The Clear Lake City Council voted unanimously Monday to proceed with bid letting for proposed reconstruction of South Shore Drive between Main Avenue and 12th Avenue South.
    On March 19, the Council tabled a decision on the project after hearing from many property owners opposed to their assessments for the work.  According to City Administrator Scott Flory, the average assessment against an affected property is $7,000.  The cost may be as high as $14,000 for some.
    About 60 persons watched Monday as the City Council briefly discussed, then decided to continue to use the assessment process for the street and infrastructure work.  
    The city received objections from 46 percent of the 135 affected property owners at its March 19 public hearing. Assessments will fund approximately $800,000 of the $1.85 million project; federal funding accounts for about $515,000, with the balance to be paid from the proceeds of a General Obligation Bond issue.
    Councilman Ben Furleigh made the motion to continue to move the project toward bid letting.  He touched on several points which supported his vote, including the need to protect the lake by replacing aging infrastructure, diminished capacity of existing water lines and the need for more water hydrants.
    Furleigh noted recent city history shows assessments to property owners have been reduced an average of 21 percent from preliminary assessments to final charges.  
    Councilman Terry Unsworth shares Furleigh’s optimism that the city will receive favorable bids for the work, which will reduce assessments.  He believes there is an opportunity to reduce assessments by 25 percent or more.  “I pledge to you, I will not vote for it if it is not at least 25 percent less,” added Unsworth.
    Furleigh also stated he feels the city could leave itself open to legal action if it discontinued the use of assessments for the South Shore Drive project.
    “Six hundred property owners have been assessed for 18 projects in the city since 1998 alone,” he said. He noted the majority of communities in Iowa use assessments and those of similar size who do not assess typically have tax rates of $5 to $6 higher per $1,000 of assessed property valuation.
    “I am still not in favor of (converting South Shore) to one-way, but this project needs to move forward,” he added, referring to the plan to make the street one-way from 4th Avenue South to 12th Avenue South. 
    The project will be bid through the DOT.  Underground infrastructure work, including water and sewer line replacement will take place this fall, with paving scheduled for spring 2009.  A tentative schedule would have bids let for the project in July-August 2008, and underground work beginning by September 2008.  The goal would be to complete underground work and place rock over the top by year-end.  Complete pavement removal and paving would take place in late spring 2009, with completion prior to the July 4 holiday activities in Clear Lake.