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Harrodsburg official objects to 30-year loan for street repairs

June 28, 2005|ANN R. HARNEY

HARRODSBURG - The wisdom of borrowing $1 million over 30 years to finance a 10-year street project was questioned Monday by one of the city's elected officials.

"The logic of this escapes me," said Harrodsburg City Commissioner Eddie Long after Commissioner Kevin Perkins made a motion to allow Mayor Lonnie Campbell to seek out a low-interest-rate loan for $1 million to be paid back over 30 years.

The motion failed, but the commissioners authorized the mayor to look into low-interest loans.

The proposal was for the money to go for the first 10 years of a 20-year master plan for street repair. While Long thinks the master plan is a good idea, having to pay for half of it 20 years after it is complete isn't.

"It's like borrowing money to meet your payroll," he told the commission. "(Street repair and maintenance) is a basic service of city government. We're talking about maintenance, not a capital project."

Campbell said the streets are in worse shape than they have ever been, and Commissioner Joe Hood said the city is at least one year, maybe two, behind in street repair. Street supervisor Leo Vaughn said the city did no street work last year and less that a full street the year before.

Much of the problems with streets is damage caused by major sewer and water projects undertaken by the city over recent years.

"There's been a terrible tearing up of streets," Hood said.

Maybe the water and sewer departments should pay

Long, the elected official who oversees the city's water and sewer departments, said if his departments have caused the damage, then maybe they should help pay for street repair. But to put the burden of financing current street repair on future city governments does not seem fair.

"Commissioners 10 or 12 years from now will be paying for work done years ago," Long said. He also questioned how future commissioners will be able to pay for street work needed during their tenure while the city is still paying for work done before they came into office.

"We should budget enough to complete the 10-year part of the plan."

Commissioners also reviewed a proposed ordinance governing bed and breakfasts, but Hood pointed out there is no grandfather clause in the document written by Mercer County Attorney Douglas Greenburg.

Since Greenburg was unavailable to answer questions, the proposal was tabled until the commission's next meeting.

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