Grimes, 227th paving project meets opposition

Objections voiced by two rural residents have delayed progress on a special assessment project.

The Fairfield City Council and Jefferson County Board of Supervisors held a joint hearing Monday evening on the proposed pavement of Grimes Avenue west of Brookville Road; 930 feet of 227th Street west of Highway 1; and 1,320 feet of 227th Street east of Highway 1.

Expense of the project is to be split 25-75, with property owners assessed 75 percent of the cost according to a formula based on frontage and distance from the roadway. The county or city would pay the remaining 25 percent depending on which owns the roadway.

The supervisors and council each deferred a resolution of necessity, also delaying a resolution that would instruct French-Reneker-Associates Inc. to prepare detailed plans and specifications.

Jeannie Belgarde, owner of CR Quilts at 2255 Highway 1 South, asked, ?Who is this going to benefit?

?Obviously, if the road were to be paved, it is not just going to benefit me as a property owner, but it is really going to benefit the Iowa [Department of Transportation], the wastewater sewage plant and the AmericInn,? she continued. ?They are the ones that are creating the most use on the roadways ? not me as a personal property owner.?

Belgarde said 227th Street east didn?t develop a pothole problem until the IDOT built its maintenance office there.

?I appreciate that this is new for some of the county residents, but whenever you get into these kinds of discussions, the difficult part is to justify what you feel subjectively is not of value to you and would be of value as a whole community,? Mayor Ed Malloy responded. ?It really is more about the merits of this particular project and what it will do for the greater good of the whole community in terms of economic development.?

He noted the city, county, IDOT, AmericInn and Fairfield Economic Development Association, which also owns frontage, will all pay a share.

Belgarde would be assessed roughly $11,000 spread across 15 years for her share. Totals for other affected landowners on East 227th Street are roughly $1,000 for the Congregation of Jehovah?s Witnesses, $130 for LeRoy ?Duke? Schmidt and $34,000 for Doug Hamilton. One-time payments for FEDA and IDOT would be just under $34,000 and $60,000 respectively.

?The 25 percent is actually being spread over all the county residents. When the county pays that 25 percent portion, that debt is being bore by all of the taxpayers even though they don?t live on the road,? supervisor Lee Dimmitt said.

He acknowledged the proposed project is a direct result of the road damage caused by IDOT trucks.

?The D.O.T. will pay an assessment, but they won?t pay for a portion of the road, and that?s really why we?re here today on 227th east,? Burgmeier said.

Bill Haines of 2118 227th St. objected to pavement of the west side, saying the hotel is the only reason it?s become an issue.

?I have a hard time coming up with the money to pay for this road, especially when we have problems taking care of the roads we already have,? Haines said. ?Since these other guys moved out [on 227th] ? if they want to have these roads paved, in my book, they should be the ones forking out more than what we should be paying. I don?t think it?s my problem.

?I?ve lived there 30 years and never had a problem,? he said.

Supervisor Dick Reed said the board had received little input about the project prior to Monday?s public hearing, which had served its purpose.

?The D.O.T. created the problem, and I still think the D.O.T. should fix the problem,? he said.

He made a motion to proceed with special assessment of Grimes Avenue and 227th Street west, but to remove 227th Street east.

Burgmeier suggested deferring 227th Street altogether.

?We?ve done a lot of work on this. We?ve paid for engineering,? Reed said, noting the project has been under way for several months.

Reed had told Belgarde last week his intention was to move forward with all three sections of roadway, but after the hearing, he said deferring action was the right step.

The supervisors voted to defer action on all three sections of the project until Tuesday morning?s board meeting.

The council followed suit, also deferring action on the resolution.

?If [the county?s participation in 227th Street] fails, then if there?s any desire to move forward by property owners on the north of the east and west side, we?re just going to have to open that up for a different type of discussion,? Malloy said. ?We came into this project thinking it was a partnership, so if there?s no partnership, nothing is going to be done.?