Bond sales to enable street repairs

The five-year program is estimated to cost $500,000 each year which will be paid through General Obligation Bonds, according to Fort Scott City Manager Joe Turner.

Turner said G. O. Bonds are basically a loan to the city from a bank made "in good faith" that the city will make the payments. He added the payments will be made through a 1.3 mill levy increase each year until the program is completed. According to Turner, the city will be selling bonds for $600,000 with the additional $100,000 going toward the sidewalk improvement program.

With the improvements to the streets Turner said he hopes to maintenance costs go down which could reduce the mill levy increase if the savings are significant enough. He added though the program is a five-year program he believe citizens will see a significant difference after three years.

Turner said the program is a result of concerns the citizens have about the condition of streets in the city as noted in the comprehensive plan.

"The residents had big concern of the city streets in the neighborhoods and the city streets," Turner said. "We just want to make sure that we do the wishes of the citizens ... and that's what we're planning on giving them with major street improvements."

The work will be done by APAC-Missouri, Inc. out of Columbia, Mo. rather than having city crews to do it. Turner said having a contractor perform the work will speed up the progress and allow city crews to perform other tasks.

"This way, they will come in, do the overlay and then their gone," Turner said.

Streets slated to be overlaid in 2009 include:

* Lincoln Street from Wall Street to Oak Street

* 1st Street from Hill Street to Arthur Street

* Barbee Street from Wall Street to 3rd Street

* 8th Street from Shepherd Street to Beech Street

* 18th Street from National Avenue to Horton Street

* Andrick Street from 1st Street to 4th Street

* 12th Street from Scott Street to National Avenue

* 12th Street from national Avenue to Crawford Street

Turner said the priority of streets included in the program were determined by identifying the main traffic ways then grading them on appearance. The program does include the overlay of some brick streets, however the downtown historical district will remain intact.

"We've made a policy that we will not overlay any brick streets in the downtown historical district," Turner said.

Turner added that few brick streets on the east side of tracks will be overlaid in addition to 12th Street. He said the bricks will not go to waste.

"In both cases we will harvest the bricks and reuse them in other areas in the town," Turner said.

The harvested bricks will be used to repair street cuts in the downtown area which were filled with concrete, according to Turner.

According to Turner, APAC-Missouri, Inc. is planning to begin work in July or August.

Other unrelated street improvements include the overlay of National Avenue from Linker Street to Wall Street which is being funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the overlay of Wall Street from Scott Street to Steen Street which is being funded by the Kansas Department of Transportation.