Towns' merger to be finalized tonight

Holts Summit City Administrator Rick Hess, left, shakes hands Wednesday with Jim Frazer, soon-to-be-former president of the Village of Lake Mykee. During the final meeting of the Lake Mykee board of trustees today, final actions will be taken and the Village of Lake Mykee will be consolidated with Holts Summit.
Holts Summit City Administrator Rick Hess, left, shakes hands Wednesday with Jim Frazer, soon-to-be-former president of the Village of Lake Mykee. During the final meeting of the Lake Mykee board of trustees today, final actions will be taken and the Village of Lake Mykee will be consolidated with Holts Summit.

HOLTS SUMMIT, Mo. - Lake Mykee's Board of Trustees will soon be out of a job, a fact they were all smiling about Wednesday afternoon.

"I am happy to be out of the job," Village of Lake Mykee President Jim Frazer said. "I think we all will be happy."

During the April 4 election, residents of Holts Summit and Lake Mykee voted in favor of consolidating the two communities. Now, nearly two months later, the final preparations are being made.

At Holts Summit's city hall, representatives from both communities signed some of the last bits of paperwork needed to make the consolidation official. Frazer said compared to the entire consolidation process, two months from voting to finalization is moving at light-speed.

The merger will be finalized tonight at the Lake Mykee Board of Trustees meeting.

"The effort to consolidate started in 1994," he said. "That effort failed because Holts Summit and Lake Mykee have no contiguous boundaries."

As with most municipalities, Frazer said problems started to arise with Lake Mykee's wastewater treatment and the town started to look south for a solution.

"As the years went on, our wastewater lagoon problem intensified," he said. "We started to pursue the possibility of moving our waste water treatment to Holts Summit, which we ultimately did. That's when the idea of consolidation started to crop up again."

Frazer said the problem of non-contiguous boarders still remained, so the two communities decided laws needed changing.

"I have to say, (State Rep.) Travis Fitzwater and (State Sen.) Jeanie Riddle have been an enormous help in this consolidation," he said. "They shepherded legislation though the Missouri Legislature that changed certain statues, making this all possible."

After the Lake Mykee board accepts the results of the April election, the political entity of the village will dissolve.

"The Lake Mykee homeowners' association will remain," he said. "We are also retaining control over several other things. The lake will still be private, as will our parks; they are not and will not be for public use."

The Holts Summit Police Department also will serve Lake Mykee residents.

"We are glad to have Holts Summit police protection," Frazer said. "The sheriff's department does a good job, but they are spread pretty thin over the whole county."

After the consolidation, Lake Mykee residents will be able to call 573-896-4678 for any non-emergency policing needs, like animal control or trespassing enforcement. As always, 911 is still used in an emergency.

Frazer said closer police is just one of the many perks Lake Mykee residents soon will enjoy.

"Holts Summit does not have a personal or property tax, unlike the lake, so residents will save there," he said. "They will pay 3 percent more on vehicle licenses, but that is completely offset by the removal of the tax and the reduced price of wastewater treatment.

"Holts Summit also has a full-time staff working at city hall, which residents can take advantage of. The lake will also be getting a severe weather siren here pretty soon, which will be nice."

All in all, Frazer said things are looking rosy for the former Lake Mykee.

"This has been a very good transaction for Lake Mykee," he said. "I think we, the board, and the residents are all pretty happy about it."