Citizens for Better Streets working to provide facts, real data
The Citizens for Better Streets committee has been busy the past few months promoting Proposition 2A, a measure that will increase Cañon City sales tax by 1 percent for 10 years to generate about $3.5 million annually specifically to fund street improvements and repairs.
Ashley Smith, Cañon City councilwoman and spokesperson for the Citizens for Better Streets committee, said the group also has been dispelling rumors and myths about the funds.
“The committee has been really focused on using facts and realistic numbers,” she said. “The ballot includes a sunset, accountability for an independent audit, as well as specific writing that the money can only be used on reconstruction and repairs and nothing else; that helps ensure the money will be spent appropriately and for streets only.”
The committee has heard from some citizens that rather than working on the streets in the downtown area the last couple of years, that the $1.6 million spent there could have been used on other city-owned streets and would have solved the problem.
“It wouldn’t have solved the problem,” Smith said. “The downtown streets needed to be fixed anyway because of waterlines leaking and stormwater issues.”
It also was more economical to work on sidewalk upgrades at the same time, she said.
That entire downtown project, including the sidewalks and streets was $1.6 million.
“It costs $1.8 million to reconstruct one mile of street,” she said. “In the big picture, it wasn’t that much money spent. It was a street that needed reconstructed anyway.”
Smith said the committee also hears from citizens about the roundabout on Dozier, saying the city shouldn’t be spending money on that project.
“That is a CDOT project, not a city project,” Smith said.
Of the $2.5 million street realignment and roundabout project, the city’s portion of the cost is $220,000 she said.
Smith said if 2A passes, the current street budget will not be used anywhere else.
“The 2A money can only be used on reconstruction or repair, specifically no new employees, no new administration, no new heavy equipment,” she said. “We still have to have the street budget for preventative maintenance, snow plowing, mowing easements, alleyways, leaf pickup — we still have to provide all of those services out of the street budget.”
Sixty-two percent of the city’s budget is revenues generated from sales tax paid by local residents, Fremont County residents and other visitors to the community.
“They all help pay our bills,” she said. “If someone spends $100 in town, you would be spending one extra dollar if this passes.”
— Carie Canterbury
Citizens’ Top Priorities
In what should the city invest?
(Essential/very important) Scientific survey / online survey
Road improvement: 91% / 92%
Public safety: 82% / 81 %
Stormwater improvement: 62% / 67%
Downtown revitalization/economic development: 58% / 69%
Parks and recreation improvement: 54% / 57%
River corridor improvement: 54% / 61%
Overall aesthetics (signage, buildings, facade) 48% / 61%
Future trail development: 47% / 50%
— Citizen survey results provided by the City of Cañon City
Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of weekly articles breaking down the recently released results from the 2016 Citizen Survey administered by the National Research Center for the City of Cañon City.
Ninety-one percent of respondents to a recent citizen survey said roads should be the number one priority in which the city should invest.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever seen roads as number one,” said City Administrator Tony O’Rourke. “Ninety-one percent said that’s where you should be investing; we’ve got an opportunity on Nov. 8 — it’s time to step up.”
Voters will consider Proposition 2A on Nov. 8, a measure that will increase sales tax by 1 percent for 10 years to generate about $3.5 million annually to fund street improvements and repairs.
If the question is approved, those expenditures will be subject to an annual independent audit for public review.
Seventy-four percent of the survey respondents said they support a 1 percent sales tax increase to fund street improvements. Only 16 percent of respondents strongly opposed the proposed increase.
A similar ballot question has failed three separate times in the last 15 years.
“We have been getting some really positive feedback from the community on Proposition 2A,” said Ashley Smith, Cañon City Councilwoman and spokesperson for the Citizens for Better Streets committee. “The committee has been extremely pro-active in reaching out and educating our citizens about the street issues.”
In other priorities, public safety was ranked number two on the citizen survey. O’Rourke said public safety typically is ranked number one in the other communities where he has worked.
“That tells me they recognize it’s a pretty safe place, but we shouldn’t take that for granted,” O’Rourke said. “We need to support our police, give them the tools, the equipment, the training they need to do their job. That’s an asset you don’t want to just flitter away.”
Stormwater ranked third on the public’s list of priorities, according to the survey. Sixty-two people said this is an area in which the city needs to invest.
“I find that interesting because that is what I call the ‘invisible infrastructure,'” O’Rourke said. “You don’t really see it, it’s underground, but here, I think people recognize when it rains you can see the result of the lack of adequate stormwater facilities.”
O’Rourke said the current stormwater fee only generates sufficient monies to maintain the status quo, it’s not doing anything to create income for more capital improvements.
The city has $55 million in identified stormwater facility improvements that there are no resources to make happen, he said.
“We are going to be undergoing a rate study for both water utility and stormwater (in 2017),” he said. “That will probably tell us we may need to re-examine our rates because we’re not generating the income necessary to get in front of the problems. This problem is only going to grow.”
Carie Canterbury: 719-276-7643, canterburyc@canoncitydailyrecord.com
