SALES TAX EXTENSION WOULD FIX SEWERS

To those in the know, the proposed one-fourth-cent sales tax extension that would ease pressure on Cape Girardeau's sewers smells sweeter now than it would in the future.

"It's either now or later, but it's going to have to be taken care of some time," said Cape Girardeau City Councilman Al Spradling III when asked about the proposed sales tax extension and revenue bonds issue, both of which will appear on the April 5 ballot.

"Right now we know that we'll be able to upgrade and separate our storm and sanitary sewer system with interest rates at about 3 percent," said Spradling. "Who knows where the interest rates will be in the future?"

A countywide one-fourth-cent sales tax was passed in 1984 to fund the initial development of the Southeast Missouri Regional Port. In November 1988, Cape Girardeau voters elected to continue the one-fourth-cent sales tax, which will expire Dec. 31, 1999.

The one-fourth-cent sales tax is designated for the city's portion of the Corps of Engineers' flood-control project. A simple majority vote would extend the existing tax for 20 years to provide debt payments on state revolving loan fund money for sewer problems.

"I think it's important that we get this passed because it is crucial to the city's Master Sewer Plan," said City Councilman Melvin Gateley, who will oppose Spradling in the city's April 5 mayoral race.

The city's Master Sewer Plan, prepared in 1991, identified the separation of combined sewer lines and construction of sewer relief and trunk lines needed to serve the existing city limits as the principal five- and 10-year priorities. Those include : Combined-sewer separation in older parts of Cape Girardeau (Sloan Creek, Main Street, Fort D area, College and Henderson and Walnut and Henderson drainage basins).

The reason Spradling and Gateley can run together on such a crucial issue is their recognition of an opportunity that won't be around forever.

"The reason the city hasn't been able to take care of the sewer system the way we would like is because it was just too expensive," said City Manager J. Ronald Fischer. "Right now we've got a chance to solve some longstanding sewer problems by using revenue bonds in the amount of $25 million that would be paid off by the one-quarter-cent sales tax with the revolving loan fund program."

Lower interest rates at 2 to 3 percent would be subsidized at 70 percent by the state through its revolving loan fund program.

Fischer said passage of the sewer improvement program is necessary to get the project under way today so that bigger problems don't loom in the future.

"If it would pass right now, it would still take another year and a half until the construction could get started," said Fischer. "The flood of 1993 taught us how important it is to take pressure off of our sewer system."

Among the primary objectives is to eliminate combined sewer flows and associated problems by separating storm water from sanitary sewer flows. Another objective is to allow better operation of the waste-water plant and extend the operational life of the existing facilities at the plant.

"Right now a heavy rain creates surcharges of the existing sewerage system," said Fischer. "What we're trying to do is reduce the surcharges of our sewer system." In addition, there would be a move to complete trunk line extensions to unsewered areas within city limits."

Said Spradling: "If you think the problem will go away, you should have been at Shawnee Park when we smelled the stench from all the floodwater. Here you're trying to watch a soccer game and you're confronted with an aroma that is anything but pleasant."