S. Tahoe to finance Harrison Avenue upgrades
This is what Harrison Avenue at Modesto Avenue will look like by the end of the year. Artists rendering/Design Workshop
By Kathryn Reed
Funky, hodgepodge, outdated. Those are just some of the descriptions people use to describe the architecture along Harrison Avenue in South Lake Tahoe.
And while it’s not a mandate that the 19 property owners spruce up their Highway 50 frontage buildings, some are in the planning stages to do just that. With the Feb. 18 approval by the City Council to go forward with the Harrison Avenue project after 19 years of planning, property owners are getting more serious.
John Cefalu, who owns the Globin Building that houses the Al Tahoe Laundry Center, told Lake Tahoe News after the meeting that he has preliminary designs done. He was waiting for the council to stop talking and act on Harrison’s future before he committed more resources. That building is more than 50 years old.
Cefalu’s goal is to coordinate the improvements to his structure to coincide with the street improvements.
On Tuesday the council agreed to finance $3 million over 15 years to compensate for the funding gap that was created when the lowest bid of $4,806,307 came in 13 percent higher than the engineer’s estimates. One of the reasons estimates were so off is that they were more than a year old.
When construction support and contingency funds are added, the actual total cost comes to $5,688,920. That doesn’t include the $720,074 that has been spent on design and engineering.
Sierra Nevada Construction out of Sparks was the low bidder. Because federal dollars are in part funding the project the city’s rule to give preference to local contractors was superseded.
The city has $2,878,115 in cash to go forward. That comes primarily from a $1.5 million certificate of participation bond the city took out in 2012. (The total bond was $5 million; with $1.5 million allocated to Harrison.) The rest is from federal agencies and $79,000 from South Tahoe Public Utility District. (STPUD can pay to have utilities relocated or do the work itself.)
This leaves a gap of $2,810,805. The city is seeking to finance slightly more than that amount to build in a cushion or in case add-ons are sought.
Harrison Avenue will get a multi-million dollar face lift this summer. Photo/LTN file
The council members on Tuesday approved going into debt for Harrison, saying the project will never get less expensive, they don’t want to tie up reserves, and it’s time to spend money to improve the city.
Property owners in the area have created a special district and will be paying $971,000 of the total project. A handful of property owners have paid the first installment that is now overdue. Some were waiting to give the city money after the city committed in earnest to do the project.
To pay back the estimated $294,000 annual debt on the bond the city could use the $100,000 a year it will be getting from property owners for the next 20 years. There is also an estimated $970,000 budget surplus that has not been allocated that could be used. There is also parking revenue, assuming there is a parking program. Ironically, the parking program brings in about the same amount of money the bond debt will be.
The one thing the council could not do Tuesday was award the contract to Sierra Nevada Construction. This is because legally the city must have the cash in hand to do so. That should occur within a month.
Mitch Grayson, superintendent with SNC, said his firm is willing to go forward with the assumption it has the job and funding will be secured.
The goal is to start May 1 and be done by the end of the construction season. Minor improvements may carry over into 2015.
The plans call for a complete overhaul along Harrison Avenue between Los Angeles and San Jose avenues, going back to Riverside Avenue.
A class 1 bike trail will go along Harrison from Los Angeles, down Modesto Avenue, along Riverside, up San Jose and connect to the trail at Lakeview Commons.
Improvements will be made at the triangular parking lot near the boat launch. A new parking lot will go in along Modesto Avenue at the vacant lot across from Sno-Flake Drive-In.
Councilwoman JoAnn Conner asked whether that lot would be paid or free.
City Manager Nancy Kerry said free. She added the area will need a parking management plan so people are limited to how long they park. This will lessen the likelihood of people using those spaces for beach parking and taking spots away from customers of area businesses.
Some of the streets will be one-way to improve traffic flow and better accommodate parking. All of the streets will be completely redone. Right now they all are rated an F.
Landscaping will also be incorporated.
Overhead lights will be installed along Harrison Avenue and the side streets to complement what is already on Highway 50 and Pioneer Trail. On Riverside the lights will be closer to the ground so as not to bother residents.
A future expense is the operating and maintenance costs. Sarah Hussong-Johnson, deputy public works director, said lighting, parking lot upkeep and snow removal of the bike trail will cost the city. Councilwoman Brooke Laine asked her to come back with what those annual expenses are estimated to be.
i caught a 27 lbs mak in the puddle out front of the quikie mart
Not only is Harrison Ave a dangerous clusterduck, it’s it’s a dilapidated eyesore bordering Hwy 50. These renovations are LONG overdue!
when SNC does a job here in our little town, they never spend any of the money back here.
they are from Reno and all the money is spent in Reno
Gee Chief, do you think that’s because they’re a Nevada company that employs people in Nevada? Or perhaps because their batch plant (asphalt & concrete) is in Nevada? What would you like them to do?
Their employees certainly spend money on incidentals while doing work in a community (food, beverage, lodging), and they do buy supplies while on the job locally. But they’re a Nevada based firm. They’re not going to hire people in Tahoe for one job.
The nicest buildings in south tahoe are taco bell and jack in the box. Local business just don’t invest in their buildings so why is the city investing so much in Harrison avenue if the business owners won’t?
I love the new lights on Pioneer Trail on the sidewalks. The street looks inviting and safe and I feel like I am in a place that is cared for. I think new lighting and other improvements around Harrison Ave will have the same effect. It’s going to be great for those businesses and neighbors.
Why would we do snow removal on a bike trail in winter? Very few people would use it in winter. It is dangerous when you hit black ice there. Would not this open us up to lawsuits.
Gordon Ford:
I think the City is hoping that the street/streetscape upgrades will provide the incentive/shame to those property owners to upgrade their storefront properties, but I don’t hold out much hope of that happening. With no actual agreement forcing those owners to make improvements I think they’ll likely slap a coat of cheap paint over rotting wood and think that’s good enough. Sure would like to see them prove me wrong this time.
Reloman, not only are there people that use their bikes for transport year around, pedestrians also use these pathways and in the winter when we actually have snow the bikepaths are critical for pedestrian safety. Im glad that these urban trails are cleared for use year around. They are better cared for than our roads.
Chief, I didn’t understand the way this is supposed to work. But I have since been educated by Conner and other councilmembers and folks such as yourself. I will no longer spend a penny within the City limits. I live in the county and earn a lot of my money in Nevada, so I will only spend money there. I didn’t understand that we were supposed to have this “us vs. them” attitude, but I have taken it to heart now.
Jeffy’s and relo’s post has given rise to questions I have had. The new street lights on Pioneer work well and are bright. Why are the old streetlights still operating. Also who is responsible for keeping the new sidewalks on Pioneer clear? Most cities it is the home owner of the house who’s property it fronts. I have noticed the it gets cleared on occasion by the city. So who is responsible for litigation if it ever comes to that. In Utah where I have several properties, it would be me.
The next question is, who is paying for the bond that is going to subsidize the improvements to this area that will eventually increase the property values and eventually benefit all of the property owners who have been procrastinating doing property improvements at their own expense. Even if they do nothing the public improvements are going to increase their values.
It seems one thing that is missing is art. Harrison Avenue is an excellent place to put up beautiful artwork. More to come……
worldcycle:
The City issued $5 million in Certificates of Participation Bonds in 2012 at which time they designated more than $1 million for the Harrison Avenue Streetscape Project. (The remainder of those monies went to the Linear Park Project and $3.5 million went for street improvements throughout town.) A portion of the COP Bond monies were to pay the City’s portion of the costs for Harrison Avenue and since that time the City has pledged an additional $650,000 from the 2012 net fund balance and they’re adding approximately $250,000 more to that. But then the City also ended up making a loan to the Harrison Avenue Property Owners for those property owners’ portion of costs in this partnership and the property owners will be assessed on their property taxes for the repayment of that loan over the next 20-years, so that money will eventually be paid back to the City. So it is the City that is paying the interest on the COP Bonds. Harrison Avenue property owner John Cefalu went before the City Council in late 2013 and stated his unwillingness to pay any of the fiscal year 2013-2014 assessment to the City until the work was under way, so I guess the City making a loan of taxpayer money to those property owners and pledging close to $2 million of taxpayer money wasn’t enough of a City commitment for Mr. Cefalu. I suppose one could say that the property owners shouldn’t have to pay anything for that road reconstruction, and then the City could eliminate the nice amenities and just pave that street.
The only way that the city can afford to spend 2 million on Harrison avenue is to continue to neglect the rest of town. Yes the improvements will be nice along this short stretch of road, but there are too many other deteriorated roads, sidewalks and bike paths which the city can not afford to fix if they keep footing the bill. It makes no sense to me for our broke city to pay so much for such a small region if businesses refuse to pay their share.
Gordon Ford:
This particular episode of the Harrison Avenue Streetscape Improvement Project has been going on for more than two years, and not all of the businesses on Harrison Avenue are the property owners of those storefronts. The Harrison Avenue property owners are going to pay a portion of those costs and will be assessed on their property taxes for the repayment of the City loan over the next 20-years, so that money will eventually be paid back to the City. And the City spending $2 million on street work is a drop in the bucket for how much needs to be spent throughout town to repair all the City’s streets. $2 million doesn’t go very far.
Hope it turns out well.
Gordon Ford:
Me too.
Funny how some people can be against spending of taxpayer dollars for something like ballparks or an ice rink, but be totally ok with taxpayers footing the bill for improvements that increase his property values. It is almost like hypocrisy…
Funny how John Cefalu supports the City spending taxpayer dollars for improvements that increase his properties value on Harrison Avenue but doesn’t think that the City should have the right to try to generate revenues from paid parking. It is almost like hypocrisy…
4-mer, not sure why you paraphrased my comment, but thanks for clarifying what I was thinking.
Just the work done to date looks so much better then before. I mean, it no longer looks like it is crumbling and falling apart.