Laserfiche WebLink
Ideas in Action <br />Elk River <br />Finds Its Way <br />to Smoother <br />Roads <br />BY ANDREWTELLIJOHN <br />ayor John Dietz has served about <br />20 years as a councilmember <br />and then mayor for the City of <br />Elk River. During that span, his least <br />favorite part of the job has been adding <br />assessments to residents' property taxes <br />for road projects near their homes. <br />But he also thought that was the <br />fairest approach to ensuring that people <br />paid their share for the wear and tear r, <br />the roads. And that didn't change right <br />away when City Engineer Justin Femrite <br />and other city staff in 2012 proposed <br />switching from assessments to monthly, <br />pay-as-you-go franchise fees collected <br />from citizens as part of their gas and <br />electric bills. <br />"When he first ?sented [th. fran- <br />c L161.. fel. option], I vas a little skeptical," <br />Dietz says. "I kept thinking to myself, <br />'Can we really generate enough money <br />from this to do the road projects we need <br />to do?' I was skeptical we could generate <br />enough funds without having a tremen- <br />dously high fee." <br />But Femrite and his colleag' <br />worked through the numbers. They <br />City Engineer Jason Femrite, left, and Mayor John Dietz stand on Orono Road Northwest, which received the <br />benefits last year of the city's new pavement management program. <br />PHOTO BY MICHAEL BRAUN <br />proposed charging each customer $5 <br />on their electric bill and $4 on their gas <br />bill each month. Businesses pay higher <br />rates. The funds are dedicated specifi- <br />cally to maximizing the lifespan of the <br />city's streets through maintenance and <br />rehabilitation. <br />"They convinced the Council that this <br />,-ould work;" Dietz says. "Justin cc <br />vinced the Council to do this, and he <br />deserves the credit." <br />Increased road costs on <br />the horizon <br />In 2012, about 80 percent of the city's <br />streets were in very good condition, <br />but the upcoming five to 10 years were <br />going to bring an increase in projects <br />and costs because roads that were built <br />in the 1990s and 2000s were coming up <br />for maintenance. <br />"We had to start spending more <br />money than we were used to spending <br />because we had a larger system," Fem- <br />rite says. <br />That's why he proposed the franchise <br />fee and designed the new model. Under <br />his proposal, special assessments for <br />street improvements —and the lengthy <br />public hearings that came along with <br />them —would be eliminated. The city <br />would pay for improvements as they <br />became necessary, so they could more <br />efficiently use the proceeds of the new <br />fee. In addition, the city agreed to waive <br />34 JUL/AUG 2016 I MINNESOTACITIES <br />