By Derek Spellman

dspellman@joplinglobe.com

NEOSHO, Mo. — Neosho voters on Aug. 5 will be asked to allow the city to assume $8.5 million worth of low-interest loans for sewer projects.

Voter approval would allow the city to participate in the state’s revolving-loan fund, according to City Manager Jan Blase.

Blase said the projects must be done to bring the city into compliance with state and federal environmental regulations.

If the proposal is approved at the polls, the city would issue revenue bonds for the work.

If the measure fails, the city still will have to do the projects but at interest rates of 5.25 percent to 5.5 percent in the private sector, as opposed to the rate of 2 percent to 2.25 percent it would receive through the state’s revolving-loan fund, Blase said.

“Regardless, it (the work) has to be done,” he said.

Plans call for replacing aging infrastructure, increasing the size of collection pipes in the downtown area, pinpointing areas where groundwater is infiltrating the sewer system, and building a peak-flow basin for holding storm water and sewage during heavy rains until both can be treated by the city systems.

City officials say the current sewer infrastructure is old, and has not been upgraded in past years to keep pace with the city’s growth and the volume of sewage generated. Another problem is groundwater seeping into sewer mains during rains, enlarging the total volume of water beyond what the system can handle. The mixture of overflow storm water and sewage sometimes discharges into local waterways, officials say.

The proposed projects, if authorized, would mean an increase in monthly sewer rates. The average sewer bill for a Neosho household runs about $12.86 a month under the current system, according to city documents.

If voters agree to participate in the state’s low-interest loan fund, that bill would rise to up to $24.53 a month, depending on what kind of rates were imposed on the larger users, according to those documents. The Neosho City Council is still reviewing what kind of rate structure it would adopt.

Blase said that if voters reject the measure on Aug. 5, they would see bills increase to up to $27.38 a month.