5-way clarification

There appears to be some confusion in the minds of a number of our Healdsburg residents about the five-way intersection, infrastructure construction project commonly described as the “Roundabout Project.” This confusion begs clarification.
The contractor for that project was approved at our recent 4/18/16 City Council meeting. The primary confusion relates to the project duration for (two) different through-traffic options on Healdsburg Avenue. The first option (which was approved by our council) is the open intersection option (with (two) variably located open lanes). The second option is a seven-month complete closure option.
Neither of these (two) options was considered because of the roundabout construction. According to Healdsburg’s (two) separate information meetings, one for businesses and one for the general public, the consideration of complete closure was due primarily to the excavation required for the many infrastructure sub-projects which are largely underground.
These infrastructure needs were carefully established by our city during the development of CHAP (Central Healdsburg Avenue Plan) which started in 2010, was approved by the council in 2014 with engineering completed in 2016.
Besides a roundabout, the infrastructure improvements include: 1) Upgrading underground water pipes, sanitary sewers, storm drains and recycled water pipes, 2) Undergrounding overhead power lines, 3) Daylighting Foss Creek, 4) Updating railroad safety crossing gates, 5) Expanding the aging underground culvert, 6) Improving roadway corridors and 7) Razing the abandoned corner gas station.  
Some residents believe that the project duration is 16 months for the open option and much shorter at seven months for the closed option. Hence, based upon that understanding, some have logically said, let’s close it to get the pain over quickly.
During our city’s (two) public meetings referenced above, our Director of Public Works and our City Manager both clearly defined the project duration as 16 months irrespective of whether the intersection is open or closed. At those meetings, our city also displayed sketches of the variable (two) lane locations for the open option.
During the public input portion of the 4/18/16 City Council meeting, I reported that a show-of-hands by business owners at our city’s public information meeting had voted 35:2 for the open option. I also stated my opinion that Healdsburg residents were able to adapt to road traffic closure during the yearlong plus duration for the rehabilitation of our Healdsburg Memorial Bridge.
Nonetheless, I urged our City Council to select the open option noting that the closure option would significantly impact local businesses which are a vital segment of our Healdsburg community. I also noted that many local business owners live in Healdsburg.
In closing, I would like to clarify that the funds for this major project will not be taken from our general fund nor this project require any tax increases. To the credit of our city management and council, most of the funds come from redevelopment funds which were successfully retained by our city after redevelopment funding was seized by our state.
The balance of the funds comes from development impact fees. Hopefully, this commentary will help to clarify the scope, the open/closed intersection options and the funding sources for this important infrastructure improvement project.
Mel Amato is a Healdsburg resident