The Alexander City Council approved removing four streets, scheduled to be repaved, in order to reduce the cost of a bid to apply a new layer of asphalt to 16 streets. Removing the streets will bring the cost closer to the original estimate.
During the April 17 council meeting Street Department Superintendent David Durham reported on how the city can reduce the cost of the bid to bring it closer to the original estimate. The estimate was $324,465.00. The low bid from Cranford Construction is $380,525.58. The high bid from Redstone was over $400,000.00.
Durham pointed to the growth of inflation between the time the estimate was calculated to the time the bid was let as being one of the main reasons for the estimate being so high.
"Well, with the price of everything going up, the low bid, when they let the bids out the first of last month, the low bid came in $380,000," Durham said.
Durham proposed removing Cactus Cove saving $13,268.85, Violet Cove saving $13,537.97, Sunflower Cove saving $13,333.88, and A.C. Wallace saving $14,422.36. That brings the cost down to $325,962.52, which is still $1,517.52 over the original estimate. That leaves Main Street (Ward-1); Mountain Cove (Ward-2); Spruce Drive, Iris Cove, Tulip Cove, Dahlia Cove, Daisy Cove, Shirley Drive, and Ashlee Cove (Ward-3); Holley Drive (Wards-3 & 4); and Kent Circle and Valley Cove (Ward-4) to be repaved.
Another issue for this project is that A.C. Wallace isn't ready. Besides paving it from E. 1st Street to E. 4th Street, the plan also includes widening the street from E. 2nd Street to 3rd Street (Hwy. 111). Durham said the fire hydrant on the corner at Hwy. 111 needs to be moved to allow for the street to be widened. That has to be done by Central Arkansas Water on their timetable. Also, the other three streets removed from the list are still good enough and can be kept usable with simple maintenance.
"So time wise, due to constraints, we can't get it (A.C. Wallace) widened (in time) in order to get this part of it in there," Durham said. "(T)he other streets can be maintained. They're still in fair condition, and we can still continue maintaining those for the next couple of years."
Durham did offer the hope that once A.C. Wallace is prepared to be paved, and the city funds are available, it and the other three streets could be paved by a smaller contractor without having to wait another three years.
Both council members Harold Timmerman and Juanita Wilson wanted to proceed with the bid quote to do all the streets but for different reasons. Timmerman is afraid the future quote to do the remaining four streets might be higher than the current bid. Wilson is already hearing from residents who are afraid their street will be cut from the list.
"Now, if we wait until the next time," Timmerman said, "the price might double between now and then."
"They very well could," Durham said.
"So why should we wait until then and double the price when we've already found the people?" Timmerman concluded.
"I'm already getting flashback from people that say you all promised us, and now you're going to cut these streets," Wilson said. "So let's pay them the 80,000 that we owe them and go on and fix their streets."
Alexander was approved last year for a $300,000.00 grant as part of the State Aid City Streets program. Cities are offered access to this program as part of a gasoline tax passed by voters to upgrade interstate and state highways along with city and county streets and roads. A city or county is allowed to submit a request every three years.
City Treasurer JoAn Churchill jumped in expressing concerns that the General Fund may not be able to take-on the added expense of another $56,000.00. Since January 3, when city hall reopened for the new year, there have been operating issues with the financing software (Center Point). Everything from not being able to sign-in to not being able to print. Because of these problems Churchill hasn't been able to printout monthly financial statements.
"I'll be here at 08:00 in the morning" (to try to get into the system), Churchill said.
For now Churchill recommended paying the additional $25,962.52. She knows that money is available.
Council members approved the adjusted bid of $325,962.52. A check for $25,962.52 has been sent to the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ArDOT).
The repaving of the 12 streets can begin anytime this year. In the mean time, Durham and the street department crew will be making repairs to those streets, such as replacing any broken culverts, to prepare them for paving.
Earlier in the discussion Mayor Crystal Herrmann laid out in general terms an idea to work on the streets between the years the ArDOT grant becomes available.
"I'm hoping to set of goals that we're not just depending on overlay," Herrmann said. "I'm hoping in the near future as we start looking at budgets, that maybe we can plan some more street repairs in between just the overlay funds because it's honestly needed between the ditches and the culverts. We need to try to definitely squeeze some things in, in between that or we're going to constantly be desperate on other streets."
This idea sounds similar to what Alexander has been doing since 2011. During his first year as Mayor, Paul Mitchell, with approval from the city council, used Street Fund revenue to give a new overlay to Evergreen Drive and Pine Manor Road. While he was mayor from 2015 through 2022 another 22 streets were improved using a combination of city funds, State Aid City Streets funds and Cares Act funds.
2015 – (State Aid City Streets and Street Fund) Autumn Cove, Magnolia Glen (from the intersection of Autumn Cove to the cul-de-sac), Brookwood Road, Cornerstone, Kelli Place, and 2nd Street (from Highway 111 to Main Street).
2017 – (Street Fund) North Alexander Road (between Highway 5 and the I-30 Interchange), 1st Street (from Highway 111 to Main Street), South Alexander Road (from the end of Highway 111 to the city limit), West Azalea (from the intersection of South Alexander Road to the Kathy Drive/Brookwood Road intersection), Redwood Lane (between West Azalea and Don Parker Drive), Brookwood Road (from Redwood Lane to Don Parker Drive), Birch Drive from West Azalea to Dogwood Ranchette Drive, and approximately 310 feet from the end of East Azalea Drive to connect with Skyline Drive in Shannon Hills.
2019 – (State Aid City Streets and Street Fund) A.C. Wallace (between the railroad tracks and city park), E. 4th Street, Jason Drive, Kent Drive, Alton Drive, Regency Drive, and Lindsey Drive.
2021 – (Cares Act Funds) Rosewood Lane and East Azalea (from South Alexander Rd. to the Shannon Hills entrance).
2022 – (General Fund/Street Fund) Alexander Road (between Third Street and Fourth Street), sections of Cornerstone Road and the section of Brookwood Rd. (between the rail road tracks and Shobe Road). The city is still waiting for Cranford Construction to complete the Brookwood Rd. overlay.
That's 36 streets out of the 80 streets Alexander maintains. That leaves 44 streets, which includes Meadow's Edge nine new streets. The 80 number does not include the streets in St. Joseph's Glen which are not maintained by the city.
The next regular meeting of the Alexander City Council is Monday, May 15, 6:00PM in the court room at the Alexander Municipal Complex. The public is invited to attend.
Someone should check the side of Charles street. There is a big chunk that broke off on the side of the street and has left a big sink hole type hole. When you go over to the side of the road to miss the dip in the road you could hit it.
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