Agenda Packets - 2003/09/02 - Laserfiche WebLink

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4 project with roughly similar lot sizes and similar housing stock. This would indicate that the City should assess equal amounts to all residential properties within a project area. Case in point: assume two $150,000 homes in a project area. One house sits on a corner lot, the other is at the end of a cul-de-sac. According to a benefit appraisal, both properties would receive the same benefit; however, under the City’s current assessment policy, the first house would be assessed much more than the second. Staff recommends that Council consider an assessment policy that assigns a portion of the project cost equally to all similar benefited properties. B. We should apply maintenance strategies at the proper time and to the proper streets so as to minimize the overall cost to the City and increase the overall benefit to the residents. The general maintenance strategy of a roadway segment would be to apply a surface treatment at around the 5th year of the pavements life cycle, then perform a mill and overlay around the 15th to 20 year, then finally reconstruct in year 35 to 40 - generally. The goal of this strategy is to apply the correct maintenance technique at the proper time so as to minimize overall costs. Based on the structure of the City’s current assessment policy, a property owner would be assessed the same amount for a mill and overlay project as they would for a total reconstruction project. Given the choice, property owners may not support an inexpensive mill and overlay project that would cost effectively extend the life of their street and opt to wait for a far more expensive reconstruction project. Staff recommends that Council consider an assessment policy that assigns amounts to be assessed based on the total project cost and NOT on a fixed amount. C. We should develop a street program that is supported by the public and can be supported financially by the City. This is an objective that many cities seem to spend much time researching and fine-tuning. Many, if not most, cities assign public improvement assessment amounts base on a percentage of the total project cost. It then becomes a question as to what that percentage should be. In terms of a neighborhood street major maintenance project, the percent range which is assessed by cities in the metro area to residential properties is 10% to 75% of the total project cost. The majority falls in the range of 25% to 50%. For comparison purposes, the proposed assessment for the County Road H2 Project is 13.3 % of the total project cost. The objective is to select a percentage that is low enough to make the proposed projects appealing to the property owners. However, they need to be large enough to sustain a long-term street maintenance program. The feasibility report for the 2003 Street Improvement Project will have a mock assessment role included that will be based on the City’s current assessment policy. Staff will then