O, the Places You’ll Pave: Humboldt Approves Year One of Road Overhaul

Stock photo of Humboldt County Department of Public Works road crew conducting paving work on Mattole Road.

Humboldt County has approved a plan for the first year of Measure O road projects spending, which totals $24 million.

The specifics of Measure O spending were detailed by Public Works Director Tom Mattson during a June 9 Board of Supervisors hearing on the county budget.

The Measure O sales tax is expected to generate $27 million a year in revenue, with 85 percent of it to be used for upgrading county roads. The rest will be spent on public transit services.

Measure O’s first year of roads spending will include grant matches that will leverage outside funding for a variety of road improvement projects, including on Alderpoint, Mattole and Shively roads, and the Honeydew Bridge.

Road resurfacing projects in the first year plan include three segments of Alderpoint Road and, in the north county area, Jacoby Creek Road, Patricks Point Drive and Myrtle Avenue in the Indianola area.

Segments of Old Briceland and Mattole roads, and Redway Drive are included in a list of second tier projects that will be done if any of the priority projects face unexpected delays.

Board Chair Michelle Bushnell said she’s “gotten some calls already” from residents of areas like Shelter Cove who asked why roads in their areas aren’t on the projects lists.

She asked Mattson if “there’s a way so that we can answer questions of people if they have them – do you know what the second year looks like?”

Mattson described longer range forecasting as iffy.

“We can estimate the second year but based on any given winter, that could completely change,” he said, adding that software program analysis is “generally going to tell us what I’ve been telling you for years – we need to maintain our good roads in good shape and pick up the bad ones a little bit at a time.”

He added that road projects are chosen under a “scientific process” but it can’t account for curveballs.

“I can present a much longer plan but I can tell you that it will be very hazy after year one because so much changes every year. If it’s a perfect world, I could predict you a five year plan,” Mattson said. “But I don’t know – if I get a big equipment breakdown, I’m going to need to move money. If we have major storm damage, I’m going to need to move money.”

One thing Mattson can assure is that Measure O revenue will allow something the county’s been talking about for years – ongoing funding for a continuous road improvement program.

“This is not a magic solution to the entire road system but it is a huge shot in the arm which will finally give us a surfacing program every year instead of a throw of the dart,” he said. The $24 million of first year spending is divided into various pots of spending — $2.5 million will be for winter storm damage repairs, $4 million will pay for grant matches, $9 million for surfacing, $6 million for personnel, equipment maintenance and materials, and $1.6 million mostly for ADA-compliant curbsides and ramps.

Supervisor Mike Wilson vouched for spending on multi-modal Complete Streets projects but said he’s still “very impressed” by the plan.

So is Supervisor Steve Madrone, who described Measure O as a reliable source of ongoing funding.

“The good news that we’re going to just continuously tell people is ‘thank you’ — we now have funding to actually make progress on everything over time,” he said. “Give us 50 years and we’ll get to your road, give us 10 years, we’ll get to your road.”

Earlier in the hearing, supervisors heard a presentation from the county’s legislative lobbying consultants on upcoming state and federal budgets, including potential local funding impacts.

Madrone noted that Measure O is “our money, the state and the feds can’t touch it,” which he described as “an incredible aspect given all the news we heard from the feds and the state lobbyists about where things are at – well, this one we don’t have to worry about, one we can program, we can budget for.”

Along with the roads spending plan, supervisors approved using Measure O to cover costs of staffing to administrate the new source of funding and its projects.

Also during the day’s budget hearings, supervisors approved a $500,000 contribution from American Rescue Plan Act funding for potential creation of a child care facility for county employees.

The first step will be a feasibility study that will assess the costs and benefits of doing it.

County staff was also directed to return with a budget plan for county parks and trails, whose current funding was described as being too sparse to allow parks to remain open through this summer.

The county budget is set for approval on June 24.