The Shawnee City Commission will consider its most important issue in years Tuesday night when city staff presents a $55 million water and sewer improvements plan.
The plan covers 10 years and would replace the 30-inch water line from the Twin Lakes, tie the Lake Atoka water line directly to the treatment plant, build a new water tower and wastewater treatment facility and improve the existing water treatment plant.
It would give Shawnee its best-case guarantee for future water needs, but it would also mean a stiff increase in water rates.
Mayor Linda Peterson and the Commission have done a good thing in asking city staff to develop multi-year plans for capital improvements and infrastructure projects like this.
It gives the city a framework for the future and a direction that all residents can see and understand and removes some of the guesswork and political vulnerabilities inherent in budgeting and planning in one-year segments.
The Commission also seems to have come together as a cohesive group able to discuss and occasionally disagree about particular issues while keeping its collective eye focused on long-term goals. That’s a major feat, given the fractious history of Shawnee politics, and it will be necessary to keep that cohesiveness as the city continues to tackle serious infrastructure issues in the future.
The water plan has drawn some intense opposition from local businessmen who say the plan requires rate increases that are unreasonable, particularly in a recession.
They also say the city’s history indicates that this will become a cycle – the city needs money so it raises rates, people respond by using less water, then the city doesn’t get enough money and has to raise rates again. Off we go into a spiral of rate increases.
Turns out, both the city staff and the businessmen are right.
Water is more important than anything else to Shawnee’s future. You can have bumpy roads, you can have poor rail service, you can have an under-funded school system and still survive as a community. It wouldn’t be a great community, but it would survive.
Water is a different thing. You either have plenty of water or you don’t. Turn the taps off and the city dies. Period.
Enter the city staff with a plan to make sure that doesn’t happen.
The plan addresses the immediate needs by replacing the 30-inch line, pumps and controls that get water from the Twin Lakes to the treatment plant and it includes some long-term projects to ensure Shawnee has enough water and sewage capacity for years to come.
The plan is also so expensive that some people will have to choose between bathing and eating. The monthly charge for the first 1,000 gallons of water would go from $6.70 in 2008 to $29.72 in 2018, which is a breathtaking jump for someone on a fixed or limited income. What’s the point in having plenty of water if you can’t afford to buy it?
Sadly, the city’s needs aren’t happening in a vacuum. We have a lingering recession that has put people out of work or reduced their incomes. The local school district needs a bond issue for basic building repairs. The federal deficit has grown so large that most people can’t comprehend just how large it really is.
It’s a scary time. People with less money are paying more for their government. We’re rapidly closing in on a time when a significant part of the public can afford government or groceries, but not both.
Thus, the tough call that the city commissioners face – how to adequately plan for the city’s future on a budget that the public can afford.
The commissioners have developed a track record of working things out and we believe they will this time, too.
That probably means moving ahead with short-term plans that have a palatable price tag. That way, city staff can take care of Shawnee’s short-term water needs, the public can have a chance to get comfortable with the scope of the project and we can all step back, take a deep breath and not let this one issue derail the progress the city has made in the last year.
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The Shawnee City Commission will consider its most important issue in years Tuesday night when city staff presents a $55 million water and sewer improvements plan.
The plan covers 10 years and would replace the 30-inch water line from the Twin Lakes, tie the Lake Atoka water line directly to the treatment plant, build a new water tower and wastewater treatment facility and improve the existing water treatment plant.
It would give Shawnee its best-case guarantee for future water needs, but it would also mean a stiff increase in water rates.
Mayor Linda Peterson and the Commission have done a good thing in asking city staff to develop multi-year plans for capital improvements and infrastructure projects like this.
It gives the city a framework for the future and a direction that all residents can see and understand and removes some of the guesswork and political vulnerabilities inherent in budgeting and planning in one-year segments.
The Commission also seems to have come together as a cohesive group able to discuss and occasionally disagree about particular issues while keeping its collective eye focused on long-term goals. That’s a major feat, given the fractious history of Shawnee politics, and it will be necessary to keep that cohesiveness as the city continues to tackle serious infrastructure issues in the future.
The water plan has drawn some intense opposition from local businessmen who say the plan requires rate increases that are unreasonable, particularly in a recession.
They also say the city’s history indicates that this will become a cycle – the city needs money so it raises rates, people respond by using less water, then the city doesn’t get enough money and has to raise rates again. Off we go into a spiral of rate increases.
Turns out, both the city staff and the businessmen are right.
Water is more important than anything else to Shawnee’s future. You can have bumpy roads, you can have poor rail service, you can have an under-funded school system and still survive as a community. It wouldn’t be a great community, but it would survive.
Water is a different thing. You either have plenty of water or you don’t. Turn the taps off and the city dies. Period.
Enter the city staff with a plan to make sure that doesn’t happen.
The plan addresses the immediate needs by replacing the 30-inch line, pumps and controls that get water from the Twin Lakes to the treatment plant and it includes some long-term projects to ensure Shawnee has enough water and sewage capacity for years to come.
The plan is also so expensive that some people will have to choose between bathing and eating. The monthly charge for the first 1,000 gallons of water would go from $6.70 in 2008 to $29.72 in 2018, which is a breathtaking jump for someone on a fixed or limited income. What’s the point in having plenty of water if you can’t afford to buy it?
Sadly, the city’s needs aren’t happening in a vacuum. We have a lingering recession that has put people out of work or reduced their incomes. The local school district needs a bond issue for basic building repairs. The federal deficit has grown so large that most people can’t comprehend just how large it really is.
It’s a scary time. People with less money are paying more for their government. We’re rapidly closing in on a time when a significant part of the public can afford government or groceries, but not both.
Thus, the tough call that the city commissioners face – how to adequately plan for the city’s future on a budget that the public can afford.
The commissioners have developed a track record of working things out and we believe they will this time, too.
That probably means moving ahead with short-term plans that have a palatable price tag. That way, city staff can take care of Shawnee’s short-term water needs, the public can have a chance to get comfortable with the scope of the project and we can all step back, take a deep breath and not let this one issue derail the progress the city has made in the last year.
