Tiny Mountainview LID of 2004-05 Very Costly

In 2004 the City of Newberg developed an LID just a few blocks north of us called the "Mountainview LID." Mountainview Dr. in-between N. Main St. and Crater Ln. (1 block stretch of road) and 1/2 of Crater Ln. for 2 blocks to the north of Mountainview Dr. was selected for this LID.

Apparently, after reading this archive from The Newberg Graphic, it appears as though the City TOOK ADVANTAGE of the fact that 27 homeowners along this stretch had NON-REMONSTRANCE's on their titles! In other words, these homeowners were sitting ducks.

"Mountainview LID (http://www.newberggraphic.com/news/archive/1-1-05/index.htm)

Readers of The Graphic expanded their vocabulary when the story of the Mountainview LID started making headlines.

The local improvement district issue was born when the city of Newberg tried to make good on non-remonstrance agreements — a contract a property owner signs saying that he or she will not protest assessments on his or her property for improvements, such as streets — that 27 homeowners in the area signed.

The city asked homeowners and the St. Peter Catholic Church to help pay for an extension of Mountainview Drive one block west of Main Street and for half street improvements to two blocks of Crater Lane. The initial estimates put the neighbors on the defensive, and protest ensued; curt letters to the editor were submitted and printed, and neighbors made regular appearances at city council meetings to point out the inequities they saw in the assessment.

The city of Newberg and the neighbors have since come to a de facto peace pact, the neighbors settling when an engineer’s report — with more accurate, and lower, assessments on property owners — was released and passed by the council.

But the effects of the LID opposition linger. As a way of defeating the assessments, some neighbors drafted a pair of initiative petitions and gathered enough signatures to place them on the March ballot. One initiative is specific, asking Newberg voters whether the city’s LID ordinance should be eliminated. The other is more general, asking whether the city should retain its authority to create special assessments of any kind.

City councilors are organizing a campaign to defeat the initiatives, and anticipate the support of some of the neighbors affected by the Mountainview LID."

That little stretch of improvement cost those homeowners over $177K.

From http://ci.newberg.or.us/website/Mayor_Council/Agendas/2005/Council%20Agenda%202005-0222.pdf reads,

"Resolution No. 2005-2560 authorizing the City Manager to award the contract for the
Mountainview Local Improvement District (LID) project to the Saunders Company, Inc. in the
amount of $177,442.19."

Keep in mind this figure is only for the hands-on labor and materials of the improvement - this DOES NOT include the planning, the figuring, the meetings, and any other costs associated with the LID the City incurred and passed on to the community.

The City has not provided me with any information regarding property owners or who has non-remonstrances on their titles. Do you think we're in the same boat as our neighbors to the north?

Something else to think about is that a long stretch (600.06 feet to be exact) of this LID belongs to Chehalem Parks and Recreation District (CPRD), who according to their home page deem themselves, "Community Partners" with the City of Newberg (http://www.cprdnewberg.org/). Obviously, they will not protest this LID. CPRD already receives our tax money each year when we pay our property taxes, yet they have an equal vote. Is this type of double-dipping fair?