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McGrail proposes paving plan for north Cape

2 min read

District 7 City Councilmem-ber Kevin McGrail’s first town hall meeting this weekend will focus heavily on the roads in north Cape, and a special assessment the councilman plans on presenting to get those roads fixed.
McGrail said that each home would pay an assessment of $500, which could be financed, over a 5-year period.
He said the assessment would raise the $10 million needed to fix the roads in north Cape, most of which he said are old and decrepit.
“Those roads are literally undrivable,” McGrail said.
Assessments would be done street by street, according to McGrail, because not every street north of Kismet is in need of repair.
If a decision about the assessment can be made quickly — in time to make this year’s tax bill — then construction could begin in 2011 and be completed by 2012, McGrail said.
He said his town hall session is crucial to find out if the majority of residents up north want the roads fixed, or if the city needs to find another way to get the project complete.
“I want it to be seen as a group decision,” he said. “That we’re doing things with them and for them, not to them.”
McGrail said a “fall back plan” could focus on individual streets or neighborhoods, where residents would feel comfortable paying the assessment.
Regarding undeveloped lots, he said the improved roads would improve the chances of development and sale of those lots.
“We’re going to have to do it eventually, my thought is sooner than later,” he said.
McGrail’s inaugural town hall meeting will also tackle the Northwest Spreader Ecosystem Management Agreement, and what that means to residents along that particular corridor.
He said he also wants to start a conversation about the possibility of instituting a special assessment district dealing specifically with lighting in north Cape, but for right now the roads will be the focus.
“The next question is, can we get behind this, and do we want to move ahead?” McGrail asked.