LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Public pushback appears to be the main reason why the city presented a decreased right-of-way fee proposal before its second reading on Sept. 15.
The vote came down on the same lines as last time, with council members Mary Coffey, Karen Hesse-Smith, and Patrick Keely opposing.
The council heard from many citizens almost all of whom expressed displeasure over the fee, even after the decrease. The city council chamber seating was almost fully occupied when the meeting began, a rare site for any Tuesday morning.
As originally proposed, the ROW fee would have added $15 dollars to municipal service statements (water bills) each month. Upon its second reading, city operations director Patrick Frerich announced that the new fee will be $8.75 per month. This would bring the total fee burden on the bill payer from $180 annually to $105.
Frerich did admit, however, that the decrease in the fee will ultimately further speed up the decline in San Angelo’s roadway repair schedules, through deficiencies in the sealcoat and road repair program.
Mayor Tom Thompson questioned about the process to determine which roads will be prioritized in such a crunch, and Frerich said that repairs will be targeted on roadways that saw expensive refurbishments over the last decade in order to not squander the city’s significant investment.
After that, the city will have to prioritize maintaining the busiest streets first, not necessarily minor streets that might be in bad shape.
1 Comment
We need new company to do the “road repair”. It’s usually in worse shape after the repair.