• Johnson County Board of Supervisors: Informational Meeting Regarding the Proposed Improvement to 12th Avenue Extension

• Discussion from the Public

Chairperson Neuzil called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Coralville City Hall Council Chambers at 7:05 p.m. Members present were: Pat Harney, Mike Lehman, Terrence Neuzil, Sally Stutsman, and Carol Thompson.

Others present were North Liberty City Manager Brian James, Executive Assistant Mike Sullivan, Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak, Assistant Planning and Zoning Administrator R.J. Moore, Coralville City Council members Tom Gill, Henry Herwig, and John Weihe, Iowa City School District Representative Lane Plugge, and Coralville City Manager Kelly Hayworth.

Thompson said that this meeting is for the finance proposal of the proposed improvements to 12 Avenue Extension and the engineering study will come later. She said there were 2 givens when they started discussing the extension which are 1) a school will be constructed at Forevergreen Road and 12th Avenue and 2) Coralville plans to annex 12th Avenue. Thompson explained that it is Johnson County policy not to improve roads that are going to be annexed. She and Harney were appointed to represent the Board of Supervisors on a committee with Coralville, North Liberty, and the School District to work out the extension. Thompson said her and Harney’s goals were to preserve the interest of Johnson County landowners on 12th Avenue, and keep the costs to County taxpayers as low as possible since this cost had not been planned for in the County budget projections. She said the Committee agreed a new road is needed on 12th Avenue because the road does not have sidewalks, and is not suitable for school buses, parents dropping children off, and children walking to school. Thompson said the Committee also agreed a T-intersection needs to be built at Forevergreen Road. She said that in order complete the road by Fall 2005, they will need excellent cooperation between Johnson County, Coralville, North Liberty, and the School District, as well as voluntary participation by all residents along 12th Avenue. She said if some property owners reject the proposal and require condemnation, the road project could be delayed. Thompson felt the Committee worked to accommodate everyone and get the road built with as little pain to any one entity as possible. Thompson said that the numbers they worked with are estimates complied by the Coralville Engineering Department using their experience in building other roads and their knowledge of the local construction market. She hoped the final costs won’t differ much, but they will be a little different than the numbers used by the Committee.

Thompson discussed the timeline for the project. She said the first hurdle is the DOT bidding process which starts in January, but preliminary plans are required by July. The first notice to consulting engineers went out March 8, 2004. On March 15, 2004 a letter to property owners along 12th Avenue was sent to notify them that the project was proceeding and notifying them of this meeting and another meeting in July. Coralville staff has been meeting with property owners from Forest Edge, the Catholic Church, and Jim Kempf who lives on the corner of Forevergreen Road and 12th Avenue. Thompson said that they hope to enter into an engineering agreement by April 15. Thompson said in the first 28E Agreement between Johnson County, Coralville and North Liberty, each will pay the following engineering costs up front: Johnson County $100,000, Coralville $100,000, and North Liberty $30,000. She said this money will be deducted later from the amount put towards the total project. On July 1, 2004 Johnson County and North Liberty will make initial payments to Coralville to pay consulting engineers. By July 15, 2004 the 60% completed plan will go to the DOT. Thompson said there is a second meeting for property owners around July 15 where individual issues about road construction can be discussed. By August 31, 2004 they hope to have a 28E Agreement completed between Johnson County, North Liberty, and Coralville designating the payment arrangements for the remainder of the project. Coralville will be the managing entity. They hope to have agreements with property owners completed by the end of September and begin annexation. Thompson said that the DOT bid letting will be in January 2005 and they hope to begin construction in March. She said that this leaves a tight schedule to finish the project by the opening of the school on August 1, 2005.

Thompson discussed the 12th Avenue Extension Cost Sharing estimates. She said there are 5,286 feet of centerline for proposed road, which equals 10,572 linear feet of approximate frontage. 1,600 feet (15%) belong to Coralville, 487 feet (5%) belong to North Liberty, and 8,485 feet (80%) belong to Johnson County. Thompson said based on these numbers, the estimated cost per frontage foot is $171.23 and after Federal funds are subtracted, the cost is $64.15 per frontage foot. Thompson said that Coralville’s policy is to assess homeowners 100% of the road construction cost to residents for the road in front of their properties. Johnson County asked Coralville to make a concession for this project and Coralville has agreed to charge 15% of the total cost, which is $25.68 per frontage foot. Thompson said the estimated cost of the road is $1,810,200, with the School District paying for the additional turning lanes required. Coralville applied for Federal funds through JCCOG and received $1 million. Johnson County applied for trails money through ECICOG and received $132,000. Thompson said that leaves $678,200 that has to come from local sources. She explained that when Coralville annexed Forest Edge subdivision they made an agreement that the subdivision would pay for improvements to the road and their share is $121,488. Coralville also has a similar agreement with the Catholic Church who will pay $49,145. She said that North Liberty agreed to pay 5%, or $33,910. Thompson said that if the remaining property owners in the county volunteer to be annexed into Coralville, they will be assessed 15% of the estimated cost. She said that property owners will also be asked to donate right-of-way for easements that might be necessary. Thompson said that if the residents agree, the cost totals $217,928. There is a remainder of $255,730 which Johnson County and Coralville have agreed to split. Thompson said that they worked very hard on this committee to come up with a solution that is fair to everyone, but also meets the goal of having a safe road built by the time school starts in Fall 2005. Harney said the easements are mostly construction easements and will take very little ground.

David Hicks asked if this amount represents the total cost that they will ever have to pay or if there will be annexation fees and additional costs like sewer and water. Coralville City Administrator Kelly Hayworth said the numbers only cover street, storm sewer and sidewalk, not sewer or water. He said water could be included if property owners want that option. Hicks replied that the past mayor said that he had never heard of anyone paying twice or being assessed more than once for their property. Hayworth said that is true for streets once someone has paid for the upgrade. Hicks asked how much more residents would have to pay for sewer and water. Hayworth said he has no idea what the cost is for the sewer and it would depend on where the property is located. Thompson asked Hayworth if people can continue using their private wells and septic systems if they choose to do so. Hayworth said it is not required to hook up to Coralville’s sewer and water systems. Harney replied that he believes that State law says that properties within 150 feet of a sewer line are required to access city sewer lines, but water hook up is optional. Dan Ciha asked if he would be forced to join the City’s system if his neighbor did. Hayworth said yes and added that sewer lines are best addressed on a neighborhood basis, so the City works with an entire area at once instead of with individuals. Coralville City Councilman John Weihe said the scope of the project makes a big difference as well because the unit cost is significantly less if the line is laid all at once as compared to laying the line one piece at a time. He said there are people whose sewer systems are failing and want to get on the city sewer line.

Bobby White asked if a sewer line will accompany the road. Hayworth said that there is no new sewer line planned with the road unless people want to be hooked up to a line. Lehman asked when a line would be installed. Hayworth said there are a lot of variables affecting the timeframe. He said the City could have a map by the July meeting that shows where the sewer comes from. Evelyn Bollinger said sewer could come from the back as well as water. Hayworth agreed and said that people who developed land behind a current property owner would be required to bring water and sewer up to their property line. He said in most cases, that is how the water and sewer will get to current property owners. Thompson asked how the cost of hooking up to city sewer relates to the cost of a new septic system. Hayworth said he did not know because the City rarely has to install individual sewer lines. North Liberty City Manager Brian James asked if people would have the option to hook into the city system if at some point in the future their water or septic system fails. John Kane replied that if that happened, a resident might force their neighbors to hook up as well. Hayworth said he did not know if that was true; they would have to check to what point on the property the 150-foot rule applies. Ciha said it would be less expensive to run the line to a property while the construction is taking place. Hayworth said that if development occurs behind existing residents, the sewer would be part of the development and be brought the existing property line, which would cost those residents less.

Hicks asked if property owners would pay full taxes if they are not using the City’s sewer and water services. Hayworth said taxes are not affected by services because those services are fee based. James said that the sewer service is based on a fee for use. Hicks asked how much their taxes would increase. Hayworth said that Johnson County and Coralville use the same assessor, so it will be the difference between the County and Coralville’s levy rate. Lehman said the Johnson County Assessor evaluates all the property in the county, except for Iowa City. Stutsman explained that tax information is available on the Johnson County website at www.johnson-county.com.

Kane asked why 15% is based on the total cost instead of the local cost. Thompson said they decided that 15% is the fairest and it is still significantly less than paying 100%.

Hicks asked how the project will proceed if the residents don’t agree to the annexation plan. Thompson said that Coralville intends to annex this land, so if residents do not agree with the plan, property owners would then pay 100% when the land is annexed and will probably be subject to involuntary annexation if the surrounding land is taken. Weihe said there is no exact timeline for involuntary annexation, but if property owners are in the 2-mile growth boundary, they will be annexed at some point in the future. Neuzil said the reality is that there will be a lot of development in this area and the cities will grow significantly in the next 5 to 10 years.

White asked if there is a payment schedule. Hayworth said property owners have 10 years to pay, and payments start 30 days after the project is accepted. He said that if it takes 6 months to get through the paperwork, then they have 30 days after the 6 months to pay a lump sum with no interest. He said that after that point, residents then have 10 years to pay plus interest and it is payable at the same time as property taxes. Harney said the payment schedule can be set up for less than 10 years. A member of the public asked if he will have to pay twice since his property sits on 2 streets that Coralville wants to upgrade in the next few years. Hayworth said yes. Tammy Ollinger asked what Mr. Kempf will pay under his special arrangement. Thompson said Kempf has a special arrangement because he is on the corner of Forevergreen Road and 12th Avenue where the T-intersection will be, which changes the amount of right-of-way and his frontage feet. She said there is not a written agreement with him to pay a special amount. Hayworth said Kempf is the only property owner that they are aware of that would actually have to give up land.

Ollinger said that the handful of people in this high growth area shouldn’t have to foot the bill for something they didn’t ask for, although she does appreciate the 15% versus 100% cost. Kane agreed, saying that if the cost is 100%, they would all have to move. Michael Dooley asked if the County is including the 8-ft. path in order to qualify for the additional funding. Thompson said it makes sense to have an 8 ft. path on one side of the road to allow for children who ride bikes. James said that the 8-ft. path is a City design standard for arterial streets. Bollinger asked why they are being assessed for improvements on Forevergreen Road. Thompson replied that North Liberty is paying for those improvements.

Frank Eischens asked if there will be any efforts to maintain the natural beauty of the area and if they anticipate 12th Avenue being the main arterial road with large increases in traffic. James said it would be difficult to tell. Eischens asked if there are going to be other ways to get to the school. Weihe said there will be other connections to 12th Avenue, but it will be the collector road. Hayworth said that the reasons they’re looking at Forevergreen Road is because of the concern regarding connecting roads.

Peter Husak said this road isn’t a residential road. He said everybody uses it and he doesn’t see why the people who live on the road have to pay for it. Ciha asked if Coralville would ask residents to pay for the concrete to upgrade an existing road in town. Hayworth said they have had existing homeowners in several locations in Coralville that have had to pay the full cost for the upgrades. He said that is why the Committee suggested that the County and the City share the costs with this project. He said that the entities sought funds from ECICOG and JCCOG because this street will be an arterial road. Victor Zender asked if he understood correctly that property owners would be responsible for maintaining the 8 ft. section of sidewalk and if they could use a truck with a snowplow on it. Neuzil said yes. A member of the public asked if residents would then be responsible for damages the snowplow might inflict. Hicks asked why sidewalks in towns where there are more people are smaller, but in a County area they need 8 ft. sidewalks. Weihe replied that they changed the design standard to have an 8 ft. sidewalk on one side and 4 ft. on the other. A member of the public asked if this project warrants an 8 ft. sidewalk because where there are 8 ft. bike trails in the city, most people still ride on the road. He said the City and County are requiring something that people will not use. Hayworth replied that a lot of kids will use the path, because it is a safe way to get from point A to point B. Harney said they are talking about children going to school, not adults that might use the path. Kane said he doesn’t have a problem with the path, but he does have a problem paying for the project.

Hicks asked how wide the easement will be and if any trees will be cut down or ground leveled because they are on the easement. Hayworth said the intent of the July meeting is to show detailed drawings of the path and explained that the easements are temporary and will be very specific to the property. Dooley said that his land is on the 8ft. sidewalk side and he put a $15,000 septic system in his front yard 2 years ago. He asked if the City can assure him that his septic system won’t be damaged because it is almost in the road easement. He said that the County told him where to place it and also installed it. Hayworth said he would want to make sure the contractor and engineer know where the laterals on the septic system are, but added that the road will be going away from his property. Dooley said the laterals on his septic system are fairly high and could be easily crushed. Assistant Planning and Zoning Administrator R.J. Moore said he doesn’t think the road construction would interfere with the septic system.

A member of the public asked if there will be ditches along the side of the road. Thompson replied that the road will be constructed to City specifications with concrete curbs and storm sewers. Hayworth explained that the sidewalk will be where the ditches are now.

Rick Williams asked why the project is contingent on voluntary annexation. Thompson said it is Coralville policy that residents pay 100% of the improvement costs, so it was the Board’s goal to negotiate something more fair. She said this arrangement saves Coralville the cost of involuntary annexation and property owners save 85% on the improvements. Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak added that this arrangement expedites the process. Ciha asked what happens if there isn’t a consensus. Thompson replied that it could mean that the road will not be completed by the time the school opens. Lehman said it would delay the project and raise the costs. Bollinger asked if the 15% is capped. Hayworth said when a preliminary plat for assessment is formed, the City can no longer increase the assessment. Thompson said the 15% wouldn’t change, but the $1.8 million could increase or decrease. Hayworth said certain things, such as a detailed survey, need to be done before they can answer questions. Harney said construction costs in Johnson County have been down because of interest rates and lower contractor rates. He said prices could change when the bid is let. Thompson said that these prices were estimated in January. Hayworth said that they have a certain percentage calculated in as a contingency, so if that money isn’t spent, property owners will get credit. Hayworth said the contingency will cover any unknowns that might occur while the project is underway. He said their goal is to show each individual property owner on a map where grading in the path would occur.

Donna Zender asked if developers will pay the same 15% cost for their frontage. Hayworth replied that developers pay 100% of the cost. He said the Stables had to pay 100% of the road for the length of their development. James said that future developers will not have pay for the street because it will already be in place.

Caroline Prymek asked if they would know in July if they would have to take her house because it sits very close to the right-of-way. Hayworth said they do not anticipate taking any homes. Thompson said that the Committee thought the road and sidewalk will stay within the existing right-of-way. Ciha asked if there are any City laws regarding how far back a house has to sit. Hayworth replied that some houses are grandfathered in.

Coralville City Council Member Henry Herwig said that the entities involved voted to make this a priority by allocating funds for this project, which allowed them to receive the $1 million in Federal funds. Ciha said they appreciate that because this is better than what they were hearing about this project 2 years ago. Neuzil said Johnson County doesn’t pay for roads that they know will be annexed because the County pays for roads through the rural portion of the budget. He said that this means people who live in all the unincorporated parts of Johnson County will pay for a road that will be in a city. Bollinger asked why funds weren’t allocated in the school bond issue for the roads. Iowa City Community School District Representative Lane Plugge said they typically don’t allocate funds, but they are paying for the cost of the turning lanes. Stutsman said Bollinger brought up a good point, because she was disappointed that all the entities involved did not come together and plan for the project. She said that suddenly the School District decided to build in a new area and everyone is scrambling to figure out what to do. Stutsman said she hopes in the future everyone can work together to coordinate projects before this point. Lehman said that even though they are on the fast track, they have tried to come together without pointing fingers. He said Johnson County still gets 17-18% of city taxes. He said that at some point in time this land would have been annexed to Coralville regardless of the project. Lehman complimented Thompson and Harney for their work on behalf of the Board of Supervisors.

Harney said the County was able to get the $132,000 from ECICOG because they are tying the 8 ft. sidewalk into other trails. Prymek asked what the easement process is. Hayworth replied that there will be a legal document with the assessment and the details of the assessment. Bollinger said she appreciated the work the committee has done. Kane agreed. Neuzil said that if anyone has questions in the future, they will answer them at any time. He said once the entities have more details about how they are going to use the existing right-of-ways, they will be working a lot closer with property owners. Thompson said the July meeting is intended as an open house where engineers will be present to answer individual questions. Moore explained that the County will send out letters to all the property owners about the next meetings. Harney pointed out that Coralville is taking the lead for engineering and oversight of this project. Mike Kattchee asked how many property owners are involved. Moore replied that there are 29. Kattchee said that is a pretty small number, so people should be able to meet with staff individually if they want to. Neuzil agreed.

Adjourned at 8:35 p.m.

Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor

By Casie Kadlec, Recording Secretary