Tuesday, Feb. 11, the future of Eufaula’s streets will be in the hands of voters.
A special election will be held to determine whether to approve a 1-cent city sales tax to raise the funds necessary to improve city streets, which have been the focus of complaints for many years.
Registered voters who reside in the municipal limits of the city are eligible to vote in the election.
The polling places at the Eufaula Memorial Library and Under One Roof will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on election day. Early voting is available at the County Election Board on Feb. 6-7 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The street improvements can’t be made without funds and the way to get the funds are limited, noted City Manager Jeb Jones.
Sometimes grants are available, but probably not for a city the size of Eufaula. Tulsa and Oklahoma City are more likely to get street grants.
That leaves property taxes or sales taxes, which would be used as collateral to borrow the funds needed for the project.
City Manager Jeb Jones said the city needs $8.5 million.
“We considered both options, the property or the sales tax,” Jones said.
The City Council decided on a sales tax because the pain would be shared by everybody, including residents and visitors.
If the city went the property tax route, owners of property assessed at $250,000 could be paying as much as $490.20 a year more in taxes.
“This burden would fall on property owners,” he said.
If voters opt for an increased sales tax, it would be in effect for about 15 years when -the loan for the street improvements will be paid off.
“No one likes taxes,” Jones said.
But there are times when you have to bite the bullet.
If the city doesn’t make a major move to improve the streets, it will be a matter of doing patch work here and there.
In a video the city is posting on its site, Jones notes that there are 41.75 centerline miles of roadway within the city.
“Following the completion of vital water and sewer infrastructure improvements, it is now time to address much-needed street repairs,” he said. “These improvements range in scope from milling and overlay work which costs approximately $755,000 per mile, to full street reconstruction, which costs about $1.5 million per mile.”
He says the sales tax could generate $800,000 annually to secure the $8.5 million loan.
“If approved, the city will engage a professional engineering firm to assess every street within the city limits,” he said. “This assessment will help prioritize repairs and develop a strategic improvement plan for each ward.”
