PITTSBURG, Kan. —
Sales tax revenue for street repairs is coming in at nearly double the amount estimated for the year, meaning next year could be a big one for the Pittsburg Public Works Department.
In coming weeks, the department will evaluate needed road work and calculate what can be added to the list of streets already tabbed for repair.
The city had projected that $486,000 would be generated each year by a five-year, quarter-cent sales tax. The tax was approved by voters in November 2010. Retailers began collecting it on April 1, 2011.
This year’s revenue could be $700,000 to $900,000, said Bill Beasley, director of public works.
“It appears that the receipts we’re getting are better than what we expected,” Beasley said.
“That’s not to say it will hold true all year long, but so far, if we keep going on the pace we’re going right now, we could have somewhere in the neighborhood of $300,000 to $400,000 more than planned for.”
He said he is being cautiously optimistic because the “economy could tank again.” But if all goes well, his crews could be milling and resurfacing an additional 4.7 miles of roadway.
“It should be one of the largest in recent history,” City Manager Daron Hall told city commissioners last week of next year’s project.
All of the revenue generated by the tax goes toward materials used for street repairs. None of it is used for salaries or equipment.
Already on the docket for 2013 are Walnut Street from Third Street to Quincy Street, Joplin Street from 20th Street to Eighth Street, Seventh Street from Joplin Street to Water Street, and Water Street from 11th Street to First Street.
Beasley said a final determination has yet to be made on additional street repairs, but they could include the milling and resurfacing of Quincy Street from Smelter Street to Rouse Street, Pine Street from Third Street to 20th Street, Elm Street from Third Street to Quincy Street, and Rouse Street from Quincy Street south to the city limits.
On the Net
To view a detailed spreadsheet of the project schedule, what’s been finished and what it has cost, residents may visit the city’s website at www.pittks.org, select “public works” from the list of departments, choose “street repair” and then “projects.”
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