Two new individuals will join the legacy of the Turlock City Council on Tuesday as mayor-elect Gary Soiseth and new council member Matthew Jacob will be sworn in alongside incumbent Bill DeHart, who was reelected to the council.
While in the next four years the council will be tasked with setting policy, one of the hallmarks of each council is its strategic plan. This plan, which is usually a two-year outline, sets the direction for the city and is the basis the city manager uses to delegate tasks in order to ensure that goals are being met. The new council will begin to outline their strategic plan in January.
On the agenda over which the new mayor and council will preside is a 24 item consent calendar with several items slated to be discussed pertaining to Turlock roads. Two rehabilitation projects are on the table including repair for a portion of Hawkeye Avenue between Dels Lane and Olive Avenue as well as Geer Road between Monte Vista Avenue and Taylor Road.
The Hawkeye project will be a total rubberized asphalt overlay as well as additional sidewalks and American Disabilities Act compliant handicap ramps, a necessary requirement when a project meets a certain threshold when utilizing federal funds.
"It's a total overhaul similar to the job we did in front of the college," said Mike Pitcock, the City's director of Development Services, in reference to the portion of Monte Vista Avenue adjacent to the California State University, Stanislaus campus that was completed in the past year.
The Hawkeye Avenue Rehabilitation project will be funded by gas tax funds and Regional Surface Transportation Program federal funds totaling a cost of roughly $1.5 million. No general funds will be used for this project or the Geer Road Rehabilitation project.
Geer Road will be split into two portions with microsurfacing occurring between Monte Vista Avenue and Calaveras Way and a full overlay between Calaveras Way and Taylor Road. This project is also funded by RSP funds and gas tax funds at a total amount of $1.2 million. Due to temperature requirements, construction for these projects is not slated to begin until April with paving to start in May or June.
The City of Turlock is also in the process of narrowing down one project which to apply to the Stanislaus Council of Governments for Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality funds. With leftover funds available, Stan COG allowed agencies to apply for one project and the city is currently conducting research to determine which project is most likely to succeed: putting in a traffic signal at Tully Road and Tuolumne Road, or putting one in at West Main and West Avenue South.
Other items on the agenda include:
• Authorizing the City Manager to sign a standard Non-Disclosure Agreement "not to create a veil of secrecy" but rather to benefit potential businesses looking to expand or locating in Turlock as it creates a confidential relationship between the parties to protect any type of confidential and proprietary information or trade secrets.
• Approving a services agreement between the City of Turlock and Larry Walker and Associates for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit Renewal and Compliance Support Services for the Turlock Regional Water Quality Control Facility, not to exceed $50,000. The City is required to obtain a new NPDES permit in order to continue to operate the RWQCF.
• Approving an agreement between the City of Turlock and the Turlock Downtown Property Owners Association for the implementation of a Management District Plan, which describes the roles and responsibilities reflected for a 10-year period of time including addressing issues such as parking, downtown maintenance, economic vitality, and more.
• Precipitated by a commitment the city council made during 2014 negations, there will be a discussion of conducting a Citywide Total Compensation Study slated for completion on or around January 2017. This is to allow represented and unrepresented employees the ability to provide input regarding comparable cities to be used for the study, and positions to be studied.
The Turlock City Council will meet at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at City Hall, located at 156 S. Broadway Ave.