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Redesign price may be too high By Sara Murphy ASHLAND � Emerging critics of the Siskiyou Boulevard redesign project say the proposed plans may seem like a "pie-in-the-sky pipe dream" after the city sees a price tag. "I don�t want to see us lose control of our budget," said City Councilman David Fine. "One good way to lose control of the budget is to let people plan for perfection." Fine is concerned that the public design process has created an idealistic plan that will "make Siskiyou the local equivalent of the Champs Elysees" � and cost Ashland considerably more than the project�s $2.1 million budget. "Effectively," Fine said, "we�ve let the citizens design committee and the consultants show the community a full load of brochures for the Lincoln Town Car when we�ve only got the money for a Ford Escort." During a series of public workshops earlier this month, community members met with the Boulevard Citizens Design Committee and Portland project consultants to shape the future face of the city�s most prominent street, also known as Highway 99. Fine said a "senior administrator," who he declined to name, told him the project � as proposed during the workshops � could cost more than $6 million. "What we can do for $2.1 million is extremely limited," he said. Public Works Director Paula Brown, who�s heading up the 1.2-mile facelift project, said she thinks the committee�s proposal will hit its target. "We know we have a project budget of $2.1 million � period," she said. "That�s where we�ve started from all along." Brown said she expects the City Council will need to make some "trade-offs" � mostly materials � to bring the project within budget. But, she said, the community should get the street it�s expecting. In addition to the state�s nearly $2.2 million, separate funding is available for bus shelters and storm drains, Brown said. "I�ll take the hit that I didn�t clearly explain that to council," she said. "But that�s not part of the same money." A proposed promenade along the Southern Oregon University campus and block-long median on Ashland Street would not be part of the current project, Brown said. Reliable cost estimates won�t be available until after the council approves the concept designs, which will allow final engineering plans to be drawn, Brown said. "I would hope that we can get to that next step before everybody shoots it down," she added. Fine�s concern is that the council will approve the concept and later learn that the city can�t afford the construction � which would put the council in the awkward position of paying up or paring down. Councilman John Morrison, who serves on the citizens design committee, said the board always has been concerned with cost. He said he would be surprised if cost estimates came in "greatly off-target." "There was never any kind of dreaming or pie-in-the-sky thinking going on here," Morrison said. It�s premature to judge the project�s price because cost estimates haven�t been calculated, he said. "All we have ever dealt with are concepts." Ashland resident John Freedom said he believes the committee may have presented the community with concepts it can�t afford. During the workshops, Freedom said he "was like a kid in a candy store with a penny to spend, looking at nickel candy." "The nickel-candy options call for maybe $3 or $4 million more than we�ve got," he said. The trouble, according to Mayor Alan DeBoer, is that the project didn�t have a cost consultant. "Certainly in the future, I believe that every committee needs to understand their budget and their role," he said. "That was not their charge this time." When the project comes before the City Council, DeBoer said, he�ll encourage the council to wait two to four weeks to make a decision about whether to approve the project. "I certainly hope that the council won�t make a decision until cost estimates come in and I feel confident that David Fine will not do that," DeBoer said. "And citizens of Ashland can rest assured that I am paying close attention." Reach Ashland bureau reporter Sara Murphy at 482-4655, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.