Bonding for Jefferson City sewer system to be on April ballot

A backhoe pulls up asphalt on Main Street to access a sewer line on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021, in Jefferson City, Mo. (Ethan Weston/News Tribune photo)
A backhoe pulls up asphalt on Main Street to access a sewer line on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021, in Jefferson City, Mo. (Ethan Weston/News Tribune photo)

Jefferson City residents will have an additional decision to make on election day in April: Should the city take out bonds to fix weak links in the wastewater system?

The Jefferson City Council voted unanimously Monday to put the question on the ballot as a way to fund $44 million in upgrades to the wastewater system.

The projects already have potential funding, but that's coming in over a couple decades through an increase in wastewater fees. However, the projects likely can't wait that long because of concerns that continued deterioration of the system could lead to compliance issues with federal laws.

In June, the City Council approved a 2 percent rate increase - which started on the July bill - and an additional 5 percent annually until 2027. If bonding goes through, it won't make any additional changes to the sewer bill rate beyond what was approved over the summer.

Public Works Director Matt Morasch said now is a good time to pursue these bonds since the going interest rate through the state revolving fund of money is around 1.15 percent rather than the approximately 4 percent it would otherwise be. Repaying the bonds would come from the wastewater fund, which is generally self sufficient through the service fees customers pay.

"It's considerable savings to the fund," he said.

When the City Council discussed changing the wastewater rates over the summer, Morash said a request for bonding in order to fund necessary projects would be coming.

The list of known projects the city needs to do includes replacing three pump stations, one meter replacement, reworking the line at eight locations and updates to the city's biosolids processing plant.

The Jefferson City sewer line extends out into neighboring communities such as Holts Summit and St. Martins, which contract with Jefferson City for sewer services.

The four top priorities on the list of projects are:

- Replacement of the Westview pump station for $7 million

- Holts Summit meter replacement for $150,000

- St. Mary's Boulevard sewer replacement for $500,000

- Upgrades to the biosolids processing plant for $10 million

The concern with not doing these projects, Morasch said, is that the city's sewer system would no longer be in compliance with federal regulations.

If the system has compliance issues with the Environmental Protection Agency, the city could be forced to come into compliance at a faster rate and face fines - which could force a sharp increase in rates. By getting ahead of it, that either wouldn't happen or have a smaller impact.

Morasch said the city dealt with compliance issues in 2014, but they weren't as severe as they could have been because Jefferson City was already doing work and had a plan in place to address those issues.

City Council members did not have any discussion on the topic Monday night. It will be on the April 5 ballot.

Other business

- A lease was renewed to Fischer Farms for $66,614.97.

- A contract was authorized with Structural Engineering Associates for study and design services related to rehabilitating the Madison Street and Jefferson Street parking locations for $320,000 through the parking fund.

- Chapter 29 of the city code, which refers to sewers and sewage disposal, was amended to accommodate state and federal clean water laws.

- Chapter 29 of the city code, which refers to sewers and sewage disposal, was amended to incrementally increase the surcharge for high strength waste from 2.8 percent to 5.8 percent during the next six years.

- Chapter 1 was amended to default to state or federal law if there's a discrepancy with city code and allow the city to seek attorneys' fees when it uses outside attorneys to enforce city code.

- The council designated the City of Jefferson Fraternal Order of Police as the collective bargaining unit for police officers.

- Internal deadlines for a redevelopment agreement for the Missouri State Penitentiary site was changed to align with external deadlines.