Residents of 38th Street will now drive on and pay for a roadway that has been sprayed with oil and sealed with road chips.
Ponoka town council recently passed a bylaw to impose a local improvement levy on the properties after years of arguing with the residents over what the surface should be and who should pay for it.
The cost of the project on 38th Street from 40th Avenue to 48th Avenue is $14,604. The project will be paid for internally, not debentured.
Betty Quinlan, director of corporate services, told council the levy will be applied to the affected properties for three years, with a total annual levy of $6,390. The annual front foot rate is $2.67.
Because 38th Street is considered a local road, council maintained it was up to the residents who front onto the street to pay to have it paved or dust-proofed, not taxpayers at large.
The options to pavement and concrete curb and gutter were: an application of oil mixed into recycled asphalt; spraying the existing surface with oil and sealing it with gravel chips; improving the base course and applying a cold mix of asphalt; and an application of liquid asphalt.
“All the work was done internally,” said Stan Baliant, director of property services. “It was town forces, town equipment.”
Council and the residents had been at loggerheads since the street was ripped up and rebuilt in 2006 when Ponoka tied into the regional water system. Before construction the road had some form of sealant applied to it, which satisfied the residents.