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Holden Mayor Mike Wakeman is looking for answers and says a solution must be found to step up repairs to the city’s deteriorating infrastructure.

With the city’s budget already strained, Wakeman says the need to generate funding for improvements is serious.

“It is so critical, we are just about in desperation mode. As the city continued to grow, we didn’t keep up with needed improvements and now we are playing catch up. We are so far behind the eight ball, it is not even funny. The city needs to take huge steps in 12 to 24 months to begin getting things done.”

At the top of that list, Wakeman says, is storm sewers.

“We can’t put down new streets without proper drainage. We can’t do anything else without fixing the drainage system. We have to have somewhere for the water to go other than on the streets.”

Wakeman also says he doesn’t think the town’s residents realize how bad things have gotten.

“We need to spend time telling and educating the public about the problems so they can grasp the situation we are in. For many years we were only able to maintain the storm sewers, streets and sidewalks but for the last few years, we have fallen behind on that as well. We’ve been in that rut for awhile and need to get out of it.”

Wakeman and the council are looking at a number of alternatives to increase city funds and say they vow to exhaust all possibilities before turning to the public and asking for a tax increase.

“There are a lot of ideas floating around dealing with grants but they cost money too. Most are 50/50 or 80/20 matching grants and the city has to have a way to generate revenue to be able to afford to apply,” he added.

Wakeman also said the ways and means committee is studying the fee structure for such things as building rent, liquor consumption and other city-required permits.

“It might not generate a lot of revenue but we have to start somewhere. They are also checking to see if we are running all our departments as efficiently as possible. However, we can’t look at the operating costs and cut positions to save money if it’s not in the best interest of the city. I don’t want to be in the position of laying off employees to save money. If we were overstaffed and wasting money, that would be a different story. Personally, I don’t see a lot of waste in the various departments.”

Wakeman says they are primarily looking at a sales tax issue to fund infrastructure improvements.

“What I’m hearing is that people would prefer paying a sales tax so it would be supported by not only local citizens but everyone who shops in Holden. As for my personal agenda, I would like to see something on the ballot for next spring. I just don’t see any way around it.”

Wakeman compares the city to the local school district and says there is a little imbalance in the way property tax is disbursed.

“When you look at what you pay the school and what you pay the city, you know why the city doesn’t have money. We’re running the whole city on less that one-half of what the school district is running on.”

By Rusty Hartwell
Publisher

Deteriorating sidewalks and a lack of them in high pedestrian trafficways has been a problem facing the City of Holden for many years.

Several organizations and individuals have mounted efforts in the past to construct sidewalks on either Main or Market Streets connecting the residential areas to the south school campus. A lack of funding or support prevented this realization. However, with the construction of the new intermediate school at the south campus, the need for safe pedestrian walkways has become even more important as the number of students walking to and from school in that area is at an all time high.

Also, with the construction of a shopping center at the east edge of Holden on 58 Highway, those without access to vehicles are forced to walk along the edge of the highway to patronize these businesses. Considering the town’s only grocery store is located there, the need for sidewalks to this location has also arisen.

“A lot of our sidewalks are in disrepair and don’t get utilized,” said Holden Mayor Mike Wakeman. “In my opinion, we need to tear out these sidewalks and let the space be part of the homeowner’s yards. We then need to put sidewalks all the way to Lloyd’s Thriftway (East 58 Highway) and all the way from the schools to the downtown area on Main Street.”

School personnel are also supportive of such an endeavor.

“It is something that has been disucssed for many years. Obviously, it would be of the best interest of anyone walking,” said Robyn Sisk, elementary principal. “From a school perspective, having sidewalks would certainly make it safer for the children walking to and from school. The addition of them leading to the schools would be a very positive change to our community.”

A lot of this work could be accomplished with the approval of a sales tax issue, said Wakeman.

“We could start realizing these improvements relatively quickly but the biggest thing would still be the storm sewers,” he said.

By Rusty Hartwell
Publisher

With the City of Holden in a position that necessitates the need to seek additional means of generating revenue, Holden Mayor Mike Wakeman says part of the answer may lie just east of town with assistance from the Integrity Correctional Center.

Wakeman says the city has the opportunity to generate $80,000 to $250,000 a year by signing a federal contract that would allow the city to subcontract with ICC to house Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) prisoners.

“There is such an overflow of illegal aliens that there are not enough prisons. We could probably have a contract in 30-45 days.”

The reason the city can benefit from the proposition, Wakeman says, is because the agency will only sign contracts with government entities. Since ICC is a privately-owned jail, they can only participate if a governmental body subcontracts with them.

The money would be guaranteed, Wakeman says, regardless of the number of prisoners housed there.

“The government signs a contract for a certain number of beds and they pay that amount no matter how many they use.”

Wakeman says if the city was fortunate enough to get the $250,000 from the federal contract, they could then borrow money from a federal institution and set the plan in place.

“We would then set a goal and in three to four years, we could really make a huge dent in our problems. If we dedicated all the money to capital projects, that would put a lot of sidewalks in place in a year.”

Wakeman also says it is important to realize the city, not ICC, would be in control of the federal contract.

“We would have access to the prison 24-hours a day, seven days a week to make sure everything was going according to plan. We can also require certification for personnel and certain types of training and can essentially micro manage the prison.”

Wakeman said he intended to discuss the issue at the last council meeting but decided against it after a story appeared in the Daily Star Journal that criticized the jail for housing a maximum security prisoner.

Wakeman said he wanted time to visit with the president of ICC to hear his side of the story and says he is satisfied with his explanation.

“When they built the facility, they told local citizens they would not house maximum security prisoners even though they are accredited to do so. However, this report caused some citizens to be concerned.”

Wakeman says the prisoner was held in solitary confinement 80 percent of the time and was not allowed to be among the general prison population. The president explained to him that the prisoner was only accepted when it became apparent that no other area options were available.

“They did not have another prison to take him to and they were out of options. Initially, ICC refused to house him but added while he was there, they said they never felt any more at risk than with anyone else who has been housed there.”

Wakeman did add the decision on the possible contract will basically be in the hands of the people.

“If a large number of people are against it, then we will have no choice but to raise taxes. The city budget is very tight and when citizens voice their complaints over the condition of the roads, sidewalks, etc. they have to realize that someone has to be willing to pay for it. The cost of surfacing a road has increased in the last year from $42,000 to $59,00 a mile.”

Wakeman says a public hearing will be scheduled for late August to give citizens an opportunity to voice their opinions.

By Rusty Hartwell
Publisher