Fort Caspar still could get improvements
by Carol Crump
Fort Caspar residents have two more weeks to decide whether or not they want new sidewalks, curb and gutter and sewer lines in their neighborhood.
The extra time could mean some of the homeowners who originally opposed the project will switch sides. If enough of them do, the project could go forward as planned.
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”Five years down the line, prices will go up,” said 82-year-old Esther Miller, who has lived in Fort Caspar for 50 years. “Most who voted against are new to the area and not aware of the problems we have.”
An organized effort against the proposed project garnered opposition from 141 of the area’s 313 property owners. The 141 protests represented 54.21 percent of the property in the proposed local assessment district (LAD), more than enough to kill the LAD under state law.
“The LAD can’t move forward if the legal owners of more than 50 percent of the property protest. It must be abandoned,” City Manager Tom Forslund advised the Casper City Council at its March 18 meeting.
At the public hearing before the vote that would have killed the neighborhood project for the foreseeable future, supporters told the council they’re not quite ready to give up on a project they’ve anticipated for years.
“I’m 100 percent for it,” said Rose Hill. “A lot of people, all they saw were the dollar signs. There are a lot of issues a lot of people don’t understand,” including health concerns from standing water and West Nile virus in a neighborhood close to the fairgrounds, she said.
If the neighborhood approved the LAD, work would start next summer and be completed in two years.
The council at that time would set a final assessed cost, interest rate and payment term, based on the actual, competitively bid cost.
No payments from property owners would be due until the final assessment is set.
The council also could choose to offer assistance or debt forgiveness to qualified low-income property owners.
“We can talk about interest rates and assistance programs once the LAD is in place,” said Councilman Guy Padgett, who still would be on the council when the project was finished.
Looking for a fair price
The cost is the reason he helped gather opposition signatures, said El Mark-O Lanes owner Van Galloway.
His projected assessment for the curb and improvements around the bowling alley was estimated to be $27,000 for phase II and an additional $33,000 for the upcoming phase III.
“That’s not a fair price,” Galloway said.
“This is a large project, with lots of concrete, so we would expect to see more competitive prices” than the $65 per foot currently estimated, said Public Services Director Gary Clough.
Hill and other speakers told the council that the interest rate and an estimated cost that some said could be three times the cost paid by their neighbors in phase I of the three phase project got everybody angry.
“They didn’t look at what was really needed,” Hill said. “We should have gone door to door like the negative people did.”
One resident of the area, Pamela Gray, withdrew her objection during the public hearing.
“I don’t want the project not to go forward,” she said. “When the gentlemen came around, I thought we were debating interest, not whether we wanted it done.
“I absolutely withdraw my name. I want this done.”
Gray’s withdrawal was enough to convince the council in a vote of 8-1 to postpone abandoning the Fort Caspar LAD long enough to recalculate the percentage of opposition.
The final council vote is scheduled for April 1.
Taking sides
In the meantime, those who favor the project will be walking their neighborhood to try to find more people like Gray who will are willing to drop their opposition.
Legally, individuals have the right to drop their protest up until the final vote before the council. Sixteen to 18 small property owners -- or one large property owner such as Van Galloway -- would have to withdraw their protests to meet the statutory limits.
The law also forbids adding any more protests.
“The deadline for filing a protest is past, but protesters can still withdraw up to the vote,” said City Attorney Bill Luben.
Protests can be withdrawn by submitting a letter in writing to the Casper City Manager’s office, 200 N. David St. The letter should include the property owner’s name, the address of the property and a legal description, if possible, Luben said.