DUNCAN — The City of Duncan wants to repair and renovate more than 250 sections of streets throughout the city and fund it with a $9 million general obligation bond that property owners would pay for if approved by voters.

City officials say the project would cover some of Duncan’s worst streets and is long overdue.

The project would include a handful of complete street reconstructions, but most of the work would entail resurfacing or patching and sealing.

“It should be too painfully obvious that something needs to be done about the streets,” said Duncan City Manager Jim Frieda. “They are in pretty bad shape.

“Times are tough and money is short, but streets need fixed with money that comes from somewhere.

All kinds of repair work needs to be done, but we need some substantial money to really go out and fix the streets.”

The work would include streets in all parts of the city, some of them covering a block or two in mainly residential areas and others stretching several blocks.

Some of the longest sections include Country Club Road from Plato Road to Camelback Road, stretches of 11th Street and Bois d’Arc from Fifth Street to near Eastland Road.

Scott Vaughn, Duncan’s director of public works, said most of the city’s “arterial” streets — main thoroughfares that carry the most traffic — are generally in pretty good shape.

But many of the “collector” streets that feed into arterial roads are in dire need of repair and are getting worse.

The city sees it as a scenario of pay for much-needed repairs now or pay a lot more later.

“If we don’t do anything it’s just going to get worse, and believe me, construction costs are not going down,” Vaughn said.

City officials have given overviews of the needs and proposed project to a few civic organizations, including the Kiwanis Club and the Duncan Chamber of Commerce, in hopes of winning some early favor.

The Duncan City Council would have to approve a resolution allowing the proposed bond to be voted on, perhaps in a special election in February. If approved by a simple    majority of voters then, the bond could be issued next June and work on the three-year project could begin.

The city collects 3.55 cents in sales tax for each dollar spent in Duncan, but 2 cents of that is needed to pay for police and fire protection, Frieda said. And half a cent, or about $1.7 million a year, is directed by law to the Duncan Area Economic Development Foundation.

The city’s direct take in sales tax is about $10.5 million a year, with one penny on the dollar set aside for capital projects. That includes streets, but also such things as parks and vehicles for the city and for the police and fire departments.  

Vaughn said the amount of money spent each year on street projects fluctuates depending on other capital needs, but typically ranges from about $200,000 to $500,000 — not nearly enough to do comprehensive renovation.

The city proposed a $15 million bond issue for street work eight years ago, but voters rejected it. The city then opted to borrow $10 million in 2007 through a revenue bond that is being paid back through sales taxes.

The city could seek a sales tax increase to fund the new proposed project, which also would require voter approval. But Frieda said many merchants fear a sales tax hike would drive customers elsewhere, and that funding stream fluctuates and lacks certainty that a general obligation bond would provide.

The city has identified three bonding scenarios, to be paid off in either five years, 10 years or 15 years. The average interest rate on the bond would range from about 2 percent on a five-year term, 2.9 percent for a 10-year bond and 3.4 percent for a 15-year term.

The average property tax levy would range from 12.5 mills under a five-year plan, 6.5 over a 10-year term and 4.6 for 15 years.

Frieda said a 10-year bond issue makes the most sense, in part because it would stretch payments for property owners over a reasonable time frame.

Under a 10-year plan, homeowners with a house worth $100,000 would pay about $78 in new taxes the first year in 2013, dropping each year with a final payment of about $51 in 2022.

Property tax costs would be higher for houses worth more.

For example, those who own a home assessed at $250,000 would pay about $206 more the first year, dropping to $135 in the 10th year. Homeowners with houses assessed at $350,000 would pay $292 the first year and $192 the final year.

The estimated costs for each segment of work ranges from $3,600 (patch and seal work on 11th Street from Stephens Avenue to near State Highway 7) to $247,000 (reconstruction of E Street from Ash to Main).

Of the 255 segments selected for work, 8.2 percent of them would involve routine maintenance for crack sealing and patching, 52 percent would entail preservation treatments such as sealing, surface repairs or partial depth patching, and about 39 percent would involve overlays or extensive slab and joint rehabilitation.

The city hired a private consulting firm in 2005 to evaluate the condition of all city streets and they were assigned ratings from one to 10, with one being horrible shape and 10 being the best. The city has updated the list annually.

Vaughn said any rating seven or above means a street is in pretty good shape, but many of those below three need to be completely rebuilt, usually at a very high cost.

Most of the street sections prioritized based on need have condition ratings between three and six, although there is a handful below three and about 20 sections at seven. A small percentage would involve drainage work.

There is actually about $100 million worth of work needed on the city’s streets, but city officials say the public likely would balk at that kind of price tag.

“We are trying to have a significant impact community-wide but still speak in terms of  less than $10 million,” Frieda said.

None of the work would include moving utilities, which could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars alone. And sections over water mains are not included because a single water rupture could instantly negate repair work that had been done.

Frieda said by law, at least 70 percent of expenditures for a general obligation bond must be identified. For this project, 98 percent of expenses are identified, he said.

The estimated construction and repair costs would total about $7.3 million. But there are engineering and finance costs as well that would take the tab to about $8.5 million.

Because construction and material costs are sure to increase somewhat over a three-year period, about $500,000 would be set aside to cover those added expenses. And money collected through sales taxes that normally would go to street repairs could be set aside and pay for a fourth year of comprehensive work.   

“We want the public to accept the project,” Frieda said. “We want to give them a picture of what is being done and what it’s going to cost and how we are going to use the $9 million.”