Memorandum 15-192 HART Worksession Goals

Memorandum ID: 
15-192
Memorandum Status: 
Information Only

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Memorandum 15-192

TO:                       Honorable Mayor Wythe and Homer City Council

FROM:                 Katie Koester, City Manager

DATE:                  November 18, 2015

SUBJECT:         Memo on HART Work Session Goals

The purpose of this memo is to provide a frame work for the Homer Accelerated Roads and Trails (HART) work session and help the Council determine how to make HART a functional tool for today’s Homer.

 

A ¾% sales tax dedicated to the reconstruction and upgrade of local roads, Homer Accelerated Roads Program, was approved by the voters of Homer in 1987. In 2007 the program was reauthorized by voters to include construction of new roads and dedicate 10% of the annual amount collected to trails projects. HART would require reauthorization by the voters by 2027. HART funds have been used to construct a variety of City transportation infrastructure projects.  Council created the roads local improvement district (now SAD) process as a mechanism by which neighborhoods could improve and construct roads at a subsidized rate ($30 per front foot for gravel; $17 per front foot for paving). Interest in the Road Special Assessment District process has not been as robust as originally anticipated. The last project the City worked on was the Crittenden Drive LID ($600,000). However, the lot owners around Eric Lane (Fairview) in the Lillian Walli subdivision have initiated the SAD process and generated significant interest in moving the project forward. See memo from Public Works Director Meyer and the HART Policy Manual for more background.

 

Use of the HART fund is ultimately bound by HCC 9.16.010(c) “street reconstruction improvements and related utilities, construction of new local roads, and construction of new local trains.” Other restrictions and guidelines have been adopted by Council (see HART Policy Manual). In tight fiscal times, one of the challenges with HART is that the construction of new roads and trails comes with additional maintenance that squeezes our operating budget. The original intent of HARP as approved by the voters in 1987 was to upgrade roads in order to reduce maintenance costs. With the construction of new roads and trails authorized in 2007, maintenance costs have increased.

 

Council discussion of the two questions below will give staff direction on ways to make HART a more meaningful tool for Homer:

 

Does the City want to ask voters to change HART to cover maintenance? This could be done by dedicating a percentage of the total amount collected to maintenance costs or by incorporating an anticipated maintenance over a 30-year time frame into the total project cost. 

 

Should the Council come up with new guidelines and parameters for what is eligible to spend HART funds on within the boundaries of existing voter authorization?

Should there be a sidewalk SAD process? (see memo from Public Works Director)
Should there be additional eligible expenses?
Should the Council start from scratch and get rid of the existing HART policy manual and corresponding enabling legislation to revise HART?

 

Enc:

Memorandum 15-193 from Public Works Director Meyer

HART Policy Manual

Ordinance 06-42 Reauthorizing HART

HART 3rd Quarter Balance Sheet