LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Tuesday the Lakeport City Council approved a staff recommendation to amend the contract for design work on the second phase of the Downtown Improvement Project.
The $2.5 million project, which will run along N. Main Street from First to Fourth streets, will include the reconstruction and paving of several blocks of the street, new and wider sidewalks, relocation of the memorial streetlights, new sewer and water infrastructure, and new street trees.
Community Development Director Kevin Ingram went to the council to request an amendment that would cover additional necessary elements in the scope of design – including Americans with Disabilities Access features, lighting at intersections, utilities, irrigation and design during construction – for an additional $67,899.
That brings the total revised agreement between the city and Crawford and Associates Inc. to $232,734, according to Ingram's report.
Ingram held meetings over the past year with community members regarding the design and other concerns.
Last week Ingram sent out an email to business owners, informing them of the update and inviting them to come and offer input.
Only two Lakeport business owners spoke to the council Tuesday about their concerns – Ron Campos of Campos Casuals on N. Main Street and Nancy Ruzicka, who owns the High Street Village shopping center.
Campos was concerned about the project's length – set to start this spring and continue through to the fall – and how it would impact businesses.
Ingram said the project will be carried out during nighttime hours and work will be suspended during the busy Memorial Day and July 4 weekends.
Altogether, holiday-related alterations have pushed back the project's estimated completion by five weeks, Ingram said.
The work will progress along one side of each block at a time. Ingram said the city's interim engineer, Paul Curren, has designed ramps to go over the construction area to allow customers to get to businesses.
“It's going to be evident that there's construction going on but there will be access to businesses,” said Ingram, adding that Curren also is designing pedestrian control systems to help access merchants.
When Campos said six months seemed like too long for the project, Council woman Stacey Mattina said it could be done more quickly if everything was shut down, rather than the approach the city was taking of trying to keep access to business.
Mayor Marc Spillman pledged to regularly check in on Campos during the project construction to find out how it is impacting him, adding that he also would work with other business owners. “I'm in the hot seat.”
Ruzicka challenged the true design cost – which the city has estimated at just over $232,000 – and estimated it was closer to $500,000.
She also wanted to know why the city didn't wait until after Labor Day to start the project. She said it will impact her business, explaining that she believes people meander through the city – particularly along Main Street – before making it to her shopping center.
Mattina moved to accept the amendment, which the council approved unanimously.
Ingram also noted during the meeting that the city will hold a Jan. 22 community meeting on the project to discuss the nighttime work schedule.
In other business on Tuesday, the council approved a $61,100 purchase order for a new concrete restroom facility at Fifth Street on the lakeshore.
The project is funded by a state California Housing and Community Development for Housing Related Parks grant which originally was to have been used for a water pipeline project at Westside Community Park. When that park project was not deemed feasible, staff took the matter to the council, which on Sept. 15 approved revising the grant to use it for the restroom.
Also on Tuesday, the council got an update on the Lake County Wellness Impact 2025 Overview by the Health Leadership Network, approved mayoral appointments to various committees and commissions, accepted minor revisions to the zoning ordinance, introduced a zoning change ordinance for the AutoZone project and set a second hearing, and also introduced ordinances to update the sections of the city municipal code regarding transferring some city clerk financial reporting duties to the finance manager and make the city clerk a position hired by the city manager.
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Lakeport City Council approves Downtown Improvement Project contract amendment
- Elizabeth Larson
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