At a Special Meeting held on Jan. 16 in the middle of the day, Scotts Valley City Council voted unanimously to declare a State of Emergency to deal with a 30-foot-by-30-foot sinkhole that had opened up at Scotts Valley Drive and Granite Creek Road.
On Jan. 5, at around 6:20pm, the Scotts Valley Police Department requested the assistance of City maintenance staff to close lanes on Scotts Valley Drive, because the road was failing.
“Approximately at 7pm that day, the sinkhole expanded, undermining the roadway embankment,” said Public Works Director Rodolfo Onchi, noting this caused the traffic signals to start flashing, disrupting traffic further. “That condition remained throughout the night.”
The next day, a further investigation determined a major reconstruction was necessary.
Councilmember Krista Jett asked if the right lane would remain closed while repairs are underway.
“That’s correct,” Onchi said. “There may be some additional traffic control depending on where the contractor is, at any specific day or time.”
“And we can make a point to notify the public of any work that will be done?” Jett asked. “Just because it will really affect the commute with schools and all of that.”
Staff said it will reach out to schools and use social media to communicate the steps in the construction process—allowing them to take alternate routes, if necessary.
“If the odds were ever in our favor here, what would be our most optimistic timeline?” Vice Mayor Steve Clark asked. “Because this is a pretty significant impact to the public, a pretty significant impact to the city.”
Staff said, weather permitting, this could be completed in 3-4 weeks.
“So, still a really significant timeline,” Clark commented.
“Timing really is of the essence,” Jett chimed in.
No one spoke during the public comment period.
Vice Mayor Clark made the motion but made it clear this wasn’t an admission of guilt.
“By passing this resolution, we are by no means accepting any level of responsibility for what happened here,” he said. “I think the reason we want to move forward with an emergency declaration is because it’s for the greater good of the community that we get this fixed. It’s a significant problem. We do have additional weather that may come and impact us. And we’ll sort the rest of it out later. But, for now, I think we need to get this fixed. It’s a significant intersection that impacts our city greatly.”
Jett seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Councilmember Derek Timm was absent.
Before they got to this item, however, City Manager Mali LaGoe asked if they could move into closed session to discuss anticipated litigation.
Council agreed to this.
The agenda notes that just one case was to be discussed, stating that it was related to Government Code Sections 54956.9(d)(2)(3)(4). These relate to exposure to litigation, deciding whether to litigate and deciding to initiate litigation.
However, it is unclear who the other parties involved in the case might be.
No action was taken during the closed session, which lasted about 45 minutes.
