City asking for 2 year warranty on voter approved sales tax to fix roads

The city is asking for a two-year warranty on road-tax paving projects, but is that long enough to get the job done?

“Industry standard, typically you’ll find a 1 to 2 year warranty and actually it can vary from area to area,” said Corey Farkas, public works operations manager.

However, according to the Federal Highway Administration, a “short-term” warranty is 5 to 10 years. But the city argues two years is more cost effective.

“When you start talking about extended warranties, those don’t come cheap,” said Farkas.

Other than expenses, Farkas couldn’t explain to us why only a two-year warranty, if the sales tax is expected to generate $250 million in five years to fix the roads.

City Council member Helen Collins says she’s also tried asking the city.

“I’ve asked continually show me where it says two years is the industry standard and nobody has provided any data,” said Collins.

Collins says she’s one of a few City Council members who want a five-year warranty instead.

“We just passed the highest city sales tax in state history and we’re telling people the warranty is only good for two years,” said Collins.

Julee Bellar says her neighborhood is filled with potholes and worries the job won’t get done with a two-year warranty.

“I think it’s frustrating. I think when they have put something out there and said they’re going to do it, they should follow through,” said Bellar.

The warranty would not cover cracking, because crews say roads can easily crack after they’re sealed. The warranty would cover major damage.

The city says when the warranty expires they’ll look at other options for repairs, if needed.

“After that two-year warranty, the city will take on that responsibility and if we had a structural deficiency after two years, we’d either hire another contractor to come in and fix it or, we’d fix it ourselves in-house,” said Farkas,

The city is negotiating with contractors for the project. The deadline is March 9.