Union Street improvements discussed

City expands sewer project

The Porterville City Council Tuesday postponed making a decision on whether to make paving improvements on Union Avenue between Indiana Street and Jaye Street.

City Manager John Lollis said the project is one of many on the city’s 10-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), which, among other things, includes all projects the city would like to accomplish over the next 10 years.

He said there are a slew of projects in the city’s CIP, many of which currently have no funding sources, including the Union Avenue paving improvement project.

He said the city council will most likely spend additional time talking about the project in February of next year, and said it may be a year or two before it takes off.

Lollis noted that during a neighborhood community meeting when staff discussed the planned pavement improvements, many residents requested the city consider implementing street improvements to city standards including necessary right-of-way acquisition, reloca-

tion of utilities, pavement paveouts and installation of curb, gutter and sidewalk. Lollis said the estimated cost to add those improvements would be around $1.1 million.

Raul Bermudez, a guidance counselor at Porterville High School, said he too would like to see the street improvements to be on par with city standards.

“Union Street was annexed to the City of Porterville a few years ago and since then we have seen that little work has been done on it,” Bermudez said. “The reasons I would like to request this is because, as you know, this is used by many motorists moving from Olive to Indiana and onto Union and then to Jaye Street and many people speed down Union Street, making it unsafe for students who are attending Porterville High School and also for residents who live on Union Street.”

Bermudez said new developments being constructed in the city will inevitably increase traffic, something that makes him especially concerned with the safety of residents.

“This corridor will become even more congested with the Jaye Street Bridge and the new incoming retail at the Marketplace Plaza, the Walmart and so forth,” said Bermudez, adding that residents living on Union Street are currently circulating a petition Public Works Director Mike Reed provided as a way for them to show why the pavement improvement project is urgent. “I am here urging and requesting, if possible, if you [city council] can consider the improvements to Union Street because the residents need it, the community needs it and it would help the students going to school.”

City Councilmember Brian Ward said the council should be careful taking on such a project.

“My concern is that this kind of project, if we were to key it in, you’d be opening up Pandora’s box because you would have everyone else saying where’s ours,” he said.

Lollis said although the existing road was constructed to county standards a while back, he believes it is not currently in need of reconstruction, a project in and of itself, which he said would add an estimated $1 million.

“The road is not in terrible condition, it doesn’t need a complete reconstruction, which would involve pulling the whole road up and putting a new one down,” said Lollis, adding that the road could use some more maintenance.

Lollis said the project the city is currently focused on is the reconstruction of Lime Street, which he said should be finished by the end of this fiscal year. He said the city will look at the next large project once that one is completed, which could be the Union Avenue paving improvement or improvements to other roads in the city.

“We don’t have a project defined after Lime Street,” Lollis said.

They did agree Tuesday to include two segments — Chess Terrace to Villa Street, and Western Street to Jaye Street — as overlays in the Island Annexation Sewer Project.

One of the project’s main focus points is installing sewer mains and laterals, as well as pertinent facilities to 11 project areas located within the city.

Lollis said initially the two segments were not a part of the project, but said with the council’s decision, they will be given the same treatment as other streets in the area.

The estimated cost to include the two segments, as stated in a city staff report, is $11,650.