'Small-town infighting' behind effort to disband road district

Commissioners in the Old Illmo Special Road District say the push to disband the district and put it under Scott County control is something initiated by a few unhappy residents, not a legitimate political effort to fix problems with service.

A petition for a ballot measure received more than 75 signatures, enough to put it on the April 5 ballot.

But commissioners Bob Keesee and Bill Zimmerman painted a picture of a few people with personal grievances who were able to get signatures from their acquaintances on the petition.

"It really all started with one guy who doesn't even live in the road district," said Keesee, who declined to name the person. "His son has a farm in the district, and he wanted a road blacktopped to a cow pasture. It's a dead-end road. It's just small-town infighting."

The Old Illmo Special Road District has 29 miles of roads stretching to the Mississippi river on the east, the county border on the north, Interstate 55 on the west and nearly to Commerce on the south. The district has an annual budget of $100,000 or less and employs one full-time worker and a part-time secretary, Keesee said.

Some of those roads fall within the city limits of Scott City. Allegations have been made that the district doesn't want to expend funds on projects within the city limits, but commissioners say they have done just that.

Keesee said the district has offered $25,000 to help with repairs to the Ramsey Creek Bridge, which lies within the city limits. But with a limited budget, commissioners say, they can only do so many projects.

For instance, Zimmerman said, the district spent more than $100,000 in 2004, much of it from the previous year's reserves, to pave roads.

"It takes money to take care of these roads," Zimmerman said. "Right now we need a new pickup, but we can't afford it."

The commissioners charge that, if the district is disbanded, service in the district will be negatively affected because the county doesn't want the additional responsibility. The area's county commissioner, Jamie Burger, has said the county has a neutral position on the issue.

"We want to protect the interest of our local citizens," Keesee said. "If the county takes over, they'll take the money away for projects in other places."

Both men said that in the time they've been commissioners, three years for Zimmerman and six years for Keesee, there have been great improvements and upgrades in service.

"When I came in six years ago, we had nothing," Keesee said. "The budget was broke, it was being mishandled."

Since that time the district has been able to upgrade its equipment, build a shop and put money into reserves for emergencies, commissioners said. If it continues this way, Keesee said, the district will be in solid financial shape to take on more and more paving projects.

"This has been tried before," said Zimmerman. "It happens every time somebody has a gripe. But the county has got more than enough to do."

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182