Departments :: Public Works Department

Proposed Policy - Road Improvements by Private Parties

Revised September 10, 2002

TO: Interested Parties
FROM: Dan Boldt, Director of Public Works
RE: Proposed Policy: Road Improvements by Private Parties

This memorandum addresses the following topics:

Funding Policy For Private Party Improvements on County or Public Roads
The policy of providing County funding for matching funds on paving and improvement projects on county roads not included in the Capital Improvement Program is as follows:

The policy of providing County funding for matching funds on paving and improvement projects on public, or local access, roads if approved by the County Court is as follows:

  1. (County share is limited to labor and equipment costs, and only if available.)
  2. Maximum County in-kind contribution per project will be $10,000.
  3. Maximum County in-kind contribution per budget year will be $20,000.

************* This policy has not yet been approved by the County Court *************

General policies regarding paving of gravel roads

  1. The projects must include the necessary improvements to make the road safe and easy to maintain. This may require some roadway widening and drainage improvement.
  2. Citizens of a proposed project should be aware that each considered improvement project is unique. Specific details that apply to one project may not apply to another project.
  3. The following are variables that may affect the level of County participation in addition to funding availability:
    a: If the road has a significant portion of through traffic, the County may adjust the split ratio.
    b: If the road has a feature causing high maintenance costs, such as a steep grade, the County may adjust the split ratio.
  4. The County limits of financial support are based on the budget constraints of any given year.

There are two procedures used in Wasco County for private party involvement in the paving of public gravel roads: The "Local Improvement District" process in accordance with ORS 371.605 through 371.660. This is a formal process generally used in larger projects.
OR
A "Citizen Paving Agreement". This process is a less formal agreement between the County and private citizens.

Citizen Paving Agreements
The Citizen Paving Agreement (CPA) is a less formal improvement process consisting of the following features:

  1. If serious interest in funding a project is shown, the County will make a cost estimate of the work and provide it to the citizens. The estimate will include how much money would be required from the citizens for the County to do the project.
  2. The County will not be involved in the decision about who pays how much or who doesn't pay at all.
  3. The citizens shall have a deadline to deposit the entire share of their costs with the County. This deadline will occurs in February(?), so we can budget and schedule the project.
  4. The homeowners may use any of the following methods of payment to the County:
    a: Payment by regular checking account check(s). The County upon receipt will cash these. If the County decides not to do the project, a refund in the amount of the checks collected is mailed.
    b: Payment by bank cashier's check(s). The County does not cash these until after the work has been completed.
    c: Payment into an escrow account with a bank or title company, whereby the funds would be held until the work is completed. This escrow account is created by and paid for by the homeowners. If the County decided to not do the project, the County would pay the escrow costs and then refund the money (plus interest) to the citizens. After the County does a project, the County receives all of the money in the escrow account (including interest). There is no attempt at a detailed accounting for an exact split of costs.
  5. The projects may be constructed by County forces or by contract.