Tuesday, April 11, 2000
Money question stalls plan
Newport looks at street repairs
By Terry Flynn
The Cincinnati Enquirer
NEWPORT — City commissioners looked at a proposed priority list of street projects assembled by a consultant, but at least two of the commissioners were more concerned with how the city will pay to repair and/or replace streets and sidewalks.
The city's administrative staff is assembling a five-year master plan to identify the many streets that need attention, at the same time attempting to establish a priority list for streets that need attention more quickly than others.
“I think this is a good plan, but I'd like to know how we're going to pay for it,” Commissioner Ken Rechtin said during a discussion of the plan with city manager Phil Ciafardini. “I think we're ahead of ourselves on this. Where does the money come from is the first issue to consider.”
Mr. Ciafardini explained that the administration wanted to establish the street master plan as part of a vision for the city, and the priority list was merely part of that vision.
“We're still waiting for word on how much funding we'll receive from our latest grant application,” he said.
Commissioner Beth Fennell agreed with Mr. Rechtin that “we're maybe putting the cart before the horse in coming up with a plan and priority list when we don't know how we'll pay for it or how much we can afford.”
“I still want to see some basic projections on anticipated revenue from the various entertainment venues at Newport on the Levee,” Ms. Fennell said. “I think we need some idea of what the city's revenue stream might be before we decide what we can or can't do with the streets.”
Mr. Ciafardini said he expected to have some basic numbers on what the total Newport on the Levee entertainment package might mean to the city in revenue within a couple of weeks.
Similarly, the commission and Mr. Ciafardini discussed the city's policies regarding sidewalk, curb and tree maintainance, repair and replacement. Mr. Ciafardini has recommended some minor changes in the policies.
“The current policy has property owners responsible for sidewalks and curbs, and the city responsible for streets,” he said. “I think the city should take responsibility for the curbs, because curbs have a direct bearing on street repair and replacement.”
He also recommended a new program for assessment of property owners for sidewalk repair and replacement, with the city responsible for performing the work and then billing the property owner.
“I have a problem with that, because there are concrete contractors living in the city who could take care of their own sidewalks at much less cost than what the city would charge,” Mr. Rechtin said.
There was consensus on the commission that any assessment policy would include provisions enabling residents to perform the work themselves provided they adhered strictly to city codes and regulations.
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