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Council backs bidding process for Front Street landscape refresh, flags maintenance tradeoffs
Summary
Soledad council directed staff to proceed with competitive bidding for a Front Street landscape concept presented by Wallace Group. Staff estimated a planning/bid budget of about $300,000 (Measure X) for medians, bulbouts and improved irrigation; council debated long‑term maintenance and potential tradeoffs with pavement maintenance.
The Soledad City Council gave staff general direction Feb. 19 to begin a bidding process for a Front Street landscape refresh after a presentation from public‑works staff and design firm Wallace Group.
Public‑works director Don Wilcox and designers from Wallace Group presented a concept of drought‑tolerant, low‑maintenance plantings for medians, parkways and bulbouts along the downtown corridor. The consultant showed vignettes that emphasized color, pollinator‑friendly plantings and drip irrigation; staff estimated implementation costs in the range of $300,000 and recommended using Measure X funds for planting, soil remediation and irrigation upgrades.
Matt Wilkins, director of landscape architecture at Wallace Group, said the proposal aims to reduce long‑term maintenance needs by favoring drought‑tolerant shrubs, grasses and spaced trees and replacing turf and hedges with consolidated plant masses. Suzanne Baird, a landscape architect with Wallace Group, described a palette of manzanita, sages, agave, carex grasses and other drought‑tolerant species and recommended drip irrigation to avoid overspray in windy conditions.
Council members supported the design direction but pressed staff on long‑term maintenance, tree choice and impacts to sidewalks. Council member Caldera asked whether future tree roots would again lift sidewalks; staff said the recently planted crepe myrtles were selected because they have less aggressive root systems and were approved as part of earlier Front Street construction. Staff acknowledged soil remediation and upgraded irrigation would be part of the estimated cost.
Council members also discussed the budget tradeoffs of using Measure X funds. Staff warned that committing $300,000 toward the landscape project would reduce the city’s pavement‑maintenance budget for the coming fiscal year and could mean skipping a larger pavement preservation project in the summer maintenance season; staff said the city did complete a crack‑sealing program earlier in the fiscal year but that a larger pavement program might be deferred.
After extended questions about maintenance responsibilities and watering (staff said drip irrigation and tree rings would be used), council members directed staff to move forward with the bidding process and return with contract awards for council approval. Staff said they would seek to attract local landscape contractors and present firm cost estimates when bids are opened.
Ending: Council’s direction starts the procurement cycle for a downtown landscape refresh; staff will return with bid results, a maintenance plan and recommended funding adjustments for pavement maintenance and long‑term operations.
