Oak Ridge OKs sewer bond issue

OAK RIDGE, Mo. -- The town of Oak Ridge will get a sewer system after voters on Tuesday approved a $900,000 bond issue to help finance the project.

The issue passed 37 for to 24 against, garnering 60.6 percent approval. The issue needed just over 57 percent of the vote to pass.

Mayor Marilyn Sedgwick said she was thrilled by the vote.

"I really thought it would pass," she said.

Sedgwick said she was pleased with voter turnout in the town of 200 people.

"I was surprised that many people voted against it," she said.

Voters, she said, saw the need for a sewer system. One man who hadn't voted in years went to the polls this time to vote for the sewer system.

Individual septic tanks currently take care of the sewage in the Cape Girardeau County town. But many of the septic systems don't work well, resulting in sewage seeping onto the ground.

The entire project is expected to cost $1.25 million. State and federal grants and a federal loan are expected to pay for much of the cost.

City officials say only $500,000 in bonds may have to be issued.

The town board asked voters to approve a $900,000 bond issue just in case more funding is needed, officials said.

The project involves new septic tanks that would be connected to pressurized, 2-inch-diameter pipes that would be connected to a treatment plant or sewage lagoon.