Representative pushes for funding for Boone County infrastructure improvements

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Rep. Adrian Plank (D-Columbia) and Rep Del Taylor (D-St. Louis) are pushing for funding for three infrastructure projects in Boone County

The money would be part of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources' budget.

The Subcommittee on Appropriations Agriculture, Conservation, Natural Resources and Economic Development met Monday afternoon to discuss the recommendations and all three were adopted.

During the hearing, Taylor argued small communities are struggling to maintain waste water treatment systems and sewer systems.

Taylor recommended one-time funding of $400,000 to build a flood-wall and a lift station in Rocheport. Taylor says the project would support the water treatment system and the Katy Trail from the rising Missouri River.

In Sturgeon, Taylor recommended one-time funding of $3.1 million to improve the processing of wastewater and sewer line improvements.

Plank says, "Sturgeon has about five miles worth of water pipes that are led line water pipes."

Taylor argued communities outside of Columbia are growing and in the future the communities will merge and become suburbs.

"They don't have the capacity to add any more houses businesses or anything to that nature, they have land sold to contractors but they don't have the capacity for sewage," Plank said.

"Fundamentally this is an economic development issue; they need these funds to help them expand their existing water treatment and sewer system," Taylor said.

The City of Harrisburg, Taylor says is struggling to expand its community. The city can't expand its subdivisions because the water treatment and sewer systems are constrained.

"Helping them one time expand their water treatment system is an economic development item, these are one-time infrastructure dollars, we are asking for $1 million," Taylor said.

"Harrisburg has expansion problems too, they don't even have enough water pressure to flush the toilets a lot of times," Plank says.

During the hearing, Taylor said all three projects are in small communities that would have a difficult time financing the projects on their own and face constraints on growth.

According to Plank, important for smaller communities to received the funding for critical improvements because they do not have the tax base needed for grants.

"Those smaller communities they don't have the money to say i'll match 20-percent of that grant if they don't have that money they can't match it which means they are eligable for the grant so a larger community with a larger tax base will get those grants instead of them so the smaller communities suffer the most," Plank said.