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Zaragoza Street improvements nearly complete; board reviews landscaping, materials workshop findings
Summary
KCI reported the Zaragoza Street public-improvements project is largely finished; the TIRZ board reviewed landscaping recommendations, tree-well sizing and materials choices from a recent workshop and discussed next steps including a possible ribbon-cutting.
Edward Ochoa of KCI told the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone No. 1 board on May 13 that the Zaragoza Street public improvements are “pretty much complete,” with stone caps and vertical brick installed on the seating wall and finishing touches remaining.
The update matters because the project changes pedestrian spaces downtown and includes plantings, seating and lighting the board expects to see used by residents and visitors. Board members asked for implementation details and next steps so the city can coordinate any ribbon-cutting and closeout work.
KCI showed recent photos of the completed stone caps, seating wall and a small planted area that currently holds crushed granite and a capped irrigation bubbler so the city can add planting later. Ochoa said the project has been used already by passersby and noted the contractor asked whether the board wants a ribbon-cutting so the contractor can do a final wash beforehand.
At a materials-and-landscape workshop the board brought in a landscape architect who recommended a 6-by-6-foot tree-well standard “where possible,” a point the board directed staff to pursue for future blocks. Staff noted constrained locations on Zaragoza where a full 6-by-6 well will not fit and said designers will “think outside the box” for those spots.
Workshop feedback also covered paver crosswalks and color selection. Board members were told lighter-colored pavers in drive lanes darken quickly from tire marks; staff said they may recommend darker pavers or an alternate treatment. Staff said utility and irrigation boxes will be specified in concrete polymer and that the team is researching a rectangular meter box and cover to better maintain levelness where oval water meters have caused settlement issues.
The board also heard cost signals for decorative streetlight poles. A contractor who bid earlier said a fully specified decorative pole with banner, lamp, flood lights and string-light attachment ran about $22,000 each installed; staff said they will price alternate decorative and string-light-only poles and propose additive alternates for bidders so the board can select a feasible combination.
Board members asked staff to coordinate landscaping recommendations back into the Zaragoza plans and to prepare any outreach or ceremonial plans. AEP scheduling for associated electrical work remains in an expected four-to-six-week window; staff said they will continue to follow up with AEP for a firm date.
Less-urgent items discussed included a postponed mural unveiling because of weather and a draft project finance plan that has not yet been submitted to the City Council.
The board did not take formal action on the Zaragoza closeout or workshop recommendations at the meeting; staff were directed to pursue the 6-by-6 tree-well standard where feasible, refine pole and lighting options, and coordinate with the contractor on any ribbon-cutting.
