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Commission approves $65,000 for Fourth Street design; staff to pursue impact-fee funding and assessment options
Summary
The commission approved a budget resolution to appropriate $65,000 from impact-fee reserves to pay for design and permitting of Fourth Street (between Second Avenue and A1A Beach Boulevard). Staff will run bids after design and will return with construction cost estimates and options for special assessments or other repayment mechanisms.
The City Commission on July 14 approved a budget resolution to allocate $65,000 from the city’s road impact-fee fund to finance design and permitting for construction of Fourth Street between Second Avenue and A1A Beach Boulevard.
City staff and the city engineer described Fourth Street as a “paper-platted” street that the city has not paved. The proposed appropriation will fund engineering design, permitting and a detailed cost estimate so the city can solicit bids for construction. Public works and engineering staff explained that the estimate will include alternatives—sidewalks, storm and gutter, underground utilities and street lighting—so commissioners can weigh trade-offs before awarding construction work.
Public comments and several commissioners stressed competing concerns: some property owners want the street improved to allow development of platted lots; others warned about city exposure if lots decline to participate in a repayment assessment. Staff said the city currently holds about $880,000 in road impact-fee reserves and that those funds can be used for growth-related road improvements. Commissioners asked staff to calculate repayment options, including non‑ad valorem assessments, the range of assessment caps used in past projects, potential legal costs if assessments are contested, and whether the County could reclaim impact-fee balances if they are not used within a specified time.
The commission passed the appropriation unanimously but directed staff to return with (1) a complete design and permitting scope, (2) a construction cost estimate with alternates, and (3) recommended repayment mechanisms and a timeline for assessment and collection if the commission decides to proceed.
What the vote means: The appropriation pays for design and permitting only; it does not obligate the commission to fund construction. Staff will return with bids and an assessment package for the commission to approve before construction funding is committed.
