The City of Seminole has formed a new authority board and a sales tax election to fund a new sewer plant has been called for November.

In a specially-called meeting of the Seminole City Council on Monday, Aug. 16., the council agreed to the formation of the Seminole Municipal Authority. Under a resolution passed by the council, the city will lease the water, sewer and trash collection services to the newly-formed authority.

Also during Monday’s meeting, an election was set for Tuesday, Nov. 9, in which voters will be asked to extend a half-cent sales tax that is set to expire March 31, 2022. If approved, the tax will go into effect April 1, 2022 and the proceeds will be used to fund a new $20 million sewer plant in Seminole.

According to City Manager Steve Saxon, the sewer plant project will be funded by a combination of a low-interest loan and a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

“We’re looking at a 40-year loan from the USDA, and the debt on that loan would be paid by the half-cent sales tax,” Saxon said. “Our debt load could be much lower than $20 million, because we have applied for a grant from the USDA. It’s highly likely that we’ll get anywhere from 10 - 30 percent of what we’re asking for, and we’re hoping for 30 percent.”

In April, the Seminole Utilities Authority approved a $1.7 million agreement with Wall Engineering to bring the current wastewater plant into compliance with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) but made the contract contingent upon bridge financing, which was obtained in June. Saxon told the authority at an April meeting that the engineering project will only hit “benchmarks” to satisfy the DEQ and a new sewer plant is still needed, whether it’s funded with a bond election and/or grants.

The existing plant has been flagged with multiple violations from DEQ, and Saxon said the city has been spending anywhere from $350,000 to $500,000 each year in efforts to keep it up and running.