LAKE COUNTY — On Thursday, the Clearlake City Council will consider a newly proposed ordinance that could change the way the city enforces upkeep of its paved roadways.
City Engineer David Swartz and Public Works Director Dale Goodman write in a report to the council that more enforcement of road maintenance standards is needed in Clearlake, with more roads being paved since the passage of Measure V (2016), a 20-year, one-cent sales tax measure devoted to road improvements.
“With the passage of Measure V, and the cities (sic) aggressive street maintenance and rehabilitation program,” Swartz and Goodman write, “a new ordinance is necessary to establish the City’s authority to impose certain fees and require repairs which will reduce the adverse effects that street excavations have upon the economic life of paved roads and streets within the City.”
The proposed ordinance would tighten regulations on underground utility work that excavates portions of paved roadways. Swartz and Goodman’s report argues that such “excavations in paved streets degrade and shorten the life of the travel surface.”
There are about 65 miles of paved streets within the City of Clearlake, the report notes. Utility companies would be barred from excavating the most recently paved or rehabilitated of those roads, should the ordinance be passed.
As written, the ordinance would ban excavations on streets that have been reconstructed or paved within the previous five years and on streets that have been sealed or coated within the previous three years. Exceptions would be made when necessary, the Swartz and Goodman report notes.
The ordinance also would call for utility companies to get involved in the development of a capital improvement plan that, according to the report, will identify “all new pavement projects that are planned to be designed and constructed over a 5-year period” by sharing their plans for future construction that could affect those streets.
The city council will conduct a preliminary reading of the document on Thursday. Clearlake requires two readings of an ordinance like this one, before a final vote and adoption.
Lakeport City Council
On Tuesday, the Lakeport City Council in its regular meeting will hold a public discussion regarding community development block grant (CDBG) funding in an attempt to determine what city projects to hold out for funding in the coming grant cycle.
Depending on what the council decides to pursue, the city could be asking for up to $3.5 million in CDBG funds, which are predominately targeted toward benefitting low and moderate income populations.
In the past several years, writes Assistant City Manager Kevin Ingram in a report to the council, Lakeport has channeled CDBG funding toward Carnegie Library and city hall accessibility, and to the development of a Martin Street apartment building currently under construction.
Among the projects being considered for grant applications are improvements to a newly acquired bank building, which the city plans to turn into a community center, and the development of a housing rehabilitation program that could focus on re-roofing and weatherizing existing residences.
Lakeport City Council meetings are held on the first and third Tuesday of each month. Regular council meetings begin at 6 p.m. in the City Council Chamber at city hall. The public is invited to attend all council meetings.
The Clearlake City Council meets at 6 p.m. on the first and third Thursday of each month at city hall, located at 14050 Olympic Drive. The public is welcome to attend all council meetings. Agendas are available at www.clearlake.ca.us.
