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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/23/2010, B 1 - DOWNTOWN MAINTENANCE AND BEAUTIFICATION UPDATE 1 council M""`Di` February 23,2010 1 j agenda nEpoRt �N . B I CITY O F SAN LUIS OBISPO FROM, Jay D. Walter,Public Works Director Prepared By: Robert Horch, Parking Services Manager SUBJECT: .- DOWNTOWN MAINTENANCE AND BEAUTIFICATION UPDATE RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Receive an update on the progress of the Council's "Other Important Objective" for Downtown Maintenance and Beautification. 2. Give direction to staff on the desired approach to making physical improvements at locations in the Downtown. DISCUSSION Background One of the Council's "Other Important Objectives" in the 2009-11 Financial Plan is expanding Downtown maintenance and beautification efforts. (See Attachment 1) The intent was to enhance the maintenance and beautification of the Downtown through reprioritization of projects, new partnerships, clearer standards and design guidelines, and improved internal and external communications. Specifically Downtown signage, solid waste collection, tree maintenance, news rack management, street furniture and other enhancements of existing City infrastructure were to be considered and reviewed. To a great extent, this objective was inspired by current Chamber of Commerce CEO Dave Garth, who made a presentation on maintenance conditions in the Downtown to the Council during goal setting for the 2009-11 Financial Plan. In addition, to improve continuity and communication, the City's Parking Manager was designated as the "Downtown Champion" as part of this Other Important Council Objective. The action plan for this objective consists of three areas: reviewing existing design guidelines or standards; funding Downtown improvements; and enhancing communication through the use of the new Downtown Champion. To accomplish this action plan staff scheduled walking tours to observe some of the issues that were originally identified and to brainstorm how to effectively use allocated funding to address these issues. This report updates Council on what has been done, thus far, presents alternatives on the scope of this Other Important.Council Objective, and gives Council the opportunity to provide direction to staff on how to proceed from this point on. Value of Investing in the Downtown with these improvements Staff recognizes the importance of investing in improvements for the Downtown. It serves as a major tourist attraction and "community center", with Thursday Night Promotions activities, a concentration of retail stores, restaurants, and cultural activities. The age of the Downtown +31 -- 1 i i Downtown Maintenance and Beatification Update Page 2 infrastructure also makes it a logical candidate for improvement, as some of the sidewalks and other features are more than fifty years old, alongside some features that are less than a year old. With a consistent and regular program of improvements, Council can ensure that the Downtown will"look" fresher as the years go by. What's been done so far.? Walking Tours of Downtown by Staff and Stakeholder Representatives The first walking tour occurred in September 2009 and included staff from Public Works, Community Development, Administration, and Finance. Staff walked, observed and discussed a wide range of issues including Mission style sidewalks, tree grates, tree supports,.bicycle racks, trash cans, sign posts, light posts, signal posts, utility boxes, news racks, tree removals, city- owned planters near sidewalks, and parking lots. Staff observed areas where our current standards and guidelines were working, and which ones needed to be revised or newly developed. Staff followed up this walk with a series of meetings to discuss scheduled projects and to determine if we could improve some areas within currently allocated budgets. To provide valuable input from other Downtown stakeholders, a second walk was scheduled in October that included Deborah Cash from the Downtown Association, Dave Garth from the Chamber of Commerce and graphics designer and prior Downtown Association President (and member of the team that developed the "Downtown Concept Plan") Pierre Rademaker. The same list of maintenance and aesthetic improvements was discussed and observed in the Downtown. The main areas of concern that came from this walk were news racks, trash cans, and sign posts. Deborah Cash additionally recommended that the City should look into providing public art on traffic control boxes like she had observed in the City of Ventura. Staff has been interested in some concept of public art for the Downtown since the "Trout about Town"project ended several years ago. Architectural Review Commission The Director of Public Works, the Downtown Champion, and Pam Ricci, Senior Planner, met with the City's Architectural Review Commission on December 7, 2009 to provide them with an update of Downtown Beautification efforts. Review of Existing Standards One of the first items in the action plan for this objective was to make an inventory of the existing standards for the Downtown. Community Development did an inventory of downtown standards to determine where either updates or new standards needed to be prepared. The list of new standards needed was narrowed down to news racks and trash/recycling cans. Community Development staff will present a preview of selected standards for the ARC'S consideration in March 2010. Having the standards fully clarified will provide staff with the guidelines they need to ensure that consistency in application takes place in the future. Wineman Hotel Improvements With the recent renovation to the Wineman Hotel, associated improvements were made to the public right-of-way including Mission-style sidewalks, bulb-outs, benches and pedestrian lights. These recent upgrades provided a good opportunity to use the block as a demonstration block for Downtown Maintenance and Beatification Update Page 3 additional street furniture enhancements. To this end, City staff has ordered a consolidated news rack enclosure and two trash cans to install in this block to provide further examples of types of street furniture that the City may want to consider as new standards depending on the reaction to them once they are installed. The value of these installations now is to make visible improvements that can be used for evaluating how the standards look together, and make it easier to make a decision than only imagining what they would look like. Public Works Maintenance Improvements Public Works maintenance staff recently completed the repainting of traffic signal poles in the downtown. It had been several years since this work was last done. Constant application and subsequent removal of stickers caused the poles to lose their paint and take on a patchwork appearance. This work is separate from the street light painting which is needed where poles are rusting and faded. A tree removal and sidewalk replacement project was also recently completed. According to the Downtown Urban Forest Management Plan, this project removed trees that were determined to be in decline or have the potential for major limb failure. The sidewalk was then replaced with new Mission Style sidewalk, a new tree planted, and new tree gratesandtree guards installed. Parking Lot Improvements Parking staff decided to begin some minor but effective beautification efforts using the current Parking operating budget. Significant landscaping improvements have been made adjacent to several City parking lots. Parking staff worked with other Public Works staff to find two water leaks that were causing a lack of water to plant materials in two parking lots. These water leaks were fixed within our existing budget in one case, the other one was fixed by a contractor who had caused the leak. Parking staff removed dead plant material, amended the soil, and replanted. several landscape beds in parking Lot 2 on Broad Street and Lots 3 and l l near Monterey Street. The labor and costs were kept within the current Parking operations budget and the beds are refreshed and aesthetically pleasing once again. Parking Staff is obtaining estimates for repairing masonry work for damaged planters in all Downtown parking lots. Once those bids are in, staff will determine whether the work can be done within the current budget and if not, figure out how to fund the work. Where to from here? As noted in the objective, the Downtown Association and the Chamber of Commerce have envisioned implementation of this objective a bit differently. The Downtown Association has supported moving forward with the improvements where they could make the most impact or are most needed, for example, to complete a block of nearly finished Mission Sidewalk, or place lights in areas where it is dark. The Chamber of Commerce has approached the objective with the idea of, one block at a time, bringing everything in that block up to standard. Direction from the Council is needed so that staff can move forward to implement the approved strategy from a series of alternative strategies including those supported by the Downtown Association or Chamber as well as others outlined below. -61 ,3 Downtown Maintenance and Beatification Update Page 4 1. Implement a block by block approach to the improvements but start with a demonstration block. This would involve bringing the infrastructure (sidewalk, lights, tree wells, etc.) up to standard on a selected block or blocks. Council would need to decide which block would receive this treatment, and then staff would go back and create a project or projects reallocating the available funding. One of the advantages to this approach is that there would be a greater visual impact once the improvements were made. A disadvantage to this approach would be that only a relatively small area of the Downtown would be improved in the next two years. On the other hand, ongoing funding is anticipated in future years; and a clear idea of the benefits of making improvements these types of improvements is likely to help sustain support for doing SO. 2. Sprinkle the improvements throughout the Downtown. This approach would involve deciding which infrastructure elements were to be improved, and then creating a project to replace all of them in the Downtown. The advantage to this approach is that if Council has a particular item that they feel very strongly about (such as news racks), then a project can be created that would replace all of them in the Downtown. One disadvantage is that once the improvements are in place,it may not be as apparent to the observer that much work was done. 3. Combine the first two approaches. This approach could involve focused improvements to one block in particular as well as throughout Downtown. One way to accomplish it would be to utilize the improvements on the Wineman block as the "block" application, and decide several other specific items that will significantly improve the aesthetics in the Downtown to replace throughout Downtown. The question for the Council will be selecting the item(s) that would be prioritized as having the most impact so staff could then implement these improvements. However the task of identifying specific items to replace may be made easier by the fact that there are four items (news racks, trash cans, tree wells, and sign posts) that were identified in both the walking tours and original Council write up for the objective as needing urgent attention. It is staffs recommendation that these items be given special consideration for funding. Examples of news racks and trash cans were installed adjacent to the recently completed Wineman project to give Council an idea of what could be done. 1. News racks News racks were identified in the original Council report as an aesthetic issue because of how poorly maintained they were by the publication owners who place them downtown. Many of the installed news racks were observed to be broken, marked by graffiti, and layered with stickers and advertisements. The installations within the right-of-way were also problematic with some bolted down to the sidewalk, some chained to other racks, and some free-standing. Beyond aesthetics, safety concerns were also noted with the installations of news racks. In several locations the placement of the news racks were impeding pedestrian access or placed in areas that competed with other street furniture like benches and bicycle racks. Staff has researched the idea of creating a news rack ordinance for the Downtown that would allow publications to be distributed from a consistent style container. The City Attorney has found several other cities that have adopted a similar ordinance, installed uniform containers at specifically allowed locations and then via a permit allowed the publications to be distributed at those specified locations. This practice is a permissible as it sets standards for the "time, place and manner" of distribution of Downtown Maintenance and Beatification Update Page 5 publications without regard to the content of publications. An alternative is to set time, place and manner standards about the distribution of publications in containers selected by the publishers. This might centralize the distribution locations and could establish a standard for installing the containers,but it would not have a significant impact on the aesthetic issues. Z Trash Cans Another item identified in the original Council report and on the walking tours were our current trash cans. Our current trash cans meet a dual purpose of collecting trash and recycling. Formerly the City tried using two separated receptacles for trash and recycling, but found that the trash and recycling became comingled and was all just thrown away. The City Utilities Department worked together with our trash franchisee to develop the current trash can with its combination recycle top and area for trash below. This design has worked well functionally, but aesthetically is not very attractive or complementary to other street furniture. Staff has worked with the manufacturer of the Downtown Memorial Benches to come up with a complementary version,which is installed near the Wineman Hotel on Higuera Street. 3. Oversize Tree Wells Another item that was identified during the walking tours and highlighted in Dave Garth's presentation to Council was the oversize tree wells that have been created during attempts to repair sidewalk around some of the more mature trees in the Downtown. These installations have resulted in large open dirt areas that are difficult to maintain. A potential fix is to use the new tree grate standards alongside the large trees to cover the dirt area and still allow water to soak into the soil. 4. Signpost(including light posts) Another often mentioned problem was the combination of the old "P" posts and assorted square galvanized punch posts throughout the Downtown. These posts primarily have regulatory and informational signage on them. The "P" posts are not straight, are difficult to maintain and the new standard is for forest green square punch posts. Downtown Association Recommendation The Downtown Association Executive Board had an opportunity to discuss their ideas on Downtown beautification issues with the Downtown Champion at their monthly meetings. The Board's position initially was to not concentrate improvements in a demonstration block, rather spread the benefits throughout the Downtown. At the January 2010 meeting the Board voted to recommend that the City set lighting for trees and poles as the highest priority for Downtown improvements. The reasoning was that it would help stimulate a nighttime economy and provide for increased safety. Another suggestion was that the City conduct a nighttime walking tour since the previous walks were during the daytime. Staff has in the past responded to the request to supply power to the light poles in the Downtown. The City's practice in the past has been to not allow street light power to be used for other purposes because the lighting is paid for on a flat rate rather than being metered and paid for by the amount used. Lighting circuits will also require metered services which will add to clutter downtown.. 81 -5 ( � l i Downtown Maintenance and Beatification Update Page 6 Supplying light to the base of the trees presents several challenges,but years ago, PG&E allowed the City to install a few outlets at the tops of street lights and connect tree lighting during the holidays.. PG&E felt this would take a minimal amount of power. Getting a lighting circuit to each tree will require installing underground conduit to each tree. This could be done when pedestrian level lighting circuits are installed to reduce costs. The other challenge for such an installation is the growth of the tree. If the outlet is placed at the base of the tree, it will be subject to damage, such as that experienced by the sidewalk, as the root system and trunk grow. Damage could be significant enough to break the wiring loose, creating a potential danger because of the "hot" wire. If the City opts to pursue this option, careful planning will be needed to minimize the challenges and make arrangements with PG&E to separately meter and pay for the power. FISCAL IMPACT The table below is what has been programmed for the current and next fiscal years. The 2009-11 Financial Plan, page B-78, provides a total of$863,000 over the two year period to support this objective, in addition to staff time for standard review and other downtown support activities. Projects related to the downtown are currently identified as separate projects and funded that way. Staff can implement the projects for either of the alternatives presented, although funding is limited and it may not be possible to achieve a full block of improvements depending upon the site chosen. The Council could also take the available funding and decide that one of the items, for example street lighting or sidewalk upgrades, were the most important and apply more funding to that item from the objective's total funding. One thing that has come out of the review efforts with both staff and outside parties is that small items such as news racks, sign posts, and trash receptacles are not funded for replacement. Given the very challenging fiscal circumstances facing the City, we recommend prioritizing desired improvements like these within existing funding levels. Because the funds programmed are from several sources, not all would be available for the improvements selected. For example, the utility line replacement projects, $151,000 in total, could not be re-programmed for a General Fund use. Also, the parking lot projects, $122,000 in total, could not be re-programmed either based on previous City Policy. The remaining amount of$590,000 is still a significant amount for improvements in the Downtown, and could be used as the Council best sees fit to proceed. � l - 10 Downtown Maintenance and Beatification Update Page 7 Cost Summary Operating Programs Capital Improvement Plan 2009-10 2010-11 2009-10 2010-11 Informational Signage 25,000 50,000 Pedestrian Light Installation 70,000 Mission Sidewalk Installation 25,000 25,000 Downtown Urban Forest Plan 25,000 25,000 Warden Bridge Deck Rehabilitation 45,000 Street Light Pole Repainting 50,000 50,000 Parking Lot Resurfacing 122,000 Street Resurfacing 200,000 Utility Line Replacement 151,000 Total $0 1 $0 $643,000 1 $220,000 Funding Sources Operating Programs Capital Improvement Plan 2009-10 2010-11 2009-10 2010-.11 General Fund 370,000 220,000 Parking Fund 122,000 Water Fund 65,000 Sewer Fund " 86,000 Total $0 $0 $643,000 $220,000 CONCURRENCES The Downtown Association has been consulted and is in favor of making improvements in the Downtown. The Chamber of Commerce has also been actively involved in these discussions and is in favor of making improvements in the Downtown. Both organizations believe that improving the Downtown experience will have a positive impact on the City's economy in the long term. ALTERNATIVES 1. Make no further investment in improvements for the Downtown. Staff believes that there is sufficient energy and motivation for this Objective to be achieved, and that deferral will only lead to a more run-down look in the Downtown. 2. Select other improvements or another approach to address the needs to improve the Downtown. Council members or other interested members of the community may have other ideas about how this objective should be tackled. Staff could be directed to explore those ideas and brought back to the Council or the new approach could be adopted by the Council. ATTACHMENT Other Important Council Objective—Downtown Maintenance and Beautification s • �. DOWNTOWN MAINTENANCE AND BEAUTIFICATION ATTACHMENT OBJECTIVE Expand Downtown beautification efforts to include enhanced maintenance and cleanliness,a review and upgrade of standards and phased physical improvements. DISCUSSION Proposed Workscope This work program is intended to enhance the maintenance and beautification of the Downtown through a reprioritization of projects,new partnerships, clearer standards and design guidelines, and improved internal and external communication. More specific program components include improvements in signage, solid waste collection, tree maintenance, news rack management, street furniture, and other enhancements of existing City infrastructure in the Downtown. In addition, it is recommended to assure more consistency in actual implementation of improvements and better communication internally and externally with stakeholders that one staff member be assigned as the Downtown"champion". Background The Downtown is generally considered the center of the City. It is an attraction for tourists and an important part of community life. It also plays a significant role from an economic perspective,by supporting sales tax revenues - in its role as a regional shopping draw, and enhancing'our transient occupancy tax revenues as a result of j prolonged tourist stays. In addition, the Downtown's many restaurants, movie theatres, and historical offerings provide a hub for social and cultural activity and gatherings. Existing Situation and Work Completed The City Council approved Major City,Goals for the Downtown in the 1999-01 and 2007-09 Financial Plans. Work in past years has included street resurfacing, installation of pedestrian lights,new Mission Style sidewalks, and other minor improvements. During the last two years, work has continued on the goal of improving the downtown. Utility line replacements and street reconstruction work occurred. Stairs in the Mission Plaza were replaced and tile repairs were made to sections of Mission Style sidewalk. New trees were planted with a new style of tree grate to replace trees that were removed. A block of pedestrian level lighting was installed on Higuera Street to showcase the newly adopted light standard. Staff resources were devoted to keeping the Downtown cleaned up through more frequent sidewalk scrubbing as well as a one-half time temporary employee cleaning up each morning. Staff has also worked with the Downtown Association to complete their Strategic Plan and evaluation of alternative organizational forms. The Downtown Association has also become independent from the City to allow it greater freedom to achieve its goals. Tourism and special event promotion is also ongoing to attract tourists to the City. The Police Department continues to support the efforts of the Downtown Association with safety and criminal issues. In the parking program, maintenance of surface lots and structures occurred: Work continues towards provide bicycle parking options downtown as well as more marketing of parking options. OTHER . r • A. DOWNTOWN MAINTENANCE AND BEAUTIFICATION ATTACHMENT One of the largest work efforts for both staff and the Council was the review and adoption of the building height regulations. Staff continues to work with development to implement the Downtown Physical Concept Plan and encourage housing in the Downtown. WORK PROGRAM CONSTRAINTS AND LIMITATIONS The maintenance projects are-not anticipated to require specialized review and should proceed readily. Paving and utility line work is often disruptive and will require the cooperation of the Downtown Association to proceed smoothly and get the message out. Staff will complete project specific outreach for these projects. Design standards, solid waste issues and informational signage are expected to generate considerable interest from the business community and warrant outreach efforts to include the Downtown Association and the Chamber of Commerce, along with specifically interested businesses and members of the Architectural Review Committee. Staff anticipates workshops and regular meetings to encourage community involvement in any changes to the current.standards and guidelines. STAKEHOLDERS Stakeholders for this goal are the residents of the City, downtown businesses, the Downtown Association, City Advisory Bodies, and visitors to downtown including: tourists, shoppers,and parking customers,both automobile and bicycle. While the various stakeholders are interested in what the City does, staff has met with representatives of both the ( j Downtown Association and the Chamber of Commerce to determine what role they can play in promoting this objective. Staff will involve both these groups to discuss 'implementation options, covering both costs and sequencing,to be presented to the City Council. Both groups have expressed particular interests as follows: 1.The Downtown Association. The Downtown Association recognizes.that these are tough times and that the basics, such as sidewalk scrubbing, daily trash and graffiti cleanup, and tree maintenance are key maintenance activities for the City to continue. The Association is very interested in working with the City on a donor program for pedestrian lighting as this the Chamber of Commerce. In addition to collaborating with the City on design guidelines, the Downtown Association will assist the City in identifying the areas that need the most maintenance to better focus our resources. To supplement the .City's efforts, the Downtown Association work with the City Arborist as the "Downtown Foresters" where they help with small tree care will continue. Finally, independent of the City, the Association will continue with other independent support services, such as private security and events to promote the health and vitality of the downtown. 2.The Chamber Commerce. The Chamber of Commerce has identified key ways it will support the implementation of this objective. On example is the Chamber's strong desire to developing uniformity in street furniture. The Chamber has suggested that upgrading an entire block with the newly approved standards, could be a good way to "kick start" such a beautification effort. The Chamber intends to educate business owners on such things as cleaning, solid waste management, and maintenance of decorative pots. Improvement on these items not only benefits the Downtown but also translates into improvements in water quality in line with the City's Stormwater Management program. The Chamber has also volunteered to take the lead in an outreach effort to news rack owners to encourage their support of a consolidated news rack approach. r OTHER IMPORTANTWiECTIVES DOWNTOWN MAINTENANCE AND BEAUTIFICATION ATTACHMENT ACTION PLAN 1.Review of Eidsting Design Guidelines. The work program proposes to start with a review of the documents that guide the appearance of the downtown. That effort will involve not only City staff but members of the community and City advisory bodies. From this initial review will follow a proposal of how to get to where the City wants to be for the appearance of the Downtown and what that effort is likely to cost. One notable area that will be reviewed is news rack clutter. A consistent news rack design and possible locations for consolidation will be developed for the Council to review, and if appropriate, a trial installation funded. There have also been some indications that proper management of trash and recyclables is also a maintenance issue downtown. The specific concerns about those solid waste issues will be identified so that staff has a clear understanding of the concerns and can then develop a way to address them. 2.Maintenance Work. Maintenance work, such as sidewalk repairs, Mission Sidewalk installation, tree well upgrade and planting, repainting of light poles and replacement of others with updated standards, is also recommended for funding in the 2009-11 budget. The tree well and lighting standards are recent adoptions, so changes to these standards are not anticipated. Ongoing sidewalk scrubbing and general trash and graffiti removal will also continue. 3.Communications Enhancements and Downtown Champion Staff has discussed possible options to ensure the Downtown Association and local businesses continue to have a positive flow of information to, and from, the City. There are a variety of ways that communication occurs now. For construction projects, engineering staff complete outreach to the Downtown Association and businesses. To schedule construction projects and get the word out, engineering staff has spoken at Downtown breakfasts and attended Board meetings as well as providing simple email updates to be included in the Downtown Association newsletter. Maintenance issues are called directly in to the Public Works Corporation Yard so that response time is reduced to the minimum. The maintenance staff person downtown on a regular basis is a familiar face and can be contacted directly. Questions or requests for City resources outside the current agreement are handled by the Economic Development Manager and reviewed with affected departments. This gives the Downtown Association a single point of contact when they wish to adjust previously agreed upon services. The Economic Development Manager also regularly attends Board meetings and can serve to bring back any concerns to the departments. Generally, these strategies appear to be providing the needed links for information and communications with the Downtown Association. However, staff-proposes designating the Public Works Department Parking Services Manager as the principal staff contact for the City for Downtown oriented communications and activities. With the focus of this program and their physical location in the Marsh Street Garage,this person will be available as a conduit to the City when concerns arise or information is needed, and to help ensure consistent standards are followed when repairs or upgrades are undertaken. Task Date Design Standards & Upgrades 1. Assemble all current downtown design guidelines and standards. 8/09 2. Working with the Architectural Review Commission,review the current guidelines and standards and 3/10 revise or confirm the public improvement design strategy for the downtown including street fiuviture, trash and recycling containers,and regulatory signage,for Council consideration. 73 l -Iv OTHER • `' DOWNTOWN MAINTENANCE AND BEAUTIFICATION ATTACHMENT Task Date 3. Develop costs,spending options,and sequencing options to bring the downtown up to the new 4/10 standards. 4. Develop a design and identify possible locations for a centralized news rack enclosure to 3/10 accommodate a range of different papers in a consolidated and uniform manner,for Council consideration,and possible funding approval. 5. Install a block of pedestrian level lighting and fill in portions of Mission Style Sidewalk 6/11 Signage 6. Develop a coordinated program for the City informational and directional signage and recommend 12/10 implementation plan. -- Solid Waste 7. Identify solid waste issues with the Downtown Association and Chamber of Commerce and develop a 6/11 work plan to address them. Facility Maintenance 8. Provide sidewalk scrubbing service and daily cleanup maintenance work Ongoing 9. Implement the Downtown Tree Management Plan Ongoing 10.Complete Warden Bridge resurfacing project 4/10 11.Complete downtown street and parking lot resurfacing projects 4/11 12.Complete water and sewerline replacements 4/11 13.Complete painting of existing street light poles 6/11 KEY WORK PROGRAM ASSUMPTIONS Facility maintenance costs are based on recent bids and account for funding currently anticipated to be available to complete the work. Anticipation of seasonal work has framed the year in which certain work will be accomplished, rather than the year of actual funding. Delivery of the work program assumes that staff reductions are not so severe as to hamper delivery of the various tasks. RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENTS In coordination with the Parking Services Manager, Community Development will take the lead in reviewing and updating design standards and guidelines. Public Works will also assist where the standards relate to construction details. Public Works will take the lead on the facility maintenance work needed to complete the r` goal. Utilities will be a partner in this area where it relates to their pipe systems. The Utilities Department will take the lead for solid waste issues working with the Downtown Association and the Chamber. Administration OTHER IMPORTANT DOWNTOWN MAINTENANCE AND BEAUTIFICATION ATTACHMENT will take the lead on the implementation of an informational sign program in coordination with the Promotional Committee and assistance from Public Works for installation efforts. FINANCIAL AND STAFF RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL Cost Summary Operating Programs Capital Improvement Plan 2009-10 2010-11 2009-10 2010-11 Informational Signage 25,000 50,000 Pedestrian Light Installation 70,000 Mission Sidewalk Installation 25,000 25,000 Downtown Urban Forest Plan 25,000 25,000 Warden Bridge Deck Rehabilitation 45,000 Street Light Pole Repainting 50,000 50,000 Parking Lot Resurfacing 122,000 Street Resurfacing 200,000 Utility Line Replacement 151,000 Total $0 $0 $643,000 1 $220,000 Funding Sources Operating!!1$0 Capital Improvement Plan 2009-10 2009-10 2010-11 General Fund 370,000 220,000 Parking Fund 122,000 Water Fund 65,000 Sewer Fund 86,000 Total SO $643,000 $220,000 GENERAL FUND REVENUE POTENTIAL A healthy,vital, and attractive Downtown may result in stronger sales tax and transient occupancy tax revenues. OUTCOME—FINAL WORK PRODUCT .A robust, attractive, and healthy Downtown is vital to its continued success as the retail, social, and visitor hub for San Luis Obispo. The on-going maintenance activities by the City are a key component to keeping the Downtown clean and therefore healthy. Not only does it enhance the Downtown to visitors but it continues to position it as the place to be for our residents. 1 i �� council memoizanbum Feb 23, 2010 RED FILE �1R CoPY &MAX February MEETING AGENDA ; E'COUNCIL L-`CDD DIR 0-GA00114"A69- C-FIN DIR TO: City Council DA 10 ITEM # B( I Z' TCvV0%5C-B'FIRE CHIEF PT 0RNEY p'PW DIR r' CLERK/ORIG Za POLICE CHF FROM: Jay D. Walter, Public Works Dectbr ` ❑ DEPT HEADS IrREC DIR. P1 b Q'UTIL DIR VIA: Katie Lichtig,City Manager 2rHR DIR i NL-(.t1 t(rrl� �CBu,uct(r SUBJECT: Downtown Goal e L4424-- During the time leading up to the Council meeting on February 23`d, some questions have arisen regarding the origin and purpose of the projects listed as part of the Downtown.Maintenance and Beautification Council goal. The following describes each project and the potential impact of deferral. Staff will be able to answer other questions at the meeting. Project 2009-10 2010-11 Total Available Informational $25;000 $50,000 $75,000 Signage Pedestrian Light 0 $70,000 $70,000 Installation Mission Sidewalk $25;000 $25,000 $50,000 Installation Downtown Urban $25,000 $25,000 $25,000 Forest Plan* Warden Bridge Deck $45,000 0 $45,000 Rehabilitation Street Light Pole $50,000 $50,000 $100,000 Repainting Street Resurfacing $200,000 0 $200,000 $565,000* Parking Lot $122,000 0 N/A Resurfacing Utility Line $151,000 0 N/A Replacement * The first year project has already been completed on the Downtown, removing and replacing 3 trees and the distressed sidewalk around them. The Council report identifies $590,000 as being available for the Downtown improvements. Informational Signage Develop a coordinated program for City informational and directional signage and install signs. Staff is currently reviewing the proposal for the design contract, and would be asking for City Manager approval in the next few weeks to award. RECEIVED 6�p C E I E FEB 2 3-2010 SLO CITY CLERK Downtown Goal Update Page 2 Pedestrian Light Installation Install another section of pedestrian level lighting on Higuera Street between Chorro and Osos. Mission Sidewalk Installation Fill in portions of missing or damaged Mission Style Sidewalk. Staff would be prioritizing locations and awarding contracts for installation. Downtown Urban Forest Plan Implement next recommendations of the Downtown Tree Management Plan, which was adopted in 2006 to guide decisions about the aging Downtown Urban forest. The project programmed in 2009-10 has already been implemented. Warden Bridge Deck Rehabilitation Complete Warden Bridge resurfacing project by resetting the brick pavers that provide access to the private parking spaces in the other side of the creek from Mission Plaza Street Light Pole Repainting Renovation of existing street light poles (tall poles with "cobra-head" street lights on top), by removing and having them sand blasted and powder coated to the Downtown Forest Green color. Street Resurfacing Complete Downtown street resurfacing project, which involves microsurfacing Marsh Street from Higuera to Osos, and Higuera Street from Nipomo to Marsh. Parking Lot Resurfacing Complete parking lot (RR Square, 842 Palm, Entrance to Marsh) resurfacing projects in the Downtown, which is funded from Parking Fund revenues. Utility Line Replacement Complete water and sewerline replacements on Osos, Garden and Archer, which are funded from water and Sewer Fund revenues. File path