Safer roads on ballot

STAFFORD — The Stafford County Board of Supervisors will discuss a proposal to borrow up to $70 million in general obligation bonds to upgrade several roads in the county that some consider dangerous.

If approval of the loan is made, the county has eight years to borrow up to the amount passed in the vote. Supervisors have expressed conflicting views on the issue. Voters will have the chance to make their voices heard at the polls Tuesday.

Stafford County Supervisor Cord Sterling, R-Rock Hill, said he is firmly behind the effort and participated on a committee to research the subject.

The money would be borrowed from 2010-2015 to fix these roads. The $70 million would not fully fund the projects but “accelerate” them, said Sterling.

Fixing them will actually cost about $150 million, but some money will come from grants and state and federal sources. Payments on the loan would come from existing revenues and not from new taxes or the general fund.

“If we wait until we get the money to pay for them,” said Sterling, “it could take until 2030 to get them done.”

A great deal of commercial and residential development could take place by then.

In the Hartwood District alone, there are more than 5,500 vested lots waiting to be developed. This includes seven subdevelopments and does not include “large lot” developing.

Supervisor Joe Brito, I-Hartwood, calls these future projects “time bombs” and said “we need to improve the roads around them now.”

If the county does not, in the future: “We’ll be so busy fixing the new problems we won’t have time the fix the old ones,” he said.

Then there are safety issues.

Many of these targeted areas have not changed in several decades, and yet handle a great deal more traffic volume than they did 30 years ago before Stafford experienced burgeoning commercial and residential growth.

Brito said improvements will “alleviate some of the most dangerous spots where hundreds of accidents have happened in the last several years.”

Sterling and Mark Dudenhefer, R-Garrisonville, cited safety reasons of a section of Mountain View Road, in a press release.

They announced that a grant in the amount of $1 million dollars had been secured for the reconstruction of an area that Sterling said had been “indentified as one of the most dangerous stretches…in Stafford County.”

“Although we are unable to turn back the clock and erase the pain of those who have suffered as a result of this dangerous road, I hope that this grant will ensure that others avoid that suffering,” Sterling wrote.

Dudenhefer wrote: “This stretch of Mountain View road has been recognized as one of the most dangerous in Stafford County. I have a close tie there that will always be on my mind and that of my family. My strongest desire is that we improve this road so that no other driver loses his or her life because of a correctable situation.”

Dudenhefer’s daughter, Emily, died in an auto accident on that road in 2004.

Mark Stone, fire and rescue public information officer, said his department would like to see the bond approved. He has related the structural integrity of the bridge is not sufficient to handle modern date fire apparatus.

Fire and Rescue Chief Rob Brown stated that “any enhancements to our infrastructure is supported by Fire and Rescue.” Such improvements, added Stone, make for a “safer and more rapid response to calls.

Not everyone supports the bond issue.

Supervisor Bob Woodson, D-Griffis-Widewater, is firmly against the issue.

“It’s bad timing for the county in this dire economic state of the county, state and country to be going into debt,” he said.

Though the bond calls for a $70 million dollar loan, final payment over a 25-year period will amount to about $150 million, he said.

He said he does not feel that the revenue streams being counted on are dependable enough, and if they fail to produce enough, real estate taxes will be increased to close the gap on the loan.

“Even in good economic times, we will not be able to take on other needed capital project such as school construction, law enforcement, fire and rescue, and other secondary road projects,” he says.

“We should be tightening our belt,” he said, alluding to present economic conditions.

Supervisors’ Chairman George Schwartz, D-Falmouth, shares Woodson’s views that committing to the projects listed on the bond may hinder other projects that may become necessary in the future, and he is not entirely confident of the revenue stream counted on for the projects.

“If the several funding sources don’t pan out,” he said, “it will become necessary to tap the general fund.

“Economic times aren’t so good,” he said. “I don’t think the bond is in the best interest of the citizens of the county.”

Brito said he feels that the economic turndown will aid the county in taking on these projects at this time.

“Work is very slow for contractors right now…they’re to the point where they’re bidding jobs at cost,” he said, noting the county will benefit from more competitive bids.

Sterling said: “In these tough economic times we must continue to focus on our highest priorities, providing real solutions to some of our most significant challenges.”

Jim Lawrence is a contributing writer at the Stafford County Sun.