Board awaits petition count
By Rochelle Moore
Published in News on August 14, 2016 10:34 AM
Wayne County commissioners Tuesday morning will find out whether they can proceed with street and drainage improvements in the Canterbury Village and North Creek subdivisions or will have to move on to the next subdivision in line.
It has been nearly a year since residents in those two subdivisions first approached the board about helping improve the streets to state standards in order for them to be taken into the state road maintenance system.
Commissioners are utilizing a state law that allows them to create special tax assessments districts provided enough property owners in the district agree.
Initially enough residents signed a petition for the project to proceed, but as the cost estimates came in several withdrew from the petition rendering it invalid.
Rather than proceed at their Aug. 2 session, commissioners gave residents until their Aug. 16 meeting to secure enough names to proceed.
Tuesday's meeting will get under way with an 8 a.m. agenda briefing followed by the formal session at 9 a.m. Both will be held in the commissioners' meeting room on the fourth floor of the Wayne County Courthouse Annex.
The state Department of Transportation estimated the project cost at more than $3 million.
That is when residents began to withdraw from the petition.
In order to be valid the petition must be signed by at least 75 percent of the property owners and represent at least 75 percent of the road frontage.
Nearly 75 people met this Monday night, Aug. 8, at Word Faith Center on Buck Swamp Road to discuss the scope of the repairs.
There are 121 lots in the two subdivision. As of Tuesday morning, Aug. 9, owners of 84 properties had signed the petition. Reaching the 75 percent threshold requires 91 signatures.
Instead of accepting the state's estimate the board hired the engineering firm SEPI to conduct another study.
That estimate was $2.2 million.
Based on 121 lots that means that each lot would be assessed $18,177.32.
It can be paid in a lump sum or spread out over 10 years at $1,817.73 annually. It would require a $151.48 monthly increase in property tax escrow for mortgages.
The county would charge 5 percent annually on the balance owed.
The final assessment will be determined after the actual bids arc received and the work is completed.
If enough property owners sign the petition by Tuesday, commissioner can adopt the final assessment resolution for the project.
"If the petition is not valid, you cannot legally adopt this resolution," County Manager George Wood said in a memo to commissioners. "If the petition is not valid, then we would move to the next petition by a subdivision under this policy.
"Should a valid petition for the Canterbury Village/North Creek subdivision project be submitted in the future, it would go to the end of the line for petition submittals. We have about four to five petitions already filed. Those petitions are considered in the order in which they are filed."