The East Side Paving Project has long been a dream for residents residing on Jackson, Lincoln, Jefferson, 2nd, and 5th streets. This project would bring asphalt roadways, correct drainage issues by installing curbing and guttering, and provide homeowners with a new concrete approach to their driveways.
In 2023, the governing body announced that they would be willing to do a 50/50 split of the improvement costs through special assessments to lower the financial burden to the property owners and pave the gravel roads.
The November 7th, 2023, vote to extend the existing half cent retailers’ sales tax provides the city with the revenue to pay for their portion of the at-large debt to be issued for the project. The next step is to collect signatures from 51% of the property owners within the benefit district to allow the assessment of the improvement costs and move the project to the next phase.
The benefit district consists of properties within the shaded portion of the map to the left. To assess the costs of the improvements, a benefit district must be created identifying the area(s) that will see improvements. This ensures that only properties within the district are being assessed the costs of improvements. The benefit district includes properties located along Jefferson from 4th to 7th, Lincoln from 1st to 7th, Jackson from 1st to 4th, 2nd from Jackson to Jefferson, and 5th from Jackson to Harrison.
The petition for street improvements has been created and is being circulated to property owners within the defined benefit district. A copy of the petition language can be found here. The estimated cost of the proposed improvements is: $2,643,535. The apportionment of the costs of the improvements between the improvement district and the City-at-large is: 50% to be assessed against the improvement district and 50% to be paid by the City-at-large.
In the State of Kansas, there are two ways to assess a property for special assessments; 1) equally per parcel or 2) based on linear front foot basis. The city has chosen to utilize the equally per parcel method of special assessment for this project. In total, there are 98 parcels that will be assessed within the improvement district.
To move the project forward, the city is required to obtain signatures from 51% of the property owners within the improvement district allowing for the assessment of improvement costs through the means of special assessments. If collected, the petition will be brought before the governing body to adopt and move the project forward.
The estimated cost per parcel is $76.28 per month for the next 20 years. This figure is based on the current estimated cost for the project at a bonded interest rate of 4.5%.