Directors outline progress, challenges

Director of Public Works Terrance Davis told the Vallejo City Council that issues with illegal dumping — 70,000 pounds of trash being removed each month — is a “growing problem” for the city.

Speaking at a Tuesday night meeting, Davis said the work in garbage removal takes time — and money — away from other projects. The city has installed cameras in “hot spots” with a high amount of illegal dumping, only to discover that dumpers remove their license plates so that they cannot be identified. Councilmember Mina Diaz suggested that the people doing much of the dumping are actually haulers who charge people to take things away, and then pocket the money that should be used for disposing of it properly.

She suggested that anyone who hires someone to take away their trash should ask the hauler to return with a receipt to show that they actually brought it to the dump. Homeless area abatement is also a big job for his department, Davis said. By tackling the unhoused issues in town, we will also tackle blight.

Davis ended his presentation, one of many by various department heads Tuesday night, with projects that are in the design stage, such

as putting recycled, rubberized paving down on Springs Road and Tennessee Street, doing rehab on the Mare Island Causeway Bridge, working on public trails, and making major upgrades and pedestrian safety changes to Sonoma Boulevard.

Projects that are currently in the construction phase include fixing the elevator at JFK Library, seismically retrofitting the Sacramento Street Bridge, repairing the levee on Mare Island, and the Capitol Street Stairs Project.

There is a lot more work to be done, said Davis, especially since many city buildings are over 50 years old

and in need of serious attention. He said he is not fully staffed, but is budgeted for more people. Positions like engineers and other tech people are hard to fill because they can get higher salaries elsewhere, he said.

The final presentation came from Naveed Ashraf, director of information systems and technology, who said his biggest project was working on replacing the outdated police and fire radio systems, which are analog. He predicts that they will have crisp new systems by April, which will increase the public’s safety. The current systems break down at least twice a week, he said.