BonnerSprings.com

The question on most people’s minds when it comes to getting sewers on the north end of Edwardsville is how much is it going to cost the property owners?

The answer to that question can’t be determined exactly until more variables are defined, but Edwardsville City Administrator Michael Webb tried to give the Edwardsville City Council a clearer picture of the possibilities at Monday’s meeting as discussion about creating a sewer benefit district continued.

“What I’ve done — and this not final — is kind of looked at and said, ‘OK, this is the area we know we can get sewers to by going to the north,’” he said, showing off a map of the north end of the city with an area sectioned off using orange tape. “The second question was can it be broken up into reasonable sections where the interest is coming from?”

Webb’s map showed the large taped off section of the north end divided into three areas. All three areas have a northern boundary of Interstate 70 and a southern boundary of Riverview Avenue. Area one is the location of the former Golden Gaming casino site, west of 110th Street. Area two is the site of the former Sands casino site, east of 110th Street. Area three starts at the end of the Sands casino site and goes east toward about 102nd Street.

From there, Webb created several scenarios of possible area combinations, which in turn gave a rough estimate of the amount each property owner would have to pay annually in benefit district assessments.

A benefit district is a commonly used form of financing for cities where property owners of the improvement area pay for the cost of the project through annual assessments, which are divided out based on acreage or square footage.

With an estimated project cost of $2.5 million in mind, which includes construction costs, engineering and legal fees and interest, Webb made a spreadsheet that listed possible area combination scenarios and what each property owner would be responsible for paying. Webb cautioned council members to remember that the numbers presented were just estimates and could change if the project moved forward.

If area one were the only section included in the benefit district, the largest property, of 7.77 acres, would pay $25,292.97 annually and the smallest property, of 0.74 acres, would pay $2,408.85 annually.

If area one and two were included in the benefit district, the largest property, of 17.31 acres, would pay $27,094.29 annually and the smallest property, of 0.74 acres, would pay $1,158.28 annually.

Webb said a few of the parcels on the north end were already owned by developers who told him they would be ready to start construction on a project the next day if they knew sewers would be coming.

“As long as I’ve been here, commercial development on the north end has been encouraged,” Webb said.

As for the individual property owners, council member Mark Bishop said he suspected most people knew developers would come knocking once sewers were in.

“Those people aren’t stupid up there,” Bishop said. “They know that if a sewer comes in, and if their property is worth $1 now, it’s going to be worth $2 (with sewers).”

Webb suggested a public informational meeting as the next step in the benefit district discussion.

“What we need to do is have a pubic meeting or a work session and invite property owners,” Webb said. “(We can show them) here is what we’re looking at, there’s what we’re thinking, how much is it going to cost, and determine who’s all in and who’s not in.”

The public meeting has been set for 5:30 p.m. Monday, March 22 in the City Council chambers of City Hall, 690 S. Fourth St.

In other business, the council:

• Approved, 5-0, minutes form the Feb. 8 meeting.

• Approved, 5-0, payment of bills totaling $167,978.65.

• Tabled, 5-0, an ordinance regarding the impoundment of motor vehicles until it can be reviewed by the city attorney. A new state statute requires cities to adopt a towing resolution related to fees, rates, owner access and location of vehicle. The issue will taken up at the March 8 meeting.

• Tabled, 5-0, a resolution to adopt a Wyandotte County Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan. Council member Eickhoff requested the resolution be tabled until a full copy of the plan could be provided to all council members. The issue will taken up at the March 8 meeting.

• Approved, 5-0, the annual renewal of industrial revenue bonds for Carlisle Tire & Wheel, DCT 2401 Midpoint, DCT 2440-2450 Midpoint, Fastenal, Herff Jones, J Coleman Enterprises, Medart, OK Edwardsville Warehouse Limited and VanBooven Tree Care.

• Approved, 5-0, an ordinance authorizing the commencement of condemnation proceedings in regard to the 110th Street Project, which includes the widening of the road between Interstate 70 and Riverview Avenue.

Webb said the city had come to right-of-way easement agreements with every affected property except one, 201 N. 110th Street.

“As of (Monday), we got a response from the property owner,” Webb said. “The counter (proposed by the property owner) is more than two times the (city’s) initial offer and nearly double what the highest (amount) paid that we’ve settled for to date.”

Webb said the city would continue to try to negotiate with the property owner for a peaceful resolution, but Monday’s adopted ordinance gives the city attorney authority to file condemnation papers with the court.

During the public comments portion of the meeting, former mayor William “Heinz” Rodgers said he commended the current administration for its steadfast resolve to do what was best for the city’s future.

“I appreciate this administration’s courage and steadfastness to protect the rest of us tax payers from an unfair share being paid out to any resident or corporations in the name of progress and improvements to keep our city moving,” Rodgers said.

• Heard an annual report from Chief Mark Mathies regarding the police, fire and municipal court departments.

Mathies said the city saw a 1 percent increase in overall crime, which included an additional armed robbery and homicide over last year’s data.

“When you have zero, and then go to one, that’s a huge change,” Mathies said.

Mathies said one of the big surprise numbers was in the amount of drug offenses. Mathies said there were 10 drug cases in 2008 and 53 in 2009.

“That’s a 430 percent increase,” Mathies said. “It shows we’re out there. We’re being proactive. They’re looking for it. We’ve got talented, professional people that are looking beyond the traffic stop.”

On the fire department side, Mathies, who is acting as interim fire chief following Cliff Lane’s retirement, said the city was averaging about one structure fire per month with fire all fire run increasing slightly. In 2007 there were 32 fire runs, in 2008 there were 31 fire runs and in 2009 there were 37 fire runs.

He said emergency management service calls have continued to take up most of the department’s time with 70-80 percent of all calls being for EMS.

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