Engineers outline long design timelines; council presses city on pothole maintenance and drainage funding

David Smith, the city engineer, briefed the committee on street projects funded since 2019 and described typical timelines for design and procurement; council members raised concerns about pothole repairs, staffing shortages and drainage money running low.

Smith said a typical roadway design takes "5 to 6 months" and that the entire process, including designer acquisition and contracting, can be "18 months plus before you saw us go to construction." He listed several 2019-era projects and current work: Lynnwood Phase 3 going to construction this month, Nicholson Street wrapping up, David Raines projected to be complete in July, and a collectors-and-arterials DOTD project recently beginning design. He told the committee the city has used master-service agreements to reduce the time to acquire designers but said procurement and scheduling constraints still lengthen timelines.

Council members repeatedly pressed for faster maintenance responses. Streets and Drainage staff and Jarvis (department representative) told the committee they are running short-staffed (several crew members out injured or on workers' comp), operate a pothole truck daily and use rental or contract resources for some drainage work. Staff acknowledged drainage funds are low and that some immediate flooding locations (noted by council members) — including Yarborough/Upper Parkwood, Bonnie and Gaines, Andrew, Michigan, and Crossway Boulevard — need prioritized attention. Council members requested specific cost estimates for drainage cleanups and urged weekly or biweekly coordination to accelerate maintenance while larger design projects continue through procurement and bidding. No new maintenance funding was approved during the meeting.