The City Council made at least two things abundantly clear at Monday night’s monthly meeting, the members don’t like taxes and they don’t like the condition of the city streets.
Unfortunately, to remedy the deteriorating streets situation it may be necessary to convince voters to consider increasing taxes – either property or sales or both.
Using taxes, grants and other funding sources, Eufaula should be able to fix its 41.75 miles of streets, which have been a source of complaints for decades.
No decision was made at this week’s meeting, only that more discussions were needed.
Taxes are a very touchy subject with Eufaula voters.
But then, so are its washboard streets.
Before any action can be taken on street repairs/replacements, the city needs a plan to determine the extent of the project and the cost.
Monday, Ben Fletcher with Meshek & Associates of Tulsa presented a Request for Proposals, outlining how his company would collect the data necessary to plan the road project.
The engineering firm Cowan Group also submitted an RFT.
No decision was made after listening to the proposal, except the decision to continue to consider all options.
City Manager Jeb Jones said for voters to vote on two possible special election dates available next Spring, the Council would have to pass a resolution calling for an election either no later than Jan. 2, 2025, or Jan. 30, 2025.
Some good tax news Jones ended the meeting with some good tax news for the Council.
Eufaula collected $2.6 million more in local sales taxes during the three month period of July, August and September of 2024 over the same period in 2023.
The city’s lodging tax collections June through August were $72,186, translating to $802,066 in lodging/airBnB sales.
“I point this out because we occasionally hear comments about what we support or don’t support.,” Jones said. “I want you to know that we support events/activities of all local community organizations, local businesses, the Chamber of Commerce, Vision Eufaula, the school system, churches, and lodging opportunities, and this is not a complete list. My goal is to raise the tide for Eufaula; when we accomplish this, everyone will succeed and prosper economically or through services.”
