by Cyndy Hardy

SEDONA, AZ – Oct. 16, 2008 – Owning Hwy. 89A may benefit the city in the long run, but it won’t happen in time to stop the 76 lights machine.

The Arizona Department of Transportation and the city have different ideas for what the highway should be. To the state, it is a people-mover. To the city, it holds a vision of small-town ‘Main Street’ potential.

The state owns the road and the city government and its community are often frustrated by the lack of control – especially concerning ADOT’s plan to solve pedestrian safety by installing 76 continuous street lights.

The Sedona City Council put the discussion of a turnback on the table Sept. 9, after ADOT District Engineer John Harper strongly encouraged the council to consider ownership of Hwy. 89A in an Aug. 8 letter.

On Oct. 14, the City Council voted 5-2 for Councilman Cliff Hamilton’s motion to request that ADOT fund a route transfer study, to be conducted by an independent third party, to “evaluate all the issues and costs involved” with turning the West corridor of Hwy 89A over to the city.  

Council members Nancy Scagnelli and Pud Colquitt voted against the measure.

ADOT has not yet agreed to fund the study, but City Manager Eric Levitt is optimistic, based on discussions the city has had with Mr. Harper.

In the meantime, ADOT will continue forward with its plan for continuous street lights, and signalized intersections at Andante Drive and Airport Road until there is a signed, approved intergovernmental agreement for the city to take over the road.

The route transfer study would take about nine to 12 months, according to Sedona Director of Community Development John O’Brien.

ADOT is expected to reveal possible lighting scenarios by January 2009, according to the staff report. The scenarios will all include streetlights, Mayor Rob Adams said at an Oct. 1 demonstration against the 76 lights.

Negotiations for how much money ADOT might give the city in a turnback can take six months to a year; and intergovernmental agreements with ADOT usually take three to six months by the time they go through the Attorney General’s office, according to Mr. Levitt.

“So, I’m guessing a couple of years minimum [for the turnback process,]” Mr. Levitt said.

The Airport Road signal will be installed by then; and the Andante Drive signal and the continuous lighting will probably be through the design phase, according to Mr. Levitt.

Negotiations for a turnback would begin after both parties review the study.

Anatomy of a turnback

In a turnback, the city would assume ownership and responsibility for all or part of the highway from Uptown to the city limits.

The city doesn’t have to buy the road. ADOT may give Sedona money to make improvements if the city takes it over, like it did when the city acquired the 0.6-mile Uptown segment in about 2002.

“The negotiation is, essentially, how much ADOT would pay us to take it back,” Mr. Levitt said.

If the city decides to go for the turnback it must do a better job of negotiating than it did in the Uptown situation, officials said.

ADOT gave the city about $1.74 million for ADA (Americans with Disabilities) and other improvements in Uptown. The final price tag was about $4 million, including almost $500,000 for consultant costs.

“We had bad data for the Uptown turnback. We could have gotten more money [from ADOT] in the Uptown turnback if we’d had proper cost estimates,” Mr. Levitt said.

The city already provides about $162,000 in annual maintenance costs for sweeping, landscape and irrigation, weed control, snow removal, storm cleanup, sidewalk maintenance, and electricity, according to an Oct. 14 staff report.

A turnback, based on the current configuration, would cost the city an additional $28,250 per year for maintenance of six traffic signals, signage, pavement marking, storm drainage and pavement maintenance, according to the staff report.

Those are the ‘known’ cost estimates.

Unknown costs include liability; costs for undetermined improvements and safety measures such as medians and roundabouts; and making the road and sidewalks compliant with the Americans with Disability Act.

Also unknown are the limitations it would put on the city in terms of taking ownership of privately-owned roads, which some residents would rather the city maintain.

Coordinating the West Sedona turnback with the city-wide redevelopment plan could give much better data than the city had in 2002, according to Mr. Levitt.

“We feel the turnback and the redevelopment plan should be looked at at the same time,” said Mr. O’Brien.

City staff will bring a proposed scope of work for the redevelopment plan to the council by Nov. 25, send out requests for proposals by December, and hire a consultant by February or March, Mr. O’Brien said.

“After we hire the consultant, then that’s when we’ll do the public process to see what we want to see there – what kind of character; what kind of streetscape,” Councilman Dan Surber said.

If the city determines that costs don’t justify the benefits of owning the road, the City Council could abandon the idea of a turnback; however, one consequence may be that the city would remain in a subordinate position regarding safety improvements and future redevelopment options.

ADOT’s potential terms

Mr. Harper laid out a foundation, of sorts, for negotiating a turnback in a Sept. 10 discussion with Mr. Levitt and Mr. O’Brien.

The boundaries of the turnback must be identified up front; and ADOT will not allow a gap between the city-owned Uptown segment and West Sedona.

Juniper Drive and Upper Red Rock Loop Road were identified as possible termination points; or city ownership could extend to the city limits, Mr. O’Brien said.

Sedona should provide ADOT with a list of improvements it would like to see over the next 10 years, including cost estimates.

Sedona’s potential terms

It could cost between $100,000 and $200,000 to bring the sidewalks into ADA compliance, according to rough estimates given by Mr. Levitt.

He recommended the City Council negotiate that ADOT pay for any ADA-related improvements to the sidewalks; or that ADOT assume and keep all liability for any infractions found on the sidewalks.

The remaining negotiation terms may depend on the long-range redevelopment plan, which the city doesn’t expect to complete until about 2012.

Improvements to the West Sedona segment could run higher than the recently-discussed estimates of $10 million to $15 million, because those estimates are dated, Mr. Levitt said.

Blood from a turnip?

ADOT funding is “dire;” ADOT will probably not be able to fund “many” of the improvements the city may want on the highway, including converting signalized intersections to roundabouts, Mr. Harper reportedly told the city.

Councilwoman Pud Colquitt is concerned that the city already has many “big-ticket” items on its plate, such as the Master Floodwater Plan – a 10- to 15-year plan that will cost $10 million to $15 million.

The city inherited inadequate infrastructure when it incorporated 20 years ago, and it must prioritize those issues, she said.

“I don’t want to do anything that’s going to take money away from infrastructure,” Ms. Colquitt said.

Councilwoman Nancy Scagnelli questioned whether the time is right to consider a turnback, considering ADOT is in financial dire straits and therefore not in a good position to negotiate.

The city took back the Uptown segment to stop ADOT from removing on-street parking. Ms. Scagnelli questioned whether a similar pressing issue existed for the current turnback discussion.

“What is it that we are talking about doing in West Sedona that is going to force us, sooner than later, to take that road back?” Ms. Scagnelli asked.

Mr. O’Brien and Mr. Levitt basically shrugged and said, ‘Nothing.’

Copyright 2008. Cyndy Hardy. This article may not be reproduced, reprinted or redistributed without prior written permission from the author. Contact the author at cyndyhardy@msn.com.

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