Agenda Item No. 8
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council DATE: October 10, 2023 FROM: Matthew Bronson, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Erin Wiggin, CIP Project Manager
SUBJECT: Street Repair Update
RECOMMENDATION
Receive an update on the status of Measure K-14 street rehabilitation projects and Major Street rehabilitation projects and provide input and direction to staff including consideration of a pedestrian accessibility project at Grover Heights Elementary School and indefinite closure of South 4th Street south of Highland Way.
BACKGROUND
The City Council has identified “Street Maintenance and Complete Streets” as one of the Council’s FY 2023-25 Major City Goals. Residential streets are maintained primarily using Measure K-14 bond proceeds while the remainder of City streets, which are generally arterial streets referred to as “major streets,” are funded from other sources including the General Fund, Gas Tax funds allocated by the State, Local Transportation Funds allocated by the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG), and outside grants. The major streets within the city are 4th Street, Oak Park Boulevard, El Camino Real, West Grand Avenue, Farroll Road and The Pike. The City is approaching the ninth year of street rehabilitation work funded by voter-approved Measure K-14 which provides up to $48 million in bond funds for repair of residential streets with an estimated timeframe of 25 years.
Measure K-14 Projects
To date, the City has completed maintenance and repair of over 300 city blocks or approximately 70 percent of the streets included in the Measure K-14 program. Staff anticipates completing the remaining projects within 7-9 years which would be approximately 10 years ahead of the original projected completion date of 2040. The success of the City’s Measure K-14 paving program was highlighted during an education session presented by staff at this year’s American Public Works Association Expo, a conference with thousands of public works professionals from all over the world. Upon completion of all Measure K-14 projects, the estimated cost to maintain all residential streets at a Pavement Condition Index (PCI) value of 65 or better, which is considered to be in good condition $1.5M per year. The City has begun to include maintenance of previous Measure K-14 streets in the Capital Improvement Program though additional projects and ongoing funding will need to be included in the budget in future years. Over the last five years, the City has spent an average of $4 million per year on Measure K-14 Streets compared to an average of $300,000 per year on major streets.
Construction will start on the 16th Measure K-14 project (CIP 2295-16) in November which includes work on 20 blocks at portions of Front Street, N. 2nd Street, Saratoga Avenue, and Ramona Street. Design is also currently underway for the next Measure K-14 street repair project (CIP 2295-17) which includes work on 14 blocks and is anticipated to begin construction in the Staff Report: Street Repair Update Page 2
October 10, 2023
spring. In general, the City is on a cycle of completing 1-2 Measure K-14 projects per fiscal year to continue the extensive progress in improving residential streets. Attachment 2 shows the completed Measure K-14 projects, projects that are currently in design or construction, and remaining residential streets in the Measure K-14 program.
Looking ahead, approximately $15.3 million in available funding remains from the $48 million bond funding with 10 more projects planned for all of the public residential streets including 2295-16 and 17 mentioned above. However, since 2020, inflation has increased significantly and construction costs have escalated on average 10-15% per year. Given the escalating construction costs, staff is forecasting a shortage between $2.5-$4 million to fully complete the programmed Measure K-14 projects within the projected 7-9 year timeframe. This forecast is based on the assumption that inflation should stabilize to the typical 2%-4% range within the next 1-2 years.
Additional funding to complete these projects would need to come from the General Fund or other sources. No immediate action on this long-term funding gap is needed as there is sufficient funding for more immediate projects. However, staff will continue to engage the Council over time in ways to address this funding gap in completing all residential street repairs.
Lastly, project 2295-16 is the third Measure K-14 project where the City’s revised sidewalk infill public/private partnership program has been available to residents. With this program, the City will fund half of the cost for residents to construct concrete sidewalk, curb, and gutter improvements for properties adjacent to active street repair projects. Before the implementation of this program, only 1-2 property owners per project would fund concrete improvements; however, significantly more property owners are participating in this revised program with seven residents implementing such improvements as part of this project. The City’s contribution is funded with an annual allocation between $50,000-$100,000 from the General Fund. While there is no other sidewalk work outside of this program that is funded in the CIP, the City received a previous request from Grover Heights Elementary School to relocate a crosswalk in front of the school which would involve constructing new curb ramps. At Council’s direction, staff has done a preliminary assessment of this work which could cost approximately $25,000. With additional direction from the Council, staff could bring this back to Council for further consideration in February during the mid-year budget process.
Major Streets Projects
The improvements from Measure K-14 funding have focused on local residential streets with improvements to major arterial streets historically limited due to lack of resources for these repairs.
However, in recent years, the City has received additional general revenues including cannabis tax revenues after the approval of Measure L-16 in 2016 and increased sales tax revenues particularly through the additional 1% sales tax approved with Measure F-20 in 2020. As a result, the Council has allocated additional funding for major streets projects with a priority on streets that are heavily used or located with numerous businesses and residents. This work began with the recently completed South Oak Park Boulevard project from West Grand Avenue to Mentone Avenue. This project included pavement rehabilitation as well as vehicle lane reduction to incorporate a buffered bike lane in both directions along with retaining a landscaped median and on-street parking.
The City went out to bid with the West Grand Avenue Streetscape Project (CIP 2287) this summer with construction expected to start this fall. However, as noted in a separate item on this agenda, given the current bidding environment the City only received one bid and the cost was significantly higher than budgeted. This is a significant project in the City’s primary commercial corridor which includes pavement rehabilitation, landscaped medians, sidewalk and crosswalk improvements, street trees, and installation of storm drains along West Grand Avenue from 4th Street to 8th Street.
Staff Report: Street Repair Update Page 3
October 10, 2023
This section of the West Grand Avenue is a prime opportunity for redevelopment focused on housing and commercial uses and with two mixed-use projects pending and the City’s infrastructure improvements will help enable these future uses. Staff plans to bring an item to Council on October 23, 2023 with more information regarding funding to determine how to move forward with this project.
In addition, the FY 2024-2028 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) includes projects for North 4th Street (West Grand to Ocean View), West Grand Avenue (11th-Oak Park), and South Oak Park Boulevard (Mentone to the Pike) over the next several years. However, based on recent bid experience, the cost for these three projects is anticipated to cost an additional $1.3 million over the engineer’s estimate, totaling approximately $7.6 million over three years which would affect the timing of these improvements. The CIP also lists the unfunded needs for paving major streets which include El Camino Real, Farroll Road, The Pike, and S. 4th Street from Farroll Road to the southern City limit next to Oceano for a total estimated need of $12 million along with $500,000 in annual maintenance costs for all major streets. As of now, there is no funding identified for these major streets which is a challenge as these streets will need to be improved at some point.
Staff will continue to engage the Council over time on ways to identify additional funding to meet these repair needs as part of the City’s CIP program.
Lastly, South 4th Street south of Highland Way to the City limit is particularly challenging given the condition of the street and underlying drainage issues from adjacent properties. This street section has historically been lightly traveled given the proximity to Highway 1 and 13th Street and has been closed since this winter given storm damage. Repairing this street section requires a complex redesign to address the challenges with flooding and debris with a total estimated repair cost of approximately $5 million though grant funding for a larger active transportation project (which would include bike lanes and pedestrian improvements) may be available to help carry out this project. Given this situation, staff is recommending that the section of S.4th from Highland Way to the City limit remain closed indefinitely until a permanent solution can be addressed and staff is seeking Council’s concurrence in this approach.
FISCAL IMPACT
While there are no immediate fiscal impacts associated with this item, Council should be aware of the significant construction escalation cost, forecasts for the Measure K-14 bond measure funding, cost for the Major Streets, and future maintenance costs of residential and Major Street improvements identified in the report.
ALTERNATIVES
The Council has the following alternatives to consider:
1. Receive an update on the status of Measure K-14 street rehabilitation projects and Major Street rehabilitation projects and provide input and direction to staff including consideration of a pedestrian accessibility project at Grover Heights Elementary School and indefinite closure of South 4th Street south of Highland Way; or
2. Provide alternative direction to staff.
PUBLIC NOTIFICATION
The agenda was posted in accordance with the Brown Act.
Staff Report: Street Repair Update Page 4
October 10, 2023
Attachments
1. Map of Measure K-14 Street Projects
2. Map of Major Streets Projects
Completed Projects
2295-1 thru 2295-15
Current Projects
2295-16 & 2295-17
(projects under design)
Future Projects
2295-18 – 2295-24
(projects identified, not yet scheduled)
Map Rev 6-30-23
Attachment 1
Completed Projects
(since 2015)
2270—West Grand Avenue Enhancement - Phase 3
2276 - North Oak Park Blvd Rehabilitation Project
2283 - South 4th Street Pavement Repair Project
2283-1 - Grand Avenue & Oak Park Blvd Intersection
Rehabilitation Project
2284 - South Oak Park Blvd
Future Projects
2285 - North 4th Street
2286 - West Grand Avenue 11th Street to Oak Park Blvd
2287 - West Grand Avenue (4th-8th)
2288 - South Oak Park, Mentone to the Pike
Remaining Projects
The Pike, Farroll Road, El Camino Real
City of Grover Beach
Major Street Rehabilitation Program
COMPLETED, CURRENT & FUTURE PROJECTS