EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first of a three-part series on the August primary election. A look at the Newton County assessor’s race will publish Sunday.Neosho residents will decide in less than two weeks on an $8.5 million bond issue that would fund improvements to the town’s wastewater system.

The proposal only needs a simple majority to pass. But city officials say that even should it fail, the sewer upgrades would still go forward in order to meet federal environmental standards and potentially avoid stiff penalties. The only difference is how much the improvements would cost city residents.

Planned sewer upgrades include:

n Constructing an earthen retention basin upstream of the city’s wastewater treatment plant to receive and treat storm water and sewage during heavy rains;

n Replacing undersized wastewater collection lines in the northern part of town;

n Identifying areas where groundwater is seeping into the sewage system.

n Modernizing controls at the city’s sewage treatment plant to handle increased volumes of sewer.

To pay for the projects, Neosho voters will be asked on August 5 to allow the city to borrow $8.5 million at around two percent interest through the state’s Revolving Loan Fund, evidenced through issuance of sewage system revenue bonds.

In that scenario, residents’ sewer bills would rise by around $11.67 a month, contingent upon how the rate structure balances out between residential and commercial users.

On the other hand, if the bond issue fails, city officials have indicated they will seek other sources of funding for the work, the most likely being certificates of participation, at regular market interest rates of between 5 and 5.5 percent.

In that case, sewer bills would increase by approximately $14.52 per month.

“The question for the voters is do you want to pay (an extra) $11 or $14?” previously stated City Manager Jan Blase.

A letter dated last week from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, and addressed to Blasé, even warned that user fees could be imposed at $52 a month, should the bond issue fail and other funding avenues not be taken, in order to “ensure adequate monies are available for the proper operation, maintenance and upgrading of the wastewater treatment facility and collection system.”

That figure is based on two percent of the median household income in Neosho and is well above, Blase said, of what citizens would end up absorbing should the city either borrow from the Revolving Loan Fund, as per passage of the bond issue, or seek issuance of certificates of participation through the private sector.

Meanwhile, grant money for the sewer upgrades is simply not there, Blase said.

“We’ve tried every avenue available,” he stated. “The only money that’s available from the Department of Natural Resources is for towns of 10,000 or under. I tried to find an exception, because we’re 10,500, but that was to no avail. So there are no grants available.”

No matter how it may be financed, however, the work is necessary, Blase said, to comply with governmental standards.

The problem, he said, is that during heavy rains, the city’s wastewater system backs up and eventually overflows as rainwater infiltrates the sewer lines, after the aged concrete pipe and seals fail to keep it out. Not only do the undersize collection pipes overflow and spill out through manholes, but the wastewater treatment plant is also unable to handle the volume of sewage that is increased with the storm water.
Additionally, the federal Environmental Protection Agency now requires all infiltrating storm water to be treated.

The city has officially been warned on several occasions in the past — and then again as recently as last week, as the DNR letter indicates — to fix the overflow problem.

If that doesn’t happen, consequences could mean, at worst, the city eventually being fined $10,000 a day for flagrant violation of the Clean Water Act. At the least, according to Blasé, the state could prohibit future issuance of building permits within the city.

For $8.5 million, the city would update the wastewater collection system, which was installed before World War II, by replacing 18-inch interceptor lines with 36- and 48-inch pipes, build the retention basin to hold spillover sewage and storm water for chemical treatment and modernize the treatment plant, among other steps.

“It’s irresponsible that it’s been ignored for this long,” Blase said. “There should have been some effort made before now.”

According to project engineers, if the bond issue passes on August 5, work could be completed within approximately 18 months, or roughly February 2010.


BOND ELECTION

Neosho voters are being asked on August 5 to approve an $8.5 million bond issue to upgrade the city’s wastewater collection system and avoid potential governmental penalties. The bond issue only needs a simple majority to pass.