Paving price tag stuns aldermen

The Clarendon Board of Aldermen received a dose of “sticker shock” last week when estimates were presented for a project to pave streets in all parts of town.

The plan, which would pave and curb 95 percent of the streets in Clarendon in just 18 to 24 months, carried a total price tag of $4.9 million.

“It liked to give me a heart attack,” said Mayor Tex Selvidge. “We’ve got to do a lot of work and take some time to figure out the best way to do it, but we can’t afford the first plan.”

Vince Viaille, a financial advisor from First Southwest Company in Lubbock, presented bond options to the board. With an interest rate of 4.75 percent, bond payments on $5 million in bonds would be about $400,000 annually for 20 years.

The city currently only generates about $200,000 per year in ad valorem taxes with a tax rate of $0.45555 per $100 valuation, which has remained unchanged since 1999.

The municipal tax would have to triple to generate the income necessary to pay $5 million in bonds, and the aldermen seemed united in not taking that route. They took no action on the plan and instructed engineer Che Shadle to return for the June 23 meeting with a plan in the $2 million range.

“We haven’t heard a word from the citizens on this – pro or con,” Selvidge said. “I don’t feel like property owners should foot the whole bill. We should look at a combination of increased fees and increased taxes.

“I wish we had done this in the late 1970s and early 1980s,” Selvidge said, referring to the first time he served as mayor. “It would be paid off today if we had.”

The mayor expressed frustration with the current state of the streets and the need to make improvements.

“I feel like we need to do something if we’re going to grow,” he said. “If we want to bring people to the community, one thing they are going to look at is the streets.”

In other city business, the board formally denied Gary Hunt’s request for a building permit for his property at 8th and Leroy Streets after meeting in closed session with City Attorney James Shelton for nearly an hour. Aldermen Janice Knorpp and Mark White voted to deny the permit; Aldermen Tommy Hill and Michael Tibbets abstained; and Mayor Selvidge broke the tie. Alderman Bobbie Kidd was absent.

Hunt had sought to erect commercial storage buildings on his property, but the area is zoned for residential use only.

Jean Stavenhagen with the Saints’ Roost Museum presented the museum board’s recommendation to accept a bid from Phoenix I Restoration, Ltd., to renovate the old Ft. Worth & Denver Railroad Depot. The city is the sponsoring entity for the Texas Department of Transportation grant which will pay for the depot work. The board accepted the bid of $196,200 with the stipulation that the museum has the right to negotiate with the bidder.

The board voted to keep Colby Waters on retainer for consulting services through September 30, 2003, when the city’s contract with the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission will expire.

The board also discussed purchasing the Thunder Junction theme park and voted against the idea.

“It’s got a lot of possibilities, but I don’t think we can afford it right now,” the mayor said.