Jill Meier/BV Journal
Asphalt went down on Ironwood Street last week, which is one of the final steps toward completion of the long-awaited second entrance to Aspen Park. Site Works, Inc. was awarded the job in June and their bid of $1,170,966.66 came in 35 percent under budget. The Ironwood Street extension project will be paid for by special assessment to neighboring property owners and the city of Brandon, which is footing approximately $1.5 million of the cost. City Administrator Bryan Read said the city’s share and property owner assessments will be finalized once the project is complete. Adjacent property owners will not immediately begin paying the assessments. Read explained that once the project is complete, the next steps are to prepare the final assessment roll, notify affected property owners, and a public hearing will be scheduled where the City Council to formally approves the assessments. The final assessment roll will not be certified until later this year, with collection beginning in 2027. Unlike other special assessment projects, Brandon is paying for the project with cash rather than issuing bonds. That gives the city flexibility in determining repayment terms. “We’ve got some flexibility here because we’re not selling a bond issue for it,” Read said earlier this year. “We have some flexibility to a 10-year, 15-year or 20-year assessment, and interest rates varying from zero to whatever.” Neither the repayment period nor the interest rate has been determined
