Eureka council awards $2.18M C Street Bicycle Boulevard contract despite neighborhood outreach concerns

EUREKA — The Eureka City Council voted Tuesday to award a construction contract to RAO Construction Inc. for the C Street Bicycle Boulevard project, approving a low-bid amount of $2,180,180 and authorizing $2,344,000 for construction, which the council said includes an approximately 7% contingency.

Director Willer introduced the item and told council the project is part of the city’s bike master plan and has been on the Capital Improvement Program since 2020. Willer said the project was presented to the Transportation Safety Committee and that outreach included two virtual meetings, an in-person meeting and a tabling event; he cited a virtual meeting on 10/26/2023, another in July 2024 and an in-person meeting in March 2024.

The decision followed a heated public-comment period. Jessica Repholz, a long-time C Street homeowner, said she was “here to formally oppose C Street Bicycle Boulevard as it's currently proposed,” adding that “no one on C Street actually knows this is happening” and that residents received no flyers or mailers. In contrast, resident Brett Groenemeyer said the boulevard would offer a quieter north–south corridor, improve connectivity with existing bike lanes and reduce vehicle speeds.

Council member Fernandez moved to postpone the award to allow more outreach; that motion failed for lack of a second. Council member Castellano then moved to declare RAO Construction Inc. the low bidder for bid number 2025Desk17 and to award the contract; the motion was seconded. After additional discussion about outreach methods and budget priorities, the council recorded three yes votes and two no votes. Council member Fernandez and Council member Contreras Deloach announced they would vote no, citing concerns about the level of direct notification to affected residents and whether the project was necessary in its current scope.

Council members who supported awarding the contract said the project has been part of repeated planning efforts and is grant funded. Castellano noted the construction award concerns procurement (who will build the project) rather than the underlying policy approval, which the council had addressed in prior meetings. Several council members urged immediate steps to improve outreach, including targeted mailings and neighborhood notifications.

The contract award authorizes the city to proceed with construction procurement; staff said the project is covered by an active-transportation grant and is scheduled to move forward subject to contracting steps. The council did not amend the funding totals at the meeting.

Next steps: staff will proceed with contract execution with RAO Construction Inc. and implement additional notification steps for residents along the C Street corridor.