The Turlock City Council on Tuesday received an update from city staff on road construction projects in the city, just days after Mayor Amy Bublak sent a letter to Pacific Gas and Electric requesting its construction project on Geer Road be conducted at night.
In a letter sent to PG&E CEO Patricia Poppe on Aug. 18, Bublak urged the utility giant to “revise the Geer Road construction schedule to evening hours and ensure that proper project signage is installed without delay.”
“Our community deserves solutions that balance the need for infrastructure improvements with the everyday realities of traffic, business, and quality of life,” Bublak said. “We will continue to work toward an approach that best serves Turlock residents and business owners.”
Calls to PG&E seeking comment about a potential schedule shift were not returned.
Bublak explained in the letter that Geer Road is “one of Turlock’s busiest thoroughfares” and that the “current daytime construction schedule is causing significant disruption for residents, businesses, and commuters.” Bublak reasoned that a “nighttime schedule would reduce these impacts while allowing PG&E to complete the necessary work in a more efficient and less disruptive manner.”
Bublak also requested that increased signage be erected to let residents know the Geer Road project is a PG&E gas line concern and not a city project.
Fred Pezeshk, of the Public Works Department’s Engineering Division, started Tuesday’s meeting with a 20-minute presentation on the city’s multitude of road-improvement projects, and gave a timeline for the Geer Road improvements. While it’s not known when PG&E will conclude work, the city is well into the design phase, and will soon schedule a public informational meeting and then return for a second presentation before the council.
The project has received a total of $4.8 million in Surface Transportation Block Grant funding, with federal money becoming available after Oct. 1.
The Geer project will take place in two phases: the first will be from Golden State Boulevard to Monte Vista Avenue, and the second will be from Monte Vista to Taylor Road.
Phase 1 includes coordination with Turlock Unified School District on a bus turnout, while Phase 2 involves coordination with Stanislaus State for a bike lane along the campus.
Also on Tuesday, the council unanimously authorized the sale of three city-owned properties — 570 Jason Drive, 1827 Shadow Park Drive and 2065 Cody Court — to income-eligible first-time homebuyers.
The council also unanimously approved updates to the Housing Rehabilitation Program Policies and Procedures manual for the Housing Program Services Division. Some of the updates include:
- Increasing the forgivable loan amount from $20,000 to the first $40,000 of rehabilitation costs.
- Removing amortized loan for owner-occupied rehabilitations.
- Altering deferred loan terms from 2 percent interest over 20 years to 0 percent for the first 10 years and 2 percent for the remaining 10.
- Adding a section for rehabilitation of mobile homes using CDBG funds up to a $30,000 grant (project will not be considered if rehabilitation costs exceed 75 percent of the estimated value)
- Increasing loan amount — with the exception of mobile homes — to $80,000 per unit.
“I think all the mobile home parks in Turlock, except for one, are in my district,” District 2 Councilmember Rebecka Monez told city staff. “I am so happy and grateful for all your hard work.”
During the public comment portion of the meeting, supporters of the We Care men’s homeless shelter continued to vocalize their concerns, as they have since April, with three members of the community — Koni Stone, Julie Fox, and Dave Colnic — urging the council to formulate a plan for services.
