Carmel committee recommends $2.53 million appropriation for street repaving; sends ordinance to full council 4-1

On Monday, July 21, the Finance, Utilities and Rules Committee of the City of Carmel voted 4-1 to send Ordinance D-2774-25 to the full Common Council with a positive recommendation. The ordinance would authorize an additional appropriation of $2,526,702 from the city's general fund (101) to the city property maintenance budget (1206) to support street repaving work.

Committee members heard a detailed presentation from street-department staff about how the city identifies and prioritizes paving work. Matt Higginbotham, street department superintendent, said the department uses an objective pavement-condition index, or PCI, produced from laser scans of the city's 1,440 lane miles. "We partnered with StreetScan in 2022," said Ryan Martin, project manager for the street department. "PCI is definitely more accurate. Just being a 0 to 100 scale already gives you additional steps." Martin described the 2024 rescan, the department's deterioration forecasting in non-scan years and how the city breaks the network into management sections for bidding and construction.

The staff presentation explained how crews inspect and repair inlets, curb, ADA ramps and other concrete work two weeks before paving, how inspectors monitor milling and paving for compaction and correct tonnage, and how the department balances patching, full-depth repairs and treatments such as crack sealing or liquid rejuvenators. Higginbotham said crews aim to avoid paving areas when major utility or development work is expected so the city does not repave roads that will be cut again soon.

Council members pressed staff on several technical and budget questions. The committee heard that Lexington Boulevard would cost roughly $1,100,000 to fully excavate and rebuild to maintain access to homes; staff described a less-extensive test method under consideration that places fabric and a new asphalt surface over an existing concrete base for selected segments. Martin said the method needs longer-term monitoring and that the department will test it before broader use.

Staff also reviewed the city's performance targets and budget modeling. The current citywide PCI averaged about 64.7 on the most recent scan and deterioration estimates; staff said the department is projecting a modest increase to roughly 65.4 after the current program of work. The department has a 10-year goal of a 70 PCI average and modeled that achieving and maintaining that level over the next decade would require roughly $9.25 million annually in paving and preservation work (including a roughly $750,000 preservation line), though exact year-to-year needs vary in the modeling tool. Staff said typical funding sources include the general fund, local road and street dollars and a wheel-tax/surtax component the city expects to be about $3.6 million.

Committee members asked about data trends: staff noted the city has two full scans (2022 and 2024) and will rely on a third scan expected in spring 2026 to refine deterioration curves and long-term forecasts. Staff said the department also uses visual checks and CityWorks service-call data as a quality check before scheduling paving.

After the presentation, a motion to send Ordinance D-2774-25 to the full council with a positive recommendation was moved and seconded. The committee recorded the motion as carrying 4-1. No additional amendments or conditions were included in the committee's motion.

The committee meeting lasted roughly 59 minutes and covered one agenda item: the additional appropriation for city paving.