Public Works Committee Discusses Utility Work Notification Ordinance on February 9, 2026

The quick history, the goal of this, um, and also should acknowledge um we're joined today by councilman chairman Oscar Vargas, and you voted with us, Chairman Public Works Committee.

Um the purpose of this, uh, and we used where I introduced us um over a year ago, um, was to address something that I've seen and I I've heard from many of my colleagues from the um what happens when all of the utilities um go into our woods and sidewalks to do utility work.

We're really just trying to make sure that as that's happening, our neighbors, our constituents have transparency about what's happening, and that as a city we're asking to make sure that folks have a plan.

This is for all non-emergency work.

Um for just like that they they have some sort of plan for notifying residents that the work is gonna happen.

There's some plan um for how they're gonna clean up at the end of the day, um, and a timeline for some restoration of any any property that they've damaged or touched.

Um we've discussed this previously, but I think we all have examples of this in our boards.

Um share, you know, one street in my board, though I have like 20 of these examples.

Um the road was open for so long and people were giving the workers were leaving tools and stuff on people's yards and in the street, people popped multiple tires, they didn't have a recourse for what to do about it.

Um we didn't have there was no plan though for having it.

So this just creates like a a simple and I'll explain what's happened where it's been amended since this was first introduced, but just requires notice to go out for um any non-emergency work and then asks the utilities to provide a plan.

DPW doesn't need to like exhaustively review these plans, it doesn't add a lot of work.

The goal is that it doesn't add a lot of exhaustive work to DPW, which does we've received these plans.

So then if there is a failure to submit a plan or failure to follow through with the plan, um and our roads are left in disarray um for a long period of time the way that affects our constituents, there are some formal recourse that we can take.

Um I will note a few things we've changed.

One is that um because of uh good conversations with Chris and Grove's water.

Um while they are not exempted from this ordinance, they are exempt from fines and fees because they're a public entity and we don't want to impose a fee that then we should be services to our constituents.

Um we also really were recognizing the vote on DPW and the importance of timeline and these projects forward, many of which are important for health and safety, like the word work to replace the lead.

So an amendment you've seen since or you should see since last time is there's no required like public hearing from the council will receive the list of the projects that are going through things like we do the raise permits.

Um we'll have access to that on our agendas.

Um and then um yeah, those this amended version is really much kind of like streamlined process to make sure we're getting the information we need, we're requiring the information we need, but not putting any unnecessary grades in there.

I'll also note that we have that the ordinance will go into effect on September 30th.

This is to give the administration time um after the budget cycle to um put the processes in place to like make this work seamlessly.

So we want to make sure that DPW that the engineering team has the time they need to um get this ongoing.

So uh are there any comments or questions from committee members or from council and bargains?

Um this is uh really good words.

Um here if it was introduced.

Um because this is a concern that we hear from our neighbors um from time to time.

Well, I know at least uh the perception that they see is you know unnecessary work or redoes folks not on the same timeline.

So I think this word is as a very uh clear, transparent uh accountability mechanism in place.

Um works for a soon appreciate uh the work uh you did to go through this portal.

Thank you.

Um, one other quick thing I'll say, which I forgot to add is one of the things, sorry, I had my notes and I forgot them.

That's what's gonna be asked.

Um, one of the other minor changes was an um described dude to Cox and Verizon um for walking through the process they do for um when they have requests to add um internet services or other cables.

It's a very short process that disturbs like very little.

So there is like a if a project's gonna be less than 48 hours, if it's not going to disturb very much, there is a more streamlined uh uh process for that.

Um thank you.

Uh is this ordinance replacing or supplying any currently existing plans?

So this ordinance is updating a really good old um ordinance that was already on the books requiring some of this planning to go to the department of planning.

And when I was trying to figure out when I was getting a lot of complaints from my residents about the roads and the work, um we looked up this ordinance was like, oh, we have something on the books, like what's going on, and I called like planning, they were like, no, this isn't it's both not that this process isn't happening, and also it doesn't make sense for this to go through planning, like planning doesn't need to be getting this kind of information, they're not the ones like issuing the permanence or doing any of that.

So it was on the books, um less detailed requirements, but there was something on the books, which is amending that um, but it wasn't quite the in my view, it wasn't quite the right process, and it was going through um the planning department, uh which is not the home right we took the workflows.

Thank you for that.

And a follow-up question is one concern I heard about the lack of adequate limit when work is going to be done.

And I love to know historically how that has been addressed and how it's like in fact.

Yeah, so this does in um section D here under part two, um, say that the residents need to be noticed, uh given written notice 30 days in advance, and then again within like 48 to 72 hours.

Um, and I did speak with um a lot of the utilities to see what their current practice was, and it's it's a mix.

Um, and I spent some time with the utility to ask them what they're already doing.

Kind of funny thing happened in the middle of the year because I got a written notice in mid-December that in the prior October they were gonna do Robert on my street.

That's like it's up, like it came in the mail of like smart your calendar October 15, 2025.

And it's like that was two months ago, like that already happened.

So that was one of the primary concerns I was hearing from folks.

They like I had a number of constituents and maybe you had as well, try to leave for work in the morning, and then it got no notice that the roads would be torn up, and they got stuck in their driveways, and they were like, How am I supposed to get to work?

Like we have we started at seven, I was supposed to get 7:30.

Um, so just any uh prior notice would be councilman Markins, Chairman.

Yes, uh, thank you very much, yeah.

So the notice would send to the whole block of the area or to hold the it would go to the folks who are affected, yeah.

So the way it's written is that it would go anyone who's gonna be disturbed by the by the work by the work would get a notice.

Can I have a second question?

Oh, of course, yeah.

So drawing water is changed in the lead bike.

Yeah, which is great.

But it's not water trucks, which don't as a subcontract.

Yeah.

Is this contract has to do the same thing?

Yeah, it says utility company or affiliated company.

Well, you're right, but sometimes they leave they they use a portable toilet.

Sometimes they leave the photo right in the middle of the sidewalk.

Yeah, back in the sidewalk.

Someone sometimes they leave the the back or on the sidewalk, black in the sidewalk.

Yeah.

Well, sometimes they need a uh tools on the sidewalk.

Yeah.

So they they show you also a little button spot in the stream.

Yeah, leave the sidewalk free.

Yeah.

Um, another question they have.

I don't know if you noticed uh we have a lot of half uh telephone polls coming in.

Yeah.

So we should find out who wants these telephone polls.

Yeah.

Could be Verizon, could be class.

Well, could be nice.

Um another question they have I don't know if you notice uh we have a lot of half uh telephone poles hanging yeah so we should find out who wants these telephone poles yeah could be Verizon could be class or could be nice uh could be like energy so the other day the administration was talking about um uh live was uh public life or lifestyle something like oh um quality life quality life yeah so I want to be dreaming with these poles every day see those every you go by you see at least every black is a port and yeah yeah yeah and so that's something that we need to find out who who's responsible for is it's time for them to start taking those away or take the lines if that line belongs to Verizon yeah remove the line put into the new pole same way with the cats communication remove the line put it to a new pole and take the pole away because it's it's no that's a really good idea that's one we should work on and so then you see the pole hanging almost uh it's going to fall but it doesn't fall because it's it's it's like stuck on the line it's whole yeah it's all by the line yeah yeah that's a really good point I've seen that we work with you um it's it's a good ordinance like it's it's not it's not changing a lot is like more uh common sense yeah just asking for plans not to like prescribing what the plan has to be just that there is a plan so there's no like tools left on sidewalks or my neighborhood they need tools on yards you know it's just like it's not uh it's not a cost expensive to the contractor a lot of money will cause them to communicate to the residents well they will need to communicate so that is something that they'll have to they'll have to do thank you any other questions we can remember did folks have time so we don't call it comment schedule for tonight's meeting but I do want to make sure Chris is here that folks uh read or comments uh so I appreciate that how many number should have um so folks had a second and then um when she has a moment with a letter I will show you oh oh yeah we haven't we don't have to like comment on the channel I'm sorry yeah that's why I make sure I'm taking a minute to read your phone just because it's not agenda um I should not do that yes um sorry before you take that uh the you know that we have sidewatch projects too right coming up yeah is this will be affected they have to do the same they had to notify the the the whole that's a good question it's not for city departments it's not for DPW but if you don't have a board or sidewalk is the contractor it will be like uh would they be because this is for a utility company with a related company could we classify how we can find each other sidewalks