MARTINEZ, Calif. – Martinez City Council may decide tonight to spend $1.351,300 in Measure D tax revenues on local road paving. That would include awarding a $1,280,361 contract to MCK Services of Martinez for construction work.
Prior to the regular meeting, the Council and members of Congress will conduct at Town Hall meeting about the Martinez Post Office.
The road repair project’s money would come from the half-cent sales and transaction tax approved Nov. 8, 2016, by voters. The tax lasts 15 years, and its revenue can be spent solely for maintenance and repair of the city’s local roadways.
The Council approved a list of paving projects May 16, based on the Franchise/Public Infrastructure Subcommittee recommendations.
The work will build 150,000 square feet of 3-inch dig-outs for pothole repair throughout the city in preparation for the upcoming cape seal rehabilitation, for which the city is seeking bids, City Engineer Tim Tucker wrote in his report.
“The bids include alternate work areas to pave Center Avenue between Vine Hill Way and Redwood Drive, as well as Center Avenue south of Muir Road along the Nob Hill Center frontage,” he wrote.
Bids from three contractors were opened Aug. 14, and ranged from $1,280,361 to $1,858,545.50, from Telfer Pavement Technologies, Argonaut Constructors and MCK, the lowest bidder, he wrote. An engineer had estimated the work would cost $1.8 million.
In addition to MCK’s construction, the project also is budgeted for $400,669 for contingencies, $75,000 for management and inspection and $60,000 in additional construction engineering support
In addition to the Measure D money, $600,000 Capital Improvement Project funds, gasoline taxes and Measure J money from 2017-18 and 2018-19 as well as $135,300 in Linton Terrace gas tax would be spent, if the Council approves.
“Due to the favorable bid, staff recommends maximizing available construction funds with a larger than normal contingency,” Tucker explained the project’s budget.
He is asking the Council to let Public Works Director David Scola add more dig-out repairs and paving to the contract should money remain after the contract work is finished.
Also under consideration tonight is the $373,749.80 Linton Terrace embankment stabilization and culvert replacement project, including the award of a contract to $Cowan and Thompson Construction of Martinez.
The project was included in the 2017-22 Five Year Capital Improvement Program, and would replace a failed road culvert, stabilize the creek crossing banks from further erosion and restore the existing road.
The city applied for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds to cover damages caused by the January 2017 storms, of which the Linton Terrace culvert crossing was one.
That area had experienced damage from erosion caused by heavy runoff from creeks and banks, Tucker wrote in his report.
The California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) told the city July 17, 2017, that the request had been approved.
Martinez contracted with Cal Engineering and Geology to provide geotechnical and civil engineering designs, and the project was advertised for bids in June, Tucker wrote. An engineering estimate pegged the project at $413,000, and six bids ranged from Cowan and Thompson’s lowest, at $373,749.80 , to a high of $654,456.
The FEMA award will cover $205,431 of the total cost, and the balance will come from National Pollutant Discharge Elimination Systems (DPDES) funds and gasoline taxes.
Besides the construction contract, the project includes $75,000 for designs, $25,000 in contingencies, $25,000 for bid and construction support services and $20,000 for inspections.
Another engineering project on tonight’s agenda is the award of a $129,768 contract to APB General Engineering, Concord, for the Ferry Street-Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) Access Project
Tucker wrote that grant funding became available to upgrade the pedestrian access across the railroad at Ferry Street so the west side meets current standards.
“The existing pedestrian sidewalks/paths on the east side of Ferry Street direct pedestrian(s) via crosswalks to the west side of Ferry Street,” he wrote. This project would provide a second pedestrian railroad crossing at Ferry Street.
“Often, pedestrians enter the UPRR right of way and cross the tracks on the east side of…Ferry Street, This is unsafe and there is no ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant) access or delineation for this pedestrian movement,” he wrote.
In a collaborative effort with Union Pacific Amtrak and the California Public Utilities Commission , city staff developed a scope of work and cost estimate to improve pedestrian access, he wrote. Calrans Division of Rail and Mass Transportation approved a service contract Sept. 24, 2015, to provide $542,700 in funding for the improvements.
Engineers had estimated the project would cost $130,000, and APB General Engineering’s bid was $129,765. Other bids went as high as $251,483, Tucker wrote.
Besides construction, the project budget provides $15,000 for contingencies and $30,000 for construction management, inspections and testing.
The Council also will consider establishing a synthetic turf field special revenue fund to replace and maintain Hidden Lakes Soccer Field’s artificial grass field using money generated by rental and user fees.
Michael Chandler, deputy director of Administrative Services, wrote that since the soccer field’s rehabilitation, the city has received both great reviews and multiple reservation requests for its use.
The city’s Parks, Recreation, Marina and Cultural Commission (PRMCC) Fee Subcommittee discussed establishing a new internal fund to contain money that could be used not only at Hidden Lates Park but also for other municipal artificial turf fields.
In addition, consultant Chris Chisam estimated the Hidden Lakes soccer field would need replacement by 2026 at a cost of $400,000.
Not only has the PRMCC and the Council endorsed new fees, but the Commission recommended the new fund.
The city’s legal department recommended waiting to gather a full year of revenue from the new turf field before establishing the fund. The city has received about $44,000 in Hidden Lakes Soccer Field revenues in Fiscal Year 2017-18, and spends about $6,000 annually to maintain the fieldChandler wrote.
Chandler is recommending establishing the special fund and using it not only for Hidden Lakes Soccer Field but also for any additional synthetic turf fields the city installs in the future.
Martinez City Council and the city’s two U.S. Representatives, Mike Thompson and Mark DeSaulnier, will lead a community Town Hall meeting at 5 p.m. today to discuss citizens’ concerns about the operation of the Martinez Post Office.
Complains aired in the past included days of failed mail delivery in some neighborhoods, misdelivered and late mail and other problems, although at an April Council meeting, Postmaster Jeanette Davis said she didn’t believe that was possible.
She also disagreed with those who contended the post office management was not responsive to their complaints.
The regular City Council meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. today. Both sessions will take place in the Council Chamber of Martinez City Hall, 525 Henrietta St.
