Sultan wants to know how to pay to fix its bumpy roads

Published 10:42 pm Wednesday, May 13, 2009

SULTAN — Take a drive through downtown Sultan and see what a decade of neglect does to city streets.

Find the worst damage in older parts of town: potholes, cracks and “alligatoring” — that’s asphalt that’s separated so much that it looks like the back of an alligator.

“It is a serious problem,” city administrator Deborah Knight said.

The City Council wants to set up a transportation district and charge a car tab fee of up to $20 or ask voters to approve another type of tax increase.

Tonight they’re asking people to give them some direction at a public forum at 6:30 p.m., Council Chambers, 319 Main St.

“Some of the streets are frankly falling apart,” Knight said.

The cash-strapped city put off road maintenance for the past decade and now the consequences are creeping up.

A recent state review of the city’s roads revealed widespread failures on city streets. Some of the better streets simply need a new overlay. The worst need much more.

City officials figured fixing just 13 of its streets would cost around $2.5 million, Knight said.

The city’s $1.9 million general fund, which pays for basics such as city employee salaries and supplies, is already stretched to the limit, Knight said.

The city collected a total of about $1 million from sales and property taxes last year and all of it goes toward paying for police services, she said. The city has about 4,000 residents.

She has taken her share of calls from people who feel taxes are already too high.

It’s up to city leaders and voters to decide if they want to continue to put off fixing the streets, she said.

“If you continue to defer the maintenance, it will be extremely expensive to fix,” she said. “Be prepared for a high bill.”

Debra Smith: 425-339-3197, dsmith@heraldnet.com.