The North 45th Street corridor was named as the top vote-getter July 12 in Mayor Greg Nickels' search for the "dirty dozen" worst transportation problems in Seattle.
Speaking at a press conference at the Wallingford Center, the mayor promised the city will repave the street later this summer, and he took the opportunity to promote his $1.8 billion, 20-year plan to fix a decades-long backlog of deferred maintenance for the city's roads, bridges and sidewalks.
But the Seattle City Council has been discussing a funding package that is roughly 75 percent of the mayor's.
A 'lumpy, bumpy' ride
Kara Ceriello didn't think North 45th was as bad as some other streets in Wallingford, although she admitted it's "very lumpy-bumpy."
Ceriello is the co-president of the Wallingford Chamber of Commerce and one of the owners of the Not A Number store, along North 45th.
She's worried about the scope of the work: "We need to make sure that they're going to repave the road, not just pave over [the existing asphalt]," she said.
Ceriello also questioned the timing of Nickels' push for funding. "It's interesting it comes right after new budget money was found," she said. "So why do we have to hit everybody up again?"
Ceriello added that she has no problem paying her fair share in taxes and fees, but there's a limit. "A lot of us are taxed out," she complained.
Hitting up the taxpayers again?
Taxpayer fatigue was an issue that came up at the City Council committee meeting, too. "The ultimate goal is to craft a package that will pass in November," said committee chairperson Jan Drago.
The mayor's proposal includes a $25 head tax for each employee at Seattle businesses, a 10-percent tax on commercial parking in the city and an increase in property tax that would raise an estimated $45 million in just the first year.
The property tax under the council's proposal would work out to be an extra $155 a year for a home worth $400,000 ($195 a year for the same house under the mayor's proposal, according to city staff). The staff members also said the property tax would provide around three-fourths of the total funding.
Speaking before the committee meeting, Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Steve Leahy agreed the city has to do something about the issue. "The problem is real; the need is huge," he said.
But Leahy worried that the funding would unfairly impact businesses, and he questioned whether all alternative forms of financing have been considered: "So our request would be to take a bit more time, with all of you as actors."
The committee didn't have much of a choice. Drago had announced she was putting off a vote because the committee members were still hashing through the complicated details of the competing proposals. But the full council is expected to take a final vote on its amended proposal on Monday, Aug. 7.
Staff writer-at-large Russ Zabel can be reached at rzabel@nwlink.com or 461-1309.
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