It took a quick look at Canby and Silverton as a comparison.
Canby
Canby has limited or very little information that I could find in a quick search regarding SDC’s or SDC methodology. What I could find in their Transportation System Plan (TSP) is an expectation that they will receive funding from the State of Oregon, the federal government, Clackamas County, and developer exactions for funding. They also called out Local Improvement Districts, SDC’s and general obligation bonds. Their master plan is from 2010 so it is not current. Their total master plan cost is $91,460,000 and their Transportation SDC’s are $3,151.58 per trip, which appears to be based on an assumption of other funding from federal, state, county, and developer sources of funding for improvements. That is a double edge sword because they are assuming that money from other sources in a competitive application process will cover their costs. If we apply the trip count, square footage, and pass-by adjustments under Molalla’s methodology for a Dollar General using the Canby numbers then the transportation fee would be $119,880.
Silverton
Silverton had a lot more information available. Their TSP was from 2018 and they had a complete SDC methodology. Their total master plan cost is $42,584,624 with $9,496,887 (22.3%) being SDC eligible. Their improvement SDC fee is $2948/trip, reimbursement SDC fee is $633/trip, and 5% administration fee for a total of $3760/trip. If we apply the trip count, square footage, and pass-by adjustments under Molalla’s methodology for a Dollar General using the Silverton numbers then the transportation fee would be $143,022.
Molalla
Molalla’s TSP was completed in 2018 and SDC methodology completed in 2019. There are no assumptions of federal, state, county grants, and no assumption of developer exactions. This is a conservative master plan and methodology that does not rely on money that the City may or may not receive through competitive grant processes. The total cost of the transportation improvements is $101,965,000 with $48,220,033 (47.3%) being SDC eligible. Note the significant increase in SDC percentage compared to Silverton. That equates to projects that increase capacity not being done in the past and the backlog continuing to grow with community growth. The improvement SDC fee is 11,813/trip, reimbursement SDC fee is $761/trip, and 2% administration fee for a total of $12,826 per trip. Dollar General received a credit for the single family home structure that was on the property, however, for this comparison I’ll leave that out. Based on today’s numbers the transportation fee would be $492,546.
Like I said in the meeting, not all City’s are the same. Some have current master plans and some do not. Some assume money from the federal government, state, and county. Some assume that developers will build the improvements through exactions. Molalla assumes we will not receive funding from outside agencies because historically we have not for transportation projects. Only two have been received and staff has had to fight tooth and nail to get that money. One project is set to go to construction within the next month and when done it will have taken 11 years to complete from first application to project completion. The other will take a total of approximately 8 years assuming that ODOT is successful in securing federal funds for the project. Molalla also assumes that developers will not be building these projects. The establishment of Local Improvement Districts in the past have been rejected by residents and likely the same will occur if a general obligation bond is put forward. Voters overturned City Council via citizen initiative to create a street maintenance fee which sent a message to the City of no additional funding for transportation. So, we are left with funding through gas tax, SDC’s, and the newly passed County vehicle registration fee to fund $101M in transportation projects over the next 20+ years.
I know that was a lot of information, numbers, comparisons, and history, but I hope it paints a complete picture of the size of improvement costs we face in transportation and the funding available to us. If you have any additional question please feel free to contact me and I will be happy to answer them. Thank you.
Regards,
Gerald Fisher, P.E. | Public Works Director
City of Molalla
117 N Molalla Ave. | PO Box 248 |Molalla, OR 97038
Office: 503.829.6855 | Direct: 503.759.0218
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From: Jeff Roth [Custom Box Service, Inc.] <jeff@custombox.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 20, 2020 9:40 AM
To: Dan Huff <dhuff@cityofmolalla.com>
Cc: Leota Childress <lchildress@cityofmolalla.com>; Gerald Fisher <gfisher@cityofmolalla.com>; Mac Corthell <mcorthell@cityofmolalla.com>
Subject: RE: Transportation SDC fees
Thank you for the quick response, Dan; and for the information you have provided.
Sincerely,
Jeff Roth
Custom Box Service, Inc.
28230 S. Oglesby Rd.
Canby, OR 97013
[My normal office hours are 7:00 am to 3:00 pm]
Ph: 503.266.4553 | Fax: 503.266.9043
jeff@custombox.com | www.custombox.com
From: Dan Huff [mailto:dhuff@cityofmolalla.com]
Sent: Tuesday, October 20, 2020 9:36 AM
To: Jeff Roth [Custom Box Service, Inc.]
Cc: Leota Childress; Gerald Fisher; Mac Corthell
Subject: Transportation SDC fees
Mr. Roth – Thank you for your comments. I have attached a report Staff presented to the Molalla City Council in February of 2019. Page 5 begins comparisons of other Cities. This report may not answer all of the comments and questions you have but there is some good information that Council used in making their decision. What Mr. Fisher was discussing was that a person needs to be careful with those comparisons because each City has different needs. Transportation SDC’s may be higher because there is a higher need for transportation improvements. Here in Molalla, we have a 30 year backlog of projects that have not been completed. Other Cities may have not delayed need projects to the extent we are dealing with here. This is the point Mr. Fisher was trying to make.
However, if we were only dealing with economics or business perspective, then yes, comparison’s would be 100% the way to go. I appreciate the interest and questions you have asked and we would be more than happy to discuss this with you more at your convienence. I have included Public Works Director, Fisher and Planning Director, Mac Corthell in this e-mail as well. Please contact each of them and/or me if you need to in the future.
Dan Huff
City Manager
City of Molalla, Oregon
(503)829-6855
______________________________________________________________________________
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From: Leota Childress <lchildress@cityofmolalla.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 20, 2020 8:40 AM
To: Jeff Roth [Custom Box Service, Inc.] <jeff@custombox.com>
Cc: Dan Huff <dhuff@cityofmolalla.com>; Gerald Fisher <gfisher@cityofmolalla.com>; Mac Corthell <mcorthell@cityofmolalla.com>
Subject: Re: Transportation SDC fees
Jeff,
Thank you for contacting me. I appreciate the way you have been following city council and asking good questions. You have a double stake in SDCs since you are a business owner and resident of Molalla.
As you can see, I copied city staff on this reply. SDCs are complex calculations that are beyond my area of expertise. I will stay in the loop as we go forward with clarifications you and others in the community are asking for.
You are always welcome to reach out to me and I appreciate you interest in our community.
Best Regards,
Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device