ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — For some, driving in the Nation’s Oldest City feels like they’re on horseback.
“I would say the potholes, the patches, the way it's uneven up and down,” said Kira Foster.
Every year, money is allocated to re-pave the streets but St. Augustine Mayor Nancy Shaver said next year’s budget does not include enough to maintain the streets the way they should.
“We really have streets that are in rough shape and we're the oldest city, we don't really want to be in competition for the oldest streets,” said Shaver.
The budget includes $520,000 for re-paving but Shaver said the city needs at least $690,000.
Shaver is proposing getting the difference from the city’s mobility fund, which addresses the congestion issue, and move it to street re-paving.
“This does not distract from our mobility efforts; we're not ready to spend the money, our city manager has acknowledged that,” said Shaver.
Last year, the city underwent an assessment of its infrastructure and got a D+ for its roads.
St. Augustine roads in disrepair but not enough $ to fix them, what Mayor Nancy Shaver says needs to be done at 6 @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/r2Y6H1YLDp
— Lorena Inclán (@LorenaANjax) September 21, 2016
Shaver said the money she wants to shuffle around is strictly for maintenance and will prevent the roads from getting worse.
“It's our number one issue that really affects livability,” said Shaver. “My analogy is you have a car you have to put oil in it, you have to put 8 quarts of oil so we're going to say for this year we want to run on 6 quarts of oil and see what happens. Probably not a good strategy.”
Shaver said 6.1 miles of streets could use re-paving.
“That would be $900,000 we can't afford $900,000 right now. Can we afford $700,000? Yes we can,” said Shaver.
Some drivers like Cathy Roberts agree the roads need help.
“My children go to school down here and it's treacherous sometimes especially when it's raining,” said Roberts.
Shaver acknowledged this is a temporary fix; she said coming up with a long term solution will take time.
“How do we finance it without raising taxes? Prudent financial management, how can we borrow in a prudent way to move us where we want to be,” said Shaver.
The final budget hearing will be Thursday at 5 p.m. in the Alcazar Room at City Hall.
Cox Media Group
