Oakdale will renovate police building. Second project helps pedestrians near high school
The Oakdale City Council agreed Monday night to renovate the police building and to make walking and biking easier around the high school.
Both votes were 5-0.
The police building at 245 N. Second Ave. will get $2.6 million worth of work by November. This includes improved security where suspects are detained and where patrol cars are parked. Areas for dispatch and record storage will be upgraded.
The project will move the public lobby around the block to a more convenient location next to Oakdale City Hall, on North Third. Worn lumber and concrete on the facade will be repaired, as will the cracked pavement in the parking lot.
“The current parking (lot) does not contain a security gate, allowing anyone to enter the parking lot and have open access to police vehicles.” said a report from Patrick Mondragon, assistant to the city manager. “It also provides an opportunity for prisoners to escape should they be able to break free before booking.”
Lumber prices raise concern
The council briefly discussed delaying the project because of the recent run-up in lumber prices, related to COVID-19. It decided to move ahead.
“It obviously needs to be done,” Councilman Fred Smith said. “The facility is falling apart, and it’s not going to repair itself.”
The work will be done by CNW Construction of Rescue, El Dorado County, the lowest of the three bidders. The money will come from three funds devoted to upgrading city buildings.
The city also will install solar panels atop parking spaces in a separate project. They will generate power while protecting computer equipment inside patrol cars.
Slowing cars on G Street
The pedestrian/bicycle project will take place on 11 blocks of G Street between Yosemite and Wood avenues.
The $1.37 million project includes a mid-block crosswalk with flashing beacons in front of Oakdale High School. The entire stretch will get 35 sidewalk ramps for wheelchair users.
The project also will bring 22 “bollards”, or posts, to protect walkers and bicyclists from cars, along with a few “bump-outs” where people cross streets.
All of the asphalt road surface will be replaced. The existing roundabout at the campus’s east end will remain.
The work will be done by United Pavement Maintenance of Hughson, the lowest of three bidders. It is scheduled to take two months, before the fall semester begins.
The city got a $658,000 grant from the federal Active Transportation program. The other $708,468 is from the Measure L sales tax approved by Stanislaus County voters in 2016.
