Scott City projects designed with the future in mind

In 2004, Scott City concentrated on enhancing both its infrastructure and its cultural climate.

One of the year's biggest projects was the installation of a new water treatment plant that replaced the antiquated system of wells the city formerly used to deliver water to its residents. Construction started four years after the $2.2 million bond issue to finance the plant was passed. The money wasn't enough to complete the job so the city had to borrow more through a 20-year lend-lease loan.

The plant was completed in July.

Five drilled wells provided water to the city prior to the plant's construction, said city administrator Ron Eskew. The new treatment plant has replaced those wells with a centralized system.

The new system allows for more efficient delivery of water to city residents and makes the process of treating water much easier, said Eskew. In addition, the new plant has doubled the city's water treatment capacity.

In April, Scott City voters approved another measure to improve infrastructure, extending a one-quarter cent capital improvement tax for six more years.

The money from the tax will be used to make improvements on city hall and to purchase the land at the city's caboose park, which had previously been leased from the railroad.

The city council also voted to become part of the Greater Cape Girardeau Metropolitan Planning Organization, uniting it with Cape Girardeau and Jackson in the organization.

A group of citizens started taking steps to improve the city on their own in 2004, pushing for the creation of the Old Illmo Arts District, which was approved by the city council in July.

The driving force behind the idea was Paul Schock, owner of the Schock Community Arts Center. The arts district would re-designate an area of Second Street to the Old Illmo Main Street as an arts district.

Schock and others hoping to create the district -- the Kiwanis Club, Scott City Chamber of Commerce and the Scott City Historical Preservation Society -- hope to make it a home for artists and festivals, thereby attracting more commerce and culture to the city.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182