Some Ft. Casper residents decide not to protest
CHRISTINE ROBINSON Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Wednesday, March 19, 2008 12:00 am
A sewer and sidewalk reconstruction project slated for the Fort Casper area could possibly move forward after two homeowners decided not to protest the plan.
Pamela Gray, one of the effected property owners, said in a Casper City Council meeting on Tuesday night that she didn't know she was protesting the entire plan when she signed the petition.
"I absolutely want to remove my name," she said. "We want this done."
The project, called a Local Assessment District, requires the city pay for city portions of the reconstruction, and homeowners pay for the land they legally own. Some of the homeowner fees in the second of this three stage process varied from $4,000 to $13,000.
According to state law, the project cannot continue if people owning more than 50 percent of the land in the area protest.
As of Tuesday, before the two names were removed, 141 of the 295 property owners protested, accounting for 54.21 percent of the land in the area, said City Manager Tom Forslund.
Before the council voted to reject the plan on Tuesday because of the protests, two homeowners withdrew their names. The city now has to calculate exactly how much land the two homeowners have, and how much that will alter the percentage.
Public Services Director Gary Clough said it would require roughly 15 to 18 homeowners with average lot sizes to change the percentage enough to allow the plan to pass. If some property owners, such as El Mark O Lanes owner Van Galloway, changed their votes, it would count for more because of the large lot size.
The project will be addressed again in the April 1 council meeting. In the meantime, if any of the homeowners who signed the petition want to take their names off of the list, they can. Because the final date to protest has passed, no more names can be added to the protest list.
Leaning on her walking cane after the meeting, Esther Miller said she has lived in the Fort Casper area for more than 50 years and may go door to door if necessary to convince people to take their names off of the list.
"There have been people trying to get this done for years," Miller said. "If it comes back in five to six years, the price will be double."
Many of the homeowners who protested the project said the cost of the project was too high, averaging roughly triple the amount of the first phase of improvements in the Fort Casper neighborhood that was completed in 2002.
Contact city reporter Christine Robinson at (307) 266-0639 or christine.robinson@trib.com