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County URA funds eyed for multi-million-dollar road project, councilors say
Summary
Councilors reported to the North Bend City Council that the county urban renewal agency plans to keep its URA intact and use approximately $2.8 million in URA funds toward a roughly $3 million road reconstruction project intended to support businesses and recreational access.
During the council's committee reports on May 13, councilors who represent the city on the county Urban Renewal Agency (URA) reported that county commissioners intend to keep the county URA intact and move forward on a proposed road reconstruction using URA funds.
Councilors said the road needs extensive work and estimated the cost at roughly $3 million. They reported about $2.8 million in the URA account that could be used for the project. The council members described the project as important for attracting businesses, supporting recreation access and removing maintenance burden from taxpayers. The report noted heavy truck use on the road—about 350 trucks per day, according to the council remarks.
Why it matters: Using URA funds for a major road reconstruction could accelerate economic development priorities and shift costs away from the general county budget. Councilors said the county URA board requested that available URA monies be spent within the URA boundary on infrastructure.
What councilors said
Councilor Hamilton (reporting as a URA board member) said county commissioners had discussed shutting down the county URA but ultimately the county will retain the URA and proceed with the road project. Hamilton described estimates of the road reconstruction cost at about $3,000,000 and reported available URA funds around $2.8 million. Councilors said the county accepted their advice and planned to move forward with the project.
Next steps
Councilors said they will attend upcoming budget meetings and watch the county's work on the URA-funded project. No formal action by the North Bend City Council was recorded on this agenda item; the remarks were provided as a committee report.
