Thursday, March 22, 2007

City will assist fixing sewer line for new businesses

by Clarke Davis

The Valley Falls City Council will assist a private landowner in repairing a sewer line to serve an area soon expected to host a spurt of new business growth.

Bill and Katie Metzger, Valley Falls, owners of Idle Smart, have purchased an 8-acre tract in the industrial park on the south side of town.

Bill Metzger was at the council meeting Monday night to inform the council that he has a building under construction on the site, but there is no line to serve the sewer.

The Metzgers have formed a new corporation, Valley Truck and Trailer Inc., that is putting up the building. It will house two businesses and possibly a third.

The addition of two more businesses later this year are also in the works, one being a truck wash.

The sewer line that once served a railroad depot at this location was partially destroyed by heavy equipment in 1986 following a collision between a train and a propane truck.

The council, welcoming news of new business enterprises emerging in the area, agreed to help find the location of the line, the extent of the damage, and the cost to repair it.

Earl Stevens, a member of the Delaware Watershed Board, asked the city to provide the watershed with cost estimates it has incurred over the past decade to meet water quality standards.

The watershed includes all the territory from which water flows into Perry Reservoir. Stevens said the watershed needs justification to go after federal dollars and knew the city had been out a lot of expense since it gets its drinking water from the Delaware River.

While it may be several years away, Stevens said a project similar to Banner Creek in Jackson County would not be out of the question from this area.

The council, at the March 5, meeting, approved a sales tax policy which states that the entire amount collected for the next five years will be spent on street improvements.

Voters approved a 1-cent sales tax that goes into affect April 1. The money has to be spent for infrastructure, but there was nothing more definite.

City Administrator Bret Frakes said the policy makes it clear where the money will go and plans can go forward based on that policy. Future councils can change the policy, but not without a vote by officials.