Prospect Hts. roads referendum 'has a chance,' Vole says

The number one complaint Prospect Heights Mayor Dolly Vole says she hears from residents is the poor condition of the city's roadways.

"When people come to council, they complain about roads. But the city doesn't have funds," she said.

Now residents get to determine if they're willing to raise property taxes to pay for road repair and maintenance.

On Nov. 2, voters will consider a referendum that, if approved, would give the city an additional $15 million to fix roadways. The money would pay for a permanent road maintenance program and the replacement of snowplows from the 1980s. The funds would also help support storm sewer and related drainage projects.

Almost half the city's roads were labeled "poor" or "very poor" by city engineers in a 2008 local roads condition analysis. City roads overall received a "poor" rating.

Maintaining the roads without occasionally fully rebuilding them is "extremely difficult," engineers wrote in 2008.

The last time the roads underwent major work was 2005, and before that 1998.

A road maintenance program could extend the life span of a newly reconstructed road from 10-12 to 20-23 years, according to the city.

Most of the city's 178 roads are in residential areas, making up about 200,000 linear feet of roads with local traffic, according to the city engineering department.

Which roads exactly would be fixed hasn't been determined, but Vole said the worst roads would be done first. She said it's also hard to estimate the total cost of roadway repairs until knowing exactly which roads will be repaired.

She recommended that all engineering on roads be completed at the start of the maintenance program should any federal stimulus money become available for "shovel-ready" projects.

The length of the bond issue is still to be determined by the city council. Aldermen have discussed either a 15- or 20-year bond.

For a 15-year bond, property owners would pay a $0.2404 tax rate per $100, or slightly less than their payment to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District on 2008 taxes, according to the city.

For a 20-year bond, residents would pay a $0.2034 tax rate per $100, or about half what they paid Cook County in 2008.

Prospect Heights voters have historically rejected referendums that increase taxes for public services. Most recently, a police protection tax was voted down in 2009.

Alderman Gerald Anderson, who voted against putting the road bond referendum on the ballot, said the city should wait until the economy improves before working on the roads.

"(People) are hurt for money. They don't have incomes to come in and subsidize all this stuff," Anderson said. "Everybody wishes that everything was back to normal, but it isn't."

Vole said she is aware Prospect Heights residents pay high taxes in general, but noted that money doesn't go to the city for services.

So how confident is she that this referendum will be approved?

"I think it has a chance," Vole said. "In order to enjoy the community, you need to have infrastructure."

Informational meetings about the referendum will be held Oct. 4, Oct. 18 and Nov. 1 at City Hall, 8 N. Elmhurst Road.