Neighbors can’t fight City Hall

—Property owners on 2nd St. East argue against reconstruction project
‘I bought the house from the City [on auction] for $30,000, and I’m supposed to pay $22,000?’ — Mike Grube rental house owner

 

CRESCO - Around 15 residents, representing 21 properties on a three-block section of 2nd St. East in Cresco, tried to convince council members not to proceed with a reconstruction project to no avail. Council voted to move forward despite their arguments at the regular bi-monthly meeting on Feb. 5.
In short, the Council wants to continue being proactive in fixing the city’s infrastructure. The three block project from 3rd to 6th Ave. East is estimated to cost $851,000, with the City picking up about 75 percent of the cost. 
Per City policy, property owners pay 50 percent of the project cost excluding watermain, intersections, sanitary and storm sewer.
The amount being assessed to property owners is estimated at $216,563 (between about $2,800 and $19,532 per property). 
Darren Sikkink, engineer for WHKS & Co., gave an explanation of the plan and a timeline.
Residents were then able to voice their opinions.
• A letter by Charles Engelke, who was unable to attend, was read. He noted the expense will stop any improvements he planned to make to his property.
• David Leitz asked why that particular section of road was chosen when others are in worse shape.
Public Works Director Rod Freidhof explained, “We’ve done larger projects, such as the Granger Road and 1st Ave. Now we are picking smaller ones.”
Leitz added, “It’s almost unaffordable.”
He later commented the project would eventually be done. “It will probably be more expensive. I’m still not in favor of the project.”
• Tracy Sellner said, “I work two jobs to make ends meet.” She added she is looking to sell and wondered how the assessment would affect her sale. Sellner also mentioned the high cost of taxes already, explaining her property taxes raised $750 in two-and-a-half years.
“My letter said it was $20,000. I don’t know how many people have $20,000 sitting around.”
• Laura Miller’s family of five children is also planning to move and was concerned about the $12,000 they are estimated to pay. “We’ve tried to [do things] to raise the value of our house.”
Freidhof explained the new street would probably raise the value of the properties.
• Danny Isaacson asked, “What’s driving this issue? A parking area for the church?”
Freidhof explained, “We just got done doing big projects. Now we’re looking at smaller projects. The curb is falling apart in some places on 2nd St.”
“[My assessment] is $15,000,” Isaacson continued. “I’ve got three kids at home and one going to college. I understand what you’re doing, but there are other streets.”
• Bob Tupy who owns a rental property on the street noted, “We have to pay $6,000. We were hoping to take the money from the rental and put it toward the repair of the house.”
Tupy added he thought the estimates were high because the Granger Road project was bid higher than the rough calculation, and the City wanted to be prepared.
Sikkink explained the bids are higher because only 2-3 companies are submitting proposals, which makes it more expensive.
• Mike Grube also has a rental. “I bought the house from the City [on auction] for $30,000, and I’m supposed to pay $22,000? This street isn’t even a main thoroughfare. It doesn’t need to be wider.”
He went on to ask, “Has anyone done any studies on how many people use the road?” The answer was “No.”
• Nate Troy said his assessment is $8,000. “My wife’s got three part-time jobs, and I have a full-time job. We live paycheck-to-paycheck. This would literally wipe us out.”
Council then spoke to the residents. 
Steve McCarville explained, “We want to keep these projects going. We’re not picking on you. There are 8-10 streets the same way. We’re trying to clean up the town.”
Dave Brenno said, “It’s not going to get any cheaper. I hear everybody . . . what you’re saying. We need to keep moving forward.”
Theresa McGee admitted she also works two jobs. “I couldn’t afford what you’re going through, but we need to move forward. The councils before us didn’t. We have to be the bad people.”
With that, Council voted to go forward and adopted the resolution without amendments.
The estimated schedule is to:
~ April 2: Set bid letting
~ May 2: Receive bids
~ May 7: Award bids
~ June: Begin construction
~ Fall 2018: Complete the project
~ November 2018: Have a final assessment
Proposed Construction
• Remove all existing pavement and curb
• Replace watermain at intersections
• Replace storm sewer at intersections
• Remove trees that interfere with overhead utilities
• Construct concrete street with curb 31 feet wide (current road is 22-26 feet wide)

 

Cresco Times

Phone: 563-547-3601
Fax: 563-547-4602

Address:
Cresco TPD
214 N. Elm Street
Cresco, IA 52136

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