Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure Pavement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council approves Gray & Osborne design contract for pavement management in neighborhoods with failed slurry seal work
Summary
Newcastle City Council approved Resolution 2025‑1020 on Jan. 7 to hire Gray & Osborne for design work on a pavement management project that staff says will address streets that previously received a deficient slurry seal.
The Newcastle City Council on Jan. 7 approved Resolution 2025‑1020 contracting Gray & Osborne Inc. to perform engineering design for the city’s pavement management project covering streets previously slurry‑sealed.
Council member Scott Schrock moved the resolution and the motion was seconded; a voice vote followed and the resolution passed. Council discussion before the vote focused on the project scope, earlier workmanship problems with slurry seal, and how the city selects engineering consultants. "The pavement management program is a capital maintenance program. That's the biggest asset the city has is the streets," a staff member said during the discussion, explaining the project uses a pavement condition index to prioritize streets for overlay.
Staff told the council the adopted 2025 budget authorizes $900,000 for construction of the listed streets and said the engineering design fee is about $65,000; staff also described the overall corridor or program cost in the meeting as on the order of multiple millions. The agenda packet identified the streets targeted for overlay (including areas originally slurry‑sealed in 2020) and staff noted the work is intended to redo areas where the prior slurry seal workmanship failed.
Councilors asked procedural questions. Quigg, the newest council member, said he appreciated staff’s email responses and asked about how invoices and vendor selections are reviewed. In response, staff explained that in Washington state engineering firms are selected on qualifications rather than a price bid and that Gray & Osborne was selected from the state consultant roster because of prior work with the city.
Why it matters: The contract starts the design phase for repaving streets that residents said were damaged by a poor slurry seal application in 2020; design is a necessary step before city construction funding is spent.
What happened in the meeting: Council member Schrock moved to approve Resolution 2025‑1020 creating a design contract with Gray & Osborne Inc.; the motion carried by voice vote. The council also approved the audited bills earlier in the meeting (see votes roundup).
Ending: Staff said the design work will allow the city to develop construction cost estimates and schedule the physical paving in coming years.
