Fraser roads to get $4M update in industrial park

FRASER — The passage of the 2025 budget at the state level netted Fraser funding for an overdue project.

During the appropriations process for the budget, District 11 state Sen. Veronica Klinefelt was able to secure $4 million in funding to repair roads in the Fraser Industrial Park.

“While state revenues may fluctuate from year to year, my commitment to supporting families across District 11 has never wavered,” Klinefelt is quoted as saying in a press release. “Included in this year’s budget are funds for practical yet transformative projects that will help us address long-standing issues and build up our region. By strengthening local infrastructure, we can make our roads safer, water cleaner, and communities more resilient.”

The area’s roads have extensive patching work throughout. However, even that fix is starting to wear away in many places.

In a later interview, Klinefelt said Fraser’s mayor advocated for the project and said the city did not have the money to cover the whole project.

“It’s a huge amount of money,” Fraser Mayor Michael Lesich said. “It’s very long overdue and much appreciated.”

The $4 million would lessen the burden, but would not cover the cost of the whole project according to Klinefelt.

“We’re just putting a small dent in it,” Klinefelt said. “I was just thrilled to help them out. I feel some of these older urban communities have really struggled to maintain roads that are really important to them. I’m pretty excited about this project.”

Fraser City Manager Elaine Leven said the engineering estimate for the project would be over $16 million. The city’s engineering firm Anderson, Eckstein & Westrick would carry out the project. Lesich said that there have been preliminary conversations about using funds the city has saved for the project. Diverting funds to it would have to be approved at a future meeting. Lesich said there is no set date for this.

“Per our engineers, it would need a complete reconstruction,” he said.

The project has been a source of controversy in the past. Last year, funding was proposed through a special assessment district. According to previous reporting in the Chronicle, business owners went to a June 8 meeting to speak out against taxing residents to fund the project. After a hearing of the public at the City Council meeting on Aug. 10, 2023, the tax funding for the project fell by the wayside.

Following the additional funding from the state, and utilizing money the city has banked, Lesich said it would reduce potential taxation on commercial businesses in the area.

“It would cut it in half probably,” he said. “If we were to propose something to complete the rest of the project, it would be far less than $800 a foot.”

Leven said she anticipates that there will probably be discussion about it at the City Council in August or September. Leven said, depending on the funding, a portion or all the roads could be reconstructed in the area. Federal funds and money banked by the city could be in play, according to Leven. She said the project is unique because of the traffic volume and weight.

“It’s not like doing a typical residential street,” Leven said.

In a Facebook post, the mayor said he hoped to get bidding started in the spring of 2025 and shovels in the ground by next summer.

“I’m just excited that this is how we’re choosing to use the money: on critical infrastructure, on projects that are really going to be transformative for these communities,” Klinefelt said.