City of Wilmington residents may have approved the Wilmington Streets and Sidewalks bond in the Nov. 4 election but physical signs of work on the projects could be months away.
Currently there is no schedule set for which projects will begin, but city staff is in the middle of developing the prioritization plan. Time is also needed for certain departments, like engineering, to recruit and hire staff to handle the additional workload the bond projects will bring.
During a Wilmington City Council retreat Monday, Nov. 24, Wilmington public services director Richard King said his department is now taking the lead on implementing the projects in the next five to seven years.
“We are looking at restructuring and reorganizing some of those engineering divisions to handle these bond projects,” King said. “It is going to take us a little bit of time to get up to speed and get these projects designed.”
Those projects that could be completed sooner rather than later include things like sidewalks, but Mike Kozlosky, Wilmington Metropolitan Planning Organization director, said even the smaller projects have multiple layers with permitting and coordination with partner organizations like the North Carolina Department of Transportation and Cape Fear Public Utility Authority.
“There are several different factors at play in the implementation of a project,” Kozlosky said during a Monday, Nov. 24 phone interview. “We are looking to demonstrate some successes early on with the implementation so there may be some projects that are smaller that we can move forward quicker than others. That is one of the factors we will consider when we think about how to prioritize these projects.”
Some of the longer-term projects include a second access for the Love Grove community and two roundabouts along Pine Grove Drive at the Greenville Loop Road and Holly Tree Road intersections.
“[The Love Grove access] is going to be a very lengthy design and environmental permitting process and we are in the process of getting a Request for Proposals [RFP] for that,” King said.
Once project construction begins, Wilmington City Councilman Dr. Earl Sheridan said he hoped each round of projects could include work in different areas of the city.
“I know everybody in the city wants theirs done first but I think it is important that, as the projects unfold, we have something going on all over the city for people to be able to see that we are starting,” Sheridan said. “With the parks bond we had little signs up saying, ‘Your parks bond money at work,’ and I think that is important for people to see.”
By North Carolina law, Wilmington cannot issue debt until 75 percent of the projects are bid out, so the city will not be able to collect those funds until 2017. However, the 2 cent property tax increase will need to go into effect July 1, 2015, to begin paying for projects next year.
City of Wilmington finance director Debra Mack said the city would use that additional tax revenue to pay for projects completed before the city can access the debt funds and by 2017 the city could begin reimbursing itself using the debt funds. The current authorization for the $44 million bond is for seven years, however Mack said city council would need to hold a public hearing to request to extend that window to 10 years, which is the maximum.
For a list of bond projects, visit www.wilmingtonnc.gov
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