Caledonia Likely To Require Businesses To Pay More For Road Projects

If a road in front of a business needs to be ripped up and reconstructed, the business owner will likely see a slightly bigger bill for the project.

is one step closer to requiring industrial and commercial property owners to pay more for road reconstruction projects. The Legislative and Licensing Committee will recommend to the Village Board next week that they make adjustments to their special assessment policy to pay for Village road reconstruction projects.

“The policy won’t be substantially different for residents, but it’s definitely more aggressive for the other business uses,” said Elaine Ekes

The policy would require industrial, commercial, manufacturing and institutional businesses owners to pay 100 percent of road reconstruction costs to pave the portion that abuts their property to the centerline of a two-lane road. For a four-lane road, the business would pay 60 percent of the cost for the two lanes that abutted their property to the center line of the road. The assessment wouldn’t apply to road repair projects, only road reconstruction projects where the entire road needed to be replaced.

Currently business owners are assessed with a complicated formula, but the change would allow for higher costs to be assessed to the business owner.

Officials said they were tweaking the policy because of a road reconstruction that the City of Racine and the Village will be doing on Three Mile Road just east of Douglas Avenue. Vulcan Materials, which mines the quarry, will be assessed the cost of the project under the new rules.

“We are coming more into line with what other communities are doing,” said Tom Weatherston, Committee and Village Board member. “We used to have a flat fee that was hard to figure out… we’re trying to make it a lot easier to calculate.”

The Committee also talked about the potential of assessing Siena Partners project that could include reconstructing Erie Street.

The construction project, which is the largest in the ’s history, is a partnership between the and Lincoln Lutheran. The two have joined forces to create Siena Partners, Inc. Once completed, the independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing and memory care facilities will be owned and overseen by Siena Partners, Inc. with Lincoln Lutheran as managers. Lincoln Lutheran will still run its existing facilities, and the Sisters will maintain their other ministries (Eco-Justice Center, HOPES Center, etc.) independently.

The Village is anticipating that the road will need to be brought to a higher standard, which will require a road reconstruction.

“We’re trying to change this before other projects come up,” said Kevin Wanggaard, Committee and Village Board member. “We’re not trying to ‘fee’ anyone, but these are infrastructure costs that benefit those projects.”

The recommendation will now be sent to the Village Board next week for possible action.