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When it comes to the quality of Spokane Valley roadways, the city gets a pass for now. But it may not do so a few years down the line.
That was the news from representatives of J-U-B Engineers Inc., a firm contracted by the city to evaluate the physical condition of Spokane Valley streets, who made a presentation to the City Council on Tuesday.
While Spokane Valley streets have been rated between “good” and “very good” in most instances, the snowstorms of early 2008 gave the asphalt a beating. And there’s no telling yet what this winter is going to do.
“You’ve got a lot of large cracks after a severe winter,” Chuck Larson, an engineer from J-U-B’s Utah office, told the council. “That’s the bad news.”
The good news is that the city can continue to fund street maintenance at its current levels and be able to at least slow down any further deterioration for the next few years. But Larson warned that at some point the city must be willing – and able – to spend more money. The more the roads drop in quality, the less likely they can be patch-sealed or repaired and will have to be reconstructed altogether. That could cost tens of millions of dollars to the city.
The city has struggled to keep dollars flowing into its road fund for years, and the topic has long been a topic of financial study sessions. In order to help stave off a looming $2.3 million deficit for street maintenance in 2010, City Council members reluctantly agreed to a 6-percent telephone utility tax last summer. That tax will begin to be collected this month, and the $3 million or so expected to be collected in 2009 and beyond will go directly for street upkeep.
That amount – plus gas taxes -- barely covers what’s needed for basic upkeep like sweeping, snowplowing and deicing. More aggressive preventative maintenance, like crack sealing, would require another $4 million each year.
Adding to the city’s pain is the fact the county won’t renew its snowplowing contract with the city next winter. That could mean the city will have to fund new private contractors or even buy its own snow-removal equipment.
Additional funding sources have been studied but many of them have been deemed unworkable or unusable at this time. An example of the latter is a proposed street utility tax, which would be assessed on those who license their cars and business owners who use commercial vehicles. That type of revenue stream, however, would first have to be approved by the state Legislature.
There is also a hope that assistance could come from the federal level. Spokane Valley has been earmarked to receive $3.6 million in economic stimulus package funding to repave Sprague Avenue from University to Evergreen roads.
J-U-B experts said the city could also stretch their road maintenance dollars farther by lowering its sights – but by just a bit. By concentrating on the major and secondary arterials, which also see much of the heavy truck traffic, those streets will last longer.
At the same time, residential streets would see less scrutiny but could be maintained at a “good” level. That’s because many have already been recently upgraded through the septic-tank elimination program.
Council members said they were worried about having to pay more in the future if they do less now to upkeep streets.
“What’s it going to cost our kids and grandkids?” asked Deputy Mayor Dick Denenny.
The representatives from J-U-B indicated they couldn’t know for sure until more time has passed. But it would be expensive, they said.
“We really won’t know for sure until we get a few more years under our belts,” Larson said.
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By
Mike Huffman
