City staff presented council with a package of proposals to address a growing backlog of street repairs, potholes and related public‑works demands and asked the council to consider adding staff and one‑time funds to accelerate repairs.

The discussion centered on three linked items: a dedicated three‑person street‑repair crew (a repair operator, a service worker and a laborer) plus materials; a roughly $100,000 initial purchase and implementation of a public‑works work‑order and GIS platform; and modest near‑term increases to the capital street and sidewalk program. Melanie (staff member) said a dedicated crew working year‑round could reduce repeat temporary repairs, allow longer, properly milled patches and lower overtime pressure on existing crews. “We believe that we can work with this crew and come up with some great ways,” Melanie said.

Public works manager Jim Bowling (staff member) described how crews now perform many duties — water, sewer, storm, sidewalks, trees, mark‑outs and emergency repairs — and said his crews are stretched thin. Jim told council that from Jan. 1 to June 15 the department recorded roughly 176 asphalt‑repair work orders, about 140 of which were pothole‑specific, and staff have completed about 100 so far. He said better, longer‑lasting repairs (for example, partial‑depth milling plus compacted hot mix and seam sealing) take longer than quick cold patches but pay off over time.

City Manager Dave (staff member) framed the request in the budget context: the city’s income‑tax receipts and reserve balances have improved in recent years, and staff plan to present “bite‑sized bundles” of staffing and capital requests over the summer and fall for council consideration. Dave cautioned that adding permanent payroll raises long‑term obligations and asked council to choose a level of near‑term risk: a “low” package might cost roughly $500,000; a mid option about $1 million; and a larger, faster program would carry correspondingly higher recurring costs. “If you give me this crew? No, I can’t get every street perfect, but we can demonstrate the commitment,” he said.

Staff estimated the one‑time and first‑year cost for the three‑person repair crew and materials at about $450,000 (roughly $350,000 in personnel and about $100,000 in materials). The proposed public‑works software — described as a cloud platform with resident reporting, mobile field access, GIS and work‑order tracking — would cost about $100,000 to acquire and implement in year one, with ongoing licensing fees thereafter.

Council members probed operational and equity questions: how the system would communicate expected timelines to residents, whether it could coordinate upcoming capital projects with private lateral repairs, and whether temporary contractor crews could be hired in the short term to speed larger repairs. Councilmember Roger asked if a larger, one‑time “catch‑up” investment for two years might be preferable to smaller annual increases; staff said they would model options and return with more precise projections.

No ordinance or appropriation was approved at the meeting. Council members generally signaled support for the approach and asked staff to return with a refined cost proposal, potential funding sources and comparative performance targets (for instance, response‑time metrics and expected pavement‑condition improvements) that would let council evaluate risk and outcomes.

Staff said next steps would include: (1) producing a clearer budget estimate for each option (low/medium/high), (2) identifying potential one‑time versus recurring funding sources, (3) developing draft performance metrics, and (4) returning to council before the formal 2026 budget adoption for decisions.

Ending

Council members emphasized that residents perceive road condition as a high priority and that doing a better, longer‑lasting repair is often more effective than repeated temporary fixes. Staff agreed to return with concrete budget options and implementation timelines so council can decide whether to authorize the new crew, the software purchase and any one‑time capital additions.