The Hollister City Council approved unanimously (with Councilwoman Mickie Solorio-Luna absent) a resolution to accept a bid proposal to re-stripe San Benito Street.
David Rubcic, Hollister’s interim city engineer, presented the resolution Monday night during a special meeting of the city council. He said the city received two bids and VSS International Inc. submitted the low bid of $124,070.
Councilman Ray Friend asked about the timeframe for the job. Rubcic couldn’t give a definitive answer of when the project would begin, stating that it depended on the weather.
“Over the years, we’ve seen we’ll have a warm streak and if that happens we’re expecting them to come in and get this done,” he said. “The expectation is that it will take one or two days. If they’re going to do the slurry seal all at one time it will be one day, but they have the option of splitting it, a day for half the road and a day for the other half.”
“So, the plan is to completely shut down San Benito Street and do it all in one shot?” Friend asked.
“That’s what the contractor would like to do,” Rubcic said.
Friend said if that was the case it would be important to notify business owners and the public. Rubcic assured him that sufficient notice would be forthcoming through emails, the Hollister Downtown Association and the Chamber of Commerce.
“We hope to give them two- to four-days’ notice before the contractor comes in,” Rubcic said.
Friend recommended someone from the city’s staff walk the street because (business owners there) don’t read their emails. Somebody has to walk in their doors and say, ‘you’re going to be closed Thursday.’”
Rubcic said part of the road closure notification procedure would include the contractor notifying downtown businesses and the public.
Friend asked if the project would begin before Christmas. Rubcic said it would if the weather permitted it. Friend said some people want it to begin immediately, while others want it to happen after the holiday season.
“The retail people are telling me that they would rather do it before Christmas because that’s going to create a better shopping experience before Christmas,” Friend said.
Rubcic repeatedly tried to assure the council that the intent is to get the project done as soon as possible, but could not give a specific date that it would begin.
“If the weather holds, we’ll get it done when we get it done,” he said, adding that work cannot be done at night and if done during a weekend it would have a higher impact on businesses.
Mayor Ignacio Velazquez wanted assurance that the contractor was prepared to complete the slurry seal portion of the job in one day. Rubcic said the company wants to do the job in one day because that would be the most profitable to them. He added, however, that the specifications of the job allows the company to take two days, if necessary.
“Then they’ll come back seven to 14 days later to do the striping because the slurry needs to cure,” he said.
“So, the striping would happen in the new year,” Velazquez said.
Rubcic reiterated it would be a week to 14 days after the slurry was laid down. Velazquez asked about traffic control while waiting for the stripes to be applied to the street. Rubcic said the contractor would provide a proposed traffic control plan to him for review. Once approved, he said, it’s up to the contractor to implement the plan using temporary plastic traffic markers (floppies) to keep drivers in the correct lanes.
Councilman Karson Klauer wanted to know if the slurry procedure would include some street repairs. Rubcic said the slurry is used only to cover old striping, but said there is a provision in the specifications stating that the contractor needs to do a prep work, but not to do “dig-outs” and “plugging” of bad asphalt. He said they may, though, repair cracks that are too large for the slurry to fill.
“So we shouldn’t expect a great new quality road, it’s just a road with different lines on it,” Klauer said.
Rubcic said that is the intent of the project. Klauer said he thought that made sense because of the amount of the bid for the job.
“What’s our lead time on this,” Klauer asked. “If it’s warm do we have a week? Is it two days? How long will people have?”
Rubcic said he would expect four to five days’ notice, or as little as three to four days, depending on a minimum of 50 degrees temperature, hopefully rising to the 70s or 80s over the following days in order to cure the slurry.
Councilman Victor Gomez said he assumed the temporary traffic configuration would be the same as the existing four lanes. Rubcic agreed that would be the best choice. Velazquez wanted to know if it is really a benefit to do the job before the New Year, stating that the goal was to enhance pedestrian traffic.
“But we’re looking at 14 days after the slurry before that happens, so we’re really not going to change anything,” he said.
Rubcic came back that the time-span between laying down the slurry and applying the striping could be as little as seven days.
Resident Marty Richman said it still wasn’t clear to him when the project would begin and if the contractor would be ready to move ahead on short notice.
“They’ve got to pre-position equipment. Are they out on another job and they’re going to say they haven’t finished that job? So, what is the window? What’s the earliest possible date that we can start the slurry seal?” he asked. “And the latest possible date is god-knows-when, depending on the weather, but we certainly need to know the earliest possible date.”
City Manager William Avera addressed some of Richman’s concerns: “The first step is obviously tonight. We’ll give the award and let the contractor know, and there are some things the contract has to provide us and then we’ll give them the notice to proceed.”
Velazquez said, “Everything is in place. It’s just a matter of weather now. One important point is if they’re ready to mobilize or are they on a job.”
Asked if the city had that information, Rubcic said he was told the company would be ready to move “pretty quickly,” without specifying a timeframe.
Friend asked, “If we close the streets will the sidewalks be open, or are you going to restrict all traffic?”
“It’s just the street,” Rubcic said. “Sidewalks will be open. Parking on the side streets will be available.”
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