South Pasadena’s City Council threw its support Wednesday behind Measure SOS, an $80 million general obligation bond that would fund a decade of street, sidewalk, curb and gutter repairs across the city if voters approve it on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Assistant City Manager Nick Kimball told the council the city’s pavement condition index sits at roughly 54, meaning more than half of its streets are in poor or fair shape, and that the city faces a $7 million to $8 million annual shortfall in street funding.
“Our streets in South Pasadena are declining faster than we can fund repairs,” Kimball said.
The bond would require two-thirds voter approval and would cost South Pasadena property owners about $33 per $100,000 of assessed value.
Kimball said the city currently receives about $2.5 million a year in dedicated street funding, which forces it to bank money for several years before it can afford a single large project.
“We actually are closer to $140 million that’s needed to really get us up to tip top shape,” Kimball reported.
Prior to the 5-0 vote to a approve the bond for voter consideration, Councilman Michael Cacciotti asked staff about how the public could be assured the money would be spent correctly.
Kimball said the bond program would be subject to annual reporting and regulatory oversight because the borrowed funds must be spent on street and sidewalk purposes. He added the program would be updated quarterly to the council.
Three public speakers urged approval, including a representative of the Yes on SOS campaign who said an independent engineering assessment found 63% of the city’s streets are in fair, poor or very poor condition.
Another speaker said the city’s pavement condition index of 54 lags the San Gabriel Valley regional average by more than 20 points and is a worse rating than any neighboring city.
The AI platform Civilio assisted this report.