Wentzville voters to decide on $50 million bond issue

September 29, 2998
Wentzville

A $50 million bond issue for Wentzville’s wastewater treatment plant will be on voters’ November 4 ballots.

This bond issue would primarily finance Phases 2 through 5 of the expansion of Wentzville’s Reclamation Center. It would also fund improvements necessary to make the plant environmentally compliant according to the Federal Clean Water Act.

The project
The wastewater treatment plant currently runs at 65 percent capacity, treating 3.3 million gallons of wastewater daily. When fully expanded, the plant would be able to process up to 14.5 million gallons of wastewater per day.

In addition, the treatment plant is at a committed capacity of 117 percent. This allows for future services to homes and businesses which haven’t been built yet.

Why now
During the past 10 years, Wentzville has experienced about a 12.8 percent increase in capacity needs annually.

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is also spurring this expansion. The DNR expects municipalities to tackle the planning phase once treatment plants reach 60 percent capacity. They expect the construction phase to occur by the time the plants reach 80 percent capacity.

The DNR has been known to freeze additional sanitary hookups until capacity issues are resolved.

Money talk
If the bond issue passes, it would enable the City to obtain low-interest financing for the expansion.

The low-cost financing would be provided by the State Revolving Fund (SRF), which helps public utility companies. The interest rates through the SRF are generally about 2 percent; whereas, market interest rates would be around 5 percent or more.

$19 million will be needed to immediately finance Phase 2. The City will only draw on the total amount as needed.

By obtaining lower interest rates through the SRF, the City would save about $500,000 annually in interest charges on the first $19 million. As additional funds are needed, cost savings (because of the better interest rate) would increase.

It’s up to the voters
If the bond issue doesn’t pass, the City will have to finance the expansion by using the higher market rates. As explained by Wentzville’s website, the residents would then have to pay more in sewer rates.

A simple majority is needed for passage of the bond issue.

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