Pocahontas residents to vote on sewer system

Pocahontas town officials have been doing background work on a sewer project for more than a year. They've held public information meetings, gotten engineer plans completed, they've applied for grants, and have received lagoon-location approval from the Department of Natural Resources.

On Tuesday, Pocahontas voters will determine whether their labor was fruitful when a $500,000 bond issue to pay for a sewer is put to a ballot.

"All we lack now is a positive vote next Tuesday," said Pocahontas Mayor Mark Kasten. "From all indications, we think it will pass."

Kasten said many of the town's 54 households and 127 residents have problems with septic tanks.

"The soil is clay soil and it's not good for septic tank use," he said. "Fields are failing and the ground is becoming saturated. Wastewater is coming to the surface, going into ditches and becoming very unsanitary."

Richard Winter, a member of the Board of Trustees, agreed.

"The soil is not conducive to those type of systems," he said. "There's a lot of runoff on other people's property and so we'll try to get this passed so everybody can be on one sewer system."

That sounded like a good idea to Pocahontas resident Tonya Schwartz.

"I think it would be good for the town and for anybody who would be looking to sell their house," she said. "But the whole sanitation aspect, that's the big issue."

Exactly how the project will be funded remains up in the air. The town is still awaiting the results of several grant applications, Kasten said. That will have an impact on how much individuals will have to pay.

Each resident may have to pay a sewer fee of $25 to $30 per month.

"It needs to stay in that range to keep the cost down," he said. "We can't have high-dollar sewer bills down here or it won't fly. Anybody we have talked to so far has been very positive. They see there's a definite problem."

Kasten said the sewer system will be built with future growth in mind. If the town reaches its sewer capacity, aerators can be added which will double the capacity again, Kasten said.

Winter said, if the issue passes, construction could begin by the fall of 2004, depending on whether the grants are awarded.

The town will have 30 years to pay off the bonds.

Melva Baker, another Pocahontas resident, said she knew the town has been planning this project for quite some time, but she didn't know it was going to be put on Tuesday's ballot.

"Sure, I'll vote for it," she said. "I think it's needed, for sure."

The poll at the Pocahontas St. John's Lutheran Church will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.

bmiller@semissourian.com

243-6635