Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Bond supporters say street fixes badly needed

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Sunday, October 22, 2000

Bond supporters say street fixes badly needed
But some opponents of the measure don't trust the city, based on how 1986 bond money was spent
By Jason Ma
Caller-Times

Street projects
Streets to be resurfaced
Up River Road, from I-37 to Leopard Street
Alameda Street, from Parade Drive to Ennis Joslin Road
Ayers Street, from South Padre Island Drive to Port Avenue
Gollihar Road, from Crosstown Expressway to Kostoryz Road
South Staples Street, from Gollihar Road to Williams Drive
Total cost: $4,029,000
Street improvements
City share of street construction in new subdivisions
New street lights, n Guardrails, pedestrian bridges and school zone sidewalks
Intersection approach improvements Streets to be widened
McArdle Road, from Everhart Road to Holmes Drive
Horne Road, from Ayers Street to Kostoryz Road
Cliff Maus Drive, from South Padre Island Drive to Bear Lane
Yorktown Boulevard, from Lake Travis Drive to Weber Road
Total cost: $8,492,000
Neighborhood streets to be reconstructed, adding curbs and gutters
Lyons Street
Birmingham Street
Annaville Road, Catcay and Azores drives
Jamaica and Brookdale drives
Woodlawn Drive, Laguna Shores and Whiting Drive
Total cost: $3,800,000
City's share of State Highway Department road projects
FM 624, from US 77 to FM 1889
McKinzie Road, from Haven Drive to south city limits
Future TxDOT projects
Total cost: $1,925,000
Priority traffic signal improvements
Staples Street at Lipes Boulevard
Staples Street and Timbergate Road
Saratoga Boulevard at Rodd Field Road
Kostoryz Road at Sunnybrook Road
Three other intersections would be selected at a later date from a list of 14 locations
Flashing signals would be installed at:
Carancahua Street at Coopers Alley
Ocean Drive at Cole Park
Everhart Road at Schanen Boulevard
Ten other intersections would be upgraded
System synchronization improvements
Total cost: $2,130,000
Sidewalk accessibility improvements for disabled, adding curb cuts and ramps
Total cost: $400,000
Total cost of general street improvement bond proposal: $20,776,000
Source: City of Corpus Christi

When it comes to the rutted and bumpy roads in Corpus Christi, both advocates and critics of the city's Nov. 7 bond proposals agree.
   The streets need fixing.
   Installing 10 new traffic lights, as well as widening and smoothing the way on more than 18 roadways with the $20.7 million in bonds will make Corpus Christi a safer place to drive, said Angel Escobar, director of engineering for the city.
   "They're all crucial," Escobar said. "You have traffic deaths that have occurred in the past simply because we don't have the funds to put in the traffic lights."
   The proposal is one of three bond packages that would be paid with a 4-cent property tax increase. If all are approved, the annual property tax bill on a home valued at $67,278 would increase by $26.91.
   The impact of the street bond package alone would be a 2.7-cent increase in property taxes. If just this part of the city's three property tax proposals passed, the added cost to the owner of a $67,278 home would be $18.17 annually.
   The projects are:

$8.49 million for street improvements, including widening of McArdle, Horne and Cliff Maus roads and Yorktown Boulevard

$4.03 million for street resurfacing, for Up River and Gollihar roads and Alameda, Ayers and Staples streets

$3.8 million for neighborhood street reconstruction; including Lyons and Birmingham streets; Annaville and Laguna Shores roads; and Catcay, Azores, Jamaica, Brookdale, Woodlawn and Whiting drives

$2.13 million for 10 new and 10 upgraded traffic signals, plus synchronization of existing signals

$1.93 million for Texas Department of Transportation projects

$400,000 for improved sidewalk access for the disabled
   New traffic signals
   Intersections that would receive new traffic signals are Staples Street at Lipes Boulevard and Timbergate Road; Saratoga Boulevard at Rodd Field Road; and Kostoryz Road at Sunnybrook Road. Flashing signals would be installed at Carancahua Street at Coopers Alley; Ocean Drive at Cole Park; and Everhart Road at Schanen Boulevard.
   Installing new traffic signals at these intersections would mean that cars turning onto big streets from smaller side streets would not have to risk getting in front of oncoming cars, said Kevin Stowers, acting assistant director of engineering.
   'Their share of the costs'
   For its $400,000 investment in sidewalk accessibility for the disabled, the city will receive an additional $1.6 million in matching federal funds. The money for the Department of Transportation projects is to cover the city's obligation for right-of-way costs and utility adjustments, said transportation department Becky Kureska.
   "If the city can't contribute its share, the projects would be delayed," Kureska said. "Where (the city's) money comes from, we don't care, but they have to fund their share of the costs."
   The money would pay for ramps for wheelchair users, audible signals at intersections to help the visually impaired cross the street and larger buttons for pedestrians to push to get a "walk" signal, Stowers said.
   The neighborhood street reconstruction project will pave 10 roads that residents have petitioned the city to improve, Escobar said.
   "Right now, they have ditches, they don't have sidewalks," Escobar said. "All they have is ... base material or even a county-type road."
   One of those neighborhoods, on Annaville Road, has been on the city's to-do list since filing its petition in May 1987.
   Clifford Reusser, who lives on Annaville Road, said the road in front of his home needs all the improvement it can get.
   "This is the only street that isn't curbed, guttered and paved out here," Reusser said. "All the rest of them around here are. It's been that way for years."
   Time frame
   Streets that require resurfacing can be completed in two to four months. Streets that require rebuilding, with the repacking of material supporting the asphalt, require four to six months, Stowers said.
   New traffic signals also will be installed at three intersections to be chosen from 14 corners identified as a problem by the city. Expected to be completed a year to 18 months after the bond's passage, those projects would improve the flow of traffic.
   Reluctance
   Some who are opposed to higher taxes say they are willing to pay up for the sake of better streets, but only because the city's past inability to get the job done has forced their hand.
   "It bothers me that they have to raise taxes," said John Dunn, a local resident and retired electrical engineer.
   "I hate that we have to use bonds," Dunn said. "But on the other hand, I don't know what else we'd do if we didn't get them. Most (streets) either have holes or bumps in them."
   Others, such as longtime resident Glynn Pugh, a semiretired accountant and attorney, say they think the city should fund street repairs out of the general fund.
   But City Manager David Garcia has said the city's property tax cap prevents the city from raising sufficient revenue to pay for street repairs through the general fund budget. The tax cap is 68 cents per $100 valuation. Property taxes are currently 62 cents.
   Tax increases associated with these latest bond proposals would not count toward the cap, because they would be voter-approved.
   1986 bond problems

Click to enlarge

   The last time Corpus Christi voters approved debt to improve city streets was in 1986. The city had projected being able to raise money to pay the debt with the increased income that would come with large increases expected in the city's tax base.
   But the economy took a nose dive, property values dropped and the city was faced with issuing the bonds and raising taxes to cover the debt. Only now is the city finishing some of the projects to finish the package.
   Gradually, the city used the debt approved by voters in 1986 for specific road projects to pay for other work. The city also raised taxes twice, by 1.5 cents in 1987 and another 1.1 cents in 1995, to complete the work, according to Grace McNett, the city's former capital budget officer.
   A reconciliation of the 1986 bond package done by city staff in 1999 shows that the city, by delaying projects approved by voters, used the bond sale proceeds to complete millions of dollars worth of projects not included in the bond package sold to voters. And at times, the city council wavered on whether or not to complete the voter-approved projects at all.
   The reconciliation details how more than $3 million approved by voters for street projects in 1986 was diverted to projects not approved by voters. The diversions include $37,000 for the design of the Gateway Project, $45,000 to modify an Interstate 37 ramp to accommodate an outlet mall that was never built, along with other projects.
   But the reconciliation also shows that despite the belated street projects, city officials managed to use state money to stretch the $46 million authorized by voters for street projects to pay for more than $200 million worth of work.
   Pugh said it's an issue of trust.
   "I just spent $350 on repairs on the front end of my car that I wouldn't have spent if the streets were better," Pugh said.
   Despite the damage to his car, Pugh said he will not vote for the street improvement bond proposal because of the way the city handled the 1986 bond package.
   "They misused our money," Pugh said.
   But voters shouldn't get stuck on past bond packages, said Alan McClain, an investment manager who said he will vote for the street proposal. Instead, voters should give city officials a chance to succeed with the current proposals.
   "Fourteen years ago is a long time," McClain said. "We have to start doing the right thing somewhere. I'm willing to give them a chance."
   Further delay in repairing streets means that they would be more difficult and expensive to repair them in the future.
   To regain some confidence with taxpayers, the city is asking voters to pass street projects that can be substantially completed in three years to prove that the city can deliver on its promises.



Staff writer Chris Neely contributed to this report. Jason Ma can be reached at 886-3778, or by e-mail at maj@caller.com.

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