One final step is about to be completed, clearing the way for natural gas service in the tri-county area. 

    On Nonday the village of Sunrise Beach got an update from Missouri Gas Utility on their franchise process. 

    District Manager Bret Brown told the board the Public Service Commission should take about three months to approve the service for the village.  Brown says then things will be ready to go in Sunrise Beach, Camdenton, Osage Beach, and Lake Ozark.  The next biggest obstacle, according to Brown, is the engineering.

    “We have to get our bridge crossings taken care of, we have to get all of our easements, all of our permitting done, our erosion control, our environmental studies, just everything that we have to get accomplished," Brown said. "Along the state right-of-ways the permitting, county permitting, there’s a lot of work that we have to get done before we can start actual digging.”

    The lines for the lake area will feed from the city of Lincoln.

    “We ran gas from basically out of Sedalia this year through Green Ridge, Cole Camp, Lincoln, and Warsaw. And we put a stub up in Lincoln, on the east side of Lincoln, to run natural gas down to here."

    Looking at an overall time frame, Brown says it is hard to estimate how long installation will take.

    “The problem is there are just so many little areas out here to go to, but the main construction will probably take two to three years for the main construction to be done.  Now, in Sunrise Beach we should be the first year, in [2011], we should be done with the main construction," Brown added. "But as we go out into the outer lying areas it will take longer to get that accomplished."

    Brown says areas will get gas service as feasability warrants it.