When we held our annual meeting in March, we had no idea that the negotiation period would last over two months. If we had repeatedly told you “it’s almost here!”, we would have had to retract that utterance several times. So that’s why you didn’t hear anything during negotiation.
Well, negotiation is done, the agreement is signed, and we are now following its provisions to start actual work. We still have some paperwork going back and forth between the parties (we have to do our due diligence where called for), but work should be starting very very soon. We are shooting for July 6.
Here are the “big steps” that will be undertaken (roughly in this order, albeit with some overlap):
- Pre-excavation prep. Our lighting/electrical contractor will be doing some work to pull back or remove the existing lighting from the palm trees. Both of our contractors are also coordinating with 811 Dig Safe.
- Palm removal. This will happen after the electrical contractor does his clearance work. The trees will be removed in sections. We will cone the street for alternate traffic patterns when this happens.
- Stump grinding and sod removal. We will make sure that the palm stumps are ground down to a specified level well below the curb line. And CCGC will remove the existing turn down to a specific level in preparation for further work by our contractors.
- Electrical and Irrigation evaluation, repair/removal and replacement. Our contractors will coordinate this with CCGC, as there are some possible remedial actions if utility connections aren’t satisfactory.
- Planting and irrigation. After everything is prepped above, our landscaping contractors will start installing the new plants and trees. They will coordinate with and be reviewed by our landscape architect during this time. Boulder installation will probably occur at the start of this period.
- Lighting. Lighting will be installed and adjusted for the most flattering illumination.
This is just a summary of steps. Right now we are expecting a 6-week timeline, but this is not set in stone. It’ll be more accurate once we start the ordering process, and once we excavate and see the status of our existing utility connections.