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.
By the numbers
The proposed sewer measure will require a simple majority for passage.
Local News
Neosho asking voters to OK debt for sewer projects
- Local News
-
-
Couple 'scoop out' ice cream business from the past
When 3-year-old Brynlee Rabel tried coconut ice cream for the first time Tuesday, it was love at first taste. “She got the vanilla, but when she tasted my coconut ice cream she had to have it,” said Kayleigh Daugherty, a Joplin resident who wanted Brynlee to share the same experience she had as a little girl when she visited Anderson’s Ice Cream.
-
Missouri National Guard releases records involving soldiers who looted from Wal-Mart
The Missouri National Guard has released records confirming that four soldiers were disciplined for taking merchandise from the ruins of a Wal-Mart store in Joplin one day after the tornado that devastated the city a year ago.
-
Joplin school board awards contract to complete demolition of JHS
The Joplin Board of Education on Tuesday night accepted a bid for finishing tornado-related demolition at the high school.
-
Auditor cites, commission covers potential shortfall in Jasper County sheriff’s budget
The Jasper County Commission on Tuesday approved the transfer of $23,000 onto the Law Enforcement Sales Tax fund available to the sheriff’s office to cover a potential budget shortfall.
-
Joplin METS director requests space for additional ambulance
If all goes like METS Director Jason Smith hopes, this time next year the service will have two ambulances in Webb City, housed in their own station. At Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, Smith requested that the council allow the Joplin-based Metro Emergency Transport System to rent or lease space at the former public works building, 110 E. Church St.
-
Mike Pound: Food competitions combine to make culinary heaven
It’s such a great idea, you wonder why someone didn’t think of it before. In fact, it’s such a good idea that it’s possible it came about by accident.
-
Mo. court strikes down part of 2008 harassment law
The Missouri Supreme Court has struck down part of a state harassment law enacted after the suicide of a St. Charles County teenager who was teased over the Internet.
-
Cattle rustlers strike again in SW Mo. county
The plague of cattle rustling goes on in southwest Missouri’s Greene County.
Sheriff Jim Arnott says the latest episode occurred sometime Sunday in Walnut Grove. -
Bids sought for Cherokee County water treatment plant
After many delays, construction bids are being sought for a water treatement plant and water tank for the Spring River Public Wholesale Water District No. 19.
-
Dog helps some get through the court process
Sophie, a mutt of a dog with draping ears and dotted brows, is helping people in St. Louis County court tell stories of crime to judges, investigators and attorneys.
- More Local News Headlines
-
