By RAELYNN RICARTE
News staff writer
October 24, 2007

Citizens on the east side of Hood River have objected to paying an average bill of $34,000 per property for street improvements.

Bob Francis, city manager, said residents in the 16-block area are protesting the costs involved in the $5.5 million project.

He said staffers will now go back to the drawing board and look for less expensive ways to alleviate safety concerns.

“The neighbors, I think, did not see a need for doing this. They like the way things are right now,” said Francis.

At issue is the widening of narrow streets running up the hillside off the State Street entrance into Hood River. Francis said emergency vehicles are sometimes unable to reach a residence on a steep slope if cars are parked along the roadways.

He said sewer, water and storm water drain services also need to be improved along Bluff Drive, East Fourth Street, East Third Street, Hazel Drive, Lover’s Lane, Serpentine Road, Sherman Avenue and East Eugene.

Seaborn Engineering of Hood River, the consultant firm hired by the city, came up with the multi-million dollar figure to accomplish that work. City Engineer Dave Bick presented that information to neighbors at a meeting in early November.

Bick fielded the idea of forming a Local Improvement District — but the 50 people in attendance were not buying that plan. They did not want a special tax on their properties. That assessment would be based on the linear footage of land that bordered the street.

Francis said some citizens with smaller lots were looking at a $12,500 fee. But owners of larger tracts would have been asked to absorb an $110,000 cost. He said the payments could have been made with a lien on property or over time with a low-interest loan.

“When you, as a landowner, are being asked to pay that much money it’s pretty hard to see the benefit of the project,” said Francis. “The city certainly understands that concern so we’ll look at other ways to get this work done.”

He said eastside residents were also concerned that widening the streets would bring more traffic into the area. They believed that emergency responder worries could be dealt with by limiting on-street parking where passage was especially narrow.

“I think people in these neighborhoods will be able to help us come up with some solutions,” said Francis.

He said the aging infrastructure in the area does still need to be replaced. So, the city will be scouting out new ways to finance that work.

Francis said the proposal to form a Local Improvement District along Columbia Street has received a warmer reception from neighbors. But the cost for each affected property owner in the 10-block area will average much less, at $7,000-9,000.

Landowners are being asked to bear the cost for $900,000 of the $2.1 million project. Francis said the aging sewer main from 10th to 20th streets is in dire need of replacement. He said that line is vital to the system since it accepts wastewater from the entire southwest sector of the city.

He said, on the aesthetic side, the city would also like to replace crumbing sidewalks, underground electric lines, and make driveway cuts in the concrete to accommodate off-street parking.