Crescent City councilors greenlit a plan to use unspent Measure S and general fund dollars from last fiscal year to repair sidewalks at about 20 locations around town.

Many spots are beyond repair with buckling or heaving concrete, tree stumps pushing through and ADA ramps failing, Public Works Director David Yeager told councilors on Monday.

The Measure S Oversight Committee had already approved the $248,374 for street repairs last fiscal year, Yeager said. Similarly, the $44,626 in unspent 2023-24 general fund dollars had been allocated to the street department.

Yeager said allocating these dollars to sidewalk repairs would not alter the budget Finance Director Linda Leaver presented to the Council since they’re already assumed to be spent.

Meanwhile, roughly $29,000 in fiscal year 2024-25 Measure S dollars are being allocated toward contingency, according to the city’s staff report.

The total project cost is estimated at $319,000, according to the staff report.

Councilors on Monday unanimously approved the budget reallocation with Mayor Blake Inscore said he’s excited it would be used to make Crescent City safer.

“Yes we need a lot of work all over the city and yes we have roads that are in serious need of continued work,” he said. “But keeping our pedestrians safe is something that has been overlooked for a long time.”

Most of the concrete repairs involve removing and replacing sidewalk at several areas on A Street as well as removing and repairing ADA ramps and adjacent sidewalk at other collector streets.

According to the city’s staff report, Precision Concrete Cutting repaired areas where a trip hazard exceeded 2 inches or where the sidewalk was shattered.

As for asphalt replacement, projects include a culvert replacement at A and Jackie streets. According to the city’s staff report, the Public Works Department is following a “best first” approach, focusing repairs on high traffic collector streets. This was a practice adopted by the Measure S Oversight Committee and focuses on maintaining streets that are already in good condition first.

The Measure S committee recommends taking advantage of grant opportunities or one-time funding for repairs on streets that are already in poor condition, according to the staff report.

“A Street is a major collector and has some major flaws and we plan on fixing that,” Yeager said. “And also the area between A and B on Second Street for some asphalt repairs.”

Crescent City is also using Highway Safety Improvement Program grant dollars for pedestrian improvement projects focusing on access to schools, Yeager said. The city’s also planning on spending $600,000 in Measure S dollars for a large project this year — Yeager said he hopes to get more information to the City Council about that this fall.

City Manager Eric Wier, who spent much of his career at the city as the public works director, said even though $500,000 in HSIP dollars will be used to address pedestrian improvements, the city is using Measure S dollars to provide matching funds.

SHARE →