About 35 people showed up at the first in-person public town hall meeting on July 16 concerning an upcoming vote on whether Eureka should sell its water and sewer systems.
Missouri American Water, which has proposed buying the systems, plans to host additional meetings tonight (July 23) and on Thursday, July 30.
Both meetings will start at 7 p.m. at the Timbers of Eureka, 1 Coffey Park Lane.
Eureka residents will be asked on Aug. 4 if the city should sell its water and sewer systems to Missouri American Water. The measure, which is called Proposition S, will require a simple majority to pass.
Debbie Dewey, president of Missouri American Water, and Eureka Mayor Sean Flower answered general questions at the July 16 event, and other Missouri Ameri¬can Water employees addressed technical questions concerning water quality, engi¬neering and operations.
“I think it went well because we talked about so many different topics,” Dewey said after the July 16 meeting. “We had some of these (town halls) before in dif¬ferent communities that I’ve been involved in and there were probably more technical questions asked here.”
A virtual town hall meeting on the subject was held June 30.
About 12 residents asked questions during the first live two-hour session, including inquiries on why the company wants to purchase the system, rates, a possible discount rate for seniors, water supply, why Missouri American does not use reverse osmosis and impacts of the sale on the city’s budget.
Dewey said residents could find what their proposed rate would be by using an online calculator at yesonseureka.com.
Previous meetings can be viewed at yesonseureka.com.
Flower said he recommends selling the system for several reasons.
The sewer system must have capital improvements to stay up to federal and state codes, and to pay for them, the city would have to raise rates prohibitively, he said. He said the upgrades may cost residents less under Missouri American Water’s ownership.
Flower also said water quality would improve if the water system is sold. Also, he said, the cash the city would realize from the sale could be used to pay off its debt of $7 million.
If the sale goes through, the city’s water would be supplied through Missouri American’s Wildwood plant, Flower said in a Facebook post. He said a purchase would take the city wells offline and give Missouri American Water responsibility for major upgrades.
According to the offer letter, if vot-ers approve the sale in August, the water system would switch to its new supply in mid- to late-2022.
Eureka resident Bob Bishop, 57, who is a licensed plumber, has organized the opposition to Proposition S. He has created a Facebook group and taken donations for yard signs.
“The main concern is the city officials were voted in to manage these systems and they are passing the buck, in our opinion, and that’s at the cost of the residents and the taxpayers and businesses,” he said.
Bishop said he is concerned Eureka will sell the systems to a for-profit busi-ness, which then would impose large rate increases. Bishop said he believes Eureka could fix its system quicker than Missouri American Water could start service.
“They (Missouri American Water) are saying it’s going to be late 2022 to get it done,” he said. “We (the opposition group) are extremely skeptical.”
Bishop said he took issue with the projected costs to bring the systems up to code, and contended that Flower should not have taken a position on the sale.
“This is absolutely wrong on the mayor’s part, he should have absolved himself on it,” he said.
Flower disagreed. “People deserve to know where you stand on it,” he said.
Julie Wood, Eureka’s city clerk and director of economic development and communication, is helping coordinate the meetings along with other city officials.
She said residents attending the July 23 and July 30 meetings will be encour-aged to follow guidelines put in place by St. Louis County to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Those guidelines include practicing social distancing and wearing a face mask.