CLEARLAKE— This Thursday at the Judge’s Breakfast in Clearlake, guest speaker and City Manager Alan Flora presented on the status of the city’s streets and roads alongside Dave Swartz, Adeline Brown, and Bo Wymer from the Public Works Department. They presented on all things related to the streets of Clearlake, gave an overview of the current situation, and outlined their progress and plans moving forward.
According to Flora there are 112 miles of public roads in Clearlake and 33 miles of private roads, 44 percent of which are gravel or otherwise unpaved roads. The pavement condition index indicates that 30 percent of Clearlake’s roads are considered “very poor” or “failed.” Prior to the passing of Measure V, the budget for roads was the main issue halting any improvements, maxing out at $300,000 for the entire year according to Flora. While one new mile of paved roads can cost around one million dollars, it simply was not an option until more funding was available. Flora shared, “Before Measure V we were spending somewhere in that range, one to $200,000 a year beyond staff time. From time to time we would get a grant to do something, but it was extremely minimal.”
Voted on in 2017, Measure V added a 1 percent sales tax that is dedicated to roads and is projected to bring in $2.7 million in 2022-2023. Since 2017, the City of Clearlake has improved 30.9 miles of public roads by implementing some creative solutions, one of which is using a “double chip seal” process to pave roads instead of a full pavement, saving the city upwards of $900,000 dollars per mile. Through this practice the city has been able to convert 16 miles of gravel roads to paved roads, which will be maintained every three to four years by the Public Works Department.
City Engineer Dave Swartz with public works detailed this maintenance noting what investments in equipment the city has made that benefit the community. “In addition to the public works crew transitioning to doing chip seal projects, the city previously had bought quite a bit of equipment that would allow them to do more relevant needs,” Swartz said. The equipment he refers to is a new water truck and excavator, which helps to alleviate some of the financial burden of these large projects as it gives the city the ability to grade and/or crack seal a project before a contractor comes in. Swartz explained “We pay prevailing wages, it’s very expensive. By having our guys go in, (to) do the crack sealing in advance of that, it allows the city to pave just that many more miles of street.”
Construction Projects Manager Adeline Brown of public works also discussed upcoming projects including the installation of a round-a-bout at the Dam Road intersection where Starbucks, Jack in the Box and Carl’s Jr. are located. This is considered phase one of another large-scale project they have scheduled, the Airport Development Project, which will connect 18th Avenue to Highway 53 and include the construction of a hotel.
Next week’s guest speaker at the Thursday Morning Judge’s Breakfast is Kevin Thompson with Tribal Health. The breakfast begins at 7 a.m. at the Clearlake Senior Center and more information is available on their Facebook Page.
