Council sends sewer bond issue to April ballot

To that end, council approved Jan. 10 placing a $12.5 million general ordinance bond issue on the April 5 ballot. The bond issue would fund the construction, extension and improvement of the sanitary sewage system for the city, including the addition of sewer service to city property on septic tank systems.

“Five or six years ago, the council formally adopted a goal of completing the sewering of the developed property in the city,” said City Manager Tom Finnie.

The city has reached half of that goal. The new bond issue would complete the project, Finnie said.

Most of the property that had septic tanks, Finnie said, was not on sewer because the property presented unique challenges for Springfield Public Works.

“You have to go under an interstate to get to them, or there’s three or four houses at the end of a long run where there’s no sewer available – things that make it difficult to do,” he said. Finnie added that council has adopted an incentive program capping the cost of new sewers for individual homeowners at the average cost for anyone in the city – about $5,800, “so the individuals wouldn’t be stuck with the cost of getting under the interstate.”

The bond issue is related to a separate sewer improvement bill on the agenda. This ordinance, also approved at the meeting, distributes the remaining $3.95 million from a $10 million bond issue that was approved by voters in August 1996.

“There was a referendum (in 1996) to approve (general obligation) bonds to implement that council goal, and that was approved by a wide margin,” Finnie said. “We have issued all the bonds that were authorized at that time, and that paid for about half of the program. Now we’re getting ready to ask for authority to do the second half.”

The city has the authority to pay for the improvements by issuing revenue bonds, which wouldn’t require voter approval, but Finnie said voter-approved general ordinance bonds would carry a lower interest rate.

He added that the project will not cost anything to the average taxpayer unless they live in an unsewered area.

In other council news:

• The city and Greene County have proposed an agreement to modify the design of the Campbell Avenue and Weaver Road intersection improvement project. The changes are intended to help the project meet best management practices, which would include improvements to the nearby Ward Branch culvert to minimize impact on the stream.

Under the agreement, the county would have its design consultant modify the project design, with the city reimbursing the county for the consulting cost and half of the cost of modifying the construction documents.

• Council also discussed an ordinance to purchase a new orthophotography system, in cooperation with Greene and Christian counties, the cities of Willard and Republic, the Metropolitan Planning Organization and City Utilities. The system, which takes aerial photographs for the geographic information system, will cost $460,000. This is the first time Christian County has been involved in aerial photography projects with Springfield. City officials said new pictures should be taken at least every three years, due to the area’s rapid rate of development.

Both items are up for vote at the Jan. 24 meeting.