By Emily Younker

eyounker@joplinglobe.com

WEBB CITY, Mo. — Grady Beckham is tired of having a system of septic tanks in his neighborhood instead of a sewer system.

“Every time it rains, everybody’s septic — you can smell it all over the county, I do believe,” he said.

Beckham has lived for 28 years on Ginny Lane in Webb City; his business, Beckham Machine, is on nearby Hall Street. He is one of about 40 property owners in the neighborhood of Fountain Road and Hall Street who aren’t connected to the city’s sewer system.

“It’s way past time we got sewer,” Beckham said. “I’ve been trying to sell the (shop) building for three years, but I’m not going to be able to sell until they get sewer.”

Beckham has spurred city officials to consider creating a Neighborhood Improvement District to fund the installation of sewer service in the area.

A Neighborhood Improvement District, a section of a city or county with defined boundaries, can be created to fund public-use projects through special tax assessments on the property owners. It would have to be approved by at least two-thirds of property owners within the proposed district, according to state law.

Cost estimates

City Administrator Steve Garrett said the project’s estimated cost is more than $343,000, a relatively high total for 40 property owners to pay back. That amount is the sum of about $286,000 for 4,000 feet of sewer main and manholes, and $57,000 for engineering and inspection, according to a report from Garrett.

Garrett said there also would be costs — as yet unknown — for expanding the lift station in the area.

The total cost of the project with interest could be $605,000 under a 20-year bond repayment schedule with annual payments of $30,284, Garrett said.

The cost to individual property owners would be about $757 per year, in addition to regular city sewer fees, he said. The average household in Webb City pays something approaching $28 per month for sewer service.

Under a 15-year repayment schedule, the project could cost $525,000 with interest, and annual payments would amount to $35,000. Property owners would pay $875 annually, Garrett said.

“It’s more than I anticipated, and it’s more than I as a homeowner would want to do,” Garrett told the City Council at its Nov. 2 work session.