Eight miles of road and an upgraded water treatment plant.

If the Coquille City Council finds room in the budget, residents of Coquille may see a large amount of construction related to those issues this year — and a sewage rate hike.

The Coquille budget committee voted on April 21 to recommend the city’s $18.3 million budget to the City Council for approval in June.

Coquille’s newly implemented gas tax is bringing in about $84,000 annually into the city’s street fund, City Manager Terence O’Connor said. Using the money as it comes in wouldn’t allow for any large-scale projects, but using the funds to pay for a $1.5 million revenue bond would allow for bigger improvements. Eight miles of road within the city classified as poor and fair could be part of a street repair project. City councilors will discuss options of how to spend the money during a work session on Monday, May 19.

Coquille will have to debate its options for the former Georgia-Pacific mill site this year, too.

The city may have to consider moving forward on its own with the development of the G-P property instead of waiting for a private developer, O’Connor said.  The city may start building a mixed-use development on the property if a developer doesn’t make a firm commitment soon.

Upgrades for the city’s water and wastewater plants are also on the to-do list this year.  About $1.6 million has been allocated to construction of a new plant this year.

In anticipation of having to pay for a required wastewater plant upgrade, the city will be increasing base sewer rates 50 cents per account in both July 2008 and December 2008. The city has budgeted $3 million, a mix of grants, loans and city financing, in 2008-09 for the first phase of wastewater treatment plant upgrade. The estimated total for the entire project is in between $9 million and $10.5 million, O’Connor said.

“This budget is kind of fun because we are looking at some progress, some projects,” Coquille Finance Director Chuck Dufner said.