Opinion ID: 1967884
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The sewage treatment plant.

Text: This portion of the improvement cost $601,841, approximately 75% of the total project. The plant consisted of buildings, plumbing and electrical connections, chlorination and aeration facilities, machinery, and a connecting lagoon. It also contemplated the addition of a second lagoon (or cell) later. This plant was designed to accommodate 634.74 acres within the city limits of Des Moines. The city owned 101.35 acres of this area. To arrive at a proper assessment, this cost was first spread over the 634.74 acres, resulting in a per acre figure of $948.16. An assessment was then levied only against the privately-owned property (532.65 acres) while the amount chargeable against the city-owned property (101.35 acres) came from the federal grant. The use of federal money to pay the share of the cost chargeable to the city is one of the principal complaints urged by the objectors. We consider this question in Division V hereof. The objectors also challenge their assessment on the ground the treatment plant is only temporary and that it may be abandoned even before the assessment is fully paid over the allowable installment period. We also discuss this later.