• On February 26 the City of Groton will have a special election to determine if the 2013 curb & gutter project should proceed as planned.  Our letter this week will address what the plans are for this project and answer questions on special assessments.
• As we stated last week a very small curb & gutter project and street repair project has grown.  Besides installing curb and gutter in the project area, the City is planning to dig out E 9^th Ave, E 8^th Ave, E 5^th Ave, and N 5^th St between E 9^th Ave and E 5^th Ave, lay road fabric, bring in new gravel, and mat the street with asphalt in 2013.  The areas on N 6^th St and on N 5^th St from E Railroad Ave to E 4^th Ave will have curb & gutter installed, problem areas will have gravel replacement, and the street will have prime oil and chip seal applied in 2014.  Tax dollars will not stretch for an asphalt mat at this time.
• Storm sewer will be added to the east side of N 6^th St between E 14^th Ave and E 16^th Ave.  Also storm sewer will be added at the intersection of N 5^th St and E 5^th Ave.  Culverts will be replaced, enlarged, or repositioned on N 5^th St and N 6^th St at E 5^th Ave.  All of these improvements have to be approved by FEMA in Denver because the floodway can only be disturbed under strict rules. 
• Our goal has been and still remains to improve our streets by improving drainage and keeping the costs manageable for everyone.  The property tax dollars and sales tax dollars will be used for street improvements, culverts, and storm sewer improvements.  Special assessments to the property owners will only include the curb & gutter, corner sections, and driveway aprons that are part of any curb & gutter project.
• When the project is complete and all the bills are in, the total cost will be divided on a per foot cost for all the linear feet of curb & gutter in the project.  The total cost will include only the curb and gutter construction, engineering, publishing, bond costs, etc.  It will not include the street repair or storm sewer costs.  General tax dollars will pay for the streets and drainage improvements.
• These special assessment rules are set in SD State law and

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