Traffic-jammed Meridian spends to hasten freeway overpass, may speed up fire stations

Meridian Mayor Robert Simison says city leaders are taking steps to get ahead of growth by subsidizing a new freeway overpass and speeding up plans to open new fire and police stations.

In his first in-person State of the City address, Simison on Wednesday also joined other valley mayors in decrying a new property tax law passed by the Legislature, saying it will hinder, not help, Meridian as it grows.

The city of Meridian sent a survey out to residents, as it does each year, asking them about their satisfaction with services and what their priorities are. Simison said one of the top concerns was transportation.

Transportation: I-84 overpass ‘sorely needed’

While the city does not maintain roadways, Simison said transportation will be a focus of the city’s, because traffic is a result of growth. Before diving into the completed transportation projects and projects in the works, Simison joked, “I want you to sit back, buckle up and pretend we are sitting through the light cycles at the Meridian Road interchange during the rush hour— we are going to be just fine for the next 45 minutes.”

Chinden Boulevard and Linder, Meridian and Ten Mile roads have all undergone improvements over the last year, Simison said, calling those a “good start.”

His focus now is on supporting the Linder Road overpass, a bridge over I-84 to connect Linder Road. The overpass would connect Linder from Franklin Road south to Overland Road.

The Idaho Transportation Department and Ada County Highway District will build the overpass, according to a news release from the city.

“The overpass is sorely needed, much like the ones in the past, for public safety and to alleviate congestion,” he said.

To spur the construction of the overpass, the council unanimously approved $2.5 million toward the project in April.

“One of the ways we can solve transportation problems is to be responsible in when, where and how we grow,” Simison said.

New public safety infrastructure needed

The mayor delivered his proposed budget for FY 2022 last week. In it is a proposal to move up the construction of a joint fire and police station that was planned to be completed in 2025. He is asking council to allow that station to be built along with a joint police and fire substation approved in April.

The substation approved in April will be in south Meridian, at 2385 E. Lake Hazel Road, and the one in the upcoming budget is planned for north Meridian.

“We have a contract with the community, a contract that says we will deliver services to you when you call,” Simison said.

He said the fire and police stations in the city are not meeting the goals for average response times. The current response time is 6 minutes and 35 seconds for fire services, a minute and 35 seconds longer than the city’s goal. He said the addition of the substations and the projects to alleviate traffic will help the response time.

Simison: Legislature hinders local government

Simison also criticized the Legislature for its passage of a property tax law that limits city budgets.

“What was sold as a property-tax relief bill is really a service cap on local governments,” Simison said, adding that because of the limitations of the bill, the city will likely take only some of the 3% allowable property tax increase in the upcoming budget.

Every year, a taxing district sets its budget to cover the services it will be required to provide to citizens over the next year. Taxing districts may increase property taxes to cover added costs of service. Each taxing district can raise the property tax portion of the budget by up to 3% unless voters have approved a larger increase.

They also begin collecting property taxes from new construction or annexations added each year. The new law limits those collections.

“For Meridian, so long as we are willing to focus development in our growth priority areas, we should be able to provide city services as planned under the legislation,” he said.

Simison also mentioned the changes in city elections that Meridian residents can expect in 2023. A law the Legislature passed last year will force Meridian and Boise to hold district-based council elections, rather than at-large elections. The law applies to cities with more than 100,000 residents, and Meridian is expected to reach the population number in this year’s Census.

Simison said the city will begin the districting process once census numbers are delivered, and he hopes to complete the process by 2022.

Simison spoke to a limited in-person audience at the Galaxy Event Center, a conference room in Wahooz Family Fun Zone arcade center. The speech marked Simison’s first in-person State of the City, because the event last year was virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic.