HOLTS SUMMIT - Collaboration between the Hunters Creek Homeowners Association in Holts Summit and the Callaway County Commission is at a standstill after two years of trying to improve the subdivision's roads, totaling around one-and-a-half miles.
Driving through Hunters Creek, it's obvious the roads are in need of repair. Streets are sunken in under the tracks of tires and potholes and cracks are rampant. Western District Commissioner Doc Kritzer said the sub-base under the road was built poorly, which is causing the majority of problems.
Hutners Creek Homeowners Association (HCHA) President John Wells said because the county does not have planning and zoning regulations, developers are allowed to build roads at their preferred standards and quality - good or bad.
Wells and his family first moved into the subdivision in 2005, unaware of their responsibility to maintain the road. A fellow homeowner made this realization and decided to form a homeowners association. The group was eventually formed and it started collecting dues to maintain the roads.
But that money wasn't enough, Wells said.
"We quickly learned we weren't going to have the funds necessary for the repairs," he said.
Wells said the developer, who currently lives in Hunters Creek, tried to work with a former commission on taking the roads into county inventory. New regulations that commission set in 2004 caused them to reject the developer's request at the time because the roads he built don't have curb and gutters. Kritzer said the commission has not changed those regulations because it's been holding other developers to those standards for a decade now.
The HCHA then contacted Holts Summit City Administrator Brian Crane, who suggested Hunters Creek to annex into the city. Holts Summit road regulations, Wells said, include sidewalks, curb and gutter and light posts - aspects not in the HCHA budget. So, they moved on to the commission in 2012.
First, HCHA needed to become a Neighborhood Improvement District and gain 80 percent of the 48 households' signatures for the county commission to consider the road project and take the Hunters Creek roads into county inventory. The county would then assume maintenance, but the roads must meet county codes - including curb and guttering that the roads do not currently have.
This excluded four homes that have driveways connecting to County Road 374, not a road in the subdivision. These homeowners did not want to sign the petition, and the commission allowed their exclusion, Kritzer said. They will not have to pay for any Hunters Creek road improvements.
Kritzer said the petition came to the commissioners flawed, lacking signatures from both spouses in certain households among other errors. The commission told them to try again.
The HCHA turned in a new petition in October 2013 with all the necessary signatures and became a Neighborhood Improvement District. A public meeting regarding the road was held on Nov. 13, 2013 and the commission sought engineers to work on the project by running advertisements the following day. The deadline was set for Nov. 26, 2013.
Engineer services were awarded to Central Missouri Professional Services, Inc. on Dec. 3 of the same year. Engineers took until April 2014 to survey the road, assess it and submit an estimated construction cost for the project.
That number came in at $644,211. The HCHA developed a petition requesting financial assistance for the commission, which included the engineer's number with a 10 percent overrun cost making the total at $745,800.
Commissioners initially agreed that the county would essentially act as a bank for the HCHA for the road improvement project. The county would loan the funds to be paid back over a 10-year period. This means each household would need to pay $2,000 each year ($20,000 over 10 years), regardless if the residents signed the petition or not.
The fee would be added to the homeowner's tax bill, which must be paid in the full amount. If not paid in full, there could be a lien against property and - worst case scenario - the home could go up for auction if the homeowner is unable to pay.
While there's a risk for each homeowner, there's also a risk for the county, Kritzer said. If a homeowner defaults, the county's credit is on the line.
These risks were heightened when bids came back higher than expected at the end of May.
Three bids came in at $949,351, $742,534 and $735,575 for construction only. This doesn't take into account legal fees, engineer costs, construction inspections, county recording and administrative fees, Kritzer said.
Price tags for the project came as a shock for the commission.
"We right off the bat said, "We've got a problem,'" Kritzer said.
As the project costs reached near the $900,000-mark, Wells said it became obvious how expensive this endevour was going to be.
"That's well beyond what anybody out here can really support," he said.
Commissioners challenged the engineer's number, but he stood with the figure. They also tried to work with the low bidders to reduce the cost, Kritzer said, but the attempt failed.
"I feel like we've put a lot of effort on this. I think we all do. We haven't taken it lightly, we've taken it very seriously, and we have tried to find a way to make this work for them," Kritzer said.
The commission gave the HCHA three options:
Draft another petition and garner signatures from 80 percent of the households with an increased budget for the road repairs.
Opt out of curb and gutter, which would save $300,000 and not be in county inventory. By county code, they must have curb and gutter based on Hunters Creek's population density.
Re-bid and hope for lower bids. "We felt like that was nothing more than a long delay," Kritzer said.
Wells said a lack of planning and zoning in Callaway County allows for developers to build roads at low standards like those in Hunters Creek.
Kritzer said Callaway County voters decided they did not want planning and zoning in the mid-1990s, so the commission has to abide by that vote of the people.
"We can only work with the tools we're given," Kritzer said.
Before the commission can make any progression at Hunters Creek, Kritzer said the HCHA must reimburse the county for engineer service expenses at $34,923.
"That will be a part of any petition or any contract before we move forward because we are going to recover the county's expenditure on their behalf," Kritzer said, adding the commission has already paid $18,000 of that cost.
Wells said he's been frustrated with the pace of the project and the hurdles the homeowners have had to endure. He also said that he's appreciated the commission working with the HCHA.