At its Aug. 3 meeting, the Signal Hill City Council discussed and considered the awarding of two contracts: one for a loan agreement for constructing and funding a well treatment plant, and another for the second phase of the Cherry Avenue widening project. (The council met Monday instead of its regularly scheduled night of Tuesday because of National Night Out.)
Well No. 9 treatment plant
The city council discussed the staff recommendation of entering into a design-build agreement and approving an interfund loan agreement for the construction of a nano-filtration treatment plant. Last autumn, the State’s Emergency Drought Program had awarded a grant to the City for the treatment plant’s construction to help decrease reliance on imported water sources and increase use of local water supplies.
To meet the program’s condition of completing the project within a limited timeframe, the City began to construct improvements using a design-build process. After qualifying design-build teams, the City issued a request for proposal on May 14, 2015. By June 19, five proposals had been submitted.
According to staff, grant funds and fees collected from developers would cover 64 percent of the project’s estimated costs, meeting the Strategic Plan objective of obtaining grants to offset its related expenses. The interfund loan was proposed to cover the remainder of the costs.
“It should be noted that the General Fund and Water Enterprise Fund are independent funds,” City Manager Charlie Honeycutt explained during the meeting. “Revenues are not commingled or transferred between the funds, which is necessitating the loan.”
Honeycutt said the loan, upon being made in January 2017 after grant and developer fees are used, would readjust on an annual basis.
“We’ll look at the LAIF (Local Agency Investment Fund) rate each January and readjust the loan to make sure it reflects what the current LAIF rate is at that time,” the city manager said. “The proposed interest rate will ensure that the General Fund remains whole, covers administrative cost and annual audit cost, and provides some security against early repayment provision associated with an interfund loan should the General Fund require early repayment.”
Staff made two recommendations regarding the project.
Vehicles wait in lines that are seven cars long at the Costco gas station on Willow Street Wednesday afternoon. During this week’s Signal Hill City Council meeting, Mayor Larry Forester expressed concerns over the traffic flow in the gas station’s lines, particularly how some drivers race to get into the shortest line, even darting in between parked cars to get there.
All four councilmembers and the mayor voted yes on the motion.
The second recommendation was to authorize the city manager to execute the interfund loan agreement between the City’s General Fund and Water Enterprise Fund in an amount that would not exceed $2,750,000 at an interest rate offered by the LAIF plus one percent. After the rate of interest would be recalculated every January, the loan would be paid annually on July 1.
Councilmember Ed Wilson voted against the motion, but Mayor Larry Forester and councilmembers Michael Noll, Tina Hansen and Lori Woods all voted in favor of it.
Cherry Avenue widening
The city council voted to approve the staff recommendation authorizing the city manager to award a contract for the second phase of the Cherry Avenue widening project to All American Asphalt in the amount of $239,239. That phase of the project involves installing the median island between 19th and 20th streets, as well as the repaving of Cherry Avenue in that section.
After the vote, Councilmember Wilson thanked Steve Myrter, director of Public Works, for his work on the project but expressed a safety concern regarding the traffic flow near the road work.
“When this project finally gets done, we’re going to all be real, real happy,” Wilson said. “I think we’re happy that it’s already moved along so far. However, I will mention though that 19th Street is still very, very dangerous. There are a lot of people that make left-hand turns even though there are two signs… and the street is painted yellow with the lines. People are still cutting through. They’re shooting across there.”
Wilson suggested that additional measures be taken to prevent southbound drivers from making a left-hand turn onto 19th Street.
“It’s very, very dangerous right now,” Wilson said.
Vice Mayor Woods asked Myrter when the project is expected to be completed and what that intersection will look like when it is finished.
Myrter replied that there will be a “dedicated turn pocket for 19th Street” and that the majority of the project should be done by the middle of the month now that phase one has ended.
“It’s pretty straightforward from here,” Myrter said. “We’re looking at mid August by the time we can pretty much be done— not finished, but for the most part the project will be pretty close [to being completed].”
“By mid August, all traffic’s flowing in all lanes?” Woods asked.
“That’s what it’s looking like at this point,” Myrter replied.
Costco gas station
During the “new business” portion of the council meeting, Mayor Forester expressed concerns over the traffic flow in lines at Costco’s gas station, particularly how some drivers race to get into the shortest line, even darting in between parked cars to get to the line.
He likened the situation to “bumper cars” and said Costco employees have mentioned that it has almost escalated into fights between customers.
“They need to do more than a study,” Forester said. “They’re now selling more than 40,000 gallons of gasoline a day… it’s truly bumper cars. They haven’t hit yet, but they’re going to. Instead of going out and around and coming in, they try to see who can cut through the parking lot, weave around cars and get to the line first. And then, if somebody cuts somebody off, they’ve come close— talking to staff there— to three major fights. So, we need to look at that.”
Forester acknowledged that the Planning Commission has approved 6am to 10pm as the hours of operation for the gas station.
“That’s fine, but until they can get this bumper-car problem solved, I don’t even want it brought before council,” Forester said.
Hansen suggested having an attendant directing the flow of traffic farther back from the station. Forester said that procedure is indeed used at a Costco in Fort Myers, Florida, where his sister lives.
Forester suggested that stanchions with chains or wires be placed between the lanes so that drivers would not be able to change lanes or fight over them.
The next Signal Hill City Council meeting, which is open to the public, will take place on Tuesday, Aug. 18 at 7pm in City Hall Council Chamber, 2175 Cherry Ave.
