$1.2 million in Street Improvements Hit High Gear Next Week

38 STREETS MOST IN NEED TO BE RESURFACED WITH DURABLE RUBBERIZED TREATMENT

SUISUN CITY — Some of the worst pavement in Suisun City will get a $1.2 million high-tech overhaul using rubberized asphalt starting on Thursday (Sept. 4).

A total of 38 street segments across the City will be resurfaced with a liquid rubber compound manufactured with a minimum of 15% waste vehicle tires then covered with a layer of rock chips. This treatment, which is being used in Suisun City for the first time, fills surface cracks to strengthen existing asphalt and to deter water from penetrating into the road base.

Crews began applying on Friday an additional microsurface treatment on Worley Road and Pheasant Drive, two streets that needed additional repair work. (The picture above was taken Friday at Worley Road and Philip Way.)

Application of the rubberized asphalt to all the targeted street segments is scheduled to take a week. About two weeks later, crews will return to apply a slurry seal over the rubberized asphalt, which will harden and cure into a smooth finished surface.

Using rubberized asphalt in combination with traditional slurry seal adds approximately a decade of useful street life. It also is more durable than traditional asphalt overlay and costs less per square foot, which allows the Public Works Department to resurface more streets than was previously possible.

“This is a significant upgrade to any repaving process we’ve used before,” said Acting Public Works Director Dan Kasperson. “It’s been a year of hard work to get to this point, and we are excited to be seeing the product of that effort showing up in Suisun City’s streets.”

The City Council approved the $1.2 million Streets Improvement Project in March, using a combination of funding from state Prop. 1B and Prop. 42, Solano Irrigation District, a California Integrated Waste Management Board grant and City General Fund. The 2008 project, which will expend about three times more than in 2007, was designed to address the ‘worst of the worst’ pavement conditions in the City.

Rubberized asphalt is a beneficial way to recycle and reuse waste vehicle tires, which pose a major waste management challenge across California. The Suisun City project is expected to use 10,500 waste tires from California.

The project was coordinated with the Suisun-Solano Water Agency to follow the water main replacement work conducted earlier this summer. Streets excavated during the water main work were backfilled and patched, and will receive a full new rubber asphalt surface.

Notices have been sent to residents of streets to be fixed, and parking restrictions will be posted at least 72 hours before work begins. Here's a link to the specific work schedule, including a map of the streets to be worked on each day.

Watch Our New Fire Truck Be Assembled

100-foot LADDER TRUCK EXPECTED IN SUISUN CITY BY END OF OCTOBER

Ferrara Fire Appartus Inc. is busily assembling an important new fire truck that will enable the Suisun City Fire Department to access and protect structures as the City continues to develop.

Thanks to the magic of the Internet (and the shutterbugs at the Ferrara plant in Louisiana) we can all follow along the progress of the truck's assembly by clicking here.

Here are the facts and figures provided by Ferrara:

• Cab Design: Inferno MFD 100' Mid Mount Platform
• Body Type: Heavy Duty Extruded Aluminum
• Pump Mount/Type: Side Mount Hale QMAX
• Tank Size: 300 Gallons Water
• Specialty Items: All electric discharge valves; Hinged right side pump panel; Right side EZ Stack hose bed; Fire extinguisher and spare SCBA storage over rear wheels; LED warning lights; Harrison 10kW hydraulic generator; Heavy duty mid-mount platform; 100’ vertical reach at only 72°; 99’ horizontal reach; 1500 GPM waterway; Monitor has 180° horizontal travel; Breathing air to tip; Dual 500W tripod lights at platform; Dual 500W landing lights under platform; 500# rappelling arm on platform; Base section stokes and roof ladder storage

Hands Off Our Budget!

STATE MUST MAKE TOUGH CHOICES, BALANCE BUDGET!

CUT UP THE 'LOCAL GOVERNMENT' CREDIT CARD!

The Suisun City Council delivered a clear message to the State Capitol on Tuesday night: Keep your mitts off our money!

While Suisun City, and other local governments across California, made tough political decisions to balance their budgets by July 1- as required by state law - the California Legislature has yet to do its constitutionally defined job of passing the State budget.

But the folks in the Capitol have managed to identify sources of funding that local governments rely upon that could be tapped to 'solve' the State's budget problem.

"The State, one again, is threatening to attack cities in order to balance their budget mess," Vice Mayor Jane Day said. "We have worked hard over the past few years to put our financial house in order.

"Instead of making the same hard decisions, the State is threatening to attack our finances - take our revenues - and toss us in the red," Day said. "This is not acceptable!"

State leaders are proposing to use provisions in Prop. 1A and Prop. 42 (transportation funds) that allow "borrowing" local government shares in times of "emergency," commonly defined as fire, flood, earthquake and the like. Not a political unwillingness to reach compromise and pass a balanced budget!

"The voters of this state have consistently voted to protect local resources from takeaways by the State," said City Council member Mike Segala, who also is a member of the League of California Cities Board of Directors. "Voters supported local revenue protection in 2004 when they approved Prop. 1A by more than 80%."

"The State seems to keep coming up with more innovative ways to avoid its obligation to adopt a structurally balanced budget by diverting local revenues," Segala said. "Already, the State has taken more than $3.5 milllion from Suisun City."

Under the current proposals in Sacramento, Suisun City stands to lose $1.2 million in the current budget year, including:

• $250,000 in transportation funds, which pays for road maintenance and Public Works operations


• $250,000 from the General Fund, the equivilent of 2 police officers, or 10% of our sworn police force


• $700,000 from the Redevelopment Agency, or 98% of our unencumbered budget that we use to support businesses, community amenities, neighborhood reinvestment and economic development

The City Council unanimously adopted a resolution Tuesday night that reads, in part,

"The City Council of the City of Suisun City hereby opposes any and all efforts by state government to 'borrow' or seize local tax funds, redevelopment tax increment and transportation sales tax funds by the state government to finance state operations. Such a move would be fiscally irresponsible for the state and hamper effective local services and infrastructure investment."

The City Council also led a ceremonial cutting of the "Bank of Local Government" credit card that the State continually uses to finance its lack of discipline.

YOU CAN HELP

Contact your state representatives to let them know how you feel about how the State handles its budget problems. In Suisun City, our legislators are

• Assemblymember Lois Wolk, who has supported protecting local government, 916-319-2008; assemblymember.wolk@assembly.ca.gov
• State Sen. Michael Machado, 916-651-4005; senator.machado@sen.ca.gov
• Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has supported protecting local government, 916-445-2841

New Sidewalk Provides Safe Route to Crystal Middle School

PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT COMPLETES WORK IN TIME FOR CLASSES TO START

SUISUN CITY — Just in time for the start of school, students have an enhanced safe route to Crystal Middle School using a new Marina Boulevard walkway recently completed by the Suisun City Public Works Department.

The new walkway extends from Lotz Way to Driftwood Drive on the east side of Marina Boulevard providing students an inviting alternative to a dangerous crossing to the west side of Marina Boulevard. The pathway solves an immediate challenge while Public Works plans a $1.5 million bicycle and pedestrian route along the south side of Highway 12.

“The safety of our children getting to school is a top priority, and underlies our commitment to the Safe Routes to School Program,” said Suisun City Councilman Mike Segala, who along with Vice Mayor Jane Day, have represented the City on the school ad hoc committee. “We have worked diligently with our school district partners to provide the off-campus improvements"

“This pathway is a common sense alternative to allowing children to continue to cross Marina Boulevard at a dangerous location,” Segala said.

The Marina Boulevard pathway, setback from Marina Boulevard to provide maximum safety for students, includes a solid permeable surface that meets Americans with Disabilities Act standards while providing adequate drainage during the rainy season. New crosswalks were added at Driftwood Drive to indicate the safest location for students to cross Marina Boulevard.

Previously, students going to Crystal Middle School or returning home along Marina Boulevard south of Highway 12 would often cross at Lotz Way, an intersection with no crosswalks near a curve in the roadway that limits drivers’ sightlines.

The Suisun City Public Works Department will work with Crystal Middle School administrators to educate students walking and riding bicycles to school about the new safe route.

Earlier this year, Suisun City was awarded a $900,000 state Safe Routes to School grant for a pedestrian and bicycle trail from Grizzly Island Road to Driftwood Drive separated from traffic along Highway 12. “This project parallel to Highway 12 will provide a safe route to Crystal Middle School for students that live in Lawler Ranch,” said Segala.

The Public Works Department is working on additional grants to fund the entire $1.5 million project cost.

New overhead signs guide way in Suisun City

FINAL STREETS SIGNS INSTALLED

The Suisun City Public Works Department installed 23 new signal arm street signs this week at seven major intersections in the City as the final phase of the Citywide Street Sign Replacement Program.

>>Click on the photo at right to see a slideshow of the crew installing the first of the new overhead signs.>>

The $138,000 grant-funded program upgraded every street sign in the City with larger and more distinctive signs the provide a uniform appearance and function. The new signs include the Suisun City schooner design on a highly reflective blue background with white lettering. The old street signs had been installed as new neighborhoods were constructed, resulting in signs that were not always uniform in color and design. Many also badly damaged due to weather exposure or abuse over the years.

The new signs allow not only residents and visitors to more easily navigate the City's streets, but play a vital role in assisting police, fire and medical units responding to calls for emergency assistance.

As part of the replacement program, the Public Works Department offered the old street signs for sale at the "It's a June Thing" celebration and at the July 4th Celebration. The sale of the old signs garnered $3,000 that went right back into the City's Streets Program. The signs that did not sell were recycled, earning the program another $2,000.

We hope every resident and visitor enjoys the new street signs for years to come.