchheit said.

"There is a real need for fire protection in this area," he said.

Buchheit knows firsthand about that need. In April 1986, a huge blaze destroyed the half-century-old Buchheit's general store, despite the efforts of fire departments in the region. Since then, the Buchheits have erected a new general merchandise store.

Planning for the new fire department began back in July, Doan said.

The Biehle Community Fire Protection Association was officially formed Dec. 10 as a not-for-profit corporation. It has a six-member board of directors.

The association already has 10 to 12 volunteer firemen and is looking for more. "We would like to have 20," said Doan.

The job of fire chief is a volunteer position. Doan, 30, is employed as a hog buyer for Heinold Hog Market.

But he has firefighting experience, both as a volunteer fireman and later as assistant fire chief in his hometown of Claremont, Ill.

The association has acquired a 1954 pumper truck and is in the process of obtaining a 3,400-gallon tanker truck.

The pumper was purchased by the Biehle Social Club, a civic group. The tanker is being acquired through SEMO Tank and Equipment, Doan said.

The fire protection association will pay both the social club and SEMO Tank for the trucks when it receives money from the expected sales tax, he said.

Plans also call for construction of a fire station on property along Route B that is now owned by the Biehle Social Club. Construction of the station could cost $50,000, the fire chief said.

The social club, he added, is considering building the fire station and leasing it to the association.

He said the new fire department plans to be in operation by summer.

Barry said more than 50 people have paid a $5 donation or membership fee to the fire protection association.

Doan said the fire department "will serve basically everyone within a five-mile radius and people outside of a five-mile radius with approval of the board of directors."

According to Barry, the rural fire department may provide fire protection for 200 to 300 families in the Biehle area.

Doan said he expects the Biehle Community Fire Protection Association will respond to all fires in the area.

But as is the case with many other volunteer departments, he said those property owners who are not members of the association likely would be charged a substantial fee if firefighters respond to fires on their property.