August 16, 2022
Honorable Victoria Wood
Superior Court of Napa County
825 Brown Street
Napa, CA 94559
SUBJECT: City of Napa Response to the 2021-2022 Grand Jury Compliance and Implementation Report of the 2019-2020 Napa County Grand Jury Recommendations and Responses for the report entitled “The City of Napa’s Sidewalks: Watch your Step!” Dear Judge Wood:
The City of Napa has received and carefully reviewed the 2021-2022 Grand Jury Compliance and Implementation Report of the 2019-2020 Napa County Grand Jury Recommendations and Responses for the report entitled “The City of Napa’s Sidewalks: Watch your Step!” (hereinafter “Grand Jury Report”). Pursuant to California Penal Code Sections 933 and 933.05, this letter documents the City’s responses to each finding and recommendation in the Grand Jury Report (hereinafter “City Response”). The City Response was prepared by City staff, including the Public Works Director, and presented to the City Council for their consideration. At the public meeting on August 16, 2022, the City Council approved this City Response, and directed the City Manager to submit this City Response on behalf of the City Council.
Therefore, this City Response represents the required response to the Grand Jury Report from the City Council of the City of Napa and Mayor, as well as the invited responses from the Public Works Director and City Manager of the City of Napa.
General Responses
Finding F1. The City of Napa has developed a systematic and criteria-based approach to prioritizing sidewalk repairs.
City Response: The City agrees with this finding.
Finding F2. The City of Napa strives for efficiency, due to its limited number of repair crew personnel (22 full time repair crew personnel), in order to maximize sidewalk repairs throughout the year.
City Response: The City partially disagrees with this finding. The City does strive for efficiency due to the limited number of repair crew personnel to maximize sidewalk repairs throughout the year. To provide additional clarity, it is important to state the assignments of the street maintenance personnel. The City has three crews dedicated to street maintenance with a total of 21 positions assigned to these three crews with a streets superintendent manager over the division. Only one crew, which is made up of seven members, is assigned full time to concrete sidewalk repairs. The other two crews are assigned to street paving, drainage system maintenance, street signage, pavement striping, debris removal, etc.
Finding F3. The City of Napa has identified the following five important sidewalk conditions, each assigned a numerical score (1-5), to determine repair prioritization: A) pedestrian travel areas, B) years until the sidewalk falls onto the schedule of repair under the Napa Neighborhood Streets and Sidewalk Program, C) tree issues around the sidewalk, D) proximity to schools and E) size of concrete displacement City Response: The City agrees with this finding.
Finding F4. The Public Works Department goal for sidewalk repair is to group by proximity/location the highest-ranked priority projects, in order to develop a list of the maximum number of high priority repairs that can be completed as a single project. The goal is to complete repairs ranging from a minimum of 9 to a maximum of 15 locations to minimize movement of repair crews and maximize efficiency.
City Response: The City agrees with this finding.
Finding F5. The Public Works Department views efficiency in sidewalk repairs as a major factor in the timely repair of all damaged sidewalks. The Public Works Department has evidence and experience that the sidewalk repair rates of the Napa Neighborhood Program are four to five times greater than completing individual priority locations.
City Response: The City agrees with this finding.
Finding F6. City residents do not have easy access to sidewalk repair information due to the Public Works Department’s outdated sidewalks website. An updated website could help to inform the public about the City of Napa’s strong financial and operational commitment to sidewalk repair given budgetary constraints.
City Response: The City partially disagrees with this finding. The City’s website did include information about the Napa Neighborhood Streets and Sidewalks Program, the Sidewalk Cost Share Program, Sidewalk Shaving Program, and sidewalk locations repaired over the previous fiscal year. The City does agree that improvements to the website would be useful in highlighting the sidewalk repair program as a City priority. In July 2022, additional information regarding the sidewalk repair programs was added to the City of Napa Public Works website.
Recommendation R1. The City of Napa should describe the rationale and advantages of the Napa Neighborhood Streets and Sidewalk Program on the Public Works Department website.
City Response: The recommendation has been implemented. In July 2022, additional information regarding the sidewalk repair programs was added to the City of Napa Public Works website. The information on the sidewalk repair programs can be found on the City webpage: https://www.cityofnapa.org/365/Sidewalks-Curbs-Gutters.
Recommendation R2. The City of Napa should use its Public Works Department website to explain the prioritization of sidewalk repair, including shaving and asphalt patching under the Napa Neighborhood Streets and Sidewalks Program.
City Response: The recommendation has been implemented. In July 2022, additional information regarding the sidewalk repair programs was added to the City of Napa Public Works website. The information on the sidewalk repair programs can be found on the City webpage: https://www.cityofnapa.org/365/Sidewalks-Curbs-Gutters.
Recommendation R3. The City of Napa should use the Public Works Department website to explain how crew efficiency assists in getting more sidewalk repairs completed each year.
City Response: The recommendation has been implemented. In July 2022, updated information regarding the sidewalk repair programs has been added to the City of Napa Public Works website. The information on the sidewalk repair programs can be found on the City webpage: https://www.cityofnapa.org/365/Sidewalks-Curbs-Gutters.
Recommendation R4. The City of Napa should use the Public Works Department website to emphasize the Cost Sharing program and the benefits it provides to residents whose sidewalks are not scheduled for near-term repairs.
City Response: The recommendation has been implemented. In July 2022, updated information regarding the sidewalk repair programs has been added to the City of Napa Public Works website. The information on the sidewalk repair programs can be found on the City webpage: https://www.cityofnapa.org/365/Sidewalks-Curbs-Gutters.
Recommendation R5. The City of Napa should update the Public Works Department website to reflect its strong financial and operational commitment to sidewalk repair year over year and to describe any plans for the future.
City Response: The recommendation has been implemented. In July 2022, updated information regarding the sidewalk repair programs has been added to the City of Napa Public Works website. The information on the sidewalk repair programs can be found on the City webpage: https://www.cityofnapa.org/365/Sidewalks-Curbs-Gutters.
Reporting from 2019-2020 Report
The 2021-2022 Grand Jury Report appendix includes a finding that the City had not met the commitments made in the City’s responses to recommendations from the 2019-2020 Napa County Grand Jury Final Report entitled “The City of Napa’s Sidewalks: Watch your Step!” The City wholly disagrees with this finding for the reasons set forth below, as well as the reasons documented in the City’s letter to the Grand Jury dated October 21, 2021, attached to this Response as Exhibit A. The following section of this response includes the 2019-2020 recommendation, the City response, and status of the implementation of the actions detailed as part of the response. 2019-2020 Recommendation R1. The Jury recommends that Public Works Department publish definitions of the terms “priority,” “location,” and “one-off” whenever those terms are used in documents or information made available to the public, to be completed by December 31, 2020.
City Response 2019-2020: This recommendation will be implemented by December 31, 2020. "One-off" is not an official term and will not be used in City documents.
City Response 2021-2022: The Public Works Department Sidewalk Repair Policy/Procedures was completed on December 23, 2020, and is attached to this Response as Exhibit B. The definitions for both terms were included in the Public Works document. The definitions were also added to the City’s website as part of the document that listed the specific sidewalk repairs completed by location. In July 2022, there was a significant update to the sidewalk program information included on the City of Napa’s Public Works webpages including a new section for definitions. 2019-2020 Recommendation R2. The Jury recommends that the Public Works Department adhere to their published definitions of terms such as “priority,” “location,” and “one-off” in their recordkeeping efforts so that PWD’s reporting on the number of sidewalk repairs is consistent and clear, to be completed by December 31, 2020.
City Response 2019-2020: This recommendation will be implemented by December 31, 2020.
City Response 2021-2022: Terms were defined in the Public Works Department Sidewalk Repair Policy/Procedures completed on 12/23/2020 and are used for program documentation. 2019-2020 Recommendation R3. The Jury recommends that the Public Works Department adopt a written policy governing the selection of individual “one-off” or “priority” repair projects, to be completed by December 31, 2020.
City Response 2019-2020: This recommendation will be implemented by December 31, 2020. This recommendation is being implemented as part of a written department policy and will include the prioritization for investments of limited resources as stated above.
City Response 2021-2022: The Public Works Department Sidewalk Repair Policy/Procedures, completed on 12/23/2020, is the written policy that sets criteria and procedures for identifying “priority” repair locations. 2019-2020 Recommendation R6. The Jury recommends that the Public Works Department annually publish on the City of Napa’s website a street address list of priority projects completed each year, to be completed by December 31, 2020.
City Response 2019-2020: This recommendation will be implemented by December 31, 2020. In January, with the assistance of the City’s GIS Coordinator, the Public Works Department initiated work to produce an interactive map to display locations of sidewalk repairs. The interactive map is being modeled after one published by the City of Dublin, Ohio. (https://dublinohiousa.gov/engineering/sidewalk-maintenance-program/). Once completed, the interface will be updated annually.
City Response 2021-2022: The detailed lists (by address) for repairs from July 2019 through 2020 was prepared for posting on the City’s website by December 31, 2020. In October 2021 City staff identified that the detailed list for repairs was not locatable on the City’s website. Links to the detailed lists were added to the City’s website and verified in October 2021. In July 2022, there was a significant update to the sidewalk program information included on the City of Napa’s Public Works webpages, including adding a list of sidewalk repairs made through June 2022. The information can be found at: https://www.cityofnapa.org/365/Sidewalks-Curbs-Gutters. 2019-2020 Recommendation R7. The Jury recommends that the Public Works Department update its portion of the City of Napa’s website to better inform citizens. At a minimum, the update should include the most current schedule or map for sidewalk repairs as well as a link to facilitate citizen reporting of sidewalk issues, to be completed by December 31, 2020.
City Response: This recommendation will be implemented by December 31, 2020.
City Response 2021-2022: Additional information was added to the Public Works webpage for sidewalks by December 31, 2020. The Neighborhood Schedule had been posted on the website, additional links for the service center were added, and a list of the completed repairs was posted in 2021. In July 2022, there was a significant update to the sidewalk program information included on the City of Napa’s Public Works webpages. 2019-2020 Recommendation R8. The Jury recommends that the Public Works Department develop a schedule and methodology for assessing the success of the conversion to the Workorder Asset Management system and their ability to use it effectively, to be completed by December 31, 2020.
City Response 2019-2020: This recommendation will be implemented by December 31, 2020. As the City team continues the process for the set up and implementation of the Workorder Asset Management system, program goals, performance metrics and monitoring will be established.
City Response 2021-2022: In 2020, the goals, schedule, and performance metrics were established. The system has now been set up to receive reports for damaged sidewalk locations, generate workorders to evaluate damage and create a numerical rating, and generate a list of locations appropriate for the shaving program. The Public Works Department has experienced staffing turnover in the key positions assigned to the implementation for the Workorder Asset Management system and our team has identified the need for additional technical assistance to complete the action plan for final set up. As part of our FY 2022/2023 approved budget, a limited term position was funded to focus on the further development of the Workorder Asset Management system citywide and the management of the City’s Geographical Information System (GIS). Once hired, the limited term employee will meet with the operations management team, review the system, and develop a workplan to make additional modifications to the Workorder Asset Management system. The additional steps identified for full implementation include: developing GIS mapping for system, developing workflow to close workorders where repairs have been completed, integrating repairs from the cost share program and Capital Improvement Program projects, additional training for maintenance employees to use the system and to create new workorders, supplying additional electronic tablets to maintenance employees, troubleshooting interface forms through feedback from maintenance team, and creating improved and streamlined reporting templates. Many of these tasks have commenced and the addition of the new limited term employee will aid in the completion of the system implementation and system verifications. The revised workplan is scheduled to be completed by June 30, 2023.
The City of Napa thanks the Grand Jury for its service during the 2021-2022 term. We take our responsibility to improve the City’s sidewalk system very seriously and have worked to improve the program and increase communication. The Public Works Department strives to optimize the use of the limited funding to address sidewalk damage throughout the City. If you or the Grand Jury Foreperson have any questions regarding the City’s response, please contact me.
Respectfully Submitted,
______________________________
Steve Potter, City Manager
cc: Michael Stone, Foreperson, 2021-2022 Napa County Grand Jury (Napa County Grand Jury, 1754 Second St., Suite D, Napa, CA 94559) Michael Barrett, City Attorney
Julie Lucido, Public Works Director
Peter Brestak, Interim Operations Manager
Dominic Digloria, Streets Superintendent
John Mason, Associate Engineer
City Hall: 955 School Street, Napa CA 94559 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 660, Napa CA 94559 (707) 257-9500 www.cityofnapa.org
City Hall: 955 School Street, Napa CA 94559 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 660, Napa CA 94559 (707) 257-9500 www.cityofnapa.org
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City of Napa Response to 2021-2022 Napa County Grand Jury Compliance and Implementation Report Page 2 of 8 ATTACHMENT 1