Six Miles Of City Streets Could Be Improved Soon

By Tammy Gray-Searles
   Assistance from Navajo County could enable the City of Holbrook to improve more than six miles of streets for less than the amount remaining in the street budget.
   “We haven't had a project that big on the streets in…at least 20 years,” commented Holbrook Public Works Director Don Fischer.
   During a work session Tuesday evening, the city council met with Navajo County Manager James Jayne and Public Works Director Dusty Parsons to learn how the county keeps its roads maintained and to find out if the county could offer any assistance.
   Following discussion regarding the city's street woes and budget shortfalls, Jayne told the council that, if the Board of Supervisors gave its approval, the county could partner with the city to complete chip seal on 6.4 miles of road. The city would need to purchase the materials and prepare the streets. The county would provide equipment and staff members to help train city employees on how to lay a chip seal. Parsons estimated that the entire project could be completed in only a few days.
   The city could obtain the materials through a purchase agreement already in place with the county for a substantial savings.
   Fischer told the council that he estimated the project would cost about $275,000 if the city put the pro-ject out to bid. Parsons estimated that if the county and city worked together, it could be done for between $150,000 and $175,000.
   “Those are just rough numbers,” Parsons commented.
   Prior to the county’s offer of assistance, Fischer had asked the council to consider a budget amendment to pay for the street work. He explained that by chip sealing 6.4 miles, the city’s street plan would be brought up to date.
   “We have a very good plan. It’s just not where it needs to be,” Fischer told the council.
   He noted that due to budget constraints the street department is two years behind the schedule outlined in the plan. If the partnership between the city and county is successful, the work called for in the plan dur-ing fiscal years 2006-07 and 2007-08 would be completed, and the city would still have funds left in the budget that could be put toward purchasing equipment to maintain the streets.
   The council discussed whether it was more cost efficient to purchase equipment, train employees and hire temporary employees to use it, or to contract out the work. Parsons explained that it depends on the amount of work that needs to be done, but the county is able to apply chip seal for around $1.20 per square yard by doing it in house, as opposed to approximately $2.50 per square yard charged by contractors. He also noted that the cost of prepping the streets for a chip seal averages out to around 30 cents per square yard, depending on the condition of the road.
   Parsons, Fischer and council members discussed various methods used to repair and seal streets, such as chip seal, rubberized chip seal, slurry, overlay, fabric mats and cold mix. According to Parsons, chip seal is the number one way the county maintains its roads. He told the council that due to an aggressive mainte-nance program, the county has few problems with failing roads. Under the maintenance program, the county chip seals its roads on a regular basis and overlays them every 15 years.
   Parsons recommended that the city not follow the conventional thinking that if a road has too much damage, maintenance should stop until it is reconstructed.
   “It’s better to do something,” he said. “Maintain it in bad condition, but don’t let it get worse.”
   He explained that by not maintaining streets in poor condition and continuing to allow moisture to get into the sub-grade, there will be more work and greater expense when the street is finally rebuilt.
   Fischer noted that the city hasn’t been able to do anything other than patch and fill potholes for the last two years, and is overwhelmed in trying to find ways to catch up on maintenance.
   Councilman Kent Darris asked whether the county ever partnered with cities for roadwork, or if there was any type of help the county could offer. Parsons noted that the county has a small boot truck (tack truck) that the city could potentially borrow, and they could offer some training on the use of a chip box.
   Jayne told the council that he would be willing to take a proposal to the Board of Supervisors that would include helping the city meet its immediate street work needs.
   “Then it would give you the flexibility to make longer-term plans,” Jayne said.
   Councilman Charles Haussman asked what the county would gain from the partnership.
   “The win-win is that the public is being served,” Jayne replied.
   The council asked city staff members to work with the county to help create a proposal to present to the Board of Supervisors.
   Council members, Parsons and Jayne also briefly discussed work on Romero and McLaws Road that the county had previously offered to help the city complete.
   Parsons noted that the county could potentially mill the pavement and use its contract to obtain a good price for the overlay. He also told the council that special project funds might be available. According to Parsons, part of the reason the county is willing to partner with the city on the project is because the heavy trucks traveling to and from the county road yard are responsible in part for the wear and tear on the street.
   Parsons also told the council that the city will be receiving $600,000 from Northern Arizona Council of Governments (NACOG) in 2010. He explained that the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) offers a program in which it could lend the city the NACOG funds so they could be used sooner. He sug-gested that the city consider using the funds to do a complete resurfacing of the road and eliminate the wash crossing.
   The council asked Interim City Manager Fern Larson to contact NACOG representatives to discuss the proposal.