Letter to the Editor: On the road again!

Whoa! I bet we are in the running as the most expensive town per capita in the state to live in. Granted, we are getting some much needed improvements, although I’m not in favor of property owners footing the bill every time.

With these new special assessments, there are going to be people that will have to sell because they can’t pay both the property taxes and special assessments. If they actually make improvements in relation to your property it would be welcome, but if you live on gravel, your property will be devalued due to the high assessment in relation to the improvements, which is basically none, if any, or maybe some gravel.

In most cases the assessments are more than the property is worth. Exp: the lot next to my house, I paid $3,500 for it and the assessment is $5,372.54 and it’s on gravel. All the lots in Morningside Addition are on gravel with little or no drainage in the cul-de-sac part. There are 6 lots in the cul-de-sac: 6 x $5,372.54 = $32,235.24. We may get some gravel at a cost of $250 for class 13 or we may get the cheap stuff.

Either way, it hardly justifies the assessment.

Maybe a sewer drain for that area would be nice.

It remains to be seen just how fair the assessments really are. More than likely, it was across the board based on footage which is the easiest way to do it. Who cares whether it was across the board based on footage which is the easiest way to do it. Who cares whether it’s the fairest. Majority rules, right?

So the next time it rains, like it did this spring, and I drive my car out the driveway into muddy gravel and a slew of water, I can drive to the main part of the City of New Rockford and see all the curb and gutter and paved streets and think how wonderfully my total special assessment costs were spent. You don’t even want to know how much that is.

I talked with an associate of mine that is an engineer for these types of projects and he said that 15 years payback is pretty short... 30 years would be a lot better for this size project.

Granted, most of us don’t have pastureland in city limits, regretfully that’s my case, but I can think of a couple others in the same boat.

Then there is the municipal parts of the project? Guess who is going to pay for that? More property taxes?

All that being said, I’m looking forward to the much needed improvements and have supported New Rockford for the last 37 years.

If only the residents living on gravel would get some real improvements for what they contribute. Wouldn’t that be more fair?

See you at the August 30 meeting.

Craig Voigt

New Rockford, N.D.