TWIN LAKES OBJECTS TO SEWERS' COST

Twin Lakes residents appear ready to ditch plans for city sewers rather than pay $11,000 or more for the service.

"At this point, the majority of property owners don't want sewers," Twin Lakes resident Terry Taylor said Monday.

They would prefer to see the city extend water lines to the subdivision, which was annexed into the city two years ago. That project would be less costly and is needed more, residents say.

The subdivision of about 90 homes, situated just south of Hopper Road and west of Interstate 55, was annexed into Cape Girardeau two years ago.

City voters overwhelmingly approved the annexation as did residents of Twin Lakes, who wanted to receive city water and sewer service.

When the area was annexed, city officials estimated that property owners would have to pay nearly $5,300 an acre in special assessments for sewers and more than $2,000 an acre for water.

But two years later, the city's estimate for lateral sewers has climbed to $8,790 an acre, or 20 cents per square foot. The city hasn't provided homeowners any estimate yet on what it will cost to provide water to the subdivision.

Twin Lakes gets its water from private wells, and the sewage is treated by septic tanks.

"Some of us really need the water," homeowner Lou Hagler said.

Hagler's home sits atop a hill and he has so little water pressure that at times he barely has enough water to take a bath.

Some residents have undrinkable, brown water, Hagler said.

Taylor said that although some residents aren't properly maintaining their septic tanks, it would be less costly for those property owners to repair their septic tanks than to pay for city sewers.

Taylor and Hagler are circulating petitions opposing the sewer project as proposed.

They have collected signatures from owners of 31 tracts of property in the subdivision. Taylor expects to get signatures from about 75 percent of the property owners.

Twin Lakes residents plan to meet July 18 with city staff. The meeting will be at 7 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran School.

The Cape Girardeau City Council could order in the sewers, but city officials say that's unlikely if a majority of the homeowners oppose the project.

In addition to the per-acre costs, property owners must pay $750 to tap into the city sewer system along with a $15 permit fee. They also must pay a plumber to connect their private sewer line to the city's lateral lines.

Taylor said it likely would cost him at least $600 to pay a plumber to hook up to city sewers. Taylor owns 1.1 acres, the typical size of a lot in the subdivision.

He said his total bill for city sewers would be about $11,000.

"You take most people, to have to come up with between $11,000 and $15,000 for sewers is a lot of money," Taylor said.

For those residents who have 2.5-acre lots, the special assessment alone would total nearly $22,000.

Residents could pay the assessments over 10 years. But at $1,000 or more a year, it would still be prohibitive, Taylor said.

Taylor said officials indicated two years ago that it would cost Twin Lakes residents about $7,500 an acre to obtain city water and sewer service.

Many residents now are shocked that the final bill could be twice that amount.

But City Engineer J. Kensey Russell said the cost per square foot for lateral sewers is in line with what residents have been charged in other parts of the city.

Russell said it costs more to put in sewers where you have to work around existing improvements such as streets and houses.

The latest estimate is based on sewer design plans, soil tests and actual survey work. The earlier estimate involved only paper calculations, Russell said.

While the residents would pay for putting sewers in the subdivision, the city would foot the entire cost of extending a trunk sewer from Route K to Hopper Road. The trunk sewer work is expected to cost more than $1 million.

Russell said the city wants to proceed with all the sewer work at one time.

Taylor said the city talked of starting the sewer project in September and completing it next spring. As currently planned, the water project wouldn't start until next year.