Mayor Hopes for Enough $ to Finish Road

At the "illegal public hearing" held on Tuesday, February 17, 2009, Janet Wadsworth asked and received answers to two questions.

1. In his February 2009 "Highland Insider" message, Mayor Franson explained that "the revenue source that will be used to pay for this borrowed money (road bonds)" will be money the "city receives from the State of Utah known as B&C Road funds." Included in his explanation was this statement: "This is a stable revenue source that sees very little annual fluctuation."

Janet Wadsworth asked how stable the amount of this revenue source really is and whether the amount could actually go down due to economic slumps.

In response, Barry Edwards explained the formula the State uses to allocate the funds to cities. He acknowledged that the allocation was in fact down from the previous one, which means Highland will receive less money this year. He also acknowledged that it is possible that these B&C Road funds could shrink further.

2. Janet said that it is her understanding that the $4 million that Utah County has committed to Highland is specifically for building the "Murdock Connector" as a part of the widening of 4800 West, a corridor of regional significance.

She asked whether that $4 million would still be given to Highland if Highland fails to come up with the remaining dollars needed to build this connector between the Alpine Highway and 4800 West.

Mayor Franson acknowledged that the $4 million was offered only for the Murdock Connector road and could not be used for other Highland City road improvements. He also acknowledged that, if Highland City does not have enough money (when combined with the money from Utah County) to construct this road, the County's $4 million would not necessarily still be available to Highland.