VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR SEWER BOARD

JACKSON -- Five people from the Fruitland and Pocahontas areas are needed to serve on the board of directors for the new Cape Girardeau County Common Sewer District.

The Cape Girardeau County Commission is seeking applicants for the job, and hope to make appointments on Dec. 1.

Tuesday, voters in the Fruitland-Pocahontas area approved establishment of the sewer district by a vote of 228-162. About 2,700 voters are registered in the Fruitland-Pocahontas area.

Anyone interested in serving on the sewer district board must submit a letter. Commissioners would also like to see a resume or similar information sheet.

"This board will be appointed initially," Jones said. "The members would be elected in the future on staggered terms."

Send information to the County Commission, 1 Barton Square, Jackson, Mo. 63755, or call 243-1052.

Once a board is appointed, it will prepare to pick a firm to do an engineering study and estimate the cost of a sewer project.

The board will have the power to appoint an engineer, hire staff and raise money from grants, loans and user fees.

The panel will work with the Regional Planning Commission in Perryville to explore funding mechanisms. It won't have the authority to raise taxes, but it could ask for voters to approve bond issues.

Martha Vandivort, a spokesperson for the group, told the commission Thursday that organizers would like to see a bond issue on the ballot as soon a possible, perhaps in August.

Organizers have said the sewer system is a necessary improvement in infrastructure for the area, which is experiencing growth especially in housing developments.

The Fruitland-Pocahontas area has no unified sewer system. Residents and businesses depend on septic tanks, sewage lagoons and some subdivision package plants.