It’s important to have a five-year “sunset” on the levy’s term to give voters confidence that the money will be used for streets, as promised, and so then citizens can watch the progress on streets, officials said. Officials also discussed plans to name in advance the streets that will be paved with the levy money.
In a typical year, Hamilton spends between $2 million and $2.5 million on repaving work, including concrete curbs, storm-sewer improvements and related structures, said Public Works Director Rich Engle. That amount resurfaces 3 to 3.5 miles of streets.
With a 3-mill levy, which rough estimates say could generate almost $2.3 million yearly, “we could probably do on the order of six miles of asphalt,” Engle told council members.
Here’s how Engle categorized the state of Hamilton’s 254 center-line miles of streets, based on work Chicago-based consultants did to analyze the state they are in:
- "Fifty percent are poor, and that's a pavement-condition-index rating of 50 or less (on a 0-100-point scale)," he said.
- "Thirty percent are fair, and that's between 50 and 70 (on the 100-point scale)," he added.
- "Twenty percent are good, greater than 70 (on the same scale)," Engle said.
If voters approve the levy, the city wouldn’t merely focus on the “poor” streets by doing the standard procedure of milling off the top three inches of asphalt and replacing it with three inches of new asphalt, he said. Instead, it also would use a second tactic of applying surface treatments to streets that are in “fair,” or the lower range of “good” shape, so they last longer, he said.
“So it’ll be a two-pronged approach on that,” Engle said. “Not only will we be fixing the really bad roads, but we’ll be also extending the life of the better roads, so we that don’t have to be spending money on them in the immediate future.”
Once a street’s condition reaches a certain point, deterioration becomes more rapid, so extending the life of the better ones can save significant money, Engle noted.
Once resurfaced, a street is not expected to need more resurfacing for 15-20 years, depending on traffic and other factors, Engle said. Meanwhile, “We have streets in our city that have not been repaved in 40 years.”
City Finance Director Tom Vanderhorst said he believes a sunset provision is important so citizens see that the city will be adding the levy money to the amount city government already spends on street work, rather than taking some of the existing money now spent on roads and diverting it for other purposes.
The exact revenue a tax levy would generate would have to be calculated by the Butler County auditor’s office. But rough estimate by the city found that owners of a $100,000 home would pay $70.74 a year for a two-mill levy; $106.11 for three mills; and $141.48 for four mills.
Vanderhorst and others lean toward the three-mill level because it would double the amount of paving that could be done, and because the $100-per-year level is easier to market.
Mayor Pat Moeller and others on council plan to talk with constituents in the meantime about the levy plans. But already, they have received feedback that has guided their plans so far.
“A sunset provision’s very important,” Moeller said. “And some kind of schedule of streets, so they can maybe see where they’re at. Those two just seem to be very important, and I think it makes common sense, too.”
“For the most part, people have been very positive,” said Council Member Timothy Naab. “But they want to see that (list), as the mayor said: What’s in it for us after the sunset? What have we accomplished, whether it’s in their immediate community or another area of the city, they understand that. We’ve got to start someplace.”
Vice Mayor Carla Fiehrer added: “Probably the one good thing about how bad our roads are, and how long it’s been, is it proves our case for us.
“Because I’ve had a lot of people who have even said: ‘I don’t even care about my street. I mean, I know where to dodge those (potholes),’ Fiehrer said. “But when you’re going up Washington, where it’s really a well-traveled road, that it’s changing the station to your radio when you hit a curb … that’s the kind of stuff I’m hearing, is ‘Get the main thoroughfare, and then work into our direction.’”
Council Member Kathleen Klink said she’s glad the levy won’t be until next year, so there can be a community conversation about the needs.
“As frequently as people have said to me, ‘When are these streets going to be repaved?’ I’m really glad that this is projected to be 2017, so we have the year we’re in right now to have those conversations, and to be able to share the plan, so that the community understands and are not surprised by anything,” Klink said.
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