Council advances multiple transportation and infrastructure measures, approves mid-block crossing design

Shelton City Council on April 1 moved several transportation and infrastructure items forward and approved design work for a mid-block pedestrian crossing at Oakland Bay Junior High.

The council voted to place on the April 15 action agenda a contract amendment with the Washington State Department of Transportation for annual roadway striping, a contract amendment for design and construction support on a reclaimed water tank, and the authorization to advance grant-funded pedestrian and roadway projects into design and procurement. Separately, the council approved a public-works on-call work order to design and seek bids for a mid-block pedestrian improvement near Oakland Bay Junior High.

Why it matters: the actions preserve funding and permit work that officials say is needed to maintain road markings and leverage state and federal grants for larger roadway and pedestrian improvements. Officials also discussed a ballot proposition to renew a Transportation Benefit District sales tax that funds local street maintenance and matching requirements for grants.

Public works director Jay Harris said the city previously had a multi-year striping contract that became unreliable and that the amendment being considered moves the city to annual billing. “We budgeted around $20,000 to to bid for that work every year,” Harris said, describing a restructured approach after prior service gaps; the full amendment brings the historical contract total to about $103,000.

Assistant public works director Bernard Shaw described a contract amendment with Grana Osborne (Grain Osborne Incorporated) to finalize electrical and SCADA integration, bid support and construction assistance for a satellite reclaimed water tank. Shaw said the amendment includes about $43,661 for final design and roughly $280,000 for construction assistance, and extends the consultant’s contract through June 2026. Council members discussed the tank’s purpose — storing reclaimed water produced at the membrane treatment wastewater plant for irrigation and other nonpotable uses — and asked about capacity increases discussed during the meeting.

Assistant public works director Aaron Nicks said the city combined two pedestrian-safety projects so one grant could serve as a match for another. Nicks said the systemic pedestrian improvements award is about $1.3 million and that, when paired with a Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) grant for repaving, the total committed funds for the corridor approach $5 million. He warned the council that the projects have federal requirements and a tight design-to-construction schedule. “We don’t wanna miss a construction window next year,” Nicks said.

On the mid-block crossing at Oakland Bay Junior High the council adopted resolution 1350-0924 to authorize design and bidding services; city staff identified the site as crash-prone and said visibility improvements and upgraded signage are needed. The design work order is approximately $39,000.

The council also directed staff to place a proposed ballot proposition on the April 15 agenda that would ask voters to renew a Transportation Benefit District sales tax of two-tenths of 1 percent (0.2%) for up to 10 years. City staff said that rate generated roughly $741,169 in 2024 and that those revenues are used for the city’s street fund and as match for grant-funded projects.

What’s next: several of the resolutions were placed on the April 15 action agenda for final consideration and formal approval; the mid-block pedestrian design work order was adopted at the April 1 meeting and staff said they will return with design updates before bidding.