Consider Recommendation to City Council to Suspend Annual Sealcoating Program

Purpose:
The purpose of this case is to consider a recommendation to the City Council to suspend the City’s annual sealcoating program temporarily.

Background:
The City of Ramsey has generally sealcoated between 13 and 23 miles of City streets each year for many years.  The purpose of sealcoating is to protect existing bituminous pavement from damage caused by stormwater runoff, ultraviolet rays from the sun, and petroleum deposits left by vehicles using these streets.
 
Over the last two to three years, City staff has received higher than normal numbers of complaints about loose rock along gutters and in the boulevards of properties fronting streets that were sealcoated.
 
This spring, Staff has observed damage to the underlying pavement of streets that were sealcoated within the last two to three years.  Staff has also heard from numerous other cities throughout the Twin Cities metro area, including several in the northwest metro, about similar recent observations on their sealcoat projects.
 
Locally, the City of Andover stopped sealcoating all of their streets years ago, and the City of Coon Rapids is transitioning from sealcoating all streets to sealcoating only local residential streets and fog sealing higher-volume collector streets.  They believe the higher traffic volumes leads to surface stripping and believe fog sealing will provide similar benefits to seal coating at reduced costs.
 
Staff will present pictures of the damage observed on numerous streets throughout the City this spring, which has been observed on local streets as well as on higher volume collector streets, and is seeking a recommendation to the City Council to suspend the City of Ramsey’s sealcoat program.  This will allow Staff time to further observe the condition of our streets to make sure further degradation does not occur as a result of prior sealcoat projects, and to observe the practices and findings of the City of Coon Rapids fog sealing program, and other cities who are trying similar or alternative treatments to sealcoating.

Staff estimates 15 minutes will be sufficient to present this case and respond to questions.

Alternative #1– Motion to recommend that the City Council suspend the City’s annual sealcoating program to allow for further observation of previously sealcoated City streets, and to research the practices and findings of other cities.

Alternative #2 – Motion of other.

The City annually budgets $500,000 for crack sealing and sealcoating projects.  Staff still recommends completing crack sealing projects in an estimated amount of $200,000 annually.

Staff recommends providing a recommendation to the City Council to suspend the City’s annual sealcoating program temporarily for reasons noted herein.

Motion to recommend that the City Council suspend the City’s annual sealcoating program to allow for further observation of previously sealcoated City streets, and to research the practices and findings of other cities.