City Streets: Investing in a Neglected Asset

New Search

CITY OF SISTERS city's streets were resurfaced during the sewer system construction between 1999 and 2002. As a cost saving measure, the work was conducted by the Deschutes County Road Department instead of a private contractor. The city has been able to take advantage of grant opportunities such as ODOT's Small Cities Allotment grant for new roads like the new East Cascade connector link through the new Sisters Civic Center campus. The city has not imposed a local gas tax or street maintenance fee, but is contemplating such a move. Sisters' water rates have not been adjusted since 1994 and the water fund is now in a deficit situation. The city's sewer rates will also need to be adjusted in fiscal year 2007-08. Imposing water and sewer rate adjustments and a new street maintenance fee is likely to have a negative financial impact on residents with fixed incomes. The City Council will continue discussing street funding options. Sisters is a gateway to Central Oregon from the mid-Willamette Valley, and a popular tourist destination. The city's goal is to maintain streets in good condition through regular preventive maintenance projects. The challenge will be to find a constant and stable revenue source needed to achieve this goal. Sisters Critical Street Project List: 1. Downtown: Condition -Streets are in need of chip seal projects. 2. Residential Areas: Condition -Streets are over 10 years old and in need of chip sealing. 3. Sidewalks: Condition -Deteriorating sidewalks are in need of repair or replacement. 4. Collector and Arterial Streets: Condition -Overlays are needed due to damage from tree roots andlor normal deterioration. CITY OF SPRINGFIELD Sprin~eld currently raises more than three times what it receives in state funding for roads. However, the threatened loss of federal timber revenues and Lane County's revenue sharing will force Sprin~eld to search for additional local revenues. SPRINGFIELD QUICK FACTS • 2006 Population: 57,065 (an increase of 14 percent in 10 years) • Funding Need: An additional $800,000 is needed to maintain Springfield's 390 lane miles. $2.5 million is needed to bring all streets up to fair condition. • The City's Main Street is Highway 126. • Local Economy: Health Care -Sacred Heart Hospital River Bend Campus (opens 2008 - 2,500employees); Oregon Medical Labs (600-800 employees); Pacific Source Health (300 employees). Wood Manufacturing - Symantec (expanding to 2,200 employees) and Royal Caribbean Cruises (expanding to 900 employees). Mixed Commercial. For many years, Springfield relied on a variety of revenue sources to fund transportation construction, maintenance and preservation. Historically, the general fund has faced challenges to support other essential city services because of Springfield's low assessed property values and low median income. Since 1980, no significant amount of general fund money has been used to fund the transportation system. In the mid-1980s, Lane County agreed to begin sharing a portion of its highway trust fund revenues with Springfield and other Lane County cities. That revenue represented 25 to 30 percent of Springfield's street fund revenues at the time, with. receipts from the state fuel taxes as most of the remainder. Springfield funded all transportation related activities from those sources, buf in the early 1990s the city adopted a transportation systems development charge (SDC) which supplemented street fund revenue as a source for ~~~' _~ - , ~~ ' ~~~ , ~a ` ~~ ~-- ,: ~~~ f ~:, ~ ~` ~ ~ ~ ~. j f~ ry S'r W' M I ~, 1 City Streets: Case Studies -Page 54 f~lty;~hnnle, ~ r~.~, ,,E,aUE~„ !'y,r~ ~;~.