Officials pave plan for road work

Posted: March 18, 2009

Village of Wales – The Village Board has agreed to borrow $800,000 to cover costs for road reconstruction projects slated for this summer – and repay the loan in the next three years using an increase of property taxes and funds from the annual road budget.

The decision, the board hopes, will set the village on a regular schedule of doing a major road project every three years, with the village borrowing and repaying similar loans within three years for those projects.

Village President Jeffery Flaws, at the board's meeting Monday, said the village has tried to keep a conservative road work plan in the past few years to help maintain the village tax levy but, in the process, has neglected steady roadwork to be done.

As more roads fall further into disrepair, Flaws said, the village can no longer focus on doing a single major project that consumes most of the road budget for years while being paid off, leaving little for other road upkeep elsewhere.

"We don't have the funds in our regular operation budget to keep up with work that needs to be done," he said.

The Village Board determined last February that a method to finance road projects for the long term was needed, and began working with the village engineers and financial advisors to determine a priority list of road projects and a repayment schedule using bonding to cover the costs, Flaws said.

The village will borrow the $800,000 from the State of Wisconsin Board of Commissioners of Public Lands, with the interest accrued during the three years, while being repaid, included in that total, Flaws said.

Although a priority list has been compiled by village engineers, the actual number of projects to be done this year is contingent on the bids the village receives from construction companies in the next couple of months, he said.

"We have our dollar figure set (of about $700,241), and we are working down from that figure," he said. "If the bids come in more than we anticipate, we will pick and choose the projects that will cost below that amount."

Flaws said placing the village on a three-year cycle by doing a larger, more village-wide project will help cut construction costs because of the higher volume of work in a consolidated area, limiting the costs of construction equipment transportation.

The loan taken out this year will cover the road projects in 2009, and be paid off by 2012, Flaws said. The next major road project would then begin in 2012, with the first payment on a new loan for that second project not due until 2013, he said. Then, the village will pay off that loan in three years, with the next major road project beginning in 2015, allowing for the process to repeat, he said.

Flaws said homeowners will have an increase in their property taxes – varying on the assessed values of homes – to pay off the loans. For example – according to preliminary financial figures – a home with an assessed valued of $281,000 will have a $187 property tax increase beginning next year that will remain indefinitely, he said.

The last significant road project in the village was done about seven years ago with the reconstruction and storm sewer installation along Main Street and James Street in the downtown area. The village, at that time, had taken out a bond to help cover the $750,000 cost of the project, using up nearly all the funds in the annual road budget for about five years and leaving plans for most other road work abandoned, Flaws said.

The extreme freezing and thawing of the past two winters has left many village roads in even worse shape, he said. "We have come to a point where we can watch them deteriorate more or begin a plan that will responsibly address the problems," Flaws said.

The 3-year-cycle plan should help to put all the village roads on a regular 20 to 25 year reconstruction schedule, Flaws said.

The village will use its regular annual road budget to help reduce the debt service on the $800,000 loan, while using the rest primarily for smaller repair roadwork and upkeep, such as patching, shoulder work and snow plowing.

A complete list of the potential road projects is available for public review at the Village Hall, 129 W. Main St.

The village is currently repaying two other bonds that were taken out for financing the construction of the Wales Community Park and the Wales / Genesee Fire Station. The fire station bond will be retired in 2023 and the park bond in 2026, Flaws said.

The village's highway and transportation budget this year was $180,783, up 4.3 percent from $173, 286 budgeted in 2008.

2009 road projects

The 17 priority road projects to be

completed this year include the

reconstruction of:

• Criglas Road, from Highway 83 to Cardiff Road

• Black Earth Road, from Gwilym Court to Thomas Road

• Cymric Court, from Taliesin Road to Highway 83

• Highland Street, from South Street to James Street

A complete list of potential road projects is available at the Village Hall, 129 W. Main St.