Alternative surface could allow Spring Valley to pave more streets

By doing a smaller repair on side thoroughfares now, more streets in Spring Valley could be included in the city’s annual Streets and Alleys Repair Project list.

City Engineer Mike Richetta suggested Monday the City Council review the list of street and alley repair projects the Street and Alleys Committee had determined for this summer to see how many of them could be repaired temporarily with chip and seal treatments this year as opposed to a complete asphalt recovering.

By using the seal coat treatment on roadways that do not have curb and gutter – “a rough guess” by Richetta to be 10% to 15% of the city’s roads – at an estimated cost of $4 per square yard, it would allow the city to divert more allotted funds to include possibly more asphalt paving projects on more high traffic roads.

Asphalt, Richetta said, runs in general $25 to $35 per square yard.

“The seal coat is a preventative maintenance treatment that holds the roads together, keeps them sealed up,” Richetta said. “It’s not much of an improvement for the road surface and the driving conditions on the roadway, but it does prevent moisture from getting into the sub-base and keeps them in reasonable shape.”

Richetta also informed the council the demolition of “old Spring Valley hotel” at 226 East St. Paul St. is behind schedule because of the recent cold weather and the contractor has asked for an additional 30 days, or to the end of March, to complete the effort.

The council agreed to give them to March 15 to finish, an additional 20 days.

Richetta also said a new round of capital project grants has not been announced yet, but suggested the council may want to look into appropriate projects it could apply for. The grants could be worth up to $250,000.

In other action, the council:

Approved the expense of three repairs to be made at the city’s Waste Water Treatment plant: for the repair and reinstallation of a crucial valve, the replacement of a flow meter and the replacement of a filter membrane.

Approved the expense for cleaning and maintenance on the Route 89 water tower.

Approved a request from the Grow Spring Valley group to hold its Friday night markets on June 21, July 19 and Aug. 16. The 100 block of East St. Paul Street will be blocked off for each event.

“It’s food vendors and craft vendor with all kinds of things and then there’s music every night,” said Mayor Melanie Thompson. “It was very successful last year and a lot of fun.”

Heard from Police Chief Adam Curran the engine in one of the patrol vehicle that broke down will be repaired under warranty and a new squad obtained last month is just waiting on a few parts to be put in the active rotation.

The chief also reported officers will begin wearing and testing body cameras on Tuesday of this week, but the system is not expected to be fully implemented for another month or two.