Council committee: taking over Buena Vista private street would cost at least $370,000; staff to draft response to resident

The Oneonta Public Works Committee heard an update on a resident request for the city to take over Buena Vista, a private street off Morgan Avenue, after staff estimated the cost of upgrading the road to city specifications.

City staff reported that Buena Vista is about 565 feet long and would need to be reconstructed to a 24‑foot width with a cul‑de‑sac (staff used a 50‑foot radius in their estimate), sub‑base work, pavement, curbs, partial closed drainage, and a manhole at the sewer terminus. Staff estimated the construction cost at “around $370,000 at least,” not including the cost of right‑of‑way acquisition or street lighting, which a typical city street would have. The street currently has water and sewer installed in the late 1980s; staff said those utilities largely do not require replacement now but recommended replacing the sewer turnup with a manhole at the end.

Staff noted the city does not own right‑of‑way along Buena Vista and would need to negotiate acquisitions with private owners if the city were to accept the street. Committee members and staff emphasized that if the city took over the road, the city would also assume ongoing maintenance obligations: snow and ice removal, pavement maintenance and eventual reconstruction, curb and catch basin maintenance, street light maintenance, storm line replacement and related costs. A specific annual maintenance estimate was not developed during the update.

Committee members said the resident who raised the issue had argued that city ownership and drainage improvements would address runoff problems; staff and committee members said their site observations and engineering review indicated the drainage issues appear to be neighbor‑to‑neighbor runoff on a wet hillside rather than deficiencies in the roadway itself and that taking over the street may not resolve the homeowner’s drainage complaints.

After discussing the engineering estimate and the limits of city authority, the committee asked staff to draft a letter summarizing the committee’s findings for the resident and to circulate that draft to council members (including Council member Carson and Lehi). The committee did not adopt any ordinance or formal motion to accept the street; the action recorded was direction to staff to prepare communication and to continue limited follow‑up.

The committee also noted two homes on Buena Vista access the city street system from Moffett Street, and that constructing the new street would serve only about two additional homes directly. Several members asked that staff document the right‑of‑way status and provide a more detailed breakdown of acquisition costs and street‑lighting options if council wishes to pursue the matter further.

The discussion closed with agreement to draft and circulate a letter rather than taking immediate further action.