Contract awarded for Barry School waterline connection: Yuba City street racing ordinance amended to include forfeiture

Aug. 16—The Yuba City City Council unanimously approved a construction contract with West Valley Construction on Tuesday to carry out a waterline extension project to Barry Elementary School.

According to the Yuba City Unified School District Facilities Master Plan, the school's water system has posed major issues for students and staff over the years and has been long out of compliance.

Barry Elementary was once served by wells, but its close proximity to HSD Trucking posed health risks to students, the Appeal previously reported. In 2014, the school announced that the water had been contaminated with E. coli and arsenic making it undrinkable for students, the Appeal previously reported.

According to a 2016 report by the Environmental Integrity Project on state arsenic levels in water, Barry Elementary's arsenic levels have averaged 50% above the federal limit for arsenic over the previous five years.

Although the school exists outside the incorporated boundaries of Yuba City within Sutter County, neither the county nor any public agency is currently providing water services to the school, the Appeal previously reported.

Public Works Director Ben Moody explained that per agreements with the Local Agency Formation Commission, Yuba City cannot provide water to areas beyond its sphere of influence, but exceptions can be made for agencies facing health and safety concerns.

In order to transfer potable water to the school, the city will construct an additional water line connected to an existing line on Railroad Avenue from Bogue Road. Construction will include the installation of approximately 6,160 linear feet of 3-inch water service pipe, 3,080 linear feet of 14-inch water main, 3,470 linear feet of 12-inch water main and 7,720 square feet of asphalt paving, the city said.

The waterline extension project went to bid on June 1, and the city received two low bids from Newland Entities, Inc. and West Valley Construction for $3.5 million and $3.7 million respectively.

While Newland Entities was the apparent low bidder, it failed to meet solicitation requirements of a state funding agreement prior to the project's bid opening and city staff determined that the company's bid was non-responsive. A construction contract was instead awarded to West Valley Construction.

Because of the scale of this project, the city also awarded a professional services agreement for construction management and inspection services to MHM, Inc. in May worth over $211,000. This agreement includes a 20% contingency to account for potential overtime due to time-sensitive work. The city will be billed for actual costs, officials said.

The total estimated cost of this project is $4.6 million. City officials are also engaged in a funding agreement with the California Water Board's Drinking Water State Revolving Fund for a total project cost of $2.3 million.

Staff has submitted a request to amend the funding agreement based on the costs outlined above. The state has advised that the amendment will take 120 days to process and that awarding a construction contract is necessary to process the amendment. Full principal forgiveness will be included with the amended funding agreement, the city said.

As listed in the agreement, the city will pay for these costs with the intent of being reimbursed by state funding. Yuba City Unified has also agreed to make payments for the water service to the city upon completion of the project, the Appeal previously reported.

While the district will be responsible for incurred fees later on, the construction and implementation of the project will have no fiscal impact on Yuba City Unified, district officials said previously.

Moody anticipates starting construction by spring 2024 and completing it by that summer.

Street racing ordinance

The Yuba City City Council unanimously approved an amendment to a current street racing ordinance, declaring these activities a nuisance and subjecting vehicles to impoundment or civil forfeiture.

According to Yuba City Police Sgt. Bill Williams, since February 2021, there have been around 17 calls for service involving street racing and side show events in Yuba City, which reportedly have drawn hundreds of spectators — including teenagers and small children — and placed them in close proximity to reckless driving.

Williams said that these racing events are typically organized by local groups, but attract out-of-area participants from Sacramento and the Bay Area.

These calls for service have included incidents of vehicle pursuits, reckless driving, hit-and-run collisions, and vandalism and have led to multiple arrests and injuries, the city said. In April, a group of street racing onlookers reportedly prevented officers from assisting in a reckless driving vehicle pursuit and significantly damaged a police vehicle.

According to city officials, Yuba City's current street racing ordinance does not not have the latest enforcement mechanisms to address side show events and associated spectators or participants, which inhibits enforcement efforts.

The updated ordinance defines spectators and participants in the context of street racing, identifies street racing and side shows as a public nuisance and allows for the impounding or forfeiture of vehicles repeatedly violating this ordinance.

California's current vehicle code allows law enforcement to impound vehicles for up to 30 days if a driver is arrested for reckless driving. Including forfeiture under Yuba City's street racing ordinance will serve as a deterrent for outside participants and frequent violators, Williams said.

"If we continuously have an issue with the same subject and the same vehicle and we're giving this individual citation after citation, the police department has received information that these individuals would rather just pay a fine and go along their merry way," Williams said. "If we have a little more teeth in the ordinance, that allows us to forfeit that vehicle. That's a really big incentive not to come back to our community and do this again."

After a final determination of forfeiture, the vehicle is ultimately sold and proceeds are disseminated to reimburse charges that occur during a reckless driving incident, Williams said.

This ordinance amendment will be in effect by mid-September, the city said.