Minutes - Council - 10/25/2016 - Laserfiche WebLink

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are improved. He noted that there are two sliver properties owned by the Northfork development and hold trail corridor easements, therefore they have zero value and cannot be assessed. Councilmember Shryock stated that some questions reference the 60-year road build. She stated that these roads were built about 30 years ago and asked if roads developed in that timeframe had the same durability. City Engineer Westby stated that there are different engineering standards now compared to 30 years ago, especially for MSA roads. He noted that storm sewer infrastructure has also been upgraded to account for the heavy rainfall events. He explained the process that is followed today for road construction. Councilmember Kuzma stated that he lives in Northfork and wants the residents in that area to realize that eight years ago there was an opportunity to have the road rebuilt but the residents opposed that project through petition. He stated that since he joined the Council he has worked hard to get the road repaired. He stated that the Council spent a lot of time to develop the policy for road improvement and to determine an equitable method for financing those projects. He stated that the City worked hard with the Northfork development to come up with this design. He stated that there is no easy way to develop an assessment policy that is fair to everyone. He explained that assessments would be based upon the roadway on which your driveway fronts. Councilmember Riley agreed with the comments of Councilmember Kuzma. He stated that sprinkler systems were treated very favorably in this project, along with driveways and sodding. He stated that City Engineer Westby has done a great job working with that community. He stated that the assessment rate was actually decreased by 27.5 percent and believed that the City has done their part to be amicable to the neighborhood and the increase in value substantiates the assessment. Councilmember LeTourneau asked for information on the storm water improvements, specifically how the policy addressed assessment. City Engineer Westby stated that the policy addresses storm water in numerous locations and identifies storm sewer systems as an assessable item and does not list them as a City cost, noting that storm sewers are assessed on a project by project basis. Councilmember Kuzma asked what was done for assessments on Jarvis and Garnet. City Engineer Westby stated that those projects were a bit different as those two projects were the first to be assessed. He explained how the assessments were calculated for those projects to determine a reasonable assessment rate. He stated that the storm sewer was included in the eligible costs for those assessments. Councilmember Kuzma noted that this would then be consistent with what the City did in the past. City Council / October 25, 2016 Page 7 of 15