COUNTY COMMISSION APPROVES IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT POLICY

JACKSON -- The Cape Girardeau County Commission has approved a set of guidelines for any group of property owners interested in establishing a Neighborhood Improvement District.

The commission, at a meeting Tuesday morning, approved the guidelines prepared by its attorney, Larry Ferrell.

"This will be the official policy of this county with regard to Neighborhood Improvement Districts," said Presiding Commissioner Gene Huckstep.

Members of the commission began seeking information on the districts about a month ago after being approached by Ray Miller, a member of the homeowners board of Twin Lakes Subdivision. Miller said some residents of Twin Lakes saw newly-passed legislation as an opportunity to make needed improvements in their water system and streets.

Twin Lakes is off Hopper Road just west of Interstate-55. There are about 90 homes in the subdivision.

Huckstep asked Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle to review the new law, contained in Senate Bill 8, which was passed this year to implement a constitutional amendment allowing for the districts that was approved by voters last November.

Swingle concluded that the law would leave the county liable for project cost overruns and potentially long-term maintenance of improvements funded by such districts.

County commissioners decided that since there are dozens of subdivisions and mobile home parks in the county that might have an interest in forming an improvement district, it would be best to have Ferrell prepare guidelines to protect the county rather than refuse to allow districts to be formed.

"If we allow these we want to be sure that all requests are handled in a uniform and consistent manner so everyone is treated the same way," said Huckstep.

Under the new law, people can get together to form a Neighborhood Improvement District to provide funding for infrastructure improvements. The law requires county commissions to approve the formation of such districts and gives it the power to issue tax bills to pay for the improvements.

Before a district can be formed at least two-thirds of the property owners must sign a petition requesting it.

Huckstep said the commission will make every effort to assist Twin Lakes but cannot jeopardize county finances by doing so.

"They've got a problem, we agree with that," said Huckstep.

Without the district, other options for the subdivision would be to incorporate as a village or to seek annexation into Cape Girardeau or Jackson, said Huckstep.

Miller said he will review the guidelines with members of the Twin Lakes board and they may eventually meet with all of the property owners to see whether to pursue the district. "It's the best thing that's available to us," he said.

"The whole idea behind Senate Bill 8 is to give small communities like ours, not governed by a city or county, the opportunity to solve some of our own problems," said Miller. "A lot of subdivisions were established before rules and regulations were put in place to see that they succeed.

"We look forward to it as being a very positive thing for our subdivision and for others in our county that need a vehicle to solve their own problems."

Miller explained that many subdivisions have rules that are almost impossible to change, and it is often difficult to get contributions from all property owners. Also, costs of improvements have increased in recent years, as have the level of regulations that subdivisions must comply with, he said.

"I think we've done quite well here in our subdivision, but I understand there are some subdivisions in Cape County where roads are almost impassable and they just can't deal with it," said Miller.

Using this new law, homeowners are required to pay for improvements. "Everyone will have to contribute, just like paying taxes," he said. "Most of us would not voluntarily pay taxes unless we were required to."

Huckstep complained that Senate Bill 8 is not a good bill for counties and "needs some cleaning up" to be the tool it is intended for.

"We are not going to pass a resolution that does not protect the county treasury as a whole," said Huckstep. "I don't think the legislature put a great deal of thought into the impact of this bill on county government."

One provision of the law, for example, states that if the cost of doing a project in a district exceeds its budget by more than 25 percent, people in the district do not need to reimburse the county for anything over the 25 percent.

It is also unclear whether the county would be responsible for the cost of feasibility studies needed to determine costs and project viability if a project was deemed unfeasible or people in the district declined to approve it.

Some requirements when a petition for a district is filed with the Cape County Commission are: Proposed methods of assessing property owners for the costs; a statement that final costs will not exceed the estimated cost of the improvement by more than 25 percent; petitioners agree to place money in an escrow account determined by the commission to cover preliminary costs of the project in the event it does not follow through; and an agreement be signed to indemnify the county from any costs for planning and construction, maintenance or liability.

The petition must also include the exact boundaries of the proposed district, the proposed improvements, and estimated costs.