The Newport city council has begun talking about asking voters to approve a $50 million bond to repair and upgrade its infrastructure, including the $3 million to $4 million needed to upgrade the wastewater pump station at the Nye Beach turnaround.
By SHAYLA ESCUDERO/ Lincoln Chronicle
NEWPORT – City councilors are considering a $50 million bond to put before voters next year to help pay for several capital projects ranging from sidewalks and roads to sewers and parks.
Councilors discussed the details of the potential bond for the first time publicly at their Monday work session and directed staff to continue pursuing the idea.
Vetter“A lot of our infrastructure, like most cities in Oregon, was built in the 90s,” said city manager Nina Vetter. “Lack of funding over time has resulted in deferred maintenance, which you can afford, up to a point until it starts falling apart – which is where we’re at now.”
Even with utility rate increases, the revenue largely just covers operational expenses for providing water and wastewater services, Vetter said.
There are several projects in need of attention including adding more lighting and accessibility improvements to Sam Moore Park, replacing water transmission lines, fixing sidewalks and streets and expanding the infrastructure at the Nye Beach pump station – which alone is estimated to cost $3 million to $4 million.
As the city grows, it needs more sewage infrastructure, Vetter said.
“We are at capacity unfortunately with the pump station at Nye Beach, which can hinder further development and also leaves us at risk for having an environmental issue if we have a spillage,” she said.
While there is a long list of projects, the bond probably wouldn’t be able to cover each one, so it is important to ask the community to figure out priorities for projects in addition to the ones that are most urgent, Vetter said. The city is planning to hold a series of outreach events before any formal action is taken.
If the bond went to the ballot and voters approved it, it would collect $1.36 per $1,000 of assessed property value which translates to about $50 a month for property assessed at $450,000.
The general obligation bond is a way for local governments to borrow money for capital projects and repays the debt using tax revenues, Vetter said. The city has had successful bonds in the past including one for the water treatment plant in 2008 and another for the aquatic center that voters approved in 2013.
The water treatment plant bond would still collect property taxes until 2029, creating a two-year overlap with the proposed 20-year general obligation bond and an even larger overlap for the aquatic center bond.
JacobiCouncilor Cynthia Jacobi was concerned about the overlap between the bonds.
“I wish there were some way we didn’t have the two-year overlap,” Jacobi said. “That can be kind of a pinch for some people.”
Vetter said there had been a lot of staff thinking about the timing of the bond. The main challenge was the urgency of some of the projects.
“They’re urgent now, and they’re urgent five years ago, and so delaying them any further, can potentially risk something really bad happening,” Vetter said. “Also, they’re going to get significantly more expensive the longer we wait.”
After listening to Vetter’s presentation, city council members gave a thumbs up directing staff to continue to pursue the bond as an option for the November 2026 general election. Councilors have not yet voted to put the bond on the ballot. If it does end up on the ballot and voters pass it, property taxes would begin collecting in 2027.
- Shayla Escudero covers Lincoln County government, Newport, education, housing and social services for Lincoln Chronicle and can be reached at [email protected]
So they want people to trust the staff and city council that allowed this to happen in the first place and expect they will responsibly do the right thing with $50 million?
Sidewalks? City of Newport had an opportunity to put in 2 blocks of sidewalks to make it safer for children/residents of a neighborhood to walk to a local park, since two blocks of unpaved street were being paved (w/some of the cost shared with the health district). The city chose to install uncovered storm water drainage channels instead as well as omitting curbs on the two blocks. That neighborhood along with other parts of Newport are within an urban renewal district, so property tax dollars were also available. It seems that sidewalks are installed only when it’s required of a private developer. And, the city has chosen to spend urban renewal funds on a “couplet”, yet state law indicates that urban renewal funds can be spent improving sewers, etc, and a few other types of infrastructure in some situations. So, why isn’t the city using some of those funds instead of spending millions on a “couplet” that, as far as I could see from the plans at the open house, will make it more difficult to get to/from the hospital from north and central Newport. And at least from what Mr. Tokos said (when I asked him) there will be none of the landscaping, etc., that was done by the city of Philomath as part of the lengthy installation of its couplet. It’ll just be a lot more pavement and some new storefronts.
I get the understanding of need for water infrastructure update; but the City is making this sound like $50 extra a month is no big deal (if assessed value is 450k), but we don’t pay property taxes monthly. The wording is to work in their favor so people will pass this bond if it comes up for 2026 voting.
Do you have an extra $600 to pay for property taxes? (if home is assessed at estimated value like the city is using for their pitch for this potential bond).
Times are really tough and tight right now, this will HURT local homeowners who live here. And renters wonder why rent goes up each year when bonds pass.