Jackson council deems Bloomfield Boulevard resurfacing necessary after residents’ pleas

The Jackson City Council on Oct. 28 opened and then closed a public hearing on a resident-requested resurfacing of Bloomfield Boulevard and adopted a resolution declaring the project necessary.

Residents described years of potholes and roadway damage, saying some holes were “4 or 5, 6 inches deep.” “We had some potholes on the street that were 4 or 5, 6 inches deep, and it just it it got to the point that was impassable,” said James Stark, a Bloomfield Boulevard resident. Other neighbors said the road has long been a cut-through and has sustained decades of damage from high-speed traffic.

The council held the hearing to allow affected residents to comment on the proposed special assessment and project scope. City staff told the neighborhood that if the council approves the project the city will begin design work to determine which segments require full replacement and which can be preserved, work that will in turn determine assessment amounts for property owners. “The goal would be to minimize assessments for you guys,” a city staff member said during the hearing.

The assessor clarified how special assessments would be calculated and capped. “When the letter of confirmation goes out, that will be the amount that we do intend to specially assess that property for the work that is being proposed,” an assessor’s representative said. The assessor said residential assessments are capped at $15,000 per property and would be payable in equal installments over a term not to exceed 10 years at no more than 6% interest. The assessor also confirmed the city’s policy uses frontage (per-front-foot) to apportion the assessment.

Several speakers pressed the council to coordinate the paving schedule with ongoing lead service line and other utilities work so residents would not face repeated excavation after paving. “I just hope that all the other work with the lead based… piping and everything all gets done before you do that paving so you'd have to redig it up or redo a sidewalk,” resident Ed Shearer said.

The council closed the public hearing and adopted the resolution deeming the resurfacing project necessary. The resolution authorizes the city to proceed to design and later implement the work; the council did not adopt a final assessment figure at the meeting. Staff said next steps include completing design, producing an engineer’s estimate and issuing confirmation letters to property owners with the special assessment amounts.

The city manager and public works staff will return with the design and a formal assessment schedule so council and residents can review exact costs and payment terms before assessments are finalized.