Rexburg council schedules March public hearing after months of Local Improvement District planning for LID 54

Rexburg City staff laid out options for Local Improvement District (LID) 54 on the city’s west side and the City Council voted to set a public hearing for March 19 as the city moves the project through public review.

City engineer Keith Davidson summarized constraints on streets included in LID 54—Birch Street, First South from Second West to Center Street, First West from Main to First South, and portions of Park Street—and recommended postponing reconstruction on steep-slope sections of Birch to allow a neighborhood meeting and more design time. "Normally, we're trying to keep it under 4," Davidson said, referring to cross‑slope targets on Birch where measured sections reached 4.6 percent.

The council and staff emphasized outreach: staff will hold an open-house for affected property owners on March 12, run a work session on March 5, and present the LID at a March 19 public hearing. The council passed a resolution to set that hearing (resolution 2025-1).

Why it matters: the LID would require property‑owner assessments for curb, gutter and sidewalk work and some driveway reconstruction. Council members pressed staff about homeowner affordability; one council member characterized an estimated owner bill of about $15,000 for a single property as "staggering" and said they could not vote yes on such an assessment without further options. Staff repeatedly called the figures estimates until contractor bids are received.

City staff described the city's cost‑sharing policy for LIDs: the current policy participates at 30 percent for curb and gutter and 30 percent for sidewalk, with a 50 percent city contribution in cases where the street is being narrowed. Davidson said staff proposes keeping that policy structure but offering more neighborhood engagement and a hardship review process. "If we're putting in a brand new road, we don't want to see someone come in and cut that road later," Davidson said in explaining why some driveway work is counted differently in estimates.

Staff gave example estimates and clarified limits: average estimated owner cost shown in staff materials was roughly $14,400 (estimate), a high estimate was just under $20,000, and some individual properties had much larger estimates (one corner property was shown in staff materials with an owner estimate reported in the packet at approximately $26,000). Staff repeatedly cautioned that these are preliminary estimates that could change after contractor pricing and final quantities.

Next steps: the council approved setting the public hearing and agreed to the staff plan to mail pre‑hearing material, hold an open house for property owners on March 12, run a work session March 5 at 5:30 p.m., and bring finalized contract bids and a refined assessment schedule after bids are opened. Staff also agreed to prepare options for hardship relief and to provide additional breakdowns showing why particular properties’ owner costs are as estimated.

Ending: The council’s action moves LID 54 from design and committee review toward public hearings and formal assessment calculations; final assessments remain subject to contractor bids and any council adjustments following the public hearing.