February 7, 2011 MinutesCITY OF DENTON CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
February 7, 2011
After determining that a quorum was present, the City Council convened in a Work Session on
Monday, February 7, 2011 at 11:30 a.m. in the Council Work Session Room at City Hall.
PRESENT: Council Member King, Council Member Gregory, Council Member Engelbrecht,
Mayor Burroughs, Council Member Watts, and Mayor Pro Tem Kamp.
ABSENT: Council Member Heggins.
1. Receive a report, hold a discussion and provide staff direction on street pavement conditions
and recommended maintenance funding requirements.
Stephen Smith, IMS Infrastructure Services, presented an update on the state of the roadways in
Denton. He stated that the network average was acceptable but the backlog of repair was going
to need work. There was a steady decline in street conditions since 2003. He reviewed where the
money was spent with the most of it going to the surfacing of the roadways.
Concept of pavement management - the concept of pavement management was a balanced
approach among (1) City objectives, policies and budgets; (2) understanding of the condition of
the roadways; and (3) priorities, analysis techniques and reporting.
Why do pavement management - the main reason was to obtain the best roadway at the lowest
cost. Investment in preventative maintenance was more cost effective than reconstruction. After
several rehabilitation cycles, streets still needed to be reconstructed. It was critical to not let
streets deteriorate past their overlay rehabilitation limit as that caused large jumps in costs and
inconvenience. When pavements started to show cracks, rehabilitation was already past due.
Pavement Condition Score - the score was on a 0-100 basis with 100 being really good and 0
being really bad. It was important to intercept roads at the very good to good stage. The
condition rating focused on cracking and rutting; distortions, weathering and flushing; patching
and potholes; and roughness. Denton's network average was 64 and a typical roadway network
was 60-65. Denton did not have a typical distribution of conditions with a big backlog of roads
to work on.
Smith continued with a review of the results by pavement type. Concrete roads were in the
excellent category but most of the asphalt roadways were in the very poor condition. In terms of
Functional Class, the collectors were in the worst condition and comprised 19% of the network.
Residential streets had the highest rating. They also formed the greatest percentage of
reconstructs. Arterials were the most costly. In terms of arterial strength of the roadway network,
many streets came out under strength which meant they could not handle the load that was
required of them. Reasons for that included the street had not been built strong enough to begin
with, there was too thin an overlay or the core was not sufficient.
Looking forward on how to solve the problem there were several factors to consider (1) Funding
was not $0 nor was it unlimited; (2) Denton placed a value on its roadway network; (3) Identify
an annual budget to maintain the current OCI; (4) Examine the effects of the current funding
levels; and (5) Prevent ongoing deterioration in pavement quality.
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February 7, 2011
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Steps to be considered in the process included (1) Step 1 - identify the magnitude of the current
deficit. Considering the overall condition of the network and if there were unlimited funding,
$158 million dollars would be needed. The bulk of those funds would be spent on asphalt road
reconstruction in terms of overlays, surface treatments, and routine maintenance. (2) Step 2 -
estimate annual steady state costs. An estimated annual cost would be $10.6 million. (3) Step 3
- set priorities and operating parameters. Develop predictable models on how the streets would
deteriorate. Put an emphasis on arterials and more emphasis on asphalt over concrete with urban
roads over rural roads. Tailor what each street needed. (4) Step 4 - complete a 5-year budget
analysis. $10 million was needed to stay the way the roads were today, $15 million to get back
to the target score of 69. (5) Step 5 - examine results. Doing nothing was not an option. If
funding was done at the current level, the City would still be behind. $3.9 million did not take
care of any of the backlog but the goals would be met at $10 million per year. It was important
to keep in mind that the figures did not include inflation or network growth.
Recommendations included (1) Target the OCI to be between 65-70 with a backlog under 20%.
This equated to a $13 to $16 million annual budget. (2) maintain an OCI at 63 and a backlog
under 20% equated to a $10 million annual budget. A budget of $3.2 million was inadequate and
resulted in an OCI of 55 with 26% snowballing backlog. (3) Additional long-term funding
needed to be secured. Borrowing/bonding would not provide a full solution due to growth and
inflation. (4) Maintenance only deferred eventual reconstruction. (5) The following business
processes should be reviewed - pavement mix design and specifications, structural cross-section,
constriction inspection and testing, and GIS data management.
Keith Gabbard, Street and Drainage Superintendent, stated that the numbers in the budget did not
include the OCI or work such as sanding, etc.
Council Member Watts asked about the difference between concrete and asphalt.
Smith stated that concrete was about three times as much with the life of concrete 2-1 over
asphalt.
Mayor Burroughs stated that funding was always the issue. Smith was suggesting a large
increase in the General Fund budget.
Smith replied that funding needed to be a process to look at alternatives, select one and proceed.
Mayor Pro Tem Kamp stated that Utilities paid a franchise fee to drive on the roads and asked
how much of that went to repairing or rebuilding roads.
Howard Martin, Assistant City Manager, stated that the current annual expenditure was $13
million with $5 million for streets. At the upcoming Planning Session, staff would be discussing
with Council financing and sources of funding.
Mayor Burroughs asked if the priorities of the roadways included the amount of traffic on the
roads.
Smith stated that was included in OCI figures. He stated that a five-year horizon was to stop the
deterioration and maybe willowing away at the backlog.
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February 7, 2011
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Council Member Watts asked about quality testing on roads.
Tim Fisher, Division Manager-Water Administration, stated that the contractor hired someone to
inspect the roadway as it was being built.
Council discussed the pros and cons of quality testing of the streets and who would be best to do
so.
With no further discussion, the meeting was adjourned at 12:55.
MARK A. BURROUGHS
MAYOR
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS
JENNIFER WALTERS
CITY SECRETARY
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS