Reports measure deterioration, assist with project prioritization
The City Council took actions Tuesday that will help move several ongoing projects forward including an updated street pavement analysis and improvements to the Pathfinder Parkway trail system.
The City regularly makes improvements to City streets* and the Pathfinder trail system utilizing funding from several sources: the voter approved General Obligation Bond Fund and the Half-cent Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) Sales Tax — and, to a much lesser degree, the City’s General Fund, which consists primarily of funds generated by local sales tax.
To help prioritize funding and scheduling for street projects, the City relies on the Pavement Management Analysis Report, a detailed analysis that measures deterioration levels of the city’s roads. Input from citizens and City Council members, as well as recommendations from the volunteer-driven Street and Traffic Committee, are also considered.
The streets
On Tuesday, the City Council approved a contract to update the PMAR, with the addition of street signs to the assessment process.
“The City originally contracted with Infrastructure Management Services in 2006 to survey the condition of the streets and provide access to a software program that would allow the Engineering Department to run models each year that applied deterioration calculations to the pavement for each street based upon the type of pavement, age of pavement and starting condition,” Engineering Director Micah Siemers said in a recent report to the council. “This would provide an idea of the pavement condition of each street every year for use in selecting rehabilitation projects.”
IMS was hired to update the survey and model in 2011, though “it is generally recommended to update the model with actual on-the-ground data every five years, if possible,” as the deterioration rates are approximate and not exact, Siemers said. “So we are well beyond the recommended update,” he said.
The signs
During the planning process for the 2020 Half-cent CIP Sales Tax Extension election, the council requested inclusion of funding to take inventory of street signs throughout the city and assess the condition of those signs.
“The purpose of this is to assist with starting a street sign replacement program to ensure signs are replaced at some regular interval and avoid having areas with signs that are difficult to read,” Siemers said.
The council voted 5-0 to approve a $96,315 contract with IMS to complete the work.
Pathfinder Parkway projects, needs assessment program
In a separate agenda item, the council voted unanimously to approve a contract with Service & Technology Corporation (STC) of Bartlesville for general engineering services for improvements to the City-owned Pathfinder Parkway trail system — as well as the preparation of a needs assessment report that will help prioritize Pathfinder projects.
Ongoing repairs have been made to the Pathfinder trail system with voter approval of funding in the 2013 Half-cent CIP Sales Tax extension election, the 2018 and 2020 G.O. Bond elections and the 2020 Half-cent CIP Sales Tax elections.
Currently, $536,704 is available for Pathfinder projects, two of which have been identified but still need to be designed and bid, according to the Engineering Department.
“The projects identified include rehabilitation of a large washout area just south of the Shawnee trailhead and construction of fence along the section of trail adjacent to the Bartlesville Ready Mix site just north of where the trail goes under Tuxedo Boulevard,” Siemers said. “There is also plenty of pavement along the trail that needs rehabilitation, and staff would like to focus on pavement rehabilitation projects with the remaining funds.”
The scope of the STC contract also includes design of the first phase of pavement rehabilitation based on the assessment and available budget in coordination with the washout and fence project budgets, Siemers said.
Additionally, the Douglass Park walkway repavement project, approved by voters in the 2018 G.O. Bond election, is included in the Pathfinder project.
“That project includes similar elements of rehabilitating asphalt pavement and should provide better pricing for that smaller project if we lump it into a larger paving project,” Siemers said.
The contract approved with STC Tuesday provides $15,580 for design services and $2,810 for the trail assessment, for a total contract of $18,390.
Shawnee sidewalk extension project moves forward
A contract with CEC Corporation in the amount of $56,689 was approved Tuesday for design services on the Shawnee Sidewalk Extension Project.
The project will extend existing sidewalk along Shawnee Avenue from Valley Road to 16th Street.
The City was awarded a $360,000 TAP (Transportation Alternatives Program) grant in 2016 to extend the sidewalk as a continuation of a previous Safe Routes to School project. That project extended sidewalk from 13th Street to Valley Road.
A requirement of the grant is that the construction documents must be designed to Oklahoma Department of Transportation standards and approved by ODOT. Additionally, once plans are to a certain level of completion an environmental study is required as the funds originate at the federal level.
The City is responsible for a 20 percent match on the project totaling $90,000. The total budget for the project is $450,000.
Funding approved for updated ADA seating at BCC
The council voted 5-0 to approve funding for a project that will help modernize ADA seating at the Bartlesville Community Center auditorium.
Money left over from ongoing projects at BCC will more than cover the cost of installing regular seating in an area previously permitting wheelchairs only, Siemers said in a report last week.
“The original building did not have any wheelchair accessible seating areas, so years ago existing seating was removed in the bottom right portion of the auditorium and an elevated deck was constructed to provide space for around five wheelchairs,” he said, noting that a wall was constructed to provide a barrier between the chairs and the row of seating above. “While this provides a space for wheelchairs, it does not provide the option for someone in a wheelchair to sit next to a friend or family member who does not have a wheelchair.”
Siemers said the goal is to extend the wheelchair accessible deck and install existing standard auditorium seating with spaces next to them for wheelchairs — “more similar to what you would see in modern movie theaters, stadiums and auditoriums,” he said.
The work will be completed by Gorman Construction of Bartlesville for $9,313. The funds are available due to money left over from the auditorium renovation project, currently underway at the BCC.
ConocoPhillips donation helps ease transition of operations
ConocoPhillips will donate two tracts of land as well as vehicles and equipment with a market value of $141,096 for airport operations, Airport Manager Mike Richardson told the council on Tuesday.
The City-owned airport had been managed and operated for many years by ConocoPhillips. The company announced last year it would terminate its lease operating agreement with the City on Aug. 15, 2021. The City of Bartlesville took over operation of the airport facilities on Aug. 16.
Richardson said the conveyance/donation will help ensure a smooth transition in operation.
“The City of Bartlesville and airport staff are very appreciative of the equipment that is being donated by ConocoPhillips. The property and equipment will help make the transition more seamless and assist airport operations personnel to continue to provide a high level of service,” he said.
Council approves employee relocation incentive for HeraSoft employees
The council approved an employee relocation incentive in support of HeraSoft, a cyber-security company that has selected Bartlesville for its new headquarters. The vote came after the Bartlesville Development Authority Board of Trustees voted Aug. 25 to recommend the item for council approval.
The company has already relocated 10 employees to Bartlesville with an additional 10 to 50 employees expected, BDA President David Wood told the council Tuesday.
The incentive will provide up to 50 relocating employees with the following cash assistance if completed within two years:
- $10,000 cash assistance upon purchasing a single-family residence, or
- $20,000 cash assistance for construction of a new home within the Bartlesville city limits, or
- $10,00 cash assistance for construction of a new home outside the city limits but within the Bartlesville School District
Grand Lake Mental Health Center agreement gets OK
The council approved a memorandum of understanding between the City and Grand Lake Mental Health regarding the expenditure COVID relief funds for mental health services. The COVID Relief Fund Program, made possible through grant funding from the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, targets low to moderate income residents in need of rental, utility or mental health assistance as a result of employment/income loss or hardships, child care issues or illness due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Funding for the program — a total of $936,189 — comes from the ODOC’s Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus Disease Relief Program grant. To execute the funds, the City has partnered with local organizations Concern and Grand Lake Mental Health, with $333,333 of the grant to be used for mental health assistance for low to moderate income residents.
GLMHC began providing socially distanced mental health services to 396 eligible beneficiaries on March 1, 2020 through at least March 31, 2021. The MOU calls for the City to reimburse GLMHC for costs determined to be eligible for reimbursement from the CDBG‐CV program, including up to $62,275.94 for the cost of iPads and $271,057 for the cost of necessary data plans, during that time.