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Territorial Dispatch

Council Terminates Emergency Declaration After Sinkhole Repaired on Archer Avenue

Jun 12, 2024 09:26AM ● By Shaunna Boyd

LIVE OAK, CA (MPG) - At the June 5 Live Oak City Council meeting, Mayor Ashley Hernandez and Vice-Mayor Nancy Santana were absent, so Councilmember Jeramy Chapdelaine was selected to chair the meeting.

City Council considered a resolution to terminate an emergency declaration enacted in February when a water line underneath Archer Avenue collapsed, causing a sinkhole in the roadway.

“We determined it was in the public interest to spend public funds to repair that as quickly as possible,” City engineer Scott Rolls said.

Under normal circumstances, city projects undergo a competitive public bidding process, but with a declared emergency situation, City Council waived that requirement and authorized a general contractor already working on another project in the city to perform the necessary repairs.

City engineer Rolls reported that the work is now complete and the total cost was $45,639, “which is pretty reasonable for the amount of work that was done there.” The Butte Water District has been running water through the replaced line for a month now with no issues.

However, this was just “a temporary fix,” explained Rolls, as the crews discovered the water line was sitting right on top of a PG&E gas line, which means they had to install a much smaller pipe than planned.

Rolls said the smaller pipe should hold as long as necessary while the city finds funding to undertake the permanent replacement project, which will require shifting the locations of both the water line and the gas line for appropriate access to each.

“The full replacement is now going to be a little more complicated than I had hoped,” said Rolls. “So it’s nice that we’re not having to do that on a very tight timeline.”

City Council voted unanimously to terminate the emergency declaration and the waiver of the competitive bidding process.

Next, a resolution approving the purchase agreement for a new Pierce Enforcer 1500 GPM Type 1 Fire Engine was considered. City Council voted in April to approve the purchase but a resolution was required to finalize the purchase agreement.

The vehicle will be purchased through Golden State Fire Apparatus (representing Pierce Manufacturing) and financed through Community Leasing Partners of Community First National Bank. The purchase price is $846,575.44, which will be paid over 10 years in annual payments of $119,723.34 beginning in May 2026. The funds will be budgeted annually from Fire Impact Fees, Fire Property Assessments or other discretionary fund sources.

After City Council approval of the purchase agreement, manufacturing of the new engine will begin, with delivery expected in approximately 48 to 50 months. By the time of delivery, Live Oaks’ current fire engine will have been in service for 12 years, and initially the old engine will be kept for backup use.

The council voted unanimously to approve the purchase agreement for the new fire engine.

Parks and Recreation director Luis Cibrian presented a discussion item to City Council regarding the Live Oak Festival, which is scheduled for Sept. 7. He said that the local Lions Club had been putting on the festival, but for the last few years has been scaling back its involvement with the goal of eventually passing full responsibility for the festival to the city. Cibrian said that this year, “it’s going to fall on our shoulders…but I think we’re ready to tackle it.”

Cibrian said the city will now handle all aspects of the festival, from the car show and parade to food vendors and entertainment. He asked for council guidance on whether the planning should be done internally or coordinate a committee of citizens to assist with the process.

Councilmember Bob Woten said the festival is “a long-standing tradition” in the community, so it is important to keep it going and take up whatever responsibilities are needed to make it a success.

Councilmember Lakhvir Ghag suggested getting the local farmers to bring out their old tractors to give the festival a sense of identity unique to Live Oak. He supported the idea of enlisting volunteers from the community to help support the Parks and Recreation team in planning the festival and he offered to help personally. 

Councilmember Jeramy Chapdelaine also offered to help and encouraged the formation of a volunteer committee: “I know there’s a lot of folks in the community that would be happy and are really even looking for things like that to participate in.”

Interim City Manager Mark Scott then introduced the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2024-25 Operating Budget, but suggested postponing the discussion until the full City Council was present. Scott said that as they consider the budget, the focus should be “on the long-term needs of the community.” He cautioned that Live Oak does not receive a large amount of revenue from sales tax because many residents do much of their shopping in Yuba City, so their sales tax dollars are instead supporting that community.

Scott said, “When budgets are tight, there’s a tendency to want to tighten them.” But he said that “saving and cutting” does not lead to a great future. “It just doesn't work that way. You have to invest in your future.” He suggested the city must look for grants and development opportunities “to create an economy here that will allow us to retain those resources into the future.”

City Council agreed to continue the budget item until all members are present.

The next meeting of the Live Oak City Council is scheduled for 6 p.m. June 19 at City Hall, 9955 Live Oak Blvd.