On the January 19, 2016 regular City Council meeting resolution #2016-03 was read by staff and approved by City Council. The approval of the resolution began the process of authorizing the use of the uniform method of collection and enforcement for non-ad valorem annual assessments for paving improvements identified in the Capital Improvement and Essential Services Procedural Assessment Ordinance No. 2012-1985, enacted on June 5, 2012. The purpose of this public meeting is to have City Council receive input from property owners who have received written notification by first class mail of this public hearing required by Ordinance No. 2012-1985.
Subsequent to staff review of the 2015 Roadway Needs Assessment Report and the City's existing pavement management plan, it was determined that the existing plan was deficient and a sustainable pavement management plan was needed for infrastructure improvements to meet the goals recommended in the report.
As City Council may recall, the 2015 Roadway Needs Assessment Introduction states that "high quality transportation systems are essential to a thriving community. Roadways are integrated into the fabric of America and their maintenance has become a significant responsibility of local government. In response to this obligation, the engineering community has developed pavement management systems to assist decision makers in finding optimum strategies for providing, evaluating, and maintaining pavements in a serviceable condition over a period of time." To accomplish these goals, staff utilized the consulting services of the Genesis Group. Their task as directed by staff, was to supply the staff with technical assistance in support of the City Manager's effort to allocate the annual roadway maintenance cost, explore different alternatives to apportion the maintenance costs and provide the associated computations. Recommendations from the Genesis Group were supplied to the City and are as follows:
- 20-year maintenance cycle.
- 3.47 miles of roadway restoration annually.
- $1.7 million expenditure for capital and Street division operating maintenance.
- Assessment annual collection method $1,275,000.00 - non-ad valorem and $425,000 local option gas tax dollars.
- Equivalent Assessment Unit (EAU) based on parcel acreage and Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU) based on the vehicular trips generated by the parcel process used for assessing property owners.
Should City Council approve the resolution, it is staff's opinion based on the 2015 Roadway Needs Assessment Report, the Street Paving Assessment Methodology Report, and the Genesis Street Assessment Methodology memo dated June 15, 2016 that the proposed program is sustainable, fair and equitable to the property owners who will benefit from an improved roadway system, increased property values, and a reduction in vehicle repair bills directly related to roadway conditions.