Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Residents of Steamboat Springs who live on unpaved Longthong Road are one step closer to being able to drive safely up and down the steeply inclined street this winter.
Steamboat Springs City Council approved last week a first reading of a measure to revise a Local Improvement District created to fund street improvements including a heated asphalt section of Longthong Road. The next vote on the measure will take place Sept. 5 when the issue will be open to a public hearing.
Public Works Director Jim Weber said that the main problem is that the lowest bid exceeds the previously estimated cost of the project by $120,000. The city will fall about $96,300 short under the current budget. The city will thus need to finance the project, though it is unsure as to whether or not it will make the residents of Longthong Road pay the difference eventually.
The plan to heat a portion of Longthong was formulated after a study of heated municipal roads in Snowmass. The city and Longthong area residents planned to pay for the improvement project with bonds enabled by a Local Improvement District approved by voters in 1997.
Under the provisions of the district, the city's cost for the road work would be regained through assessments against the property in the district. The city and the property owners in the district reached on a cost-sharing maintenance agreement on March 3, 1998.
Weber was worried that a delay in passing the measure could reduce the lead time needed to order boilers for the project.
"We want to take advantage of conditions as they are presented to us now," he said.

To reach Avi Salzman call 871-4203 or e-mail asalzman@amigo.net