Florence paving program gains traction
FLORENCE — Discussion about creating a department that would do the city’s paving appears to be gaining momentum with councilmembers saying they are interested in Mayor Ron Tyler’s proposal.
Amid frustration over learning the Pine Street paving project would take several weeks to complete rather than the week city officials had hoped for, Tyler called it an example of why Florence should create its own paving department.
He said the city could do so more economically than contracting paving work to private firms.
“It is time for us to begin moving forward with the purchase of some paving equipment,” Tyler said. “Without a single additional dollar, and using our current level of funding, which is about $3.8 million a year, we could pave more than we do now.”
Tyler said $2.5 million from the city’s general fund and approximately $1.3 million from gas tax revenue pay for the $3.8 million paving program.
Contracting the work out allows the city to do 8 to 10 miles of paving a year, he said. “When we get a crew hired and trained, we could pave 25 miles of roadway per year or more.”
Florence first must purchase equipment. Tyler said the latest estimate is it would cost $2.985 million to purchase the commercial grade equipment.
Based on job descriptions from other cities, it would cost about $495,000 annually for salaries and benefits for a crew of 12 to 13 workers.
Council member Jackie Hendrix said Florence is responsible for approximately 250 miles of streets and some go decades between pavings.
“Currently, we are paving 8 to 10 miles per year, so we’re on a 25- to 30-year paving cycle, and that is not sustainable. By buying our own paving equipment, we would be able to pave enough to be on a 10-year cycle.
Hendrix pointed out major road projects likely would still be bid out, but neighborhood streets that are in bad shape and all the short streets would fall in city control.
“It’s a game changer for the city and I commend the mayor for thinking outside the box and offering this solution,” he said of the mayor’s proposal.
Hendrix said contractors often are pulled off paving city streets to do state projects.
“Even budgeting $3 million to $4 million per year on paving, it’s not all getting spent because all the contractors are not showing up,” he said. “Paving is the number one call that I get, and it’s all six districts.”
Council President Kaytrina Simmons said she is open to learning more about the idea.
“That would be something new,” Simmons said. “I want to hear the pros and cons about it. If that would mean we could get more streets paved, I am open to looking further and having deeper conversations. We keep a lot on main streets paved but people where they live and travel day to day, need streets paved as well.”
