The city and Henry County plan to replace nearly non-existing striping -- like this on South Street at the Tenney intersection -- with a new, more durable material that should last longer.
Three-quarters of a million dollars are budgeted for street repairs in Kewanee this fiscal year. City officials plan to apply for federal dollars for a major street project.
And there could be still more, if a sales tax referendum is passed by Kewanee voters next year.
At Monday’s City Council meeting, City Manager Gary Bradley gave a “transportation update,” reporting that $750,000 is in the budget for the street maintenance program this year.
The money for that work will come from the city’s share of state motor fuel taxes collected in Kewanee.
Bradley said another source of street funds could be a Federal Aid Urban (FAU) grant. That’s the program that paid for the major upgrade of East Street a couple of years ago.
City staff will have to decide which of Kewanee’s major streets will get the upgrade, should an FAU grant be sought and approved.
A third source of revenue could come from local sales taxes. The city could put a question on next spring’s local election ballot asking for voter approval of a half-cent sales tax surcharge to go toward street repairs.
Bradley said 18 percent of the sales taxes collected in Kewanee are paid by out-of-town shoppers.
The city already collects a tax surcharge for water and sewer system maintenance, and both local school districts have half-cent surcharges that pay for construction of school facilities.
Bradley said city staff would provide detailed information on the street program to the council by this fall, to meet the January deadline for getting the measure on the spring ballot.
Other items Bradley touched on:
— A project to resurface Lyle Street and repair water and sewer lines in the area is “entirely out of our hands” at this point, as the contractors have yet to schedule the work. He added that he hopes the job can be completed this year.
— An application for a Safe Routes to Schools grant is “moving forward, but grants just take time.”
— The striping along the lanes on South Main and Tenney streets should be redone this week or next.
This project will be carried out by the city and the Henry County Highway Department and will use a more durable substance for the lane markings which should hold up longer than the paint that was formerly used.
