City Council discusses street improvement options

Havre City Council discussed options Monday that the city can pursue to improve the streets within city limits.

Council President Terry Lilletvedt said that she has been told by various people that they are concerned with the street conditions in Havre. She said the city has numerous potholes in the streets, in addition to water not draining properly and several other recurring issues. She asked if the council could adjust the assessment of the street maintenance fund to allow for Havre Public Works to purchase additional material.

Lilletvedt added that she would like Public Works Director Dave Peterson to re-evaluate the Public Works department to see what is needed to make improvements to the city's streets.

Lilletvedt said that with the harsh winter during the last couple of months the roads are in poor condition. She said she believes that it is important that the city looks at and considers what can be done to help with maintenance.

"If we can't replace the roads, we do what we can," she said. "... I don't know if it is the right answer, I'm just throwing it out there."

Mayor Tim Solomon said that the street maintenance fund is actually an assessment, not a tax. It fluxuates and can have things added but the city tries to keep it as consistent as possible. Within the city's budget four funds are assessments and between them they are able to shift more funding around to where it is needed.

Peterson said that the these four funds are street lights, street maintenance, Bullhook and solid waste.

Kaercher said that City Council can raise these assessments if needed.

Peterson said that work on the streets, curbs, gutters, sidewalks, and the water, sewer and storm sewer systems were all built by special improvement districts, or SIDs.

SIDs create a long-term tax used to pay off a loan taken out to do work.

SIDs are typically made up from geological areas - districts - for land or street improvements, Financial Director and City Clerk Doug Kaercher said. The property owners have to vote on projects for their districts, needing 51 percent for the project in order to pursue funding. SIDs allows property owners to pay for the bonding of these projects.

Lilletvedt said she understands that people do not want to have their taxes raised, but many people she has talked to have told her their concerns and complaints regarding the street conditions.

"What I hear from everyone is, 'Why didn't somebody do something 20 years ago so we wouldn't be in this spot,'" she said.

Kaercher said that over the past 50 to 75 years the city has done a really good job with street maintenance. Those streets, when they were originally built, were only meant to last 20 years and the city has used the street maintenance to extend that lifetime to 50 to 75 years. He added that when streets were built, they were done by SIDs and when the streets are eventually rebuilt they will have to be done again through SIDs.

"The city has done such a good job on these streets," he said. "It's that nobody has any of these SIDs anymore. Nobody even knows how they work."

Kaercher said that in 1983, when he served on the council the city had 22 SIDs. The city now has two. The public needs to be educated in what is happening and what needs to be done rather than to jump to conclusions, he said.

"They can't say, 'What is the city doing with their money,'" he said. "Well they did a really good job, they did it so well that you don't even remember how streets were even built in the first place."

Council member Caleb Hutchins said another issue with the streets is that the most problematic streets are in lower-income areas where people are not able to participate in SIDs.

Kaercher said that his property tax on his house is almost the exact amount for his cable bill for a year's time, which includes internet and his home phone.

He said the services people get from their property tax is not only from the city but from the county, and most of the property tax goes to the school system.

"I believe that our kids are getting a pretty good education," he said.

The services people receive from their taxes is a good deal, all things considered, he said.

Lilletvedt said something needs to be done about educating the public about SIDs, however the city needs to invest in maintenance to correct the immediate problems.

She said by raising the assessments the city will stay ahead of the issue and be able to maintain some of the streets.

Solomon said that the main issue is that the streets need to be rebuilt, not just maintained.

"It isn't cost-effective to do maintenance when it needs to be rebuilt," he said.

Peterson said that, on average, two months after filling a pothole in the street the pothole is already exposed and the material used to fill it is gone.

Council member Denise Brewer said that although the city is responsible for the streets, the public needs to make an effort to aid in their improvement. The public is part of the city and by learning about SIDs the public has the opportunity to replace and rebuild the streets.

"I think what the community thinks is that the streets don't belong to them," she said. "They belong to the city, so therefore the city should fix them; but they're your streets and you need to be the one to maintain them."

Hutchins said more conversations about maintenance need to happen. A large disconnect between the city and the public, with most people not realizing everything that the city has done, is now happening, he said.

Arbor Day observance approved, fire department update given

During the City Council meeting the council also approved the Arbor Day Proclamation. Arbor Day will be Monday, April 29, this year with people and children welcome to come plant trees in Pepin Park at 9 a.m.

Solomon said the activity should be done before noon.

Havre Fire Department Chief Mel Paulson also gave an update on the progress of the fire department.

He said the number of calls the department has recieved has stayed close to what they had last year. The department responded to 1,221 emergency medical calls, had 215 total fire responses and 203 total fire safety inspections.

He added that the department has also done some training, with 12 CPR and first aid instruction classes, hosting three to four classes a month on average this year.

Havre Fire Department is also fully staffed, he said, except for one firefighter who is deployed overseas with the U.S. Army Reserves for 12 months.

The department's fire prevention event was also a success this year, with about 300 people in the community coming through the fire hall.

He said one of the best trainings the department had this year was the rescue training they did with Hill County Search and Rescue and the Chinook Fire Department. During the training they did mock rescues with people in the freezing water.

The department also implemented a new driver operator curriculum which follows the Fire Protection Association standards to make sure the department knows how to drive a truck correctly, Paulson said.

"We are continuing to move forward and we are training," he said.

He added that the new fire engine has also been a large benefit to the department.

"It has been a godsend, I mean, it has worked out really nice," Paulson said.

Hutchins also set the date for the next Ordinance Committee meeting for Monday, April 15, following the City Council meeting.

In addition to the vacant property registration ordinance, the committee will also speak about changing the procedures for appointing new council members and signage in yards.