The Bumpy Road to Getting Your Lousy Street Resurfaced

Running on empty

"There is no money for the city to repave the street," City Manager Don Johnson advised Forestdale neighbors at a public hearing of necessity. "If it's going to be repaired, it's going to have to be paid for by the residents."

Johnson said Royal Oak does not spend "one penny of local property tax money" on roads. The only funds the city has are its share of revenues collected through state motor fuels taxes and vehicle registration fees, he said.

Bumpy process

More than a year ago, a "Request for Public Improvement" petition was circulated on Forestdale and a slight majority of 48 property owners expressed a desire to resurface the 27-foot road. That put in motion a process for the city commission to vote to order preliminary plans and a cost estimate.

After residents learned they would have to pay an estimated $85 per lineal foot to build anew curbs and gutters and resurface the road with hot mixed asphalt — that's a $3,400 special assesment plus interest for a 40-foot lot — a new petition was circulated. Many neighbors, formally in favor of the project, opted out the second time around and it changed the dynamics.

"It's caused quite a bit of confusion," said Michael Rex, a Forestdale homeowner.

It also created a couple of neighborhood factions. 

The decision came down to money, Rex said, because no one could dispute "the street is a disaster."

After listening to residents at Monday's public hearing, the city commission opted to do nothing, which put an end to the road resurfacing project.

Road to improvement

City Engineer Matt Callahan said records indicate Forestdale has not been resurfaced in 40 years.

The city has approximately $300,000 to spend on local streets per year, he said. If he spent all the money on resurfacing side streets, he figures he could improve about two blocks per year.

"It would take hundreds of years to get to every street," he said, so funds are spent on maintenance throughout the city.

Callahan advises neighborhoods with poor roads that there is a process Royal Oakers can go through, but there must be willingness for residents to have their property assessed to pay for the improvements.

Here's the procedure:

• Request a petition form from the City Engineer's Office. The form will include a rough cost estimate for the project, the limits of the paving work and the type of construction to be performed.
• Circulate the petition and secure signatures with the printed names on the petition from owners of the listed properties. If necessary, the name of the owner of record and their principal mailing address can be secured from the City Assessor’s office.
• Return the petition to the City Clerk’s Office.
• The City Engineer will calculate the percentage of assessable frontage signing in favor of the project. This will be reported to the city commission. The city commission will decide whether to accept the petition as valid and adopt the "First Resolution" which would direct the preparation of detailed cost estimates and a special assessment roll showing estimated cost for each property.
• As part of special assessment street paving, driveway approaches will be replaced in concrete.

In all, a series of five resolutions must be passed by the city commission for the project to move forward. If all resolutions pass, the time allowed for special assessments to be repaid for road improvements is 15 years.