CLEARLAKE ? Guidelines have been established for the City of Clearlake accepting responsibility and ownership of public improvements. Any project that includes the construction of public improvements will be subject to the guidelines, which were adopted by the council on Dec. 11.
“Where there is construction of public improvements, such as sidewalks, curbs and gutters, there needs to be a guideline for staff to adhere to in accepting responsibility and taking ownership of the improvements,” City Administrator Dale Neiman said. “This is the procedure that the council approved for the Arterial Roadway Project and it worked very well. The improvements were done correctly and in a timely manner.”
Staff recommended that the same procedure that was approved for the Arterial Roadway Project be adopted as the standard for future acceptances.
Any project that includes the construction of public improvements, whether by a contractor hired by the city, a developer of a subdivision or an individual property owner who by agreement with the city is required to install public improvements, will be subject to following procedures in order for the city to accept responsibility and take ownership of said improvements:
?All public improvements must comply with the city”s design and construction standards, which are on file in the City Engineer”s office.
?Plans for all public improvements must be approved by the City Engineer prior to construction.
?Construction of public improvements will be subject to inspection by the appropriate city officials throughout the process of construction.
?A preliminary final inspection of the project shall be conducted by the project manager and city engineer as appropriate, and if necessary, a deficiency list of items to corrected or completed shall be established.
?When a final inspection of a project results in agreement between the developer and the project manager that a project is complete, the developer will provide the city engineer with a complete set of As-Built Plans. The city engineer will review the As-Built Plans, sign them and make a recommendation for acceptance of the improvements.
?The city engineer will recommend acceptance to the city administrator. The city administrator shall be responsible for accepting the improvements.
?The city engineer will advise the administrative assistant of the pending acceptance. The administrative assistant will prepare a maintenance agreement for the developer to guarantee the work for one year. The maintenance agreement will be secured with a one-year maintenance bond. Execution of the maintenance agreement and receipt and approval of the bond by the administrative assistant will be required as a condition of the city”s acceptance of the improvements.
?Once the city administrator approves acceptance of the improvements and the maintenance agreement and bond have executed and accepted, the city administrator will sign the As-Built Plans. The date of that signature will be considered the date the improvements are officially accepted by the city.
?Any bond furnished to secure the warranty of public improvements shall be released one year following acceptance of the improvements by the city, subject to final inspection of the improvements and approval by the appropriate city staff.
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com or call her directly at 994-6444, ext. 11.
