Endorsement: 'Yes' to repair Green Oaks roads
Green Oaks voters in the March primary election will be asked whether the village should borrow $18.8 million through a bond issue to repair nearly all the town's streets.
This is the first ballot question put to voters by elected officials in the village's 55-year history, and it comes with a potentially big impact for residents in cost and convenience. Green Oaks' roads are tested yearly, says Mayor Bernard Wysocki, and the reserves required to temporarily patch them are dwindling.
If approved, the new work would take place over eight years. The annual cost to the owner of a home valued at $300,000 is estimated at $453; $936 for the owner of a $600,000 home; and $1,418 for the owner of a $900,000 home.
The plan is to repair or rebuild 24 miles of village streets, or about 88 percent of the total in Green Oaks.
This is a comprehensive program covering the majority of streets in the village. The entire pavement - typically 4 inches - would be removed and replaced and/or a new pavement base built on another 14 miles. On remaining streets, the top 2 inches would be milled and replaced.
Green Oaks roads are beyond the help of temporary patching that has to be redone in several years, costing more money. We recommend residents vote "yes" for a lasting program of road quality.