Construction issues on council agenda at the June 1 meeting

Area construction issues made up most of the business items on the agenda for the June 1 meeting of the City of California Board of Aldermen.

The work to place the utilities service for the Country Club Estates subdivision underground is going well. The work is expected to be completed by December, with all of the above ground utility poles and guy wires removed.

The sewer project completion date has been extended, due to the natural gas line replacement by Ameren-Missouri running behind schedule, in part because of weather. The sewer project and gas line work are being done at the same time. The pavement overlay on the affected streets can't be finished until the sewer and gas line work is done.

The new water tower in the area of the high school is nearing completion, with painting expected to be done in about a month. In connection with that work, but a separate project, the bid was let to Hughey Construction for $665,894 to drill a new well and construct a new well house at the new water tower. When the new tower is in operation, the older tower along Russellville Road will be taken out of service in order to be painted and any other needed maintenance work to be done.

Both towers are to be painted white. The tower at the high school is to have the Pinto logo and "Pinto Strong" on the side facing the school and "California" on the side facing Highway 50. The older tower will be repainted with "California" on each side.

The contract with Rackers Construction for the shelter house on the east side of Proctor Park has been negotiated and it will be $66,500. The city will then purchase a separate concrete restroom facility, similar to the one on the north side of the park. It will be from the State Bid for $39,900. Although the exact location has not been decided, the new restroom will be set up near the new east side shelter house. New playground equipment which meets the current standards of equipment for "fun and health."

After much discussion on the new "Welcome to California" sign at the Highway 50/87 overpass, the council decided to seek a way to use regular electricity sources rather than go solar. Several items affected the decision. Those items discussed included this year's cloudy spring, which has reduced the amount of light to power solar panels, and the maintenance needed to keep the solar power system operating with panel and battery replacement.

A separate item discussed was the amount of grease and oil coming through the sewer system into the treatment plant. Nothing can be done at the plant to remove the grease and oil, so it must be reduced at the source. The new EPA and DNR standards allow for lower levels of grease and oil. A remedy may be an ordinance requiring businesses in the city, which release grease and oil, to have effective and well-maintained grease traps.

Water and Wastewater Supervisor Kyle Wirts commented that a big part of reducing the amount of grease and oil may be informing the public of what is necessary.

The next regular meeting is July 6 at the California City Hall.