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Solana Beach increases size, scope of proposed regular street repairs

SOLANA BEACH — The Solana Beach City Council recently agreed to increase the size and scope of its planned citywide street repairs estimated to cost $478,000.

The proposed repairs, requested by Deputy Mayor Kristi Becker, included Lirio Street from South Granados Avenue to South Nardo Avenue and two sections of Santa Helena from Santa Rosita to Sun Valley Road.

Solana Beach currently reports a net surplus of nearly $1.6 million in its budget. Becker’s motion included using some of the extra funds to increase the scope of repairs.

City staff will return to the council at a later date with a contract for approval for the expanded project.

“I think that Lirio and Santa Helena are due and ready, I just think it’s too small of a project,” Becker said. “We saw that a lot of our streets were torn up this summer and I think it’s really important to increase this budget and I would like to recommend at least $200,000 more.”

The project already would include pothole repairs on streets throughout the city, concrete sidewalk repairs and pavement striping repairs and refreshing.

Councilmember David Zito recollected in previous street repair assessments that it was determined the city would need to spend at least $500,000 annually just to maintain its current pavement condition.

City Engineer Mo Sammak said the city has been spending above that rate in the past several years.

“During the last five years, the average expenditure was higher than half a million dollars,” Sammak said. “So we’re doing a little bit better. In fact, the report that we recently received indicates that.”

Zito suggested the $500,000 estimated cost to maintain the roadways should be increasing as the construction costs rise with inflation.

The original project presented to the council included funding of $170,000 in Gas Tax revenue, $38,000 in TransNet funds and $270,000 in Road Repair and Accountability Act funding.

The city will use the general fund to expand the project and seek bids to complete the repairs.

Councilmember Jewel Edson also asked city staff to consider the potential effects on drainage when completing repairs on Lirio Street. Edson says slurry sealing on other city streets has had an impact on drainage patterns.

“I think it’s very important here that engineering pays close attention to how the slurry sealing is ordered, for lack of a better description, to make sure that drainage pattern does not change and it doesn’t cause any unintended consequences.”