City staff updated the Clearlake City Council Nov. 6 on the Burns Valley/Arrowhead/Olympic Drive pavement project and asked the council to delay awarding the construction contract until state authorization is received. Staff said the project scope is repaving only and does not include subsurface work such as trenches, vaults or culverts.

A staff presenter responded to a letter from the Koi Nation and noted that the nation had filed a lawsuit challenging the city’s environmental review for this project; staff said that lawsuit was dismissed by a judge for lack of merit. Staff also summarized the city’s archaeological review, noting that while subsurface excavations could impact intact archaeological deposits, the current repaving plans do not propose work below the level of imported road base and therefore would not trigger the subsurface impacts described in the archaeologist’s report.

"Subsurface excavation extending below the level of imported road base . . . may impact intact archaeological deposits," staff read from the archaeologist’s report, "however the plans for the road were never proposed to go below the road base, and so were not a concern."

Members of the public raised concerns that paving without concurrent drainage fixes on sections of Arrowhead and Olympic Drive could leave recurring damage and questioned whether paving alone is the best use of funds for areas with known drainage problems. Staff said drainage elements were removed from this scope to avoid delays associated with unresolved issues and that the city is awaiting state signature to proceed with awarding the repaving contract. The council did not award the contract and staff will return with the state sign-off on a future agenda.

Action taken: no award; item tabled pending state authorization.

Why this matters: the project affects local road condition and emergency access along Olympic Drive, Arrowhead and Burns Valley and touches on tribal consultation and archaeological review. Residents expressed concern that pavement without drainage improvements may have limited longevity on some segments.

Key quote

"In order to provide clarity, our project archaeologist noted subsurface excavation could impact intact archaeological deposits; however the plans for the road were never proposed to go below the road base," staff said. "This project is a simple repaving project. It will not be any work below the road base."