Mayor Craig Ford is on record as saying there are three priorities for Gadsden residents: a July 4 fireworks show, a Christmas parade and getting the city's streets paved.
The latter can be confirmed by scrolling through the city's social media accounts on a given day, as every news announcement, no matter how large or small, seems to draw constant replies of “What about the streets?”
On Tuesday, the City Council took a step toward improving that situation by approving the hiring of Brett Watts, a longtime local contractor and asphalt paving specialist, as a consultant and superintendent for a planned in-house paving crew for the city.
Ford said during the pre-council work session that getting that crew in place and acquiring the necessary equipment will be a priority in the city's Fiscal Year 2024-25 budget.
The mayor said he and Heath Williamson, the city's director of engineering, have been discussing the idea for months, exploring whether it would be “feasible and fiscally responsible” to have an in-house paving crew, as Gadsden did years ago before turning to bidding out street projects.
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“In the past, the city would pass a paving contract and divide it out per district, maybe one or two per district,” Ford said. “But with such a small contract, whoever received it would put it on the back burner until they got caught up on their big highway projects, then go pave a street here or there.”
An in-house crew would not only save the city 20% to 30% on what its currently spending on paving, the mayor said, “It would let us pave roads quicker because we wouldn't have to bid them. We can say, 'Here are the eight roads that are in the most need of paving now,' and go get them.”
He said city officials also have consulted with another longtime local contractor, Tim McCartney, who told them they'd probably break even on the expense, “but we can pave faster and when we want to, and that's A-OK with me.”
A recent GPS study assessed the condition of all of Gadsden's streets, and Ford said paving will be priortized on a “worst to first” basis, not by district.
Williamson said Watts grew up working in his family's business, which was recently purchased by a larger corporation.
“He's basically retired,” Williamson said, “but he still loves to pave asphalt and I've had some great conversations with him. He's willing to come on board (and help us through) the process of bringing in the right folks and acquiring the right equipment. He's going to take the expertise he's made his living by and use it for us.”
Ford said the budget numbers are conducive to purchasing the paving equipment that will be kept at the city's Fleet Management department. However, the paving crew will be city employees in the Engineering Department, and Watts will supervise them as a 1099 independent contractor.
Until the in-house crew is operational, the city will continue bidding street projects, and Williamson said bids on eight streets are likely to be finalized next week.
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: City of Gadsden signals plans for in-house street paving crew
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