WESTPHALIA — Westphalia aldermen approved Mid Mo Operations owner Aaron Lachowicz to create a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a new sewer system for the city at their meeting on Tuesday, June 30. Aldermen have been discussing building a new wastewater system over the past several meetings. Mayor Delbert Wieberg is concerned that since the current sewer system is reaching the end of its life expectancy, something catastrophic could happen if the system fails.

The city had reached out to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and aldermen were told that they should develop a cost estimate for a new sewer system and raise rates to generate the funding needed for the construction project.

“The system is 20 years old, and in my experience with Diamond Pet Food, when a plant is 20 years old, it needs to be replaced,” said Wieberg.

“When our treatment plant goes bad, the cost for emergency hauling will eat up all of the money we have in the sewer account,” Alderman Chris Dickneite said.

Aldermen discussed whether or not to raise rates as soon as possible to start building up the sewer system account.

“I think we are falling behind, so we should go ahead and raise the rate and apply for an engineering grant,” Wieberg said.

Lachowicz noted that the turnaround time for an engineering study was a minimum of four months and that applications for an engineering grant from DNR were due on March 1, 2027. Determining grant awards could take an additional four to six months.

“The amount of money that is available changes every year,” said Lachowicz, noting that DNR considers many factors to decide who receives grant funding. “They look at if there is any enforcement action, population, median household income, among other things. Typically, a system is failing, and DNR does not give the municipality a choice.”

The board agreed that the city of Westphalia is probably unlikely to be awarded the grant.

“If we pay for the engineering fees out of our own pocket, we can get things done a lot faster,” Dickneite said.

“We’re looking at a minimum of three years out before we could start construction,” Wieberg said. “We’re basically gambling and hoping that nothing goes wrong.”

Lachowicz estimated that an engineering study could cost up to $40,000.

Alderman Jake Plassmeyer created an example of incremental increases in the sewer rate over the next five years, showing a $5 bump in the base rates, along with increases for each additional 1,000 gallons of water used.

“If you ask people what their sewer bill is, they really aren’t sure what is water and what is sewer,” Wieberg said.

“I know, but ignorance is not going to help us,” Dickneite said. “We need to come up with something that is palatable and reasonable for the rate increase.”

Dickneite suggested that aldermen hold a public hearing to see what citizens expect with rate increases.

“We have to have something tangible to post a public meeting,” said City Clerk Tammy Massman. “Aldermen would need to set an increase, and we would need to state that in a document, and post it appropriately.”

“I don’t want to delay anything, but I want time to think this over,” Dickneite said.

Wieberg suggested pushing any decision on rate increases to the August meeting to give aldermen time to consider the changes and talk to constituents.

“We can raise the rates; that’s a given, but we have to be able to explain it to our residents,” Dickneite said. “We have to sell this to our constituents.”

In other business, the Aldermen approved $2,781.06 for the cost of a pump from Innovative Pump Solutions to replace the unit at one of the lift stations.

“Is the pump not working?” Dickneite asked.

“It just has the seal light on,” Lachowicz said. “It has a mechanical seal in it, and when the light is on, there is moisture getting into it.”

Wieberg explained that the moisture causes metal parts to rust and electrical components to fail.

“Sending it out to have it rebuilt will cost more than buying a new pump,” Lachowicz said. “From everything I’ve seen, it’s an original pump.”

Lachowicz added that the cost of the pump does not include labor for installation.

Dickneite asked if the old pump could be salvaged.

“It’s a 20-year-old pump,” Wieberg said. “If you are ever there when they pull one, it’s pretty nasty.”

Lachowicz confirmed that the old pump would only be worth its weight in scrap metal.

In other sewer system news, Lachowicz confirmed that the DNR permit had been approved. Mid Mo Operations will collect soil and sludge samples soon so that they are ready for land application of sludge this summer.

• Aldermen approved additional street and off-street parking repairs. Wieberg noted that the city had originally budgeted $130,000 for street repairs, and with the additional areas, would total $120,000, well under the budgeted amount.

Additional projects were approved individually, with each totaling less than $5,000: a culvert inlet near Dennis Fick Shelter Insurance ($4,950), Fatima sidewalk replacement near the main entrance ($1,650), street patches for three sections of roadway ($3,300), curb and sidewalk repair near Westphalia Winery ($4,950), and curb and gutter repairs across from City Hall, near the church side of the Parish office ($4,900).

Wieberg reported that overall repairs had been going well.

“Next year, what I would consider, since the bridge will be open and there will be more traffic, is repaving Lynn Street, and I would like to have that street ground down,” Wieberg said.

Dickneite asked if the city kept a priority list of projects, and Wieberg replied that they just made decisions from year to year.

• The Public Water District has informed the city of Westphalia that it will be increasing the rate charged to send out bills by $1, meaning the current charge of $3 per hook-up will go up to $4. The Public Water District is not sure when the new rates will go into effect, but wanted to make sure that aldermen considered the increase as they ponder sewer rate increases.

Massman will reach out to the district for more information.

• Alderman approved the purchase of a new computer processor for the city clerk, up to $1,000. Massman noted that the current processor is over 10 years old and is very slow. She will research options and report back to the board.

• Wieberg noted that he had reached out to the owner of Saddle Up Sips, a food truck vendor, about the need for a Westphalia business license to operate within the city limits.

“I told her that I wasn’t there to ruin her business, but it wasn’t fair to the other businesses in town,” Wieberg said.

The owner said she would apply online for a business license.

• Alderman approved the following outstanding expenses: city ($23,137.77), sewer system ($6,920), and Special Road District ($329.40).

• City receipts for June are as follows: city ($11,189.15), sewer ($9,058.34), and special road district ($10,141.75).

• Westphalia had the following ending balances in their accounts: city checking ($149,612.38), sewer system checking ($89,757.80), special road district checking ($152,926.37), and special road district savings ($5,138.90).

• The city holds the following certificates of deposit: city ($468,368.74), sewer system ($554,065.77), and special road district ($557,023.84).

• The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 28, at 6 p.m.