CLEARLAKE >> Measure V is doing better than Clearlake city officials had expected. They are now working on a list of projects to tackle in the next round.
So far the city has graded over 16,000 feet of road since the measure went into effect and this number will soon increase. The Avenues are next on the list for grading and pothole repair.
City staff members are also posting updates on the city’s website to give the public the opportunity to see where work is being done.
When Measure V was going proposed, Clearlake Finance Director Chris Becnel said he only estimated it creating $1.7 million for road repairs and paving. However, after being in place for a few months and charting the revenue flow, the measure is expected to accumulate almost $2 million.
“This is what we had estimated during the campaign, although when we closed out last fiscal year, our sales tax revenues were a little better than I thought. Based on this year, I would expect our revenues from Measure V are going to be just under $2 million,”
Because collection began in the last quarter of the 16/17 Fiscal Year, the city began the new year with $320,000 in the account. This has not been spent yet and will be used on other projects and equipment needed.
Public Works Director for Clearlake Doug Herren said for the first full year that Measure V is in effect the projects that will be coming up are Highlands Harbor, Lakeshore Village, Harbor Village, Pine Street and the Country Club.
“If we can get Highlands Harbor and Lakeshore Village done that’s a lot of area we can get knocked out this year,” Herren said.
A lot of the negative feedback the city got from the Measure and the construction has turned into more positive feedback Herren said. If everything goes accordingly and they follow the plan they will be in good standing in about 10 years in regards to projects and road fixtures
If there are safety issues on some of the roads and concerns are brought to the city staff, Herren said he would move that project to the top of his list to ensure public safety.
“If someone comes in and complains about a certain road and says it’s a safety issue that automatically gets pushed up to the top of the list. That means I’ll take my crew off the Avenues and open up these roads and improve them a bit just so they can get in there,” Herren said. “Those are our priority roads.”
A joint meeting between the Measure V Oversight Committee and the City Council will be held sometime in December to see what projects are taking place and what will be next on the list.
Grading has started and will continue as long as the weather permits.
