Every big issue in Bellevue, and the region, from an NBA arena to a sidewalk, can be boiled down to one overarching debate, who is going to pay for it.
The Bellevue council delved into this cavernous question Tuesday as it continued a discussion of local improvement districts – a tool where nearby property owners pay for a part of projects they will receive a benefit from – as a way to partially fund several major road projects.
LIDs represent a crucial portion of several major road projects that were part of the Mobility and Infrastructure Initiative, but this method came into question last year after property owners gathered enough signatures to overturn a proposed LID on a project to extend Northeast Fourth Street between 116th and 120th Avenues. This event made the council question whether or not LIDs were a viable way to fund these types of projects.
The conclusion that began to take shape at Tuesday’s council meeting showed council members’ support for LIDs at the right level. More so, council members felt a wake up call that planning projects without all the money lined up could leave them out to dry.
“We’re at a point where we went down a path without a well-set funding source to get this done in shovel-ready time frame,” said Council Member John Chelminiak.
The city and council are now looking at a smaller LID for the Northeast Fourth Street project – approximately $4.6 million, down from nearly $7 million – after project costs decreased. But, the long outreach process for an LID leaves the city at risk for losing a $2.3 million grant from the federal Surface Transportation Program.
One other project, the construction of a new Northeast 15th Street, was also proposed to feature an LID. Tuesday’s discussion served not only as a workshop to fill the gap on Northeast Fourth Street, but to examine LID policies for other portions of the crucial projects.
The staff plans to engage properties owners on their willingness to pursue a smaller LID. It may be a tough sell, as current routes for the extension of Northeast Fourth Street could cutoff significant land from either Best Buy or Home Depot. While most of the council members supported the idea of trying to pursue another LID, Jennifer Robertson worried that it could slow down the process of a crucial project during a time when construction remains affordable.
“I really want to go on Northeast Fourth,” she said. “I want to go on this project; I don’t want to wait two years.”
