Street plans move forward after property owner meeting
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The majority of the property owners who attended Wednesday’s informal meeting with city administrator David Rutherford voted informally to allow the city to get them more information instead of stopping the project in its tracks.
The decision came after Rutherford laid out the history behind the project, project cost estimates, and the city’s proposal. This came before a roomful of interested property owners.
Project plans would add a turning lane the length of the street, a sidewalk on one side, a storm drain, a curb, a gutter, and improve both water and sewer.
The cost of right-of-way land has been priced at $70,000 an acre ‘ the same price Ryan’s paid. The total amount paid for acquisition would be around $60,000 without any donated land.
Estimates on project cost will probably be more than the $1.9 million previously indicated and closer to $2.3 million. However, that number is only an estimate and with the cost of asphalt increasing, that number may be higher.
Other options for widening the street were discussed:
‘ Use property taxes collected in the area for the project ‘ The city collected a total of $132,182 last year, with the majority coming from the Wal-Mart end of the street at $105,000.
‘ Obtain grants ‘ The street does not meet the requirements for existing grants.
‘ Transfer the TDOT grant for phase II of downtown ‘ Although the city has asked, the funds for Morford Street could not be reallocated to North Chancery.
‘ Ask Wal-Mart to fund the project ‘ When the business was established in that area, it was asked to donate land to widen that section of the street and add a light to accommodate the increased traffic. The company did that, so it will not be asked to donate any money when it comes to improving the rest of the street.
‘ Use sales tax ‘ Because of an agreement between the city and county in 1969, the county gets most of the city’s sales tax for the school system. During the 2006-07 fiscal year, there was almost $8 million collected inside the city. All but $1.7 million went to the county.
However, the city is willing to make some adjustments to the partnership. Despite what the ‘Improvements by Special Assessment’ law says, the city would be willing to contribute between $1.3 and $1.4 million for the project. According to the law, the city will only be responsible for one-third of the cost. If the cost is $2.3 million, $1.3 million is more than half.
The adjustment leaves property owners paying just over $900,000. However, if the project’s final cost increases, so will the amount they have to pay. The exact amount will not be known until the final numbers have been received.
The law also sets down two payment options for property owners ‘ payment in 30 days of project completion or a five-year plan with annual installment payments and 6 percent interest.
As a suggestion by property owners, the city will look into allowing homeowners to defer paying their share until their property is sold and take a second look at the cost burden per property owner.
Also, as an incentive to go with the project and keep property owners from having to pay higher taxes along with the project cost, it was suggested the city put a freeze on current property taxes for a specified time period.
Despite everything that was discussed, if the majority of property owners are not interested at this time, the project goes back on the shelf, Rutherford said.
To help them make their final decision, the city will require a couple months and need to spend around $30,000 to generate more information and firmer numbers.
A show of hands asking for more information appeared to be in the majority.
Project Timeline
1995 ‘ The question was raised about the proposed Wal-Mart move. If Wal-Mart is developed, North Chancery Street would have increased traffic. The city hired a firm to generate a long-range transportation analysis.
1997 ‘ The analysis was presented to the city and a meeting was scheduled with property owners in April.
1998 ‘ The city tried for right-of-way acquisition. Property owners were given the opportunity to donate right-of-way property. However, the project stalled during those discussions.
2003 ‘ There was another move toward repairing or widening the street. However, the project once again died.
2007 ‘ The project was one of many discussed during the city’s planning conference. At that time, board members expressed a desire to know if there was an opportunity to move the project forward. If not, the project would once again be shelved.