CLOCK TOWER at Westminster Civic Center. (OC Tribune photo).

By Declan McDaniels/Orange County Tribune

The Westminster City Council voted on Wednesday to approve the award of contract for the Edwards Street Improvement Project to the lowest and responsible bidder, R.J. Noble Company, Inc. 

The vote carried unanimously, and Edwards Street will undergo an improvement project from Westminster Boulevard to Trask Avenue in the amount of $676,694.

The project was previously approved by the Mayor and City Council as a Capital Improvement Project for Fiscal Year 21/22, but the construction of the project was pending as other projects were completed.

According to the staff report, “the scope of work consists of the removal of curb, gutter, sidewalk, and deteriorated pavement areas, distillation of detectable warning surface (truncated dome), grinding existing pavement and placing new asphalt rubberized hot mix, adjusting manholes and water valves to finished grade, and installing traffic signal loops and striping to match with existing configuration.”

Public Works director Jake Ngo claims that R.J. Noble Company, Inc. is a trustworthy contractor that will get the job done.

“We’ve had multiple projects in the past with them and they do a great job,” he said.

In addition to this improvement project, the city council voted to pass Item 7.2, which will establish a Measure Y Citizens Oversight Committee. Measure Y is a one-cent sales tax that was passed on Nov. 8, 2023, which was replacing the previously approved Measure SS tax measure from 2016 that was about to expire.

Measure SS generated $76,773,198 in revenue for the City of Westminster over the lifetime of the tax measure. According to the final report on Measure SS, “The revenue provided five years of balanced budgets, stabilizing Westminster finances and allowed the city to pay for ongoing contractual obligations for basic local services, most notably police and fire services,” according to the staff report.

Each council member will appoint one member to the committee. The job of the committee is to review the funds generated through Measure Y and where that money is going. Measure SS also had a Citizens Oversight Committee, and the roles and responsibilities of the new committee will stay consistent with the previous panel.

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