By Grayson Vandegrift
Mayor, City of Midway
One of the most important issues that any city, state or nation faces is one that often gets talked about the least. It’s costly, it’s complicated, and sometimes you can’t see it at all, but it’s ever-present in our lives. I’m of course talking about infrastructure, and while I’m proud of the steps we’ve been taking to improve ours, I’m the first to admit we’ve still got a long way to go. That’s why I’m pleased with the budget that the council passed for fiscal year 2017-2018, which took effect July 1, and I thought I’d relate a few of the highlights relating to infrastructure.
The appropriation for road paving is $32,000, with the stretch of East Stephens between Oak and Smith being a priority. We’ve budgeted about a third less in sidewalk improvements from the year before, but that’s actually a blessing in disguise: Because we were able to implement the new sidewalk program with full participation from property owners, we came in well under budget. I fully expect that program will continue to be a success. We’re also making a push to repair long-neglected storm sewers around the city, with $10,000 earmarked for that.
In the water and sewer end of things, we’ve budgeted $35,000 in capital improvements for our wastewater treatment plant, and we’ll be making other small improvements to the system knowing we’ll have some more major projects on the horizon. We’re “peeling the onion” of water and sewer infrastructure repair one layer at a time, because we’re all determined to make the necessary improvements without raising rates.
For a full version of the budget, please call or visit city hall and we’ll be happy to make you a copy. (Or you can download the most recent budget tracking report here.)
Mayor, City of Midway
One of the most important issues that any city, state or nation faces is one that often gets talked about the least. It’s costly, it’s complicated, and sometimes you can’t see it at all, but it’s ever-present in our lives. I’m of course talking about infrastructure, and while I’m proud of the steps we’ve been taking to improve ours, I’m the first to admit we’ve still got a long way to go. That’s why I’m pleased with the budget that the council passed for fiscal year 2017-2018, which took effect July 1, and I thought I’d relate a few of the highlights relating to infrastructure.
The appropriation for road paving is $32,000, with the stretch of East Stephens between Oak and Smith being a priority. We’ve budgeted about a third less in sidewalk improvements from the year before, but that’s actually a blessing in disguise: Because we were able to implement the new sidewalk program with full participation from property owners, we came in well under budget. I fully expect that program will continue to be a success. We’re also making a push to repair long-neglected storm sewers around the city, with $10,000 earmarked for that.
In the water and sewer end of things, we’ve budgeted $35,000 in capital improvements for our wastewater treatment plant, and we’ll be making other small improvements to the system knowing we’ll have some more major projects on the horizon. We’re “peeling the onion” of water and sewer infrastructure repair one layer at a time, because we’re all determined to make the necessary improvements without raising rates.
For a full version of the budget, please call or visit city hall and we’ll be happy to make you a copy. (Or you can download the most recent budget tracking report here.)
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