Keokuk, IA –
Sewer Rates Rising
The Keokuk City Council has approved the first reading of an ordinance that recalculates minimum sewer rates. The measure reduces the number of base units for residential use.
Public Works Director Gerald Moughler says the change means the minimum monthly fee would increase from $21 to about $24. The increase would take effect September 1, if the Keokuk City Council approves the change two more times.
Keokuk increased the minimum monthly rate, earlier this year, from $19 to $21. Moughler says the rate would have gone up to $27 in April if not for a wording error in the ordinance.
Mayor Tom Marion says Keokuk must continue to increase its sewer rates as part of its multi-year, multi-million dollar sewer separation project.
"We are ultimately going to have to go to $39.50," said Marion. "We are trying to incrementally, slowly do this. It's the EPA so if we don't do this, we have problems."
Marion says Keokuk will try to reach that level over the next three years.
"Free Money"
Keokuk must decide whether it can afford to accept some "free money."
Keokuk has been pre-qualified for roughly $650,000 in I-JOBS funding. The money would be used for a 3,200 square foot addition to the city's car barn.
The new structure would be used to house city vehicles and equipment currently housed along the Mississippi River.
The Iowa Department of Transportation also has $200,000 available for Keokuk to replace the traffic signals at 7th & Main and at 13th & Main.
Mayor Tom Marion says the problem is the city would have to come up with about $400,000 for the local matches for the two projects.
"We are so tight," said Marion, "we have problems with the parking lot and the walking area at the police department and we don't know where to get money for that. You could throw money all over town, but it would put us out of our budget."
The city's match for the I-JOBS money would be about $250,000. The traffic signal match would be $120,000 plus $18,000 for engineering services.
The Keokuk City Council has not made a decision on either project. The panel could hold a special meeting, this week, to discuss them.