More than two dozen residents attended the City of Carroll’s informational session Monday night to voice their concerns with the proposed total reconstruction of six blocks of N. Adams Street beginning in spring 2023. The full scope of the approximately $3.6 million project is yet to be determined. City officials are considering the total replacement of Adams Street from U.S. Highway 30 to 13th Street. Depending on the council’s direction, this may include the buried utility lines, service lines, and sidewalks. The main concern voiced by those in attendance was the financial impact on individual property owners of replacing old or failing connections to the mains. City Manager Mike Pogge-Weaver says there are challenging decisions ahead for the council.
Under Carroll City Code, property owners are responsible for service lines from their home to the service main, including portions buried under the street. Due to the age and condition of some of these connections, the city may require property owners to replace them while the road is already torn up. Doing so would avoid needlessly tearing into the new surface and base. However, this could come at a high cost to property owners and residents, and several are concerned it could price them out of their homes.
Others questioned why Adams Street was chosen as the first major reconstruction project. Public Works Director Randy Krauel says their reasoning was based on condition and age.
Officials plan to undertake a new reconstruction project of a similar scale once every three years for decades to come as they work to replace some of the city’s century-old infrastructure. Mayor Mark Beardmore suggested that the current city council does not appear to favor special assessments to pay for project construction and is actively exploring multiple options.
Another possibility to reduce the impact on individual property owners is to increase water and sewer fees citywide by an additional three percent. This adjustment would be enough to cover service line replacements for this project and future projects but would apply to residents not benefiting directly from street/main replacement. The City of Carroll has scheduled another information session for residents tomorrow (Wednesday) night from 5:15 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Carroll City Hall.
***Disclosure: The author of this article owns property that would be directly impacted by the N. Adams Street reconstruction project***
