Cedar Avenue resident Doug Crandall, who said during the discussion that he had tried talking to various city officials before finally bringing the issue to the council, was asking for help in dealing with the road's major maintenance issues.
City Administrator Dale Neiman urged the council not to accept the street into the city's street system because of lack of money to take care of all of the streets it's already responsible to maintain.
Council member Joyce Overton asked if the city had a provision for fixing streets whose condition made them impassable for emergency vehicles.
Neiman said the city had done that in the past, but with 49 miles of streets to maintain, “you don't even have enough money to adequately maintain the major streets,” including Olympic Drive and Highway 53. He said ultimately it's property owners' responsibility to maintain streets like Cedar Avenue.
He noted that the city adopted a policy last year that, if property owners paid the full cost of repairs, the city would do the work. But such work would need to be done to an “acceptable standard” or the city could become liable.
Crandall, a city resident for 19 and a half years, said he wasn't asking the city to maintain the street, only to help him fix it.
He said he's maintained the street himself for about eight years, but three years ago part of the nearby hillside slid down onto the road. Crandall said he was told that if the road was declared impassable the city would grade it.
The rear end of a Clearlake Police cruiser was torn out going over the street, said Crandall. “I am concerned about the well being of my family and my house.”
He questioned why the city couldn't use some of the stimulus fund money on the dirt roads rather than the paved streets. Mayor Chuck Leonard said they're using the money for city-maintained streets. The problem, he said, is that when the city was built, development didn't pay for infrastructure, which is why so many roads are in bad shape.
Crandall asked if Cedar Avenue's condition was a safety concern. Leonard replied that it was, but that people who live on the street need to repair it.
The mayor, who said he understood and sympathized, added that he believed there was a way to work out a solution.
Crandall said he had been to Public Works, the city engineer and Neiman before he decided to approach the council. “That wheel don't work back there,” he said of the city staff.
Neiman told the council that, if the city didn't focus on the streets it already is obligated to maintain, currently paved roads will revert to dirt. He offered that the city could waive fees for a grading permit to fix the street.
If the street's residents are willing to pay for the work, Neiman warned that the city would have to do the work to a specific standard – in this case, a 36-foot paved street with adequate base, curb and gutter.
That caused Crandall to exclaim, “We're trying to get to reality here.”
Overton asked if the city could get Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) help to fix the road because of the landslide. Neiman said no, that application for FEMA funding would have had to have been made within a month of the incident.
Councilman Roy Simons said a road assessment had been attempted in that area years ago. “We couldn't get one person, one party, to agree to that.”
Crandall said the reason was that many of the homes there are income properties owned by out-of-county residents, which Simons disputed.
It was the mountain that was creating the problem for Cedar Avenue, said Crandall. Replied Simons, “Only God controls that mountain. I'm sorry. We don't.”
Neiman said property owners on the street can enter into street maintenance agreement, and there's a
legal mechanism to make people pay after the agreement is made. Crandall said he was considering that as a last resort.
Councilman Curt Giambruno said years earlier the fire department suggested the city grade the streets to help emergency service vehicles get through. That resulted in the city having to take over the streets. He said he also had lived on a dirt road, and the neighbors had to pitch in to get it fixed.
Crandall told the council that he's spent nearly $6,000 on Cedar Avenue over the last eight years.
Estella Creel said the major street work being done is starting on Burns Valley Road near where Vice Mayor Judy Thein lives.
Neiman said he developed the proposals for the road work along with City Engineer Bob Galusha and Public Works Supervisor Doug Herren. “Our recommendations were based on getting the biggest bang for our buck,” he said. “The council didn't get the recommendations until we brought it to them.”
Thein said that each time the street project has come up she's recused herself. “I have not been part of the vote.”
Giambruno moved to deny the request, which was seconded by Thein and approved 5-0.
Later in the meeting, when the stimulus funds project came forward for a vote, both Thein and Overton left the council chambers because they live in close proximity to the proposed roadwork along Austin and Burns Valley roads. Just over $1.6 million – of which $813,000 is federal stimulus funds – is available for the work.
In a 3-0 vote the council took Neiman's suggestion and awarded management of the street improvement project to Santa Rosa-based Green Valley Consulting Engineers. The work is estimated to cost $50,000, and will require 30 days to complete.
In other news, the council voted 5-0 to approve an agreement with the county to maintain a community garden and landscaping at the Highlands Senior Center on Bowers Avenue, which Supervisor Jeff Smith arranged for the county to fund.
Overton worried about city staff having to work on the garden. Neiman said the garden will be handled by volunteers, although the city may have some more lawn to mow.
Police Chief Allan McClain received the council's approval to abate properties for weeds and the resulting fire hazard.
McClain said the city would only abate a small number of such properties. He said that, of the 338 properties that needed weed abatement, only the owners of 37 of those properties didn't respond to the city's admonitions to clean them up.
The council also made Overton its voting delegate at the upcoming League of California Cities annual conference.
Last year the council took travel costs out of its budget; Overton said she is going at her own expense; because of the cost Leonard said he would not attend.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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