Street program explained at city session

The city of Havre has many streets that are 50 to 70 years old, and the water and sewer lines beneath the streets are even older.

Many of the streets are in such bad shape that they will soon be better off being gravel roads.

The average life of a city street is 20 years. Because they have been well maintained, many Havre streets have lasted 50 years, but they are closing in on the end of their lifetime.

Those were comments made by city officials at a City Council public information session Monday night on a referendum that will be on the upcoming city ballot. Ballots will be mailed out Oct. 14 and must be returned by Tuesday, Nov. 3. If a majority vote yes, the proposal is approved. Taxes would go up in the fall of 2016, and work would start in the spring of 2017.

A home with a value of $100,000 would pay about $202.15 a year more. That amount would decrease if property values increased citywide and would go up slightly if the total assessed value in the city went down.

Members in the audience at the session seemed to agree — with some hesitation — with the city’s contention that a massive infusion of cash was the only way to rehabilitate the streets.

“If it passes, great,” said one resident. “If not, what then? City officials said they would decide then whether to resubmit it or submit a modified proposal.

An audience member recalled that it took three votes to convince Hill County voters to approve building a new jail. Mayor Tim Solomon smiled in agreement. He was sheriff at the time.

Solomon said it is hard to weigh public opinion on the matter.

“I’ve heard from people who are for it and from people who are against it,” he said.

Public Works Director Dave Peterson and council member Matt Boucher narrated a PowerPoint demonstration explaining the need for the measure, including pictures of city streets that are in poor repair and the new 11th Street that replaced astreet that was in poor repair.

Some people asked whetherstate or federal grants could help with the cost of the needed street construction, but people responded, saying that Congress has been unable to pass a highway bill and the Montana Legislature failed in its attempt to pass an infrastructure plan.

The city had secured a state grant to help repair streets built over Bullhook —the creek that serves as a storm drain through the city — that are crumbling. Work will begin after Bullhook subsides in the spring.

Peterson was asked if city workers could do some of the work.

He said his department doesn’t have the equipment or the staffing to do such work.

“We repair streets,“ Peterson said. “We can’t build them.”