| Andover Council reviews 157th Avenue assessment policy |
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| Tuesday, 22 September 2009 | ||
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Staff writer The Andover City Council Sept. 15 gave direction on what the assessment policy should be for property owners impacted by the 157th Avenue reconstruction project.
City Engineer and Public Works Superintendent David Berkowitz said the city’s assessment manual allows the council to weigh a number of factors to determine what the assessments should be. Andover’s normal policy is for city funds and thus the general tax base to support 75 percent of the costs. The remaining 25 percent would be picked up by property owners adjacent to a road project, which would have to be paid off in eight years. For 157th Avenue, the council said it would be willing to support city funds covering 80 percent of the project, assessments covering 20 percent and allowing property owners up to 10 years to pay this off. The council is also willing to explore deferment options on the second lot of a subdividable property. The exact deferment policy is less clear at this point than the assessment percentage and the years of pay-off. There will be a Wednesday, Nov. 4 public hearing on the 157th Avenue assessment roll during the regular council meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. The council changed the meeting date from Tuesday, Nov. 3 because of the election. City Administrator Jim Dickinson presented three different options at the Sept. 15 meeting with assessments paying for the usual 25 percent of the project or 20 percent or 15 percent. The council chose 20 percent. Under this scenario, the city would pay $359,954.02 and the assessments would total $72,376.21. Each urban lot in the municipal urban service area (MUSA) would pay $896.32. The city engineer’s feasibility report had estimated a $1,490 assessment. The assessment is much lower not only because the contribution percentage dropped from 25 percent to 20 percent, but also because project costs came in lower. The larger rural lots outside the MUSA would be assessed $3,074.78 per lot. The feasibility report had estimated a $5,110 assessment. The interest rate will be 4.5 percent. If the urban lot owner chooses to pay off the assessment in 10 years like the council said it would allow, they would end up paying $1,132.80, which amounts to $896.32 toward the principal and $236.48 for interest. The annual payment would be $113.28. For rural lots, the total payment would be $3,885.90. The principal is $3,074.78 and the interest amounts to $811.12. Councilmember Don Jacobson asked for some examples of what other residents have paid recently for assessments. At the Sept. 15 meeting, the 2009 street reconstruction assessment roll was approved. Residents in the north half of the Woodland Meadows development will cover a total of 25 percent of the project costs. However, the council is giving these residents 10 years to pay off the assessments and they also have the same interest rate of 4.5 percent that 157th Avenue residents will receive. The Woodland Meadows assessment amount is $5,377.09 per lot because all these lots are outside the MUSA. This amount is much higher than what 157th Avenue residents outside the MUSA are paying. Jacobson said because of the higher daily traffic 157th Avenue sees, he was fine with a lower assessment and the rest of the council agreed. According to 2005 daily traffic volume statistics shown on a map in the city’s comprehensive plan, 177th Lane east of Verdin Street had an average daily traffic count of 115 vehicles. It is just north of the street project area. Meanwhile, 157th Avenue just east of Crosstown Boulevard/Prairie Road had 1,800 vehicles per day during the 2005 traffic counts. Moving further east toward the Ham Lake border and the more rural lots, the daily traffic count dipped to 800 vehicles. Eric Hagen is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
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