Politics & Government

Fair Oaks Construction: Residents Demand Breakdown of Costs

City Council will also consider a $50,000 marketing plan, which would promote South Pas once construction is over.

Although city staff presented a summary of change orders at the Fair Oaks community meeting Monday, residents continued to ask for more details calling the  a "disaster."

"I think any homeowner that has change orders would certainly look at this very, very carefully, so I think the city owes it to everybody," said and second vice president Ellen Daigle.

"We feel this project has been such—in my mind—a disaster, an unnecessary disaster that we are not really getting much of anything for. So to not know why it's costing us more—I want to know," she added.

Find out what's happening in South Pasadenawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

To view the summary of change orders presented Monday, click on the PDF to the right. 

Residents feel the summary is too vague and would like to see a itemized breakdown of costs and credits within each category, such as crosswalks and irrigation. 

Find out what's happening in South Pasadenawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"These prices are negotiated. It's not like they say $10,000, and we say OK. They are analyzed, and they are looked at," said Deputy Public Works Director Shin Furukawa. "When we have that information, we can certainly provide it. This is just meant as an overview, so obviously it doesn't go into detail."

Resident Mary Urquhart, for example, believes there should be more money credited to the city from American Asphalt. One reason: reimbursement for the time it stored its equipment on Fair Oaks versus an off-site space. 

Furukawa, however, reminded residents that while there are credits due, there are also additional costs for special requests like night work. In the end, residents hope to feel comfortable with the money decisions made throughout the project. 

"There are so many things in this project that make us feel like it wasn't done very well," said Daigle. "So to get sketchy things here isn't very comforting." 

Resident Bob Joe ensured everyone that the Freeway and Transportation Commission will closely examine costs. 

To read about the evolution of the City's Transportation Commission, click here. 

LOOKING FORWARD

President Scott Feldmann took the floor Monday to introduce a $50,000 local marketing campaign that would hopefully help merchants.

"If City Council feels the pressure points on the businesses are indeed so tight—as have been expressed here—and they want a way to offer some relief, the way to do it, perhaps, is to launch a marketing plan to bring business back to South Pasadena once this project is finished," explained Feldmann. 

The campaign would include YouTube videos, radio underwriting, social media networking and banners along Fair Oaks. The proposed plan would use $29,000 from the chamber's existing budget augmented with $20,000 from the City's funds, said Feldmann.

"There's about 20 merchants that we've talked to who are really behind it, and that's just the tip of the iceberg," said Daigle, also mentioning some of the businesses have been down as much as 70 percent during construction.

The next Fair Oaks Construction Corridor community meeting is slated for July 11 at 8 a.m. at  To see a tentative schedule of the remainder of the project, click on the PDF to the right.


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