Man says he hopes to build 15 rental homes, asks city to hook into city water and sewer
This cropped portion of a MoDOT map shows the Gainesville city limits in the shaded area. Collins’ property sits outside the city limits, but he hopes to hook into the city’s water and sewer system.
Builder Eddie Collins attended this month’s city council meeting to discuss a topic that was brought up last month. He has purchased a piece of property that sits outside the city limits in an area between the MoDOT shed on MM Highway and the Gainesville Veterinary Hospital off Wildwood Drive.
Collins says he is planning to build a house for himself, a house for his daughter and, eventually, 10-15 rental homes. He says five rentals are already under construction.
Collins asked if he can tap into the city’s water and sewer lines for the planned residences.
Water specialist Jessi Price said the city does have some residences outside city limits hooked into the city water line, and those residents pay a double water bill to account for their absence of paying city taxes.
The water lines on Wildwood Drive and MM Highway are both located on the opposite side of those roads from Collins’s property, meaning the city would need to somehow get under those streets to install a tap that would then allow Collins to run pipe to the main line, at his own expense.
Boring under the road would cost $15,000 to $20,000, but an alternative would be for the city to dig up the road, allowing a pipe to be run to the water main, Then the city workers would patch up the road. That option would cost significantly less - mostly the time of the city workers and the city’s own supplies.
Another hurdle, though, is that due to where the water main is located, extending it may involve the planning of an engineer due to requirements from the Missouri Department of Natural Resource regulations. Maintenance Supervisor Mike Davis said the city is unsure where the water main is located there, and it could be in the middle of the street.
Price said the sewer line would be easier to get access to, although it would require installing a lot of pipe to reach the property in question.
The council agreed to allow Davis to dig up Wildwood Drive to locate the water main, so they can make a plan of action. Collins said that if he can’t hook into the city utilities, he will instead drill wells and install septic tanks at each of the structures.