About The champion newspaper. (Decatur, GA) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 31, 2019)
LOCAL THE CHAMPION, THURSDAY, JAN. 31 - FEB. 6, 2019 • Page 2 Stonecrest tackling pothole problem BY CARLA PARKER carla@dekalbchamp.com Potholes will be filled and streets will be paved in Stonecrest this year. Stonecrest City Council approved 3-2 at its Jan. 28 regular meeting to execute a digital road analysis to assess road conditions in the city and provide an estimated cost for repairs. The vote came after the city was advised to immediately start the process of analyzing the roads to be prepared for paving season, which runs from April to early November. At a previous council meeting, civil engineer Kerry Williams—who is also a member of the city’s SPLOST Advisory Committee—advised the council to use a pavement management system so that the data collected will enable the city to “wisely and systematically” spend money on road improvements. “We recommend that the council move forward without the procurements of a project manager, instead hire somebody immediately that will do your road evaluations. This will allow the city to begin paving in July,” Williams told the council. The city council can now use Special Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) Funds to pay for road repairs, according to city officials. The council voted to have Stantec Consulting Firm conduct a digital road analysis to cost no more than $70,000. The city will use analysis from the firm, as well as an analysis previously done by DeKalb County, to determine repairs needed on roads in the city. “We have an opportunity to have a digital road analysis, and a road analysis from the county that we can have evaluated, for $70,000,” Mayor Jason Lary said. “We’re in the cold season right now. That means we have an opportunity to evaluate these roads from two stand points.” The firm is expected to conduct a digital laser pavement analysis by using the pavement condition index (PCI), which measures pavement distresses such as potholes and cracking. According to the firm, digital laser analysis “provides a rigorous assessment of the entire road system providing road repair and road maintenance feedback that cannot be obtained via visual inspection and/or random road core analysis. The analysis is expected to be completed within two weeks. Stonecrest city engineer Ken Hildebrandt said Brookhaven, Dunwoody and Tucker have used digital laser analysis for their roads. Lary said the road analysis will also include a streetlight inventory. “Let’s get this digital road analysis so that we can cover all of the basis across the board—that’s the digital road analysis road itself, being able to compare with the work that the county has already put together, and we’ll have an opportunity to not miss paving season.” Several council members expressed their concerns on the cost of the analysis. Hildebrandt said the firm will give the city council a budget on how to spend the money. “They’ll do the analysis that will rate all of the streets, then we’ll bring that back to council and we’ll give [the council] four different scenarios and we’ll ask for your direction on how to proceed,” Hildebrandt said. “Then we’ll go back to the firm and ask them to finish up the study.” Councilwoman Diane Adoma, who voted against having the analysis done, questioned why the city could not negotiate an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with DeKalb County— which is responsible for maintenance of roads in Stonecrest—before doing a road analysis. “The reason I’m saying that is because I think [highways] 155 and 124 are state routes, so there are shared responsibilities,” Adoma said. “So, there are a lot of things that go into getting the roads resurfaced and paving them right. I just think that the first step should be to get our IGA, get the road analysis and pave like mad and get rid of the potholes.” Hildebrandt said if the city goes that route then they will miss this year’s paving season. “By the time that you enter into your IGA and you do the 12-month road analysis, and then you go through the procurement process, then you select a contractor and the contractor mobilizes, it’s going to be well past the paving season,” he said. “So, you probably won’t start until spring of 2020.” “I’m just trying to come up with the most efficient way and the most cost-effective way to get all of these roads paved in Stonecrest,” Adoma said. The city of Stonecrest will fill potholes and repave roads after the city council approved to have a digital road analysis done on city roads. Photo from Stonecrest City’s Facebook page CITY HALL ADDITIONAL PARKING PROJECT PROJECT BID NO. PARK10-18 STONE MOUNTAIN, GEORGIA The City of Stone Mountain is soliciting competitive sealed bids from qualified con tractors for construction of a parking lot adjacent to city hall. Sealed bids will be received by the City of Stone Mountain, 875 Main Street, Stone Mountain, Georgia 30083, until 2:00 p.m. local time on Friday, February 15, 2019. Any bid received after 2:00 p.m. will not be accepted. Bids will be publicly opened on Friday, February 15, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. in the Stone Mountain City Hall, 875 Main Street, Stone Mountain, Georgia 30083. The bid envelope must be marked on the outside with Bid Number, name of Bidder, date and time of opening. Work required under this Contract includes furnishing materials, labor, equipment, etc. for the construction of a new parking lot and attendant structures adjacent to Stone Mountain City Hall. Construction Drawings and Specifications are available from the engineer by contacting: Kate Langman Clark Patterson Lee 3011 Sutton Gate Drive, Suite 130 Suwanee, Georgia 30024 klangman@clarkpatterson.com 770-831-9000 Bids shall be entered on a lump sum basis and as described in the project manual. One complete set of drawings and specifications shall be provided to General Con tractors only, for no cost. No partial sets of working drawings or specifications shall be issued. Bids in the case of Corporations not chartered in Georgia, must be accompanied by proper certification stating that said Corporation is authorized to do business in the State of Georgia. No Bidder may withdraw his Bid within sixty (60) days after the actual date of the opening thereof. All Bidders are required to submit a Bid Bond or a certified check made payable to the City of Stone Mountain in the amount of five percent (5%) of the total amount bid. The successful bidder will be required to furnish a contract performance bond and payment bond in the amount of one hundred percent (100%) of the total amount bid ana provide insurance coverage as required by the contract documents. The Bid Bond or certified check must be enclosed in the envelope with the sealed bid. Bonding Company must be licensed to do business in Georgia, licensed to do busi ness by the Georgia Secretary of State, authorized to do business in Georgia by the Georgia Insurance Department, listed in the Department of the Treasury’s Publica tion of Companies Holding Certificates of Authority as Acceptable Surety on Federal Bonds and as Acceptable Reinsuring Companies and have an A.M. Best rating of A-, Class V or higher. The Owner will award the Contract to the lowest responsible and responsive bidder, subject with the Owner’s right to reject any or all bids, to waive technicalities, and to make an award deemed in its best interests. CITY OF STONE MOUNTAIN
