Politics & Government

Letter to the Editor: George's Alderman Highlights

Lake Saint Louis Alderman George Rich recaps the March 7 joint work session and Board of Aldermen meeting.

March 7, 2011

 Sewer Line Insurance:  Mayor Len Pagano from St. Peters told the BOA about that city's sewer lateral insurance program.  As you know, the sewer line from the main to your house is your responsibility.  Most cities in St. Louis County and some in St. Charles County provide insurance for that part of the sewer line.  In St. Peters it costs each home owner $28/year which provides insurance up to $7500 maximum.  Each city does the insurance plan slightly different depending on;

● who pays to determine if the line is broken and not just blocked,

Find out what's happening in Wentzvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

● who gets contractor quotes,

● who manages the contractors,

Find out what's happening in Wentzvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

● deductible amounts if any,

● application fees if any,

● and exactly what is covered.

Mayor Pagano said they have both old and new sewer lines breaking due to the clay soil that swells and shrinks depending on rain fall.  Insurance fees are ranging from $5/yr to $50/yr. throughout our area.  By state law, cities may not charge more than $50/yr. for insurance and once the fee is set by voters, it can not be increased without another vote.  It would take about 2 years to get such a program in place because of voting and real estate tax procedures.  We are guessing our fees might start out at about $28/yr., if you approve them, and may go down as we gather actual experience.  Last year, Lake Saint Louis gave out 10 permits to repair lateral sewer lines.  What do you think?

Mayor Pagano mentioned that Missouri might enact a similar law for water lines.  If they do, St. Peters might set a fee of a couple of dollars.

Property Taxes:  Again we discussed the real estate tax rate.  We must notify the county of our non-binding tax rate levy for 2012 by this April.  Some believe we should increase our rate to make up for any income lost because of the re-assessment in 2009.  No vote would be needed.  We lost about $120K last year, will lose some more this year, and lose even more in 2012 because of the 2011 re-assessment.  Others of us say the city must tighten its belt and leave the rate alone.

Wine Tasting: The shop next door to Donnatelli’s will have wine tasting available.

Annexations: In April, we will be asking you to annex the following properties to round out our boundaries;

1) The Firestone store located on Hawk Ridge Trail at 1-64.

2) A tract of land just west of the Firestone store.

3) Another tract of land just west of the Firestone store.

4) The Wentzville Fire District firehouse on Hawk Ridge Trail.

5) A lot located at the southeast corner of Lake Saint Louis Blvd. and Orf Road.

 

(In the interest of fairness, Lake Saint Louis Patch recognizes George Rich's candidacy for re-election in April and offers equal space to any and all candidates in this April's aldermanic election.)


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Wentzville