Lebanon council adopts first reading of five-year CIP, authorizes multiple grant applications for road, signal and trail projects

The Lebanon City Council on Tuesday held a first reading of its five‑year Capital Improvement Plan and unanimously approved three resolutions authorizing the city manager to apply for state and regional grants to support resurfacing and traffic and trail improvements.

Council members voted unanimously to let the city apply for OKI funding for resurfacing of Deerfield Road (Resolution 2025Dash065), to pursue OKI CMAQ funding for traffic signal improvements on Columbus Avenue, Main Street and North Broadway (Resolution 2025Dash066) and to pursue OKI Transportation Alternatives funding for the Miller Road multi‑use trail (Resolution 2025Dash067). The resolutions instruct the city manager to submit grant applications; all three passed on roll call votes.

The nut of the CIP discussion was funding and phasing. City staff presented the five‑year plan as the framework for infrastructure work through 2030, saying the plan lists about $48,000,000 in road expenditures over five years and assumes roughly $22,000,000 in state and federal grants. “Everything that you see in red, denotes, a project that we either have or will be pursuing grant funding for,” a staff member said during the presentation.

City staff outlined major near‑term roadway projects: reconstruction of Cedar Crescent Court, Suncrest and Meadow Lane; safety and realignment work on Mason Morrow Mill Grove Road; an annual paving program; and a scheduled replacement of Railroad Ridge 2.1. Looking farther ahead, staff said the city expects widening on a portion of State Route 63 (to three lanes), potential ODOT‑funded bridge work on Jamieson Lane, Pleasant Street reconstruction and corridor improvements at the Bypass 48/State Route 123 interchange. Several projects, staff emphasized, are grant dependent and could move later in the schedule if funding is not secured.

Staff told council the plan assumes a conservative 4% annual income‑tax revenue growth rate and that council has programmed prior reductions into the road program. The presentation pointed to a city‑maintained cash reserve target of roughly $2,000,000 to smooth capital spending. Staff also noted debt issuance in 2027 to support a new police facility and possible enterprise debt for electric transmission improvements.

Council members asked about specific projects and timelines. Vice Mayor Norris and other council members discussed bottlenecks and signal timing in the community; staff said the city maintains traffic‑signal timing within city limits even on state routes and that larger capacity changes would require ODOT coordination and grant funding through OKI. When asked about expected life of resurfacing, staff said resurfacing treatments typically last about 12–20 years and the city uses an approximate 15‑year planning figure.

The three grant‑application resolutions passed on roll calls recorded during the meeting. Staff said the CIP will be returned for further council consideration as needed; the first‑reading motion for the overall CIP was made and seconded and will proceed to future meeting steps.

Less immediate elements of the plan discussed include utility projects (wastewater aeration tank work and water‑main replacements timed with paving), park and trail work (North Broadway separated path, Bowman Trail and planned Cincinnati Avenue and Miller Road connections), and a contingency for a new fleet facility. Staff said a third‑party road condition assessment showed an increase in roads rated good and a decrease in roads rated poor compared with prior inventories.

Council members encouraged residents to report potholes to the service department or the city engineer’s office to generate work orders. Staff said some projects and the schedule are contingent on grant awards and noted that projects shown in the plan could shift if funding is not received.

What’s next: staff will return the CIP for subsequent readings and budget adjustments as grant awards and design schedules firm up. The grant application resolutions authorize staff to pursue funding but do not obligate the city to accept awards until subsequent council actions.