Dateline: September 4, 2003

Town meeting to focus on paving proposal

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

A town hall meeting concerning the city’s paving proposal will be held next Monday night, September 8, at 7 o’clock in the District Courtroom of the Donley County Courthouse.

The meeting, sponsored by the City of Clarendon and The Clarendon Enterprise, will give local voters the chance to learn the facts about the paving plan and to ask any questions they may have.

“If you have questions, please come to this meeting and bring those concerns with you,” said City Administrator Sean Pate. “Find out the facts before you vote.”

The city has proposed issuing $2.5 million in certificates of obligation to finance paving and installing curbs and gutters on 152 blocks across town. A petition, bearing the valid signatures of less than 10 percent of the registered municipal voters, was submitted to the city in July, resulting in a special election which has been called for September 13, 2003.

At the meeting, Pate will be joined by Mayor Tex Selvidge, city engineer Che Shadle of OJD Engineering, and city financial advisor Vince Viaille of First Southwest Company of Lubbock.

Shadle was the principal designer of the paving plan and is qualified to answer questions about storm waterflow, concerns about existing utilities, and the selection of streets for the project.

Viaille’s company is handling the issuance of the certificates of obligation and can answer questions about the cost of the project to the local citizens and can also speak on the current state of interest rates.

The panel will also be joined by Damian Esquivel with Oller Engineering, Inc. His company has operated a joint sealcoat program since 1995 with several cities in the Panhandle and South Plains, and he can address how the city can maintain and care for the streets once they are properly paved.

City officials say they have fielded calls from citizens concerned about the cost of the project, and there appears to be some misunderstandings along those lines.

The certificates would be paid for over 20 years by increasing municipal water rates by $1.10 per month, raising sewer rates by $10 per month, and increasing the ad valorem tax rate by 15 cents. The Clarendon Economic Development Corporation has also voted to dedicate $20,000 per year from its sales tax revenues to the paving project.

The cost of the project for each household, therefore, would be $11.10 per month plus the higher property tax.  For the average home in Clarendon, a 15-cent tax rate would amount to $51 per year.

Some comments have been received regarding Clarendon’s water and sewer charges compared to other area communities. A chart accompanies this article showing those figures. Current local fees are well below some nearby towns and are also well below the state average for towns of the same population.

Early balloting to vote “for” or “against” the paving plan is underway at City Hall and continues through September 9, 2003.