Was Fresno curbside-fix program worth $45m?

Published online on Sunday, Sep. 27, 2009

No Neighborhood Left Behind, Fresno's $45 million project to build curbs, gutters and sidewalks in long-overlooked neighborhoods, is coming to its end.

But the bills will continue far into the future, and, city officials acknowledge, the debt probably will curtail City Hall's ability to help those neighborhoods still in need.

Everyone agrees, however, that No Neighborhood Left Behind has been a success.

Beth Jackson, for one, is grateful that a small bit of this urban infrastructure came to her front yard.

She lives on the 1000 block of East Michigan Avenue, in central Fresno. Her grass once grew unhindered to the curb; now there's a new sidewalk.

"It has made a huge difference for us," says Jackson, 41, the mother of three teens. "The sidewalk makes it possible for the kids to skateboard and ride their bikes out front.

"They're safer, and that makes me feel better."

Such life-enhancing change is what the City Council and then-Mayor Alan Autry had in mind five years ago when they approved what was called the single largest infrastructure investment in city history.

The concept was simple.

Many Fresno neighborhoods lacked curbs, gutters, sidewalks and curb-cuts. In many others, this infrastructure was crumbling. The reasons were many, but lack of money was the big one. The incentive to do something was powerful -- good infrastructure is vital to good neighborhoods, and good neighborhoods are pivotal to a thriving community.

The city's Public Works Department set aside money each year to build and fix neighborhood infrastructure. But there was never enough to make a substantial dent in an immense problem. In April 2004, elected officials, led by Council Member Henry T. Perea, voted to borrow $45 million to catch up in a hurry.

"We cannot change the past, but we can certainly change the future," Autry said at the time.

Work is largely done on all but three of the 72 neighborhoods, most in older areas, slated to get the new infrastructure.

The City Council this month approved the contract for one of the remaining three -- located in southeast Fresno. The remaining two -- Herndon Town and Shaw Avenue/Golden State Boulevard area, both in northwest Fresno -- should be done next year.

Now comes the hard part -- repaying the borrowed money. The annual payment on the bonds will continue through 2023. The bill is nearly $3.9 million this year, $3.5 million in the final year.

This fiscal year's payment will come from savings and interest from the bonds. But soon, say city officials, the payments will start coming from the general fund, a pot of money that pays for much of police and fire services. In the past, the general fund has been the usual source of money for neighborhood infrastructure.

The general fund in this era of recession, stagnant government revenues and growing bond debt at City Hall is under intense pressure. City officials acknowledge the inevitable: Unless new sources of money are found, construction of neighborhood infrastructure will decline.

According to city records, No Neighborhood Left Behind's bonds will cost about $3 in principal and interest for every $2 spent on infrastructure. Are the results worth the debt?

Yes, city officials say.

"No Neighborhood Left Behind did exactly what we intended it to do," Perea says. "It's about equity, about fulfilling an obligation the city made to these neighborhoods: No matter where you live, you walk down the street safely."

Perea says he might propose another round of borrowing next fiscal year to pay for infrastructure in areas still needing help.