At a community workshop, several residents urged quicker, higher‑quality repairs to potholes and street cave‑ins, and city public works staff outlined why many persistent road failures reflect buried utility problems and complex project prioritization.

Resident John Tinney told officials the city “needs better equipment” and criticized quick shovel patches that fail after rain. “They put a little asphalt in. They pat it with a shovel. That doesn't do anything,” he said.

Public works staff replied that crews perform both temporary and permanent repairs and that many visible failures are cave‑ins caused by failing water, sewer or storm lines below the street. “Most of what you see in the city are cave ins,” Jonathan, a public works engineer, said. He explained crews perform temporary patches to reduce immediate hazards while the utilities division excavates and repairs the underlying pipe.

Jonathan said the city’s asphalt crew patches “20 to 25 potholes a day” and that more permanent repaving must consider the condition of the road base. He estimated the city currently has about $400 million of ongoing projects and that the long‑term need could be substantially higher.

Speakers described a specific, large cave‑in on Stanford Road; staff confirmed the problem likely requires a full pipe replacement between manholes and could become a multi‑day project requiring either in‑house resources or an outside contractor.

Officials described investments in new equipment — notably an “asphalt zipper” purchased to bridge the gap between small patches and a full paving crew — and said staff are prioritizing repairs based on traffic, safety and grant timelines.

Ending: Residents pressed for faster, more durable repairs; city staff said crews are busy and that many surface defects reflect deeper infrastructure failures that require engineering, bidding and funding. Staff requested that residents report persistent defects so crews can prioritize locations for investigation and permanent repair.