Tehachapi City Council Update

At the Jan. 17 City Council meeting, Development Services Director Jay Schlosser again addressed the issue of the delayed completion of the road work that began on Valley Blvd. last May. Weather and survey errors had caused delays in the project and costs to exceed the budget. At the Nov. 7 meeting, the Council approved a change order increasing approved budget overages to $160,000 to be billed on a time and materials basis. After the holiday season, it was obvious that the approved increase was insufficient to complete the project. Based on work completed and recent weather projections, the City Council approved an additional increase to $239,000. Schlosser said that pavers were due to pave on Wednesday, Jan. 19, hopefully before another rain delay.

City Council member Kenneth Hetge requested that the Council consider the live broadcast of City Council Meetings. Other local communities like Golden Hills are currently using multimedia in an effort to bring information to those who are unable to attend meetings. Hetge said that with the price of electronics and associated equipment continuing to fall, he felt that the service to citizens would outweigh the cost of the equipment. Councilman Phil Smith agreed saying that the last time they addressed the issue, it was felt that it would not be cost effective; but now that costs have decreased, he would like to address is issue again. As a result, the Council instructed City staff to look into the matter and confer with Tehachapi Unified School District with whom they share the Wells Education Center meeting room.