TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
David N. Carmany, City Manager
FROM:
Tony Olmos, Director of Public Works
Juan Price, Maintenance Superintendent
SUBJECT:Title
Report On Current Maintenance Practices In Downtown Streetscape.
RECEIVE AND FILE
Line
_________________________________________________________
Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Receive and File
Body
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
No Fiscal Implications at This Time
BACKGROUND:
The Downtown Streetscape is the City’s original downtown. Streetscape lies almost entirely within Lighting and Landscape Assessment District 1. Streetscape includes matching traffic signals, sidewalks, crosswalks, street improvements and landscaping.
A primary design element unique to Streetscape includes the use of specialty tile on sidewalks and crosswalks. The specialty tile is made primarily of reconstituted granitic materials. The material was chosen in part for its high density and high compressive strength.
To maintain a high level of maintenance for the Downtown Streetscape area, powerwashing and street sweeping were programmed at enhanced frequencies.
DISCUSSION:
Due to the desire to maintain the Downtown Streetscape at a high level, the original method employed to clean the tiled sidewalks was a self-propelled scrubber. The scrubber employed a spray device, rotary brushes, squeegee and a water recovery vacuum. The device was effective, however, the complex mechanisms and resultant breakdowns coupled with the weight of the machine and subsequent tile damage proved problematic. A decision was made to employ standard high pressure powerwashing equipment in the early 1990’s and continues to be the method of choice.
Beginning in January 2013, powerwashing duties were shifted to Cleanstreet, Inc. due to the proximity of the Downtown Streetscape and availability of contract staff and equipment. Cleanstreet has been performing powerwashing, landscaping and custodial services for several years for the Metlox and Civic Center plaza and has historically provided a high service level.
For many years, the standard schedule was to powerwash a minimum of twice per week per business frontage. Upon Cleanstreet’s assumption of the Downtown Streetscape powerwashing duties, a revised schedule was prepared. The changes were incorporated to maximize effectiveness, and a weekend service was also included during the peak summer season. Additionally, Cleanstreet performs full cleanings of the entire Downtown Streetscape after special events or holidays, as needed.
The current schedule was developed to concentrate on areas of historical high use and allowances were made to handle “hot spots”, or specific locations which are regularly soiled between scheduled services. These often include food serving establishments or areas the public consumes foodstuffs. However, private properties and building frontage are excluded, as services are only performed on public property. Some business owners have employed their own privately acquired contract powerwashing services to either enhance their own building facades.
Attachment 1 illustrates the current powerwashing regimen. As is evident, there are many high use areas that are cleaned up to 4 times per week, representing a doubling of previous service frequency. In addition, Public Works and/or City staff has always responded to calls of soiled areas that have occurred during the day, regardless of any previous cleanings.
Additionally, Attachment 2 shows the current streetsweeping map. The Downtown Streetscape streets are swept twice weekly on alternate sides Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, typically between 6am and 9am, dependent upon location.
Cleanstreet also maintains the planted landscapes. Services include mowing, fertilization, edging, weeding, trash cleaning, thinning of overgrown shrubbery, and irrigation service/repair. The schedule is seasonally adjusted to handle the higher service levels required during the summer peak season. Additionally, all carrotwood trees are pruned annually in the late Fall. Landscape and custodial service include servicing trash receptacle overflow regardless of reason to supplement contracted waste hauler Waste Management’s regularly scheduled service. This overflow service can be called upon during most hours of the day as Cleanstreet usually has staff nearby in the Civic Center area.
CONCLUSION:
The City currently expends approximately $53,000 per year to provide powerwashing services. With rare exception, staff believes the current level of service provides the highest value and leverages Cleanstreet’s proximal staff at Metlox and the Civic Center for rapid response to spot and weekend work.
Some enhancement options may include assigning full or seasonal custodial porter services to patrol Downtown Streetscape, increasing the number of powerwashing days, and/or supplementing the current schedule to capture additional areas. The approximate cost per additional day of complete powerwashing is $227.50 daily or approximately $12,000 annually. An additional option is to include a comprehensive review of maintenance standards and methodologies as an integral part of any Streetscape enhancement project at such time the sidewalk and frontage areas of Streetscape are identified as capital projects.
Attachments:
1. Lighting District 1 Streetscape
2. Downtown Power Washing Schedule
3. Sweep Times Streetscape Only
4. Sweep Times Downtown