Mayoral Candidate Forum: Is This Sustainable

The infrastructure issues as seen in the photo raises the question as to whether or not the roads are deteriorating faster than expected due to how they were initially made or how they’re being maintained. By my observation,the salt on the roads is nothing but damaging compared to when we just used sand in the winter. The salt destroys concrete sidewalks and driveways,ruins our cars and our grass, so of course it’s harder on the roads. We should not be using salt like Minnesota notoriously has rusty cars and beat up roads from salt,and sand seemed to work fine. We’ll be reminded to wash our cars more often with sand but that not so bad since we’re saving ourselves the cost of rust and damaged roads. Lots of tax dollars can be saved this way.

No, this model is not financially sustainable. When the city accepts responsibility for new infrastructure, we’re also accepting the future cost of maintaining and replacing it. That means we must set and enforce high standards upfront, because it’s simply not acceptable for infrastructure to begin failing within 20 years.

If taxpayers are going to bear the long-term cost, then the quality, durability, and oversight of that infrastructure must match that investment.

At the same time, we recognize that construction costs are rising sharply, which puts pressure on both developers and the city. That’s why we need to build stronger partnerships with contractors, perhaps by allowing for tools to allow for less financial risk such as special assessments or infrastructure grants.

In short: if we’re serious about fiscal responsibility, we have to be serious about building it right the first time. Anything less just pushes the cost onto future residents.

Streets are a specific issue which the city Engineer and Council are well aware of. I would argue that the picture does not show, nor is it common to be replacing “much of the primary infrastructure” in less than typical cycle. One solution is to spend more money to begin with, e.g. deeper excavation and road bed construction when building the street. There is a trade off in that for a developer putting in the street and needing to charge more for the lot or house. Technology is providing some options. We have begun using a new process which incorporates cement powder to form a stabile cap beneath the asphalt, extending the life of the road. It is hoped that once enough streets are upgraded, the cycle in the question will be broken.

No, this infrastructure development model is NOT financially sustainable and we need to start being honest about that. When roads, sewer lines, and other critical systems in neighborhoods less than 20 years old are already failing, it’s not just wear and tear, it’s poor planning, subpar materials, or flat-out bad workmanship.

We should be holding contractors and developers accountable for the quality of their work. That means tightening oversight, enforcing performance standards, and not being afraid to say no, you need to redo that, when something doesn’t meet the mark.