Minutes - Public Works Committee - 04/21/2026

Home

City Engineer/Public Works Director Westby stated staff identified streets in 7 residential areas that would benefit greatly from 2026 skim patching improvements but funds are only available to skim patch 3 to 5 of the areas. Staff therefore proposes to solicit base quotes for areas 1 through 3, and to solicit alternate quotes for areas 4 and 5, thereby allowing the city to spend as much available funding as possible. Chairperson Riley asked how all identified project areas could be funded. City Engineer/Public Works Director Westby replied that he would need to speak with the Finance Director to determine how that could be funded. Chairperson Riley recognized that these would not all be identified if they did not need the work done, so he would like to find a way to fund all identified 2026 skim patching project areas. City Engineer/Public Works Director Westby replied that areas one through four would be $19,000 over the budgeted amount. He provided the cost estimates for areas five through seven, which would add an additional $85,000, leaving a short-fall of over $100,000. Chairperson Riley asked and received confirmation that if the work is not completed this year, it will become a top priority for the next year. Councilmember Olson asked if they are catching up on this, falling behind, or just maintaining. City Engineer/Public Works Director Westby stated that he would not say they are falling behind, as they are just trying to hold roads together until they can be repaired. He stated that overall, we are catching up with road repair needs through the Pavement Management Plan, but we cannot repair all roads that need repairs in the short term. He commented that the skim patching is providing good results and has been holding up well to plowing and traffic. Chairperson Riley stated that he would like to do all the work, but realized there are budget constraints. Councilmember Specht asked about the current bidding climate. Assistant City Engineer Feriancek stated that they have received good bid pricing so far this year, but would expect that they would eventually start to climb up a bit with the increase in fuel costs. City Engineer/Public Works Director Westby commented that he could speak with the Finance Director to determine if they could increase the funding. He asked if there would be a desire to increase that item within the annual budget in order to complete more skim patching each year. Chairperson Riley commented that he would agree with proposing a $50,000 increase to the budget line item for 2027. He stated that he would also support increasing the budget for the item this year, to the extent possible, to complete as much of the work as possible. Public Works Committee / April 21, 2026 Page 3 of 5