By Debby Woodin

dwoodin@joplinglobe.com

Two public hearings on contentious subjects are planned for the Joplin City Council meeting today.

Public comment will be heard on proposed sewer-rate increases and on a second proposal by a convenience-store company to build a new store at 32nd Street and Indiana Avenue.

Residential sewer-rate increases totaling $6.32 per month over the next five years are proposed. Commercial and industrial customers would see increases in rates and surcharges.

The plan would raise residential rates from the current basic rate of $21.01 a month to $22.48 in the first year of the increases. In subsequent years, rates would go to $23.60, $24.78, $26.02 and $27.33.

Commercial and industrial rates also would increase. Those rates would be staggered depending on the size of meter service the businesses or industries use, and whether they discharge solids that require extra treatment.

Council action that calls for raising a rate surcharge for out-of-city users from the current 10 percent to 50 percent has produced criticism from one of the city’s largest users outside the city limits, the Downstream Casino Resort, and from some area communities that pump their sewage into the Joplin system for treatment.

Part of the reason for the rate increase is the proposed construction of $35 million worth of upgrades at the city’s two wastewater plants to meet regulations on water discharge that are to take effect in 2012.

Convenience store

A proposed change in zoning that would allow the construction of a new Kum & Go convenience store has reappeared.

The council rejected the proposal in January by a vote of 6-2. Some council members cited concerns about the store adding to traffic congestion at the intersection. A number of objections were raised by residents along Indiana Avenue and Illinois Avenue.

The site currently is an office building for the Independent Living Center. Representatives of the center said at the previous hearing that they have plans to relocate, contingent on selling the property to the store chain.

Kum & Go officials have come back with the request, and are providing a traffic study and a design for the site that they contend have addressed the concerns of the council and some residents.

The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of the request. The city’s land-use map and comprehensive plan recommend retail or commercial development at the site.