CAPE GIRARDEAU STAFF TAKES LESSON ON ROAD: EXPLAINS NEED FOR SEWER BOND

Not everyone in Cape Girardeau knows how important sanitary sewer improvements are for growth and development, so city staff members aim to make residents more informed before an upcoming election.City staff members will begin meeting with civic clubs and organizations to explain the need for an $8.5 million bond issue to finish the city's sewer projects. The election is Feb. 8. City officials made their first presentation Friday during the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors annual retreat. At least three other presentations are planned.The presentation, which lasts 10 to 15 minutes, explains why the bond is needed, how it will be funded and what projects will be completed.The bond does not include a tax increase or a sewer rate increase and will be repaid from an existing sales tax. Nearly $4 million, left from a 1/4-cent sales tax approved in 1994, coupled with revenue from the bonds, would be enough to finish all the work needed on the city's system, said City Manager Michael Miller.The city needs the money to complete three major sewer projects: Building lift stations and force mains along the Mississippi River, a trunk sewer for Sloan Creek relief and a lift station and force main for the South Ramsey Creek branch.Water flow follows the gravitational pull so when wastewater needs to drain uphill, the city must build lift stations to "lift" the water up. Force mains are pressurized systems that pull, or force, the water through the pipes so that it empties into the city's wastewater treatment plant.Nine of the 12 original sewer projects suggested by city officials in 1994 have been completed, including all six combined sewer overflow projects that separated sewer and water lines in the city.But there isn't enough money to finish the remaining projects. The bonds will help continue the city's sewer projects so that all work will be complete, Miller said.If the bonds fail, the city will face higher costs by paying for projects as they collect the needed money. "To amass the amount of money needed for the projects could really only be done in the last 10 years of the time frame," said Public Works Director Doug Leslie. Because the improvements are needed now, the city would prefer to find funding for the work now. If you wait longer, then costs escalate, Miller said.Without the bond revenue, "we would likely have to raise rates or find another method for payment," he said. "It's more expensive to pay as you go."

FOR MORE INFORMATION

To learn more about the upcoming bond election and the city's sanitary sewer improvement program, call Tracey Glenn at the Public Information Office at 335-8556.