Maintenance Costs for Complete Streets Project: Multi-Millions

The Concord City Council is currently in the middle of work session meetings trying to figure out how to move forward on the Downtown Complete Streets project, a $10-plus million construction concept that proposes providing better safety and economic vitality to Main Street.

But what is not exactly known is how the city will come up with the millions in maintenance costs during the first 20 years of the project’s post-construction life.

City officials posted financial documents last week looking at a snapshot of the next 20 years of maintenance costs, which come in at about $16.2 million (see attached five-page PDF).

About half of that money will be offset by money that is currently proposed to be spent on maintenance costs for Main Street and projected capital reserve fund transfers that will be tapped into every five years. According to the figures, the city spends about $100,000-plus a year to maintain Main Street, with another $58,000 spent to remove snow, and about $5,000 in tree maintenance. The overview estimated that anywhere from $90,000 to $120,000 will be transferred into the reserve fund annually.

“We laid it out this way so that the council, if they want to, can do the math,” said Matt Walsh, the assistant for special projects, adding that the costs were laid out at the same or similar historical levels of spending.

The maintenance costs are broken up into sections so councilors can decide what is worth paying for and maintaining later, and what isn’t.

As an example, the granite fountain water feature, which costs about $130,000, and is seen by some as inappropriate for in front of the Statehouse plaza, will need to be replaced every 10 years at a cost of about $50,000, assuming there are no other problems with the feature. Granite pavers, a cosmetic feature that are estimated to cost more than $624,000, will need to be repaired every 15 years, at a cost of about $130,000. The brick paver sidewalks (furniture panels) will run about $200,000, and need to be repaired every 10 years. During the next 20 years, the city is expected to pay more than $126,000 to fix them, according to the report.

Walsh said officials laid out the maintenance costs this way so that councilors could do the math themselves, he said, and make decisions about certain aspects of the project.

“The one thing I would say behind these numbers is that we think it’s an appropriate level of maintenance for an $11 million investment,” Walsh said. “The 20 year snapshot allows the council to move forward and make an informed decision, with various options.”

How to come up with the $8.3 million that isn’t budget for future maintenance is unknown at this time. Currently, $290,000 in new city government spending requires to a 1 percent tax increase. Walsh said officials had some ideas on how to pay for the costs, if the council wants to hear them.

The Concord City Council will continue work sessions tonight and May 30, starting at 7 p.m. in council chambers. A final public hearing will be held at 7 p.m. on June 6, with a vote on the project to commence after that meeting.

Walsh added that the parking fund account, which is a $2.1 million operation, is only expected to have about $1,000 in it at the end of the fiscal year, after revenues and expenses have been filtered through the account. He said the city will be “taking a hard look at parking in the city,” including the rate structures, during the next 18 months.

Construction funding

Here is a breakdown of the construction funding for the project:

• $4.281 million: Federal funding for construction of the project.
• $2.5 million: Tax increment financing (TIF) borrowed against future revenues to bury utility lines from the Concord Food Co-op to Thompson Street, to be performed in conjunction with the project. The change will also provide for underground utilities for a new building at the Department of Employment Security site.
• $1.57 million: “General donations,” consisting of a possible $1.12 million tax credit from NHCDFA and $450,000 from a “special assessment district” on downtown property holders.
• $1.285 million: Bonds for construction.
• $715,000: Design costs.

See projected maintenance costs in the attached PDF.