After three months of presentations and deliberations, Valparaiso City Council members approved a final vote in April for “the largest paving program the city of Valparaiso has ever taken on,” as described by Valparaiso City Manager Bill Oeding.
In March, the council assigned Oeding to take a closer look at the roads from an earlier speculative provide list, based on feedback not only from the council, but also from residents. Valparaiso Streets Department Director of Engineering Max Rehlander assisted Oeding, who then provided updates at the council’s April 22 meeting before the final vote and approval.
Council member Emilie Hunt, D-At-large, was the only opposition vote to the ordinance and she publicly cited that the council had anticipated a more concrete explanation of which roads and streets would be targeted as the priorities for the spending.
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“I feel as though by now, you must have a better idea of which streets and roads are included on the lists as the top priorities and why, so residents know what to expect,” Hunt said.
At a March meeting, Mayor Jon Costas promised the council and the public a more definitive list of streets in need would be available, as well as a more complete paving schedule.
The ordinance funding is provided from appropriations for an additional $4.5 million to be used with the already $4 million that was budgeted for this year for anticipated road resurfacing and repair needs. The $8 million in funds comes from budgeted accounts, with additional money taken from local road and street budget allotments, in addition to money from the cigarette tax, motor vehicle restricted fund and riverboat funds.
Oeding said at the Feb. 26 council meeting that the additional appropriation allows the street department to not only repair and maintain the major streets, roads and arteries, “but to also get into neighborhood streets where needed,” a statement which had resident Martha Rae eager to assure it results in a promise fulfilled.
“The city administrator [Oeding] framed this project as primarily residential at the Feb. 26 council meeting,” Rae said in an email to council members.
“In fact, I wrote down the word ‘residential’ while taking notes during that meeting. Mayor Costas is also quoted as saying ‘collector streets are in good shape and the impact in neighborhoods will be significant.’ I’m not trying to sow dissension, however, a declarative statement during a city council meeting should match what was presented at first reading, otherwise the entire process can, and should, be called into question for further discussion and clarification.”
Despite concerns from council member Hunt and residents about which streets will benefit from the project, Oeding maintains neighborhood streets will be an emphasis, and reminded “once a residential street has been repaved, it has a lifespan for at least 15 years.”
Council President Robert Cotton, D-2nd, said council members were referred to a comparative pavement surface evaluation about the roads and streets of Zionsville, conducted by USI Consultants and published in 2015. Zionsville has more than 107 miles of roadway including 3 miles of concrete roads and one-half mile of brick road, with the remainder all being asphalt roads.
Philip Potempa is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.