Consider Award of Contract for City Improvement Projects #11-01 through 11-06, 2011 Street Maintenance Program

Routine maintenance is the most economical method for safeguarding the public investment in bituminous paved streets.  The bituminous street surface weakens as a result of sunlight exposure, precipitation, freeze/thaw cycles and traffic loading.  As a result, the asphalt components of the bituminous become brittle and susceptible to cracking.  Once water is able to penetrate surface cracks into the road base, pavement deteriorates at an accelerating pace.  To avoid this rapid deterioration it is the goal of the City to address the preventative maintenance needs of its street system on a periodic basis, by either seal coating or overlaying the bituminous roadway surfaces.  Seal coating restores the imperviousness of the pavement; eliminating water penetration and pavement oxidation to retain the flexibility of bituminous pavement.  Unlike seal coats, which only preserve the flexibility of the bituminous, an overlay provides additional strength to the pavement structure.

The 2011 Street Maintenance Program (SMP) consists of six individual projects addressing the maintenance needs on 13.47 miles of City streets.  Projects 11-01 through 11-04 cover 11.93 miles of City streets, and receive a seal coat preceded by sealing of cracks having widths that exceed one-quarter inch (1/4”).  Projects 11-05 and 11-06 will address 1.54 miles of City streets, and receive a one and one-half inch (1 ½”) bituminous overlay on top of the existing bituminous pavement.  The proposed seal coating projects consist primarily of streets that were recently overlaid, a majority of which were done in 2006, and they will be assessed according to the City's revised policy on seal coat assessments (22% of actual total project costs).  The proposed overlay projects consist of streets that have been combined by subdivision or similar lot sizes, and will be assessed per unit.

The 2011 SMP was reviewed by the Public Works Committee on February 15, 2011, and they recommended advancing it to the City Council.  On March 8, 2011 the City Council received the feasibility study and ordered the public hearing.  On April 12, 2011 the public hearing was held and the feasibility study was approved without revisions.  On June 14, 2011, following the City Charter required 60 day waiting period, the project was ordered by the Council and authorized for bid.

A public open house was held on March 30, 2011, and 10 property owners attended the meeting to ask questions and provide input on making the project more successful.  Each concern identified has been investigated and items were incorporated into the plan set to correct the concerns identified.  It is anticipated that construction activities will commence, and a majority of the work will take place, in August.  Following project completion in mid-September a final accounting will be conducted on actual project costs and an assessment hearing will be scheduled for late September or early October.

Bids are scheduled to be opened on Friday July 15th, and will be forwarded to the Council under separate cover.  Staff will review the bids and make a formal recommendation at the July 19, 2011 meeting.

The entire 2011 SMP is estimated to cost approximately $677,000. The City will be paying approximately $345,000, benefiting property owner assessments are estimated at $192,000, the Stormwater Utility is covering approximately $99,000, and State Aid funding is estimated at $41,000.

Motion to approve the attached resolutions awarding a contract for City Improvement Projects #11-01 through 11-06; the 2011 Street Maintenance Program, to XXX in the amount of $XXX.