Committee approves easement agreement allowing MSD sewer connection for planned 911 call center

The Public Infrastructure and Utilities Committee on July 2 voted to give a due-pass recommendation to board bill 48, which authorizes the mayor’s office and the comptroller of St. Louis City to enter an agreement with the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) for a sewer easement to serve a planned 911 call center.

The bill “allow[s] the mayor's office and the comptroller in the city of Saint Louis to come into an agreement with MSD to basically create a sewer line,” Alderman Aldridge said while presenting the measure. He said the exhibits attached to the bill show the easement process and maps of where the MSD line would run.

The measure matters because it clears a utility-connection step tied to an earlier street vacation the committee approved to combine parcels for the call center site. Alderman Aldridge said the sewer line would run from the alley adjacent to the site to the main MSD line on Jefferson. He also noted that the bill itself does not authorize construction of the call center.

Committee members did not raise substantive objections. Alderman Kerr said, “I don't have any questions. Just excited for every step we take towards the of this new call center.” Alderman Schweitzer likewise offered no questions. No members of the public signed up to testify.

Alderman Aldridge said he had reached out to city agencies and that the Building and Permits/Services (BPS) office would be available to answer outstanding technical questions before the bill reaches perfection on third reading. He asked the committee for a due-pass recommendation; the committee moved and, hearing no objection, granted the recommendation.

The committee’s action is a recommendation to the Board of Aldermen; the measure will still need to proceed through subsequent readings and any required administrative steps, including finalization of the easement documents with MSD. The committee record and bill exhibits identify the easement route and related property exhibits but do not specify the exact street name in the transcript excerpt provided.

For follow-up, city staff and MSD will be the parties to finalize the easement language and technical work; the bill as heard does not set construction timelines or appropriate construction funds.