Last year, Apex did a full “Pavement Conditions Survey” of every town owned road. Each road segment received a score, called a “Pavement Condition Index” or PCI. This data was used to prioritize our annual repaving program, among other things. I’m happy to share that our staff has created an online tool to let you view the PCI of every road in Town!
Following the data, this year portions of Scott’s Mill and Amherst will be repaved.
I’d advise everyone to check out the tool and take a look at what the PCI is for roads in their neighborhood, to get a sense of where they might be prioritized for repaving in future years.
And another caveat: This is only for town owned roads. The vast majority of roads in town are town owned, but the vast majority of “major” roads are actually DOT roads and not covered by our program.
Property Revaluation notices go in the mail next week. This is important; if you are a homeowner I ask that you take a moment to read the below article and understand what is going on here, because it will impact you.
People assume that when their property value goes up that means their tax bill goes up. Not necessarily. The reason is, the Town is required to advertise a “revenue neutral tax rate”. That means, basically, that the property tax rate is going to drop, such that when multiplied by the total property tax value, the end result is the same. The town will not gain (or lose) any revenue directly because of the reval. It is a non-issue from a budget standpoint.
However, there is a caveat. The tax rates are flat – everyone gets charged the same. But, the property value increase is anything but uniform: some houses may have doubled in value, where as other houses may have only gone up 10% or so.
The way the math works out is, basically, if your home value went up more than the average, your property tax bill will go up. If your home value went up by less than average, your property tax bill will go down. And, as I said: it’s zero sum, in the sense that the bills that went up offset exactly the bills that went down. Which is of little consolation to those whose bills went up.
To make matters worse: I expect the homes on the lower end of the property value spectrum have increased in value, percentage wise, much faster than the homes on the higher end of the spectrum. They just have more room to increase. If that ends up being the case, then we have what is a classic regressive tax increase, increasing the tax burden on those with small homes and lowering it on the more expensive homes. Which is terrible policy.
When the data actually comes out next week I will dig in more and see how the reval has impacted property owners in Apex. Expect a bunch of charts, etc, and policy talk about what we can do about it. But for now, for those of you who have read this far, I’ll end with the actual numbers: Property values in Apex have increased by 56% in this reval, and as a result our new tax rate will drop to from $0.44 all the way down to around $0.30 per $100.
Recently there has been some discussion about this intersection on social media. It has actually led to some tangible changes already, DOT has added some high visibility stop signs, removed a bush causing a visibility issue, and added some “stop sign ahead” warning signs. I want to thank DOT for their quick action and being so responsive.
I also wanted to take a moment to pass along some other information I’ve gathered from staff. Namely, Friendship Station (the nearby development) has committed to either putting up a traffic signal at this intersection prior to their 400th home, or paying a fee in lieu to the town for the signal in the future (reminder: a ‘warrant’ is an objective measure of the need for a traffic signal)
The town did a traffic study not too long ago, and found that a signal at this intersection was not yet warranted. We will do another prior to the 400th home being built/occupied at Friendship Station, and if possible, we’ll get one installed at that time.
So I do think a light will be coming here, eventually – as soon as DOT regulations around traffic signals allow it. It is already funded (by a nearby development). I am confident that recent changes to the intersection done by DOT will make the intersection safer in the short term. I do appreciate all of the feedback and citizen engagement here – I think this is a success story for citizen advocacy. There have been tangible changes already, we have a plan for the future, and the intersection is on everyone’s radar.
I was asked about this on a forum, and I thought the answer was of general interest. The request was to make this crosswalk (by Publix, towards Olive Chapel) a high visibility crosswalk, somehow.
I talked to staff – and we recently completed a pedestrian count, and they are finalizing the report. The preliminary finding is that a high visibility flashing crosswalk with beacons IS warranted at this location.
We need to coordinate with DOT. Our first cost estimate is $50k. It will be added to our backlog of projects for prioritization this upcoming fiscal year.
I’ve also put in a request for increased APD traffic enforcement at this intersection. If you drive on Olive Chapel, make sure you stop for the crosswalk!
Did you know a Bike Track is coming to Apex? This was approved as a part of the previous years (22-23) budget, and the bid documents have all posted.
From the RFQ: “The Town of Apex seeks the design to be similar to a mountain bike skills course, in a circular track route with a separate interior pump track included in the design. The design and construction of a bike facility shall include natural surfaces with obstacles, mounds, and other features to create off-road cycling elements…”
This Bike Park will be located to the north of the ball fields at Hunter Street Park. I am really excited about the project, as I think this will be an awesome amenity that complements Hunter Street Park (especially the Skate Park) really well!
VISION OF THE PEAK 