Empire residents to decide on tax for sidewalks, other upgrades

Stanislaus County will hold a public hearing Tuesday morning and then count the ballots to see if Empire residents want to tax themselves for community improvements.

The county proposes to annex 192 parcels to the Empire county service area, which would clear a hurdle for sidewalk, street and storm drainage improvements for the unincorporated town.

A plan calls for building $4.5 million in improvements in phases over the next three years. After the work is done, the county would collect an $84.54 annual assessment from homes to cover the costs of maintaining the upgrades.

The homes won’t be annexed if a majority of the returned mail ballots are marked to protest the levy, according to the county’s letter to property owners in March. Property owners who have not voted can deliver their ballots at the public hearing Tuesday before the Board of Supervisors.

“We would love to do the project,” said David Leamon, Public Works deputy director. “It is just a matter of whether folks in Empire want it.”

Leamon said the ballots will be tallied Tuesday afternoon. Supervisors are slated to adopt the election results May 10.

Most of the parcels proposed for annexation are residential properties. Glick Middle School and a few businesses also have the opportunity to vote.

The county once had a $15 million redevelopment plan to solve Empire’s flooding problems by connecting with a Modesto Irrigation District line to the Tuolumne River. But redevelopment agencies in California were eliminated in 2011.

A lower-cost option to use small catch basins was turned down by Empire residents last year. They were more favorable to another plan, which would use valley gutters and French drains to take care of rainwater.

The improvements also would include a roundabout at Third and A streets, plus sidewalks and a safer railroad crossing on Second Street for students walking to Empire Elementary School or Glick Middle School.

If the ballot count gives the green light, county Public Works will work on designs this summer to determine what makes sense for the first phase.

The annexation also requires an application to the Local Agency Formation Commission.

This story was originally published April 25, 2016 at 6:41 PM with the headline "Empire residents to decide on tax for sidewalks, other upgrades."