District 4 Survey Results

[kalakoa]

county would probably manage several of the subdivisions' road moneys better

Like they do in "historic" downtown Hilo?

[Chunkster]

Kalakoa: While you may have a point, it's hard to imagine them doing worse than the HPPOA.

[Rob Tucker]

The county has long been doing worse than the HPPOA. For sixty years they've been taking your tax money, generated on HPP roads, and spending it on Hilo roads.

[kalakoa]

The county has long been doing worse than the HPPOA.

As a public entity, wouldn't the County be fully transparent and accountable?

spending it on Hilo roads

Rob, you misspelled "Kona" there...

[mermaid53]

I think you're both right, Hilo and Kona roads.

A realtor told me that property on paved roads are assessed $15,000 to $20,000 more on average and sell faster than on dirt roads.

[EightFingers]

quote:

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Originally posted by mermaid53

I think you're both right, Hilo and Kona roads.

A realtor told me that property on paved roads are assessed $15,000 to $20,000 more on average and sell faster than on dirt roads.

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So dirt(y) roads are actually SAVING us money! Hooray!

[kalakoa]

Hilo and Kona roads

Perhaps there are some Kona roads that are worse than downtown Hilo.

Also possible that downtown Hilo roads are supposed to be part of that quaint old-style charm.

dirt(y) roads are actually SAVING us money!

Yes: my annual vehicle maintenance costs are still less than that $1800 estimate above.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

quote:

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Originally posted by eigoya
I think I filled out that survey, but wasn't there a question about taxing, too? like would you be willing to pay for paved roads.

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The full wording of the survey result in the newsletter was:
Should the County take over the maintenance and repair of subdivision roads by collecting homeowner fees as part of property taxes?

So, yes, your real estate taxes would then pay for county maintenance of roads, rather than maintenance by your homeowners association. From the responses posted here so far it sounds like people think that's offering us our preference between two bad choices. Frying pan? Fire?

On the fifth day - the scientists who studied the rivers - were forbidden to speak - or to study the rivers. -Jane Hirshfield's poem on creation

[kalakoa]

your real estate taxes would then pay for county maintenance of roads

Don't we already pay fuel taxes for road maintenance? Oh, that's right: only for "County" roads.

The bigger problem: if the roads have to be brought up to "standard County spec", the resulting property tax surcharge will not be affordable. Not everyone "chooses" to live in these "private" subdivisions; some cannot afford anything else, and they will be priced right out of their homes.

Side effect: people with a $2K tax bill will expect police and fire response. Especially since they're paying more taxes than many Hilo residents.

[Chunkster]

HOTPE: Yes, two bad choices, and how bad depends on which subdivision one is in. Right now, some of us in HPP might actually have hope that the county would do a better job, but probably just as many do not. Furthermore, I'm sure some type of complicated new legal framework would have to be set up to do this. I'm not a big fan of Joy Sanbuenaventura, but I do give her credit for at least recognizing that there is a serious problem with subdivision roads and for suggesting some alternative to the status quo. It's a start.