CINDY SCHROEDER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
ALEXANDRIA -- In the next few weeks, officials here will seek residents' suggestions on a long-term plan for dealing with deteriorating city streets.
Options include a special tax for street repairs or assessing property owners, if the city cannot cover all the costs from its general fund and state aid money.
How to pay for street repairs became an issue earlier this month when council announced plans to immediately repair 11 of Alexandria's worst streets -- Appleblossom, the newer section of Breckenridge, Carmen, East Boesch, Mockingbird, Paul and Terrace streets, as well as Cliffwood Court, James Lane, Parkview Drive and Ridgewood Court.
In recent years, Alexandria has made spot repairs at the rate of about one street a year, but the city has had no plan for major street improvements, said Paul Gardner, the city's sanitation, public works and zoning administrator.
"Because of the number of streets involved, we're trying to establish a policy we can use this year and for years to come," Mr. Gardner said.
A special road assessment district -- already in effect in Fort Mitchell and Park Hills in neighboring Kenton County -- would enable Alexandria to make regular repairs to the worst of its 200 aging city streets without seeking assessments from residents, Mr. Gardner said.
While a street-repair tax could be placed on the ballot as early as November, Alexandria officials first want to find out whether residents favor that option over the other two.
And if residents favor assessments, city officials want to know which method they prefer: being charged so many dollars a foot, or splitting the cost 50-50 with the city, Mr. Gardner said.
"We've already had some citizens say, "No way in hell are we going to pay assessments,' " Mr. Gardner said.
In Fort Mitchell, city officials chose to put a special street tax on the ballot nine years ago, when faced with the prospect of deteriorating streets and unpopular assessments.
"For several years, we kicked around (whether to go with) partial assessments or full assessments, but the bottom line was no one wanted the assessments," said Fort Mitchell Administrator Bill Goetz. "It didn't seem right to charge 25 percent of the cost today, then increase it to 50 percent in the future."
Fort Mitchell's tax of 60 cents per $1,000 valuation generated about $130,000 in its first year, and now brings in more than $200,000 a year for improvements to city streets and replacement or relocation of storm sewer lines, Mr. Goetz said.
Today, Fort Mitchell has a comprehensive program not only for its streets, but also for its storm sewers, spending more than $500,000 a year on the two combined, Mr. Goetz said. What the street tax does not cover comes out of the city's general fund.
In 1995, Park Hills voters also narrowly approved creating a tax of $2.35 per $1,000 assessed valuation for repairs to its 37 streets, generating $247,575 a year.
City Clerk Linda Flora said proceeds from the street tax are combined with the proceeds from Park Hills' city sticker fee on vehicles to generate about $314,000 for a comprehensive street improvement program in the 71-year-old city with 14 miles of aging streets. "Because of the number of streets involved, we're trying to establish a policy we can use this year and for years to come.' -- Paul Gardner, sanitation, public works and zoning administrator
