ACTION REQUESTED:
Title
Communication from the City Manager and Director of Public Works with a Request to APPROVE the SIDEWALK POLICY Amending Policy #10-087 to Add CURB PARTICIPATION within the Existing Sidewalk Policies.
MOTION ON THE FLOOR: To Approve.
Body
BACKGROUND:
At the April 22, 2014 Meeting under First Readings, Council reviewed the attached Policy to add a Curb Participation Policy to the city's sidewalk participation policy. No objections were heard.
At the May 13, 2014 Meeting, Council requested an amendment be made to the Sidewalk and Curb Participation Program sections of the Policy, see Sections 1-xii and 4-xiii of the Amended Policy. Staff recommends that Neighborhood Associations be considered in both of the Participation Programs with allowance that they be given higher priority in a subsequent year if the initial request must be deferred due to budgets being exhausted. The Amended Policy recommends that Neighborhood Associations be allowed to participate with 50% of the construction budget allocation until June 1st of each year. If the participation funds are not used by Community Groups or Neighborhood Associations by June 1st, then those funds are released back to the main project fund and become available to other requestors. June 1st is a suggested date to ensure timely application receipt so the project can be bid out with known quantities and locations with construction expected as early in the season as possible to avoid winter weather later in the year. Furthermore, the amended policy recommends allowing Neighborhood Associations or Community Groups to move to the following year's request list if their request date comes in too late when funds are exhausted in the Programs. This 50% will be first-come, first-serve amongst the Groups or Associations.
Also at the May 13, 2014 Meeting, Council and the Director of Public Works, Michael Rogers, discussed dollar amounts requested by neighborhoods and businesses.
In Year 2010, the Sidewalk Participation Program had 63.2% of the construction dollars spent on Residential properties and 36.8% on Commercial properties.
In Year 2011, the Sidewalk Participation Program had 52.4% of the construction dollars spent on Residential properties and 47.6% on Commercial properties.
In Year 2012, the Sidewalk Participation Program had 72.4% of the construction dollars spent on Residential properties and 27.6% on Commercial entities.
In Year 2013, the Sidewalk Participation Program had 83.75% of the construction dollars spent on Residential properties and16.25% on Commercial entities.
Public Works staff recognizes that neighborhood, or block-by-block, improvements yield better pricing from contractors due to lower amounts of mobilization than when contractors are bidding on a project that includes individual properties that are miles away from the next property throughout the life of the project. For instance, the Sidewalk In Need of Repair program typically yields more competitive pricing that is 8% less than the unit pricing in the Sidewalk Participation Program. The Sidewalk In Need of Repair (SINR) Program operates differently than the request-driven Sidewalk Participation Program. In SINR, notices are sent before construction of a focal area's sidewalks, the project is bid with predetermined limits and quantities, and a contractor finishes the work in a timely manner due to low mobilization throughout the City. This procedure makes the program much more efficient from the Engineering and Construction perspectives, thus lowering prices.
The Sidewalk Participation Program is a request-driven program that occurs throughout the construction season. The contractors do not always know where they will be working when they bid on the project. The uncertainty of locations being small or large sites or the closeness of sites yields to contractor prices elevating at time of bid.
The Sidewalk and Curb Participation program request lists for Year 2014 include several Neighborhood Associations that have requested applications. Curb Participation in 2014 has 7 requests from a concentrated site on Arago Street and 12 within the Versailles Gardens Neighborhood. Sidewalk Participation has recently and successfully participated with neighborhoods around Carriage Lane, Virginia Avenue, Averyville, Frostwood Parkway, and Nebraska Avenue.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The current CIP project PB1407 will be undertaken and its $150,000 budget will be utilized.
NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERNS: For many years, citizens have shown an interest in curb replacement and construction participation programs which, individually, have not been available.
IMPACT IF APPROVED: Staff can implement the Curb Participation Program as part of the 2014 Community Investment Plan.
IMPACT IF DENIED: The Curb Participation Program will be delayed in 2014.
ALTERNATIVES: Redirect Curb Participation Policy
EEO CERTIFICATION NUMBER: N/A
WHICH OF THE GOALS IDENTIFIED IN THE COUNCIL'S 2014 - 2029 STRATEGIC PLAN DOES THIS RECOMMENDATION ADVANCE?
1. Financially Sound City Government, Effective City Organization
2. Attractive Neighborhoods with Character: Safe and Livable
WHICH CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTOR(S) FROM THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN DOES THIS RECOMMENDATION IMPLEMENT?
1. Invest in our infrastructure and transportation.
2. Support sustainability.
3. Reinvest in neighborhoods.
DEPARTMENT: Public Works