WEST FARGO — The Westwood neighborhood needs to be brought into the 21st Century, and it’s not getting any cheaper to get them there.
West Fargo city engineers and officials met with residents of the Westwood neighborhood Tuesday night about
the proposed $8 million dollar project.
The Westwood neighborhood was built in 1959, and the streets, sewers, sidewalk and waterlines haven’t been updated or reconstructed.
“What we’re talking about here is basically recreating an entirely new neighborhood,” Dan Hanson, a West Fargo city engineer, said.
The neighborhood is long overdue for repairs, with deteriorating roads and streetlights still attached to wooden poles.
The city is proposing installing a new water main, storm sewer infrastructure, and reconstructing roads, sidewalks, curbs and gutters throughout the 72-home neighborhood. Crews will have to work in tight quarters.
“This is not an attractive project,” Hanson said.
It’s been on the city’s to-do list for years. Amid rising construction costs, city commissioners decided they couldn’t wait any longer.
About 40 people in the neighborhood attended an informational meeting Tuesday to ask questions and provide feedback to city engineers. Many raised concerns about accessing their homes and parking spots during construction. Staff acknowledged the project will shake up life considerably.
Many also raised concerns about how much the project would cost.
The city will foot 70% of the bill for the $8 million project; the other 30% paid with special assessments.
A state grant could provide some relief, but even if granted, the average yearly payment of an assessment would be just under $2,000 a year.
“It’s a good neighborhood, yeah, it’s just, I guess, our time has come to pay for something that should have been paid for years ago,” Paul Cripe, a Westwood neighborhood resident, said.
Cripe has lived in the neighborhood for more than 20 years. Like many of his neighbors, he says the improvements are long overdue, but he’s skeptical about the price tag.
He points out the neighborhood is home to a lot of retired people, many living on fixed incomes. The special assessments could leave them on shaky financial ground.
“It’s going to price some of us out of the neighborhood. They’re going to tax us out of the neighborhood,” Cripe said.
City staff told the crowd that they will host more informational meetings in the future to get more feedback.
The city is requesting bids for the $8 million dollar project for March. The overall estimated cost of the project could change depending on those bids. The City Commission would have to approve the bids.
If that happens, the project could break ground as soon as May.
Mike McGurran has been a reporter and anchor at WDAY-TV since 2021.