Woodcreek commits to spend on roads
The Woodcreek City Council unanimously voted to commit $450,000 of reserve funding to road projects during last week’s council meeting. Exactly which roads will be worked on is still up in the air, but the money will likely be focused on the main thoroughfares of the city.
The council voted to earmark the money while a budget is created on how to best use the funds. City Engineering Firm K Friese & Associates, which was chosen as the new engineering firm for the city at the same council meeting, is expected to help formalize a plan that has been years in the making.
Multiple citizens groups have presented road plans to the city over the last several years. The plan for the $450,000 will likely follow along with many of the suggestions made from those groups.
“We went through all the past studies and suggestions that have been put together over the last few years and we identified what everyone else did,” Breton Lewis, City Administrator for the city of Woodcreek, said. “We have our main collector streets and we have a corner that has a lot more traffic on it.”
Lewis referenced Woodcreek Drive, Champion Circle and Brookmeadow Drive as the main streets the plan will be focusing on. Brookhollow Drive, while being one of the main streets in Woodcreek, has been recently replaced and therefore would likely be considered for this set of funding. Lewis also talked about the sharp corner of Champion Circle near city hall that needs to be looked at for safety improvements.
“What we are going to be doing is looking to see how we can get the biggest bang for the buck or best safety for the buck,” Lewis said. “Once we look into it, the plans will have to go back to council for approval.”
According to Lewis, the city has around $1.2 million in reserve funding. Financial analysts recommend that cities keep significant reserves on hand in case of emergency situations. Lewis said that Woodcreek financial analysts recommended not drawing down the account below $500,000.
The council’s motion stated that the funds would be for “reconstruction or resurfacing” of roads.