A Lot on Our Plate

August 17, 2011

There’s a lot on the City Council agenda Tuesday night, August 16. It seems like when we meet only once a month, as we do in the summer, business piles up.

Liquor Control Commission

The grocery stores finally can apply for licenses. Arnold’s Market, Neighborhood Co-op, Schnucks, Kroger, and Wal-Mart all have applications before us. I hope they’ll go smoothly and that soon Carbondale shoppers will be able to buy beer and wine with their food.

City Council

We have three major items on our agenda, all of which have potential long-term consequences for the city. These are:

1. Raising refuse and recycling rates.
2. Refinancing the General Obligation Bonds Series 2004 that funded the Civic Center and considering whether to pursue issuing bonds for the new fire station.
3. Considering a request by Lindsey Fisher for a special use permit to build a 4-plex next to the Library on Monroe St.

We will begin with a presentation by the League of Women Voters on their study of our water system.

Raising refuse and recycling fees

Our trash removal is supposed to pay for itself. However, because of ever-increasing costs, the fees — which show up on your water bill — no longer cover expenses. So, unfortunately, fees must go up. The proposal we will vote on raises the monthly refuse, recycling, sticker, special and voluntary extra collection, and commercial collection fees, and would add a $1.00 equipment fee (see the schedule on the last page of the agenda item)

It will still cost Carbondale less to have their trash hauled away than it will cost people outside the city.

I checked Burris Disposal’s standard rates to compare with the proposed rates hikes. Burris charges $15 a month for 70 gallons (2 standard trash cans), with each additional 35 gallons costing $4.00. They also pick up recycling.

Our fees would go from the current $11.50 a month for up to 1 cubic yard (200 gallons; about 6 trash cans) to $13.50 in 2012, $13.90 in 2013, and $14.30 in 2014, including recycling.

The resolution also has provisions for rooming houses, dumpsters, special and voluntary extra waste service, special waste collection stickers, and vacuum leaf collection — services private haulers do not generally provide.

I wish we could keep rates steady but right now our trash collection is in the red.

League of Women Voters Water Study Committee. Last year, when Mayor Cole proposed selling our water and sewer system to a private corporation, the League of Women Voters undertook a careful study of our system. They will present their findings at the beginning of the City Council meeting.

General Obligation Bonds

Bond issues go to the heart of City finances. Like the mortgage on a house, there’s nothing sexy about them. But like a mortgage, every time the City issues bonds it obligates our taxes for years into the future.

Right now we are paying off bonds for the Univerity Mall, the Civic Center, the Public Safety Center, and Mayor Cole’s 2006 road resurfacing project. The City is also committed to building a new fire station, but bonds have not yet been issued for that.

Should we take on this additional debt? That’s the major question facing us.

The Civic Center bonds balloon in 2013; a property tax increase would be required to cover the outstanding debt. With rates low, this seems a good time to re-finance. Actual refinancing would occur in October, but we need to get the ball rolling now.

Funding for the new fire station was planned as part of the sales tax increase for Saluki Way. However, the recession, sharply increased police and fire pension costs, and competition with internet sales has put a lot of strain on our budget.

The new fire station would be built on property the City bought for that purpose, behind the new Walgreens on Sycamore and Glenview. It would replace Station No. 2 at Walnut and Oakland.

Here’s the deal:

• If we only re-finance the existing bonds with a 10-year repayment schedule, payments will be about $81,030 less than we now pay.

• If we refinance the existing bonds with a 15-year repayment schedule, and also issue 20-year bonds for building the fire station (assuming interest rates come in as anticipated), payments would remain about the same as our current payments for our Civic Center 2004 bonds.

• In five years the bonds issued in 2006 to upgrade our streets will be paid off. We could at that point issue bonds to build the new fire station.

You can see the detailed explanation, with all our existing General Obligation bonds, their payout schedule, and average interest rates, here.

Last week I toured Fire Station No. 2. There is no doubt it needs to be replaced. It was built in 1960 when our town was far smaller, all firefighters were male, Walnut and Oakland were two-lane streets, and fire-trucks were not as tall and long. The building also needs several thousand dollars worth of maintenance.

I’ve thought long and hard about this. Unless I hear some very persuasive arguments, I plan to vote to refinance the existing 2004 Civic Center bonds for 10 years, but to defer the new fire station until 2018. Here’s why:

The economy is still precarious. State and federal budgets are extremely tight, meaning that we cannot expect grants and other monies to help cover our budget. Fire and police pension funds will probably remain high. All of our motor fuel taxes (ca. $648,000/year) and then some go toward paying for the 2006 street improvement bonds (ca. $750,000/year), so street maintenance must come from the General Fund. The City Manager said, in his budget message for this year’s budget, “During the last 3 years, 24 City positions have been eliminated, capital projects delayed, street and sidewalk repairs postponed. Programs have been cut back and funding for social agencies has been reduced.”

So, reluctantly, knowing that we truly need a new fire station, I think it’s wisest to defer this major project until the 2006 street improvement bonds are paid off.

Special use permit for Fisher

Lindsey Fisher is requesting a Special Use Permit to build a four-plex on 310 and 312 West Monroe Street. The lots are currently owned by the First Christian Church, and they adjoin the Public Library.

The Planning Commission denied their request to rezone the parcel from Professional Administrative Office (PA) to R-3, High Density Residential, so they returned with a request for a special use permit, which the Planning Commission approved. Council takes their action as advisory, not binding.

I oppose granting this special use permit. Special use permits exist primarily to give the surrounding neighbors significant control over their immediate environment. In this case, both the library and nearby neighbors oppose the permit. They believe that Fisher’s proposed 4-plex on this small parcel would be detrimental to the Library and the surrounding residences. As significantly, they have grave reservations about Fisher’s ability to maintain the property in a way that would enhance the redevelopment of the street.

This is a very important street. It is the main entrance to the library and so is, for many people, an important view of Carbondale.

As the city develops as a medical, cultural, and entertainment destination for the region, its historic character will become increasingly important. No development should be approved that conflicts with or hinders the area’s over-all improvement and development. Or that impinges negatively on its neighbors.

Other notes

Campus Habitat: August 9^th, the City gave Campus Habitat two weeks to vacate 820 W. Freeman, the old Forest Hall, and 25 rooms in 600 W. Freeman. Two buildings on S. Graham and S. Wall were posted as uninhabitable, for a total of 175 rooms or apartments deemed uninhabitable. SIUC is coordinating services for SIU students; many are international students and some  tenants are disabled. Campus Habitat has appealed; the hearing will be this Tuesday, August 16, at 4:00 p.m. in Room 103 of the Civic Center.

Economic Development Coordinator. Gary Williams is the new Economic Development Coordinator.  I have not yet met him, but he sounds well qualified and energetic.

SIUC fall semester begins. See SIUC Saluki Startup and Week of Welcome. Students and their families are arriving; classes begin next week. For the full line-up of activities, see the Events Calendar. City Council members will be serving lunch at Trueblood and Lentz Dining Halls Saturday, August 20. I’ll be at Lentz Hall with a “Meet Carbondale!” apron on. Thanks to Carbondale Main Street for organizing this event.