Road Report, September 2019.
Charles Crook
WHEN WILL MY STREET BE REPAVED?
One of the most common questions for the Road Committee is: “When will my street be rebuilt or repaved?” Just about every street in our POA is in need of repair.
I recently inspected a road in response to this question. The road was not in great shape. It was better than many others.
Another question is: “When will the entire repair project be competed?”
The answer to both questions is “That depends on you the property owners!”
At one of the recent WPOA meetings, a resident asked “why we haven’t used the two million dollars that we get each year to fix the streets and where does the money go?” The WPOA president replied that we don’t get that much money each year.
He further pointed out that the budget is open item that is presented to the voters each year at a meeting and voted on by the property owners. The budget is available for review prior to then and is always available for examination as is the list of expenditures, checks etc.
According to July’s report, the total income from fees this year is about $190,000 with an additional $34,000 collected in other income. The biggest budget item is for roads at 85,000.
In earlier reports I provided some history, strategy, financial considerations and future plans. I suggest reading the 2018 report under “Our Committees, Board Chair Reports”.
In the report, I explained how we are gradually turning roads over to the county. To qualify, the roads must be repaved or rebuilt to county standards. We continue to do spot repairs on potholes.
How are the roads chosen for repaving? First they must be attached to a road currently owned by the county. The county then chooses the streets or roads based on traffic load, amount of residents served and impact on overall traffic flow and access with an aim towards serving the maximum number of people and providing the maximum benefit.
What does that mean? Logic tells us that a main thoroughfare with lots of houses will probably be an ideal candidate before an empty, remotely located street will be scheduled. Focus is on main arteries first.
Other factors may apply. A street that was on the schedule has been delayed because it was found that some sections of the street is on property owned by individual property owners, which has presented legal obstacles that must be solved.
We are trying to get as many streets into the county system each year as possible using our limited funds. We try to keep other roads “passable”. Passable may not mean excellent condition or even good.
How long will the process take? I tried to outline the scope of the street project in the 2018 report by using numbers obtained last year. Let me use that illustration again:
“Section 8 is the section roughly circumscribed by Persimmon, Mesquite, Acacia and Chaparral and will be a long-term project. Road engineers inspected this area last year. The underlayment of the road is inadequate. Unlike most of our other roads, this road will require extensive reconstruction. The estimated cost of rebuilding these roads to county standards is estimated at between 800 and 900 thousand dollars in today’s dollars. Repair will take many years.”
One can do the math. At $85,000 a year, it will take years to complete this section alone. Luckily, most of our roads will not be as expensive to pave as this section, but property owners should be aware of the large scope of work that remains.
Woodcreek North and Eagle Rock both have miles of road to repair. How much will the entire road project cost? Impossible to say as each road will require a different level of attention due to varying conditions. I’ll take a guess at five to ten million.
One need not use advanced math to understand that spending $85,000 a year on roads on a minimum of 5 million in repairs is going to result in a long process.
On a positive note, as more roads are turned over to the county, there are fewer roads that require our focus and resources.
Meanwhile, our focus is keeping our roads passable while gradually upgrading a few each year so that the county will accept them into their system. The ultimate goal of course is for all of our roads to be in the county inventory with maintenance financed by county tax dollars.
Do we have other options? It’s up to you the property owners. I mentioned in the previous report that the WPOA fees were set in the 70s and at that time were probably sufficient to maintain roads and provide services. $100 of value then is worth about $17.00 in today’s dollars. The obvious answer is to raise the fees sufficiently to provide the services we need. Our fees are very low compared to many other subdivisions.
This would require approval by vote from property owners. As explained to me, the board does not have the authority to make changes to fees.
It might be possible to obtain a loan sufficient enough to finish repairs quickly. This would incur debt, and probably require increased fees. I’m not a financial expert so I don’t know how this would work. Again, a vote of property owners is needed. I must add that I’m not a fan of debt.
I have observed in the past that any mention of additional rates have been met with vigorous objections. I’m not inclined to seek one.
I hope this report conveys a picture of our road situation.
I am aware that folks criticize the road situation in meetings and on social media. My goal is to communicate to the property owners an accurate view of our financial and physical status. I hope I have portrayed our situation accurately.
This is your POA. As property owners, you have the ability to affect the future direction. The board cannot unilaterally change property owner fees. They are unpaid volunteers working with the budget you have provided.
As described to me, homeowners may petition the HOA board for a vote to address fees and their use on the road budget.
You can help. You may choose to serve on a committee or run for a board position.
You may choose to help fill potholes, beautify the park or help on other committees.
Feel free to send your questions.