Booing and hissing  and catcalls in a church? Only in the 289 . .  . Tuesday night’s citizens meeting on the Street LID was Standing Room Only, with more than 100 people packed into the Shores Fellowship Church (the church provided the space, but was not involved in the meeting, which was hosted by the group L.O.S.T). Outbursts of anger and disgust were aimed at the City, not the citizen-presenters, as many were upset about their brand-new Street LID assessments (“bills”), and came to voice their opinions. Two council members (Gordon Broadbent and John Lynn) attended, as spectators. No city staff was present. Three citizens led the meeting: Don Williams gave a brief history of the four-year LID process, Kaye Bennett pointed out some “red flags” in the final report by Seattle consultants Macaulay, and Al Lizakowski demanded a public meeting, in which Macaulay would explain its methods and answer questions.

this just in:

Ocean Shores property owners & friends Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 6-8 PM at Shores Fellowship Church, Ocean Shores (694 Weatherwax Loop NE) – 1 block East of the Post Office

⌂ Brief History of LID 2007-1 (The current road LID)

⌂ The Macaulay Report – Summary & Discussion

Reprinting, for those who may have missed it: Here is a link to the spreadsheet showing the recommended Street LID charge for every Ocean Shores property. (Huge file, takes a while to download.) The date on the document, listed several times, is “Aug. 1, 2010.” It was not released to the public until Aug. 17.

Which of the following best describes the way you feel about the $44 million Street LID project, which repaved all of Ocean Shores:

a) We needed it, the job was well done, my payment is about what I expected

b) We need it, but the project is more expensive than it should have been

c) I strongly disagree with my “Special Benefits” assessment, and feel I am being asked to pay too much

d) Other (please specify)

(Shades of Steve “The Jerk” Martin.) Here is the link for the final assessment. It’s 463 pages, so it takes some time to download. Good luck finding your home, it’s not particularly “user-friendly” . . .If you don’t know your “lot number” and “Division Number,” look up your home at this County site.

The folder on the City’s Web site (in File Pro) was created on Aug. 10, one week ago. And it’s still empty. The “Final Assessment,” or bill, for each property is expected any day now, any day. . . .

The Street LID construction and financing cost is $40 million, with another 10 percent for bonding costs, bringing the total to approximately $44 million. How much will your property be assessed? There is a “Final Assessment Report” folder in the Street LID section of the City’s web site, but it’s empty, as of Monday afternoon. Based on the “SUMMARY OF SPECIAL BENEFIT ANALYSIS for the Street LID” that was provided to the North Coast News on Friday afternoon (corrected from original post), the “special benefit” ranges from $3,000 to $6,000, depending on the neighborhood. *The report notes the figures are still “estimates.”* Based on the information, an oceanfront home will have a benefit of $6,000, or 70 percent more than the $3,500 benefit of many lake and canal front homes. (Parts of Duck Lake will be paying $4,500.)

Correction from original posting: The report does not necessarily translate to billing. As noted at the end of the report,  “The figures listed above are special benefit estimates; recommended final assessments due to the project are obtained by multiplying each of the individual special benefit estimates by the project’s cost (assessment)/benefit ratio of 0.9295.”

Much of the City’s southwest area has a “special benefit” $5,000, or 43 percent higher than many properties east of Point Brown Avenue.

From the report: ”Below is a summary of the various special benefit estimates encompassing most of the land area in the city.  . .

Congratulations, Ocean Shores: After three years, the Street LID project to re-pave the entire city is complete. Now all the 12,000 or so property owners have to do is pay for it . . . On the agenda at the Aug. 9 City Council meeting is for council to set a hearing date of Sept. 20, which means Street LID assessments (“bills,” with options to pay in a lump sum, or spread out over time) would have to be mailed out to property owners by Sept. 5.

The original $31.7 million project is now estimated to be in the neighborhood of $40 million, although a final total has not been announced.

street lid assessment resolution

street lid public hearing

Don’t be intimidated: The “Washington State Local Improvement District Manual” is lengthy (114 pages), but fairly easy to read. “What’s a LID?” “How do you do one?” “Why are they doing this or that?” Should be all in this document; Charles and Robert Macaulay, of Macaulay and Associates (Ocean Shores Street LID; proposed Illahee-Oyehut Sewer LID) are given credit as contributors:

LID manual

“This is … (local woman) I thank you for putting it on the front page about the $330,000 breakdown. I am outraged! I hope that the city put it out to bid. I found it outrageous that Charles Macaulay gets $250 per hour which is more than a surgeon. makes . . . How can someone make more in an hour than a poor widow makes in a month?”