Visitor shocked by condition of streets

To the editor:

Ten years ago I relocated to Mountain Home from Marion. Due to the death of my sister, I returned to Iowa to attend her funeral. I have many friends in Cedar Rapids and Marion, so I spent several days in the area.

The changes have been many since I left. First Avenue with the new hotel, the library, the new buildings constructed, the buildings torn down and the restoration of the Paramount Theatre. However, the streets are deplorable. O Avenue on the northwest side of town is one of the roughest streets imaginable as it is patch on top of patch after patch and so rough to drive. Edgewood Road, Johnson Avenue, as well as so many residential streets are just as rough to drive.

I question where all the tax money has been spent that was allocated for streets. In addition, I was told a penny tax was passed to repair the streets a good year ago. When I left Marion in 2004, the property tax on my 1,000 square foot house with detached single garage was $1,600. In Mountain Home, the tax on my 1,200 square foot brick home, with double car attached garage, is $148 a year. At age 65, the property tax is locked in at current rate, never to be raised.

Automobile license tax on my 2-year-old car is $25 a year. When I left Marion, I was paying $212 a year. So, where are you spending your money?

Dorothy Reader

Mountain Home, Ark.