BOND ISSUE WINS BIG AT KELSO

KELSO -- Voters in Kelso Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a $1.7 million bond issue that will fund construction of a citywide sewer system.

Ninety-two percent of those who went to the polls gave approval to the measure. Only 18 people voted against it.

"To get this kind of a landslide was a real vote of confidence," said Kelso Mayor Johnny Ray Conklin. "I think everybody knew it was needed."

Scott County Clerk Bob Kielhofner said 60 percent of the town's registered voters cast ballots in the election.

Conklin said he was confident the issue would be approved by voters by at least a simple majority. But he said he was surprised by the election's lopsided results. Of 217 votes, 199 were cast in favor of the measure.

"We haven't got that many people in Kelso to agree on anything in years," he said.

The bond issue puts the town one step closer to having it's first citywide sewage system, he said. Engineers have already designed the system and the town has applied for a grant from the Department of Natural Resources to help fund it, he said.

"The board has been working on this for about nine years," he said. "Once we get our (grant) approval, we'll be ready to put the project up for bids."

Conklin said construction is expected to begin next spring.

According to officials at the Scott County Health Department, private systems could not operate adequately in the town's soil, which has a high clay content. As a result, private systems were not passing state inspections.

Prospective home buyers were being turned down for loans as a result of the inadequate sewage systems, and wells were being contaminated.

"We should have done this years ago," Conklin said. "People were against it before because of its cost, but it's not going to get any cheaper."

Monthly fees for the system will range between $20 and $40 depending on water usage.

The 20-year bond issue includes $1.6 million for a sewer system and $100,000 to pay off the remainder of the debt incurred in 1974 when the city financed a water system. Voters rejected funding a sewer system at the time the water system was financed.

Conklin said five members of the town board actively campaigned for the bond issue in the weeks preceding the election. He said a large number of the town's approximately 500 residents attended a town meeting held to explain the need for a citywide system.

He said the cost of the system concerned voters the most. But, he said, for residents who don't use a lot of water the cost will be minimal.

"As the town grows the bills will go down. More people will be sharing the cost," he said.

Conklin said town board members gathered Tuesday night awaiting election results.

"We were thrilled. There was actually dancing in the room," he said.