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Talent looks for $1.2 million bond for several major street projects By Wendy Siporen of the Mail Tribune TALENT -- More than three years after the dust settled on the renovation of Talent Avenue, the Talent Urban Renewal Agency is gearing up for two high-profile street improvement projects. Interim Executive Director John Luthy hopes to secure a $1.2 million bond in the next few months to finance the reconstruction of New Street as well as Main Street from Talent Avenue to Front Street. Once the financing is in place, preliminary engineering can begin to completely repave the two streets -- adding sidewalks, curbs and gutters and updating storm drains and sewer pipes where necessary. Preliminary estimates put the cost of Main Street at close to $900,000 and New Street at $235,000. Luthy said he hopes the projects can get started before the end of the fiscal year in June. "We go by (New Street) with care packages occasionally to see if people are lost in the potholes," joked Luthy. The Urban Renewal Agency itself has been renewed in the last two months with the appointment of four new members. Inactivity and board vacancies had led several City Council members to propose that the board's duties be handed over to the council. But with a full plate of projects and a quorum, Mayor Marian Telerski is excited about the agency's coming year. "It's been a long time between projects," she said."It's an opportunity to get a lot done at once." Once the projects are completed, the Urban Renewal Agency will repay the bond using the additional taxes resulting from the increased property values. Since its inception in 1991 to combat urban blight, the agency has spruced up Wagner Street, John Street and Talent Avenue and purchased land for the skate park and transportation depot. The two street projects will tie into two other new city street projects: the addition of sidewalks and bike lanes on Main Street from Schoolhouse Road to the railroad tracks; and a $785,000 project on Talent Avenue from Wagner Creek to Arnos Street. The agency will contribute $32,000 in matching funds toward the Talent Avenue project. The Main Street project will begin this winter. Don't look for backhoes on Talent Avenue for another year or two. The Urban Renewal Agency will also contribute $15,000 matching funds toward a sidewalk project on Highway 99 from Valley View Road to New Street. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA