DIXON, CA (MPG) - During the July 15 Dixon City Council meeting, Councilmember Kevin Johnson pulled an item from the consent calendar regarding a contract with Brown & Caldwell for preparation of Chromium VI Compliance Plan for the city, as required by California state law. 

The California State Water Resources Control Board adopted a new maximum contaminant level (MCL) for Chromium VI of 10 parts per billion to reduce toxicity in drinking water. The new regulations went into effect in October 2024 and the city must submit a compliance plan by this October and implement treatment within three years. 

Staff requested a budget amendment of $33,850 to cover the cost for the consultant to complete the compliance plan. 

“This is actually an item that’s for the sole purpose of keeping us where we need to go, going forward with our responsibilities related to Chrome VI,” Johnson said. “There’s a lot that’s going on in the background related to a cooperative legal fund fight that we’re doing with a number of other communities” to address the “unfunded state mandate for Chrome VI.”

The city attorney said the state water board filed an answer to the petition instead of a challenge, which means the litigation will move forward without interruption. 

Johnson said that the petition could provide “increased opportunity to potentially have grant funding toward the implementation of Chrome VI.” He wanted the public to know there is “aggressive activity going on to thwart what, without action, would have been an implementation of multimillion dollars. So we’re working on it.” 

The council voted to approve the contract and the consent calendar. 

City Council then considered the Five-Year Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for Fiscal Years 2025-2026 through 2029-2030.

The Capital Improvement Program outlines construction projects to rehabilitate existing city facilities or build new ones to accommodate planned growth. 

Junior engineer Jordan Santos said that the city is taking a more pragmatic approach to the Capital Improvement Program by only including projects with funding already secured, whether through rate structures, impact fees, state or federal grants, etc.

There are approximately 45 projects included in the Capital Improvement Program, totaling $68 million over five years. 

One project newly added this year is a Distribution System Flushing Program, which will allow for better maintenance of the water system and significantly reduce water loss. 

“With the state’s incentive for water conservation and trying to minimize water loss, we feel this is a good investment of our funds in order to try and meet those goals,” said Santos.

Councilmember Jim Ernest asked for an update about the project to expand the police station. City Manager Jim Lindley said the project “is currently hung up” on a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) funding requirement that the elevator size must accommodate a full-size gurney. 

The city requested a waiver, stipulating that a gurney can be removed through the planned stairwell. But if the waiver is not approved, “we’re going to have to either redesign or decide whether or not we’re going to take the money,” said Lindley. “Because it might cost us more money to use that money than not.” 

Councilmember Johnson asked about plans for Fire Station 82, which are no longer included in the Capital Improvement Program. Santos explained that it’s still an active project but there is no secured funding at this time. 

During public comments, a resident spoke about a bikeway improvement project along West A St., listed in the Capital Improvement Program for implementation in 2027 with a $912,000 budget. He said cars drive at high speeds along that road, and if the bike lane is only designated through additional striping, riders might still feel unsafe and choose to ride on the sidewalk instead. He suggested getting input from bicyclists before moving forward. 

The council requested that staff make some corrections to the Capital Improvement Program draft and bring it back at a future meeting for approval. 

The council also continued its discussion about adding either a turn lane or a roundabout to improve access to businesses on the north side of West A Street.  

Recent road improvements by the Homestead developers required the installation of a center median, which councilmembers said was now impeding access to the Wienerschnitzel restaurant.

It was mentioned that drivers have to drive out of the way and make a U-turn or, more often, drivers are cutting through the adjacent AM/PM gas station, causing a safety hazard for pedestrians. 

City engineer and Utilities Director Christopher Fong said that it would cost $20,000 for traffic study and design, and construction of a left turn lane was estimated at $125,000. A roundabout at Whispering Way could cost $650,000 and would require the acquisition of portions of adjacent properties.

Because the new median is part of an ongoing project, Fong said changes can’t be made until after that section has been officially accepted by the city, expected by the end of the year. 

Vice-Mayor Thom Bogue asked if a traffic study was a legal requirement or if they could save money and skip that step to move forward more quickly. 

Mayor Steven Bird said he was concerned about liability for the city if they moved forward without a traffic study. 

“We have a business right now that’s being dramatically impacted,” Johnson said.

Johnson also mentioned some properties nearby that are for sale for potential development and he said a lack of access could impact interest in development. 

It’s important to expedite a solution, Johnson said, because drivers cutting through a nearby business is “completely ridiculous” and “just a matter of time before someone gets hurt.” 

Ernest said it’s important to have good traffic design but “I don’t think we’re going to do it all in one shot. I say get it done as soon as possible, cheap and quick for now, and expect more work later.”

Staff will determine whether a traffic study is legally required and then bring this item back with a timeline of when the city can take possession of the median and make changes. 

Water Operations Supervisor Josh Hudson presented an update about planned Water Department Capital Improvement Projects, which will be funded through the increased water rates that went into effect last year. 

Hudson said that “there were a lot of challenges and deferred maintenance in the water system,” which the city took over in 2014. But with the rate increases and new wells from recent and planned residential development, “we’re going to be in much better place.”

Major upcoming projects include the water meter replacement program, a new well at Industrial, water operation and cyber security implementation and telecom upgrades, generator replacement program, Fitzgerald tank rehabilitation, and Watson Ranch well replacement. 

The council then considered a $49,315 contract with Civil Pacific Construction to replace three lateral service water lines in the Watson Ranch subdivision. Installed in the 1980s, Hudson said the pipes were improperly designed with inferior materials, resulting in three emergency replacements over the years at a cost of $25,000 to $75,000. 

Now that the water system has funding, Hudson said, the last three pipes can be proactively replaced, which will provide significant cost savings to the city over waiting to react in an emergency situation. 

The council voted unanimously to approve the contract. 

The council voted to join the rest of Solano County in changing the date of National Night Out from Aug. 5 to Oct. 7. The council meeting scheduled for Oct. 7 will be canceled to allow staff and councilmembers to attend the event. 

The next Dixon City Council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Aug. 5.