On Nov. 4, on the same day we vote for a new United States senator and representatives along with state and county officials and judges, Wake Forest voters will have a separate ballot asking them to vote on three bond issues for street and sidewalk improvements, parks and recreation construction, and greenway construction and expansion.
The total of the three separate bond questions is $25.1 million broken down to $6.3 million for street and sidewalks, $14.2 million for parks and recreation, and $4.6 million for the greenway improvements.
Asked to rate which is more important by Wake Forest Weekly Associate Editor David Leone during the Monday morning media briefing for the bond issues, Town Manager Mark Williams said, “They are all important. They all have a part to play in the quality of life” in Wake Forest. If the voters approve the bonds, he said, the money will allow the town “to maintain the service levels our citizens have become used to.”
The funds will also help provide services and facilities for the new residents who move into town each day. Wake County, which will officially welcome the one-millionth county resident on Friday.
On average, the county adds 62 people each day or 15,872 each year. Of the 62, 40 move in from other parts of North Carolina, from other parts of the United States or from foreign countries and 22 are the net increase between births and deaths.
Most of the 62 are added to Raleigh’s growth, 12 each day, while Cary is close behind with 11 new residents each day. Then Wake Forest, Apex and Holly Springs add 3 new residents each day – or 27 each week in Wake Forest – while two move to Fuquay-Varina and Morrisville, one person moves into Knightdale and three move into either Zebulon or some other area of the county. Rolesville adds five new residents each week.
So Wake Forest is really adding just over 1,400 people each year – or 4 percent growth — but Williams and Finance Director Aileen Staples, in coming up with the numbers for the bond issues and the town’s ability to repay them, are using an extremely conservative population growth number of 2 percent. Even using that 2 percent growth, Williams and Staples are sure the town can afford the additional debt which would be added gradually, probably over the next four years, though the town would have up to seven years to sell the bonds.
The town does have to tell voters the sale of the bonds, if passed, could add up to 2 cents more on the property tax rate if the anticipated growth does not materialize and make the increase unnecessary. After the last two bond referendums, in 1999 and 2005, the town did not raise the tax rate as a result.
“The only way for the town to fund large ticket items like this [the items on the list of potential projects] is through bond issues,” Williams said. The town has a triple-A bond rating, meaning it can sell the bonds at a very low rate of interest – and Staples has always shopped for the lowest possible.
The bond money, though, will not cover the total cost of the potential projects, but the money will provide a 20-part local match for likely grant monies which will pay 80 percent of the cost. For example, the planned construction for the Smith Creek and Sanford Creek greenways is estimated to cost just over $3 million, but the town’s match for a state CMAQ (Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement) grant is $685,000. The town’s widening of the portion of Ligon Mill Road from South Main Street to just past an entrance to Walmart will cost $2.4 million, but a LAPP (Locally Administered Projects Program) grant which uses federal funds funneled through the state means the town will only pay $694,000 from the bond monies.
Senior Planner Candace Davis said the Smith and Sanford greenway project and one for the Dunn Creek greenway (with a matching grant) are “shovel-ready,” with plans complete. The Ligon Mill widening is close to shovel-ready.
“The number of projects we can do is based on the number of grants Candace can get,” Williams said. Davis is anticipating grants for seven of the 10 potential projects in the streets and sidewalks bond and four of the 10 greenway projects, though that could change as she applies for more grants.
The town has been very successful in obtaining grants, and Williams obviously anticipates that will continue. Grants are mostly based on need and the ability to pay the town’s share, Davis said. The success of the bond issues will give the town the ability to pay its share. “They like to see the money,” Williams said.
Should one or more bond question fail to get support from town voters, Williams said, “We would have to completely redo our priority list. I couldn’t see us doing items like the community center.”
That second full community center is planned for J. Carroll Joyner Park, where the estimate is $11.1 million for the center plus the other improvements which will be in the park’s master plan still being assembled. The other full community center in town is at Flaherty Park and is over-used at present.
Currently, the plan is to use the bond monies on the construction at Joyner Park and also do two expansions at the town-owned North Wake Senior Center at an estimated cost of $3.1 million. If grants become available the bond money could be used for other projects.
The big ticket item in the streets and sidewalks package is to build the missing part of the Northside Loop from Traditions, which links to the N.C. 98 bypass, to Harris Road and its link to Capital Boulevard. (The idea of constructing a loop around Wake Forest began in the 1960s when the route went through farmland and forests.) The estimated cost is $14 million, which includes a bridge over the CSX rail line and a crossing at North White; it will require a lot of fill because of the gully to the east of North Main Street. The town is allotting $2.8 million from the bond money and relying on either state or federal money or the Southeast High Speed Rail project to provide the rest.
All the projects on the three lists are called “potential” because, even if the voters approve, a change in conditions or much higher costs for one project will eat up all or most of that bond section.
That was what happened to the $9.5 million for streets and sidewalks voters approved in May of 2005 along with $7 million for parks and recreation. The right-of-way acquisition for the widening of South Main Street from Rogers Road to Capital Boulevard and the large amount of rock and many plan changes for South Franklin Street meant there was almost nothing left for the other projects, which were to be $3.3 million to build part of the Northern Loop from North Main to North White, including a bridge over the rail Iine and North White; $2.2 million to widen Stadium Drive from Rock Springs Road to Capital to three lines; and $600,000 to build a sidewalk on North White Street from Juniper Avenue to Flaherty Park. A crew from the town’s Public Works Department built the sidewalk for a much lower cost.
Now in 2014 those undone projects are on the list of street and sidewalk potential projects. The other
projects are:
*West Oak Avenue and Forestville Road pedestrian underpasses, $168,000 bond money
*Traffic signals, total cost $450,000, $280,000 bond money
*Sidewalks and multi-use paths along Wait Avenue and West Oak Avenue, total $1.6 million, $325,000 bonds
*Making Stadium Drive a complete street and resurfacing North Avenue, total $2.2 million, $440,000 bonds
*Harris Road roundabout, $1.3 million, $255,000 bond monies
*Ligon Mill Road pedestrian underpass, $200,000 bond monies though the state may participate
*Rogers Road widening done with the bridge replacement, $1.4 million, $280,000 bond monies
*Durham Road sidewalks and multi-use paths, $4 million, $800,000 bond monies
The parks and recreation projects were discussed above.
The greenway projects are:
*Smith Creek Greenway, phase II, $2.7 million total, $515,000 town match
*Dunn Creek Greenway, phases I and II, $857,000, $491,000 bond monies
*Dunn Creek Greenway, phase III, $2 million, $392,000 bond monies
*Greenway and park signage, $360,000 bond monies
*Reservoir soft trail, phase I and II, $800,000 bond monies
*Joyner Park soft trail and pedestrian bridge, $417,000 bond monies
*Greenway and park connections, $500,000 bond monies
*Dunn Creek Greenway, phase iv, $2 million, $406,000 bond monies.
The town will soon send out a one-page flyer with a lot of information about the bond issues. Also there is a full account on the town website, www.wakeforestnc.gov/2014-bond-referendum.aspx.
In addition town officials will be available to speak to groups, there will be an In Focus segment on Channel 10 and on the website and information of the town’s Facebook page.
An interesting note is that the turnout for the 2005 referendum was abysmal – 3.5 percent of the 12,314 registered voters at the time went to the polls but they voted overwhelmingly for the bonds – 77 percent for the parks and recreation bonds, 84 percent for the street and sidewalk bonds.
One Response
I hope the bonds can be sold successfully and avoid more property tax increases. This year the addition of approximately 8+% is making it rough on everyone. It’s not an apples to apples comparison but with real estate prices basically stagnant, appraisal values set in 2008 which was one of highest years, the continuing cost being on property is getting rough.
Mark and Aileen do good job of being considerate of real cost to citizens but we really need a respite from higher property taxes and relief from 6 years of higher valuations in a declining property value market.