FREEBURG — Less than a dozen people attended a Freeburg Town Hall meeting last week to discuss the upcoming sewer and water bond that will be on the ballot next Tuesday, Aug. 8. Bartlett & West Engineers Kyle Landwehr and Mike Logston took the opportunity to carefully go over the importance of the bond issue to the village of Freeburg, regardless of the crowd size.

Landwehr explained that the village is requesting a bond amount of $4 million but that the estimated sewer project cost is $2.4 million.

“What we typically try to do is set the dollar amount high enough that it would cover all the cost and a little extra,” Logston said, adding that the sale of bonds would be limited to the funding necessary to do the work. “We want to make sure there is adequate funding available, and whatever is not used on the wastewater part could be used for drinking water projects in the future.”

Landwehr explained that the village has already applied for a loan through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) State Revolving Loan Program. There is potential for grant funding with this program as well.

“Everyone that has applied so far has received a 45 to 55 percent loan,” Landwehr explained. “DNR offers a two percent interest rate for 20-year loans. Right now, you are on the planning list for the DNR loan. You must pass the bond to be eligible.”

Bartlett & West is also looking into other potential state and federal grants, including alternatives with DNR, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Community Block Development Grants (CBDG), and other public funding programs. All these programs require bond issue passage to be eligible for grant funding.

If residents vote down the bond, DNR will still require the village to upgrade the wastewater facility. The village will not be eligible for the DNR loan program and must pay for the project through a lease-purchase arrangement.

“Right now, the interest for a lease-purchase agreement is really high,” Landwehr said. “You are probably looking at five to six percent.”

Bartlett & West presented various scenarios regarding how different funding sources might impact customer sewer rates. The increased sewer rates are based on an average sewer usage of 5,000 gallons per month. Current monthly sewer rates are $13.50 per month per 5,000 gallons of use. If the bond issue passes and the village can secure a low-interest loan and grants, the proposed flat sewer rate for 5,000 gallons would range from $13.50  to $66.40 monthly. Without bond passage, the village would need to utilize a lease-purchase option, and the monthly flat rate would be an estimated $128.31 or higher.

Landwehr explained why the village needs a sewer system upgrade. Two years ago, Freeburg was required to renew its operating permit with DNR. The current wastewater treatment facility could not meet the new standards required by DNR for E. coli and ammonia. The existing treatment facility is not equipped with a disinfection system and cannot treat E. coli. There will need to be additional treatment system improvements to treat ammonia.

“The original wastewater facility was not designed to meet those limits,” Landwehr explained.

Logston noted that he inspected the Freeburg wastewater facility when he worked for DNR.

“It was meeting the permit limits that existed at that time,” Logston said. “But there have been new standards that the lagoon was not originally designed to treat for.”

Trustees hired Bartlett & West to conduct a survey to see what facility updates were needed to meet the new requirements.

“We completed the study and provided the village with a plan,” Landwehr said.

He explained they also looked at the sewer collection system, pipeline, connection system, and lift stations. They found that the system built in the 1960s and 70s was nearing the end of its useful life.

“There are a lot of clay pipelines, and with the age of that pipe, we see a lot of cracks, a lot of leaks, so that stormwater is making its way into the sewer system,” Landwehr added. “Every gallon of water costs money to treat, so another purpose of this project is to go in and do some repairs to hopefully reduce the amount of water that makes it to the treatment facility and, in turn, reduce the cost of the treatment.”

If the permit requirements are not met, DNR would first issue a notice of violation.

“That would be scheduled steps they require to bring the facility into compliance,” Logston explained. “If that timetable is not met, then there are further enforcement actions. The violations could be referred to the Attorney General’s office for penalties and fines.”

Logston explained that the Clean Water Act allows fines of up to $10,000 per day. He added that even after the fines are paid, the facility still must be brought up to compliance.

“It’s a credit to your Board of Trustees that they have initiated the study to evaluate what needs to be done so that works in the village’s favor,” Logston explained. “That shows DNR that you are trying to get some of the compliances. However, in order to make the improvements, they have to have the funding to do it.”

If the bond issue passes, Bartlett & West anticipate that the designs for the new wastewater treatment plant will be completed by August 2024, with construction being wrapped up by the end of 2025.

Bartlett & West engineers noted that, more than likely, if the bond issue fails at the August election, the proposal will be brought before voters again.