Cole County will close the long-awaited sale of the Eugene water system May 15.
All that remains for the sale to be finalized is the proper paperwork to be turned in by the company buying the system, county commissioners were told Tuesday.
The water system is the last remaining piece of the formerly incorporated town of Eugene. It would no longer be the responsibility of Cole County government after the Missouri Public Service Commission approved an agreement in February authorizing Confluence Rivers Utility Operating Company Inc. to purchase substantially all assets of certain water and sewer systems in seven Missouri counties - including Eugene's water system.
There are approximately 50 customers currently on the Eugene system, according to Cole County Public Works officials.
PSC officials said in February that they considered the "troubled nature of the systems at issue" and found Confluence Rivers had a "sound track record in rehabilitating similarly situated systems."
Current water and sewer rates would stay the same as a result of the agreement. Rates could change in the future if Confluence Rivers files a rate request with the PSC.
In the 2019 budget for Cole County, the County Commission set aside money to operate the Eugene system until a sale was final.
Commissioners included $77,000 in the county's 2019 budget for operations of the system, Cole County Auditor Kristen Berhorst said. If the county doesn't use all the money, she said, the remaining money goes back to the general fund to pay off any debt the system may have incurred.
The county has been trying to sell the service since 1997, when Eugene became unincorporated. The water system loses money due to its small number of customers, some of whom do not pay for the service, and an aging infrastructure.
Confluence Rivers, based in St. Ann, works within the standards set by federal and state regulatory agencies, such as the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the PSC and others, to help under-served communities achieve and maintain compliant water or wastewater facilities, according to the company's corporate website.
Berhorst also told commissioners details regarding billing of customers need to be worked out. It was unclear whether the county, which just sent out bills for last month, would be involved in a final billing while still operating the system or whether the new company would start fresh.
Emergency notification system progressing
Also Tuesday, commissioners were updated on a mass-notification system that would allow the Jefferson City Police Department to alert the public in the event of an emergency.
The JCPD, which operates the 911 system; Cole County Emergency Management Office; and Cole County Sheriff's Department have been working since February to install the Rave Mobility System.
Last year, the County Commission and Jefferson City Council agreed to pay half of the $22,000 cost to install the system.
Cole County Emergency Management Director Bill Farr said individuals would opt in to the service and create profiles that include information they may want emergency personnel to know, such as health conditions, garage door pass codes or spare key locations. Subscribers would not be required to add such information.
If a subscriber called 911, an operator would see his or her account and could give emergency personnel information. The system would include a 911 feature where if a subscriber called the police department but was unable to speak, the 911 operator could initiate a text-message conversation.
Police officials earlier said Osage and Boone counties, as well as State Technical College of Missouri, use Rave, and Lincoln University has entered a contract with the company for a similar mass-notification system.
Farr said it could be six to eight months before the service would be ready for the public to start signing up.