Time for new solutions

Editor’s note: The following comment was posted online in response to the recent story “Dangerous bridge owner starts GoFundMe page to raise money for repairs.” To read the other comments posted under this story or to post your own, visit pikecountycourier.com.

TimeForNewSolutions: I tend not to get involved in local politics/ sensitivities, but it seems to me this is a novel problem (roads and bridges are usually a municipality’s problem) that needs novel solutions and I assume everyone would rather put in some work now and come up with a permanent solution than simply a stop gap fix.

It’s been mentioned that there’s no HOA. Well — then make one if that’s what it needs now. If 5 families depend on this bridge it shouldn’t be the responsibility of one owner to be the gatekeeper. Create an HOA to take care of the bridge, associated road, plowing, etc. The HOA then buys the bridge and associated land — for $1 since it will be inheriting the liability of immediate repair of the bridge (and let’s face it — this bridge is no asset) — gets a mortgage to repair the bridge immediately and life goes on. Even assuming a $250K mortgage (to have a healthy reserve) at 3.92% for 30 years you’re looking at a bill of $1,182 per month, annualized that becomes $14,18 4, divided by 5 families and you’re at a $2,836 bill per family PER YEAR (assuming it was evenly distributed). Round it up to $3K per year and you’ve got a $100K+ reserve that grows. Put that, even in conservative investments - the DJI has doubled in the past 5 years - and you’re probably in good shape for a very long time without much tinkering with the total (and if you need to pay $4K per year to an HOA that’s still not horrible, esp if other services that serve that side of the bridge are added in).

Plus — not for northing — with the publicity and laws regarding real estate disclosure— until this is long-term resolved no one would consider buying a property on the other side of the bridge, so if anyone over there is considering to sell in the next 5 years having a plan that’s not in one person’s control is a necessity.

If you don’t like that plan, there’s a plan B:

Plan B — sell the bridge to the town (again, for next to nothing since they are absorbing the l iability of the bridge and it’s not as if ownership of the bridge is an asset to the current homeowner - it’s absolutely a liability - at least for an individual). To cover the expense the city can do any of:

a) begin an annual fundraiser - same math as above ($14K isn’t that hard to raise in an annual community-type event)

b) implement an extraordinarily small tax aimed primarily at tourists ($5 per night on hotel stays within town, esp during the summer, $2 pp restaurant tax during tourist season for sit-down places, etc.)

c) issue a municipal bond to raise the initial funds - with the promise of longer-term returns and the tax offset I suspect $150K wouldn’t be too tough a raise compared to seeking donations.

And yeah - Plan C:

Sell a small plot of land at the end of the road — suitable for a small parking lot — to the park. I’ve crossed the bridge and basically been told the entire area is private property by a groundskeeper. Not particularly inviting and the lack of obvious entry and trail markers don’t help much either.

Let the park build a small lot there for additional access. They can charge for parking, much like is done at the beach. The open access and possibility of marked trails will make it more enticing for visitors to head that way rather than needing to walk to the edge of town to cross the ‘now not so new’ bridge there or go all the way to the proper trailhead for the knob. Make a condition of sale help with the costs associated with the bridge (bc, of course) and use their payment to cover upfront costs. Whosever property would be taken up by the lot would get contributions from the other families so that the cost is somewhat equitably distributed.

A GoFundMe is great — but while sad this situation was not caused by sudden illness, accident, etc. It was unfortunate planning that the bridge was ever private property and not a common burden. The GoFundMe has been live for nearly 2 weeks and raised less than 3% of its total. That burden is a lot to put on the shoulders of one homeowner and the time has come for a long-term solution that won’t lead to the exact same problem in 5, 10 or 15 years.