SCOTT CITY COUNCIL AGREES TO MEET RESIDENT `HALF WAY'

SCOTT CITY -- Ron Baker sat in a pew at the rear of the Scott City Council chambers enduring meetings for two months, waiting for the council to make a decision that would affect the price of his dream home.

On Monday night, his wait was over. But his mind was not put at ease by the cost he must now absorb.

Baker started building his dream home on Ruth Street in March. But for the past two and a half months, he has awaited a decision from the council on a city sewer main. The main is about 115 feet from the edge of his property.

A Scott City ordinance passed in 1993 requires the city to provide water and sewer main hookups within 100 feet of private property lines inside the city limits.

So after months of listening to Baker's requests and repeated committee meetings, the council approved a 26-foot extension of the water main, to bring the city in compliance with its ordinance.

"That means I'm going to have to run pipe about 90 feet to the main, and then another 75 feet from my property line to the house," said Baker. "I appreciate what they have done and all with the decision, but I think the ordinance should be changed.

"Other cities -- like Cape, for example -- will run sewer and water lines all the way up to property lines," he said. "If the city is going to provide these services, it should do so without all these additional costs."

At Monday's meeting, Scott City Mayor Larry Forhan pointed out that, "the ordinance passed last year clearly states that it is up to the property owners or the developers to run extensions to city utilities. We're holding up our end of the deal here."

Baker told the council if he realized in advance the trouble he would have to go through over the sewer line, he would have built elsewhere.

"How can this city remain competitive with other cities in development with these kinds of rules?" he asked the council. "If we don't have enough money to provide city utilities at property lines inside the city limits, I don't think we have any business at all thinking about annexing new land."

In other business, Ward 2 Councilman John Rogers Jr. announced plans to have a closed meeting Thursday, to negotiate a contract with Lady Luck, the company the city chose as its gambling operator. Rogers said Gary Heisel, project coordinator for the Scott City project for the company, will be on hand.

The city also plans to rush through an ordinance which would establish a contractual agreement with Kelso for fire protection.

The Kelso City Council has agreed to pay Scott City $7,500 per year for fire protection, but must get a sales tax increase initiative on August's ballot if they want to tap this year's fiscal draw. The deadline for filing for the Aug. 2 ballot is June 7.