Assessment policy for road project gets modified

By Grace Lovins

After a nearly four hour discussion on Monday, May 5, Birmingham City Commissioners voted 4-3 to modify the special assessment roll for Phase I of the Wimbleton Road reconstruction project, changing the city-resident cost share from the original 85/15 split to a 50/50 split in response to dozens of residents from the area expressing frustration over the financial burden of the project.

Wimbledon Road, designated as a major street under state guidelines per city manager Jana Ecker, is among the few major streets in Birmingham that remains unimproved, meaning there is no asphalt, curbs or gutters. Because the city does not fully maintain these roads until they are considered improved, the cost of these upgrades is typically covered through special assessments on the adjacent property owners.

Ecker explained that the city received roughly $1.8 million per year from the state for the 22 miles of major roads in Birmingham to cover things like pothole repairs, traffic signal, pavement marking and snow removal. Historically, the city has used special assessments for unimproved streets because those roads haven’t been fully accepted into city maintenance.

Residents pushed back during public comment period of the meeting, expressing their frustration with being charged for the improvements. “Please don’t drive us out of our neighborhood that we love so much,” said one Wimbleton homeowner. Another called the assessment “oppression,” while others raised concern about fairness saying there was a lack of resident control over the street design.

Commissioners debated several proposed approaches, including delaying the project for a year to explore alternatives or fixing the aging water and sewer infrastructure under the road and laying a cape seal after the fact. Some raised the point that delaying the project for a year could have its own consequences such as the cost being even greater or potential issues with the old water infrastructure that needs to be replaced.

Ultimately, the commission approved a motion to redo the special assessment for Phase I of the project with cape seal based on a 50/50 cost split and to include Twin Oaks Lane and Abbey Road. Commissioners Clinton Baller, Andrew Haig and Jason Emerine opposed the motion.

Despite the vote, several commissioners, considering the resident blowback, stated they were interested in revisiting the city’s established policy on funding road improvements.