From the Email INBOX: RE-Calendar and Bids

Pawww....

Went through what was mentioned in your event calendar for City of G.T. and noticed what may or may not Be two errors.

Have been told via clerk at city that the Planning Commission meetings for all of December have been cancelled. The dates are set as side for normal business, but have been told there is nothing for the 7th, and looks as if the items being processed right now will not be done in time for the 2nd meeting In December either.

So no P.C. meeting until 2007. An inquiry was made on the new contract being announced at bid to benefit west side residents. This may be attributed to the new Traffic Commission, but looks as if what will eventually be will affect the area for couple decades. Yes, once again that group of folks who are high on the popularity list, but low on the practable or professional list may be at it again.

The new "Out for Bids" project is labeled as are construction of existing streets. However, in the civil engineering world, it is more properly described as an appeasement patch, black paint, or waste of dollars. But since they are other people's dollars, so who cares. The project is over the streets of Vivienda (east-west) from the freeway, west to the new concrete RR. Bridge, and on LaCrosse, where it Tee's into Vivienda and then goes south to the traffic signals at Barton.

What is labeled and what is being proposed are two different items. It is not one of the standard "We gotta Problem, so lets fix it" projects. Instead it is more like a "We gotta problem, but residents are too dumb to notice, so lets make everything black, say it is good for 25 years, we all will be gone da hell outta here in 5-7 years and then let them solve it again" type of deals. (If I am told without looking that everything will be OK, then I can pull out into the traffic and won't get klobbered. Oops). I am not familiar with entire length of the two named streets, but do know of two problem areas.

Back a good 10-15 years ago, on the South side of Vivienda, a new duplex was built. The street grades were wacko enough that when ever it rained, water would collect along the south edge. It could only get about one foot deep, for beyond that depth it flowed over the street center line and into the property on the north side of the street. Then the rainy water or flooding was the other folk's problem.

When the duplex project came before the then current City Planner the simple solution was to build a few feet of curb and gutter, down hill into a hole, and take a deposit or set a side funds to eventually make a permanent fix, like a culvert, to alleviate the problem. I believe she said close to $30,000 (seems high to me) had been bonded to alleviate the problem, and when ever the city decided to improve the whole street, upgrade the area,that sum would be incorporated. A permanent fix would then be made.

Lets see now, according to Sacramento, a bond for construction can only be held twenty years,then it must be released. Now that sum what ever it could be, according to S.B. had been forgotten about when the block grant funding was located. Dollars are dollars to me, but votes are better if it don't cost dollars too. If anyone heading south zips off the singular freeway offramp known also as the Barton Road exit, they should notice when it rains a nice sized pool of water flooding the intersection and part of the adjacent property. I once saw an 18 wheel truck stuck in the resulting mud. Here too there is a low spot. Not quiete as deep, but very broad. It flows over the whole of the pavement on occasion such that it is necessary to place several of those A frame street barricades. They warn motorists not to travel that direction for there is some sort of navigation hazard ahead.

Back when, I went to a A.P.W.A. Inspectors school in Los Angeles. One of the things they taught me was that asphalt paving don't fail normally, if there is water around it will fail faster. If the water pools in the street, a utility trench is not properly compacted, then you get what is commonly called alligatored pavement. You cannot simply add more asphalt, that is temporary. Only way to fix permanently is to improve the drainage. Dry up things normally. When you drive the little piece of LaCrosse, do you notice the alligatoring? What do these two little instances have to do with the beautification of the city? Have found that in the past, that the active City committees play about as much a rubber stamp due to their inexperience or inattention as in many other communities.

Essentially, someone determines a problem area, funds become available, everyone gets excited, but does it really solve the problem. Lets dump a whole bunch of dollars into plants for the park, but lets not figure out how to keep them alive for several years. Imagine a house with a leaky roof. Don't investigate why, just instead put a whole new roof on. That'll fix it. But in 5-6 years the leak reappears at same location. So, lets put another set of shingles up there, for that'll fix it........Hey, hey now. I was told the shingles had a twenty year warranty and why are they leaking already? Wadda you mean the company is out of business already? Gee, I was told the new asphalt being laid in in the western area was going to be good for twenty years, and it would solve any problem of the water in the streets.

What? The Traffic Commission said no problem? The City staff said no problem, this will fix everything? They must be correct, and know more than the residents of twenty years do, for they are professional experts. They got appointed based upon their personality instead of their practicality. After about ten years of bumbling, wasting (free) money, they will have sufficient experience to keep their appointments. Remember, as of today, there is no flooding. They may have driven out there and looked.'course, it isn't raining today either. But that only happens five or six times a year and the residents were told that new black paint (or a whole new roof) would cure everything. I would personally see all those dollars for blackpaint be put into another neighborhood, where visibility is important, and can best be used to advantage. Dumping those dollars into the proposed area will not solve the underlying problems.

Gramps Replies:

Many good points are made by the writer of this email. I know the Dates Published in the Blue Mt Outlook were suspect. However, the BMO is a Publication Paid for In Part by the City and the calendar Section has the meetings on the December calendar. Now if there was going to be an opportunity for some slight of hand management this is one way to do it. Cause a false calendar and then toss in a meeting when it had been removed in the past.

Your concerns are correct about the decision making and repairs to roads except that you give the Traffic Committee way to much power. They have been given a report of things that the Staff Wants done, and in truth they can function as public information providers, but have little impact on what gets done or not done. The impact they may have is what gets done first. However, this group is being told what to do by Staff. It is not the case where they advise the Council, and the Council directs Staff. As to WHO is on the Traffic Committee I think in part the membership reflects who wants to serve more than who is picked. So if a Citizen Showed up I am fairly sure that citizen would welcome and most likely added to the Committee. Mr Larken's Deployment leaves an opening and I doubt there is a limit to the number of folks that are on that particular Committee. Perhaps contacting Council Member Miller regarding these issues is the right step to have your concerns raised.

Now the conflicting information in the Bid Documents. That is a problem. The top coat over a faulty road, that is a problem. I know that the roads in that area are worn, and wet as you say. They need more than icing of black slurry to fix the problems. I also know that years of top coat raise the street bed up above driveways, and drainage and cause flooding. Eventually the top coating icing has to be removed, and a new bed laid like what was done on Mt. Vernon. Your observations are absolutely correct as to what needs to be done, and how things are done at the city, in regards to funding and planning a project. The only hope is to make the City Council WORK at making the Staff Work for the Council, and the Council Work for the Citizens. That may help get better use of the limited money we have available. Do a Smaller Job Right, is a better form of management than a Bigger Bad Job.

So to sum it up...

Yeah, I know the dates were suspect, but I put them there for a reason... So the City Can't Cancel a Meeting, then Have a Meeting and not have the Public Know.

Yeah, I agree with you on the Road Repair Bid, and Flawed Management Practices of the Staff.

You give the Traffic Committee too much Power.

Sounds like if you are not on the Traffic Committee you should be, and if not, at least bring these comments to the Committee, Council, and Perhaps even to the funding source of the repair as some times the funding source will take back money if it is going to be spent on a project as you indicate this is. That may be County Funds, or State Funds and even possible Federal.