By Denise Rockenstein — Staff reporter
CLEARLAKE — Clearlake City Council heard a presentation Thursday by Phil Dow and Nephele Barrett, of the Lake County/City Area Planning Council (APC) regarding the condition of Clearlake roads. On average, city streets rate at 38 percent in the Pavement Condition Index (PCI).
A 38-percent rating translates to about a $31.40-per-square-yard-expense for rehabilitating the average city roadway.
Barrett provided the council with a PowerPoint presentation explaining the rating system and the importance of maintaining and improving the condition of the roads. The pavement management program is a tool to make cost-effective decisions about streets. The program answers the following five main questions: What does the city have in the street network? What condition is it in? What repairs are needed and when? How much money is required to maintain or improve streets cost-effectively? What is the cost-effective use of existing funding?
Information provided shows that the city is maintaining its average within the PCI. However, Dow said the average does not reflect a completely accurate view of city streets because recent pavement projects on arterial and collector streets are responsible for the maintaining of that average.
Vice Mayor Jeri Spittler and Councilwoman Joyce Overton voiced concern for attention being focused away from residential streets in the city. While Dow said he understood their concern, he stressed the importance of “keeping the good streets good” as expenses for rehabilitation increase as the roadway falls into further disrepair.
Dow said that the APC is currently working toward presenting a countywide sales tax initiative for transportation. Overton, while supportive of the idea, said that she didn”t think the initiative would pass unless it was specific to roads, not transportation. Dow said that is the direction that the APC is moving toward. He said telephone surveys are currently being organized and that the council will be informed of the survey results.
In other council news, sitting as the Redevelopment Agency (RDA) Successor Agency, the body received and filed the RDA annual report, reviewed the audit and authorized consolidation and transfer between funds.
“The most significant financial transaction was the payment in full of the $1,300,899 advance between the RDA and the Lower and Moderate Income (LMI) Housing Fund,” Interim Finance Director Sandra Sato said. “While there is no longer an advance between the LMI and tax increment funds, at June 30, 2011 there was a deficit between two other funds.”
Sato said the deficit occurred in the prior fiscal year because less money was transferred from the tax increment funds than was necessary to fully fund debt service on the tax increment fund”s share of the Series A Debt Service. She said the total deficit is $162,762.
The council also authorized a budget adjustment and transfer of $70,442 from the gas tax fund to the capital projects fund to correct an allocation for vehicle expenditures to Proposition 1B funds. “In preparing this year”s update of Proposition 1B funds, it came to my attention that vehicles are not an allowable expenditure,” Sato said. “Staff is requesting an appropriation of $70,442 to make the necessary correction.”
The expenditures were for the purchase of a dump truck, pickup truck and a van.
