Lemoore Council votes to remove trees, replace damaged sidewalks on Fox Street

City Council May 2 Agenda

According to Lemoore Public Works Director Nathan Olson, that part of Fox Street – between Cinnamon and Hanford Armona Road – will soon get a makeover, and what a makeover. Olson told council members at Tuesday night’s regular meeting that the condition of the sidewalks has deteriorated enough to warrant city action – and that would include spending upwards of $285,000 to fix the problem.

This tree on Fox Street has caused extensive damage to the sidewalk.

“Fox Street has become a very hot topic on my desk,” Olson told councilmembers Tuesday night, adding that that portion of Fox is heavily traveled. “It’s a huge walking area. There have been a lot of complaints regarding the condition of the sidewalks.”

Olson detailed the damage including trees uplifting sidewalks. “Those trees have damaged curb and gutter and sidewalks,” he said. The root cause of the problem are roots – the kind that over the years manage to grow beneath or adjacent to the sidewalks, forcing them up. Most of the sidewalks between Cinnamon and Hanford Armona Road have experienced uplifting. “There are some serious trip hazards,” he added.

The key to fixing the problem, said Olson, is removing about 70 trees and fixing the sidewalks. Councilmembers decided to award the bid for the massive project to Packaging Pro Tech, Inc. also known as Rockeez Engineering in the amount of $285,025 for the base bid, plus an additional $15,000 in contingency funds.

The project’s scope is impressive, and in addition to removing 70 trees, the city will replace upwards of 11,000 square feet of sidewalk and make 485 linear feet of curb and gutter repairs. The city will utilize $150,000 from the Local Transportation Share Fund as well as handicap street funds for $150,000.

“Seventy trees? How long will this take,” asked Mayor Ray Madrigal. Olson said the work may take upwards of 60 days to complete. Councils members approved the project by a vote of 3-1 with only Councilmember Holly Blair objecting. Councilmember Eddie Neal was ill.

Another part of Lemoore is expected to get some extensive repairs as well. Olson told councilmembers that the Cimmaron Park development – located on the west side of Highway 41, annexed into Lemoore when the city brought the west side of Highway 41 into the city – is in dire need of repairs. He told members that the sanitary sewer infrastructure is failing and beyond its useful life, and it is going to cost the city $1,389,752, work that Rockeez Engineering will do.

Fortunately, the project is an important part of the city’s five-year Community Investment Plan and the funding is available.

In his report to council, Olson said that the Cimmaron Park sewer pipes were simply beyond their useful life. Groundwater has been detected seeping into the sewer line and the existing asbestos concrete pipe has intrusion from crown rot, roots, debris and open sections.

One solution is to replace the entire sewer line, or instead, install something called Cure in Place Piping (CIPP) manufactured by Perma-Liner. Installation of CIPP is more cost effective and it is an epoxy resin liner that forms inside the existing pipe and allows for seamless transitions and increased flows.

Rockeez Engineering is the only certified installer of Perma-Liner for the San Joaquin Valley.