OREM — Orem voters will be saying yea or nay to another tax slated to improve area roads. In a special session held Thursday, the Orem City Council voted to place a $14.5 million road bond on the November 2 ballot for approval.

Orem's bond request is in addition to the quarter-cent sales tax to fund road projects that Utah County has put up for voter approval.

Orem's bond resolution was passed in a special session in order to meet the September 3 deadline for ballot items imposed to ensure military personnel will receive absentee ballots in a timely manner.

The funds received from the bond would go toward reconstructing failing city roads, maintaining roads in need of repair and constructing new sidewalks.

City Manager Jim Reams assured the council that the money is needed.

"We've struggled for a number of years to try to address these needs out of our existing revenue sources — gas tax, excise tax," Reams said. "We have not been able to accomplish enough of the repairs that are needed."

Reams said the bond funds would be used solely for road work.

"What we are committing to as a staff is that every dollar of this money, other than the issuance cost, would be used for widening Sandhill Road, major road overlays and reconstruction and sidewalks," he said.

About $3 million of the proposed bond money would go toward the Sandhill Road project, which will be completely reconstructed and widened. A $2 million federal matching grant is also targeted for the project.

Mayor Jerry Washburn told council members the projects can't be put off.

"It's almost a double whammy for us if we don't do it," Washburn said. "It will cost a lot more, and our roads will get worse and worse."

The proposed bond would increase homeowners' property taxes approximately $2 a month for each $100,000 of valuation, or an overall increase of 3.75 percent.

Larry Myler, a resident who lives near Sandhill Road, said he thinks the project is sorely needed but was a bit concerned about the additional county sales tax.

"I think this is a great idea, and I'm behind it 100 percent," Myler said. "I just wish that the county had picked another year to have a similar situation hit the ballot."

Orem City staff will be presenting the project at Orem neighborhood meetings, and Washburn hopes to gain support for the measure by explaining the city's road needs to its citizens.

"I think it's wise that we put it to the citizens," he said. "Hopefully we can explain it in such a way that they'll understand the benefits for doing it now against the consequences of waiting."

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E-mail: mdecker@desnews.com