“The best laid plans…” sometimes actually work. Witness the condition of the community’s streets. Even though they are about fifty years old, most would agree that they are functionally sound and their condition is good. This is the product of years of planning and annual refurbishment projects.
The planning began many years ago with the establishment of reserve accounts and annual funding to ensure that money will be available for these refurbishment projects. In 2007 an engineering firm was hired to survey all the streets.
A thirty-year preventative maintenance program was developed and implemented. To minimize disruptions, the plan calls for doing about twenty percent of the streets to be refurbished each year. This plan is reviewed and, if warranted, modified each year.
Maintenance has begun planning for the 2013 refurbishment cycle. There are three possible tasks that may be required:
Total Reconstruction: This is very expensive and, with good preventive maintenance, should seldom be needed. The last reconstruction projects were Mercator Isle and the Beach parking lot. No further reconstruction is planned.
Overlay: This process includes removing and replacing the top inch of asphalt. All streets are planned for this process every thirty years. This year, Binnacle, Capstan, Halyard, Spinnaker, Marlinspike and Windward will be overlaid.
Seal Coat: This is a preventive maintenance process that improves the appearance and reduces moisture intrusion thereby extending the life of the street. The process includes laying down two coats of a liquid asphalt solution. All streets are planned for this process every four years. This year Amundsen, Atlantic, Bothnia, Cassandra, Coral, Ionian, Kara, Marmara, Taranto, Tasman, and Windjammer will be seal coated.
Maintenance personnel and the Committee will survey the planned streets and note any special repairs that may be needed. A consulting engineering firm will then be hired to also survey the streets and note any additional special repairs that may be needed. The firm will prepare a scope of work, a contract, identify potential contractors and send out invitations to bid, evaluate proposals and recommend the selection of a contractor for the NSCA Board approval. The consulting engineer will be on-site during construction to ensure the contractor performs to the specifications.
Weather permitting, the construction will begin and be completed in September 2013.
—Jack Christiansen
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