It is going to take millions of dollars to get Yuma’s streets back up to standard, the Yuma City Council learned during its regular meeting last week at City Hall.
Mayor Tim McClung and council members Marc Shay, Terri Frame, Vanessa Dischner and Zach Diaz were in attendance. Dan Baucke and Jerome Benish were absent.
Scott Jardine with the engineering firm Short Elliot Hendrickson (SEH) provided reports on the Roadway Maintenance Study, planned paving projects, and the Village Park East situation.
SEH has conducted a survey of all the city’s streets. Collectively, the roads graded out at a 59 on a particular index. Sardine said the goal is to be at least at 70 on the index. Yuma has 300 road “segments” which is roughly one city block. SEH identified 47 of the worst segments that if rehabilitated would bring the city’s roads rating up to 70.
The council was told an estimated cost of $19.2 million in today’s dollars. Curb and gutter is included in the estimate.
On top of that, Sardine said it would require an annual budget of $4 million to maintain the city’s roads to stay at the desired 70 rating. He talked about how poor drainage in some areas has eroded the subgrade, and once that goes it does not do any good just to fix the surface.
The city had four areas for upgrades the council wanted done in 2024, but now is set for 2025. It is one block of Third Ave. west of S. Main, two blocks of Fourth Ave., one block east and west of S. Main, and the intersection of N. Birch and W. Hoag.
That total cost is estimated at $2 million — $660,000 for Third Ave., $1 million for Fourth Ave., and $400,000 for the intersection. It could be higher if the cast iron water lines at the intersection are replaced.
Jardine said the survey revealed a low slope on the curb and gutter is contributing to the poor pavement condition at the intersection. Curb and gutter slopes will have to be increased for better drainage, ADA ramps will need to be upgraded, and there might have to be some adjustments to the sidewalks.
It will take several months to do all the work, but Sardine told the council it would be best to get the timeline from the contractor.
SEH also did a study on paving and drainage for Village Park East, located north of Indian Hills Golf Course. Centennial Road and Homestead Trail are the two streets in the development. It entails replacing road base, paving, installing curb and gutter, and creating a proper retention pond. The total estimated cost is $3.94 million.
After all the presentations were done, McClung told Sardine, “you have given us a lot to think about.” He noted that it is going to be up to the community to determine how much to spend to pave and maintain the city streets.
City manager search
The council was in consensus to send out request for proposal to three search firms to assist in identifying city manager candidates.
The plan is to be ready to start the search by the end of February after hiring a firm.
Food truck permits
The council held a discussion about the food truck permit ordinance it updated late last year. BJ Wall and Terri Wall participated in the discussion.
Most food trucks have disappeared from Yuma since the ordinance went into effect.
They previously had asked the council to reconsider the ordinance. They said neither one of them received the letter given to food truck vendors about the council considering the updated ordinance, which it discussed at multiple meetings and was reported on in the Pioneer. Therefore the council agreed to hold further discussion with the Walls.
One concern was about the $50 per month permit fee.
BJ said his food permit is $385 per year, and the city is wanting $600 per year for its food truck permit.
“It’s not worth it,” he said. “…We should be able to park our trailer in the middle of Main St. for $50 a month.”
He said Sterling charges $30 for the whole year, and other municipalities do not have food truck permit fee.
McClung said the council considered anything from $10 to $50, with the discussion centering on if food truck operators were paying their sales tax collections. The Walls said their operations have been.
Another concern was from Terri, who sells only shave ice treats and not any actual food, so it would take a lot of shaved ice to pay for the permit.
The council was in agreement to try to come up with a different definition for an operation such as hers.
There also was discussion about special events and annual permits.
More meeting
The council approved the consent agenda, which included expenditures of more than $5,000 for engineering and field services proposal for maintenance testing at the Yuma substation, engineering to develop setting for installation and commissioning of line reclosers, a utility pole replacement, a police car purchase with “upfitting,” police department laptops with mounts, an additional employee for the police department, and water and wastewater SCADA upgrades.
Resolutions were approved appointment Electric Superintendent John Prettyman and councilman Jerome Benish and the representative and alternate, respectively, to the Members Council of the Nebraska Municipal Power Pool, and to the MEAN Board of Directors and Management Committee.
A resolution keeping MEAN as the purchasing agent with the Western Area Power Administration was approved.
Grant applications to the Federal Aviation Administration and State of Colorado Division of Aeronautics to help fund the taxiway reconstruction at the Yuma Municipal Airport were approved. The bid for the project was higher than expected, so the grants will cover the overage, $118,947 from the grants and the city’s share being $2,974.
After discussion, the council directed staff to prepare a contract for the use of a city building by the Yuma Museum for storage for a few months.
A summer reading grant application for $1,150 was approved.
An ordinance dealing with “natural medicine” facilities was tabled.
City employees Michael Brophy of the Yuma Ambulance Service and Charlene Svitak, a senior aide at the Yuma Community Center received certificates of appreciation.