Nearly two months ago, the Mill Valley City Council gave the green light to a $2 million overhaul of downtown sewers, sidewalks, storm drains and streets, the first phase of a multi-year infrastructure overhaul.
That move was quickly followed by a since-extended shelter in place order to combat the COVID-19 outbreak, sending all manner of plans, programs and projects, big and small, careening towards the back burner. Now City officials ate looking to utilize the likelihood of yet another extension of the shelter in place order into June to do the most intensive sewer work while the vast majority of businesses downtown remain closed. Work could commence as soon as the week of April 13.
"Expect to see preliminary activities on site next week such as utility markings, construction staking, mobilization and equipment staging and work crews," City officials announced. "This is a significant shift in the timeline, which was originally slated to begin in May or June."
The move seeks to leverage a shelter in place order that many regional officials expect to extend into June, with public schools throughout the Bay Area already closed for the remainder of the 2019-2020. In doing so, City officials hope to avoid having the project impact the critically important fourth quarter sales season that so many Mill Valley businesses rely on. Concerns about that possibility caused the project to be delated in 2019.
Public Works projects are identified as “essential businesses,” an update of the City’s sewer system is considered critical infrastructure, and providing safe public sewer systems and treatment is considered an essential service. Two other factors play into the City eyeing an accelerated Downtown Project timeline:
The City is exploring freeing up the City Hall parking lot by having those employees not already working from home park elsewhere to account for the loss of as much of 25 spaces at a time during the project.
City officials are also exploring the possibility of expediting the permit process and waiving fees for those property owners who seek to upgrade their own sewer laterals during the project.
MORE INFO ON THE DOWNTOWN PROJECT.
AND HERE'S THE LATEST UPDATE FROM THE CITY.
That move was quickly followed by a since-extended shelter in place order to combat the COVID-19 outbreak, sending all manner of plans, programs and projects, big and small, careening towards the back burner. Now City officials ate looking to utilize the likelihood of yet another extension of the shelter in place order into June to do the most intensive sewer work while the vast majority of businesses downtown remain closed. Work could commence as soon as the week of April 13.
"Expect to see preliminary activities on site next week such as utility markings, construction staking, mobilization and equipment staging and work crews," City officials announced. "This is a significant shift in the timeline, which was originally slated to begin in May or June."
The move seeks to leverage a shelter in place order that many regional officials expect to extend into June, with public schools throughout the Bay Area already closed for the remainder of the 2019-2020. In doing so, City officials hope to avoid having the project impact the critically important fourth quarter sales season that so many Mill Valley businesses rely on. Concerns about that possibility caused the project to be delated in 2019.
Public Works projects are identified as “essential businesses,” an update of the City’s sewer system is considered critical infrastructure, and providing safe public sewer systems and treatment is considered an essential service. Two other factors play into the City eyeing an accelerated Downtown Project timeline:
- The City's sewer system is more than 67 years old, and I&I, or infiltration and inflow of water and debris, gets into cracks and joints and overloads the system to the point of overflows, one of which occurred in 2008 and caused the Sewerage Agency of Southern Marin to pay $2.6 million in fines and fees and mandatory reporting to the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA requires that the City submit the Annual Sewage Spill Reduction Action Plan which includes annual sewer system rehabilitation. The City committed to the EPA in the 2019 annual report to conduct the sewer rehabilitation work identified in the downtown project scope this year.
- The City must comply with Americans with Disabilities Act provisions to upgrade infrastructure. The Downtown area has been identified in the City’s Draft ADA Transition Plan for a number of upgrades including City sidewalks, curb ramps, crosswalks. The vast majority of the City’s curb ramps don’t comply with ADA regulations and that the roads “have surpassed their expected life and require rehabilitation.”
The City is exploring freeing up the City Hall parking lot by having those employees not already working from home park elsewhere to account for the loss of as much of 25 spaces at a time during the project.
City officials are also exploring the possibility of expediting the permit process and waiving fees for those property owners who seek to upgrade their own sewer laterals during the project.
MORE INFO ON THE DOWNTOWN PROJECT.
AND HERE'S THE LATEST UPDATE FROM THE CITY.