City sets meeting about special improvement districts for street work

Havre City Council member Sarah McKinney told the council during its meeting Monday that Havre is hosting an educational session about special improvement districts Wednesday, Oct. 30., at 6 p.m. at Havre City Hall.

Montana State University Extension Local Government Center Director Dan Clark from the MSU Local Government Center will be in Havre to share information and answer questions on using SIDs to repair roads and infrastructure.

SIDs are created when residents of an area propose creating an entity — a neighborhood or specific region in a town or city — to implement repairs or upgrades or improvements such as streets, curbs, gutters and so on, and then if the majority of residents concur, the city creates the district. Bonds generally are sold to finance the work and residents of the district are assessed a fee to make the bond payments.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the city had more than 20 SIDs within city limits. Now only two remain.

The voters have denied two proposed mill levies the city put on the ballot in previous years to help fund street repair through additional taxes, which led to the city again looking into the option of using SIDs as a way to fund repairs.

Council approved the city’s last draw from the Montana State Revolving Fund Program for the Bullhook Storm Drain Project. 

Bear Paw Development Corp. Community Development Director Lisa Moisey said the draw, which used the last of the SRF funds, was for $318,984.59 with $127,679 charged to the SRF loan and the balance to the local match portion. She said the balance of the local match available after the draw will be $664,447.

City Clerk and Finance Director Doug Kaercher said the money is coming from what was assessed earlier and replacement dollars the city had in the fund.

The Bullhook project has been in the works for more than five years, aimed to rehabilitate the drainage system that runs under the streets and buildings of Havre.

Bullhook starts at Saddle Butte southwest of Havre and runs into the city near Havre High School on the south edge of Havre and meanders through the city. Most of the drainage system has been covered by streets and buildings and dirt work over the last century, although a few spots are still exposed.

The city grew above and around the channel through the years, with some buildings erected right over the drainage, which channels water into the Milk River.

In October 2013, sections of street and sidewalk over the drainage began collapsing. One of the first was a 10-foot-by 4-foot section of the street near Taco Treat on the 500 Block of Third Street, which collapsed Oct. 4, 2013, leaving a large hole in the street, requiring the street to be blocked off by sawhorses.

After investigating, researching, planning and seeking funding for nearly three years, the city financed the project through a a $500,000 grant from the Treasure State Endowment Program, the SRF loan and city funds.

It then awarded the work contract to Kincaid Civil Construction out of Mesa, Arizona, but Kinkaid did not meet its December 2016 deadline.

Havre went into negotiations with the company about the contract, then entered arbitration with Kincaid in the spring of 2018. The arbitration came back in favor of the city. The city is working with Kincaid’s bonding company to receive the money it paid to Kincaid to finish financing the project.

In June of this year, the council approved awarding Havre’s Lakeside Excavations Inc. the contract to complete the Bullhook Storm Drain Project.

Havre Public Works Director Dave Peterson said that the city is still in negotiations with the bonding company to receive the final funding from the Kincaid contract. He added that the bonding company had a representative in Havre recently, who also hired an engineer to look at Bullhook, review the project and provide recommendations.

Havre Mayor Tim Solomon said this is, hopefully, a positive sign that finishing the project is moving forward.

“Hopefully, it’s good news that they sent somebody to look and understand what’s going on,” he said.

Peterson said that the portion of the project they had set is almost completed, with a few final sections still needing work. The project is wrapping up in the alley on Third and Fourth avenues on Eighth and Ninth streets, he said, adding that depending on the weather could be completed within two to three weeks.

Council member Ed Matter said that the project is moving a lot faster than previously.

The council also approved pledged securities from Independence Bank for the quarter and the September claims and manual warrants.