Elma residents descended en masse to a city council meeting Monday to express deep dissatisfaction with a recent street resurfacing project in tones from considered and reasoned to whingeing and peevish.

Concerns were raised and complaints were lodged about everything from the dust kicked up by the project ending up in swimming pools and lungs to damages to yards and vehicles sustained during the process, all rendered even more discordant by technical issues plaguing the meeting brought on by an afternoon power outage.

“I do have a question about whether anyone from the city council, from city municipal or the departments, to drive around and look at the work being done. Did anybody take the time to look at the damage done?” asked Stephanie Lowrance over a Zoom meeting spotted with audio and video issues. “Is the city going to turn around and expect us as citizens and taxpayers to pay more of the incompetency of this project when you have to make repairs next year?”

The Elma City Council, largely recently elected, listened to their comments without speaking as resident after resident railed about the project. Online, others commented, calling for inquiries, or posting from behind incomplete or partial names to obfuscate their identity as they called for the mayor to resign over the issues.

Why and how

The roads were resurfaced with a methodology called Otta sealing, so named for the region in Norway it was pioneered in, which is good for low-traffic roads, according to a report from the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The funding to resurface these roads came from a state grant for $1 million, said Elma Mayor Josh Collette.

“It’s been a long running issue,” Collette said. “It was the most prevalent feedback I got when I was out campaigning, going door to door.”

Only one contractor bid for the contract, Sierra Santa Fe, a paving speciality company out of Ridgefield.

“Without this grant this work would not be getting done at this time,” Collette said. “The Transportation Investment Board is investing $1.5 million into our community, Elma. It’s money that could have easily gone somewhere else.”

The Otta seal project accounts for $1 million of that; the remainder is going into Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant sidewalks and dynamic crosswalks — the flashing signs signaling when pedestrians can cross the street — for the school area and the business district, Collette said.

“Six miles of our streets had this surface treatment applied,” Collette said. “I’d say it’s at least 60% of our city streets.”

Other cities in the area, including Oakville, Raymond and South Bend are also going through the process, Collette said. Part of the city government’s plan is to see those cities’ experience with the process.

“I believe our citizens are more familiar with chip seal or pavement,” Collette said. “I think they’re disappointed with the end product.”

Dust and disaster

If the desired end product was a smooth road, the journey there has been anything but. Residents described persistent dust on lawns, vehicles and in homes, even requiring swimming pools to be flushed, and giving those with breathing issues more trouble. Rocks struck cars, construction materials were found in lawns, vegetables from gardens were alleged to be inedible, kids apparently can’t bike on the new streets, and employees of the Sierra Santa Fe were alleged to have threatened residents.

“I watched as one of the workers who was sweeping took to words with my neighbors because she was out spraying the road to prevent the dust,” Lowrance said during her address to the council. “I feel like it was their own incompetence that caused them to leave because they were in over their head.”

Lowrance wasn’t alone in recounting angry behavior from workers.

“Their employee threatened children on my street, my self and my neighbor,” said Riley Molina. “I don’t think they should be welcomed back into our city.”

While many heard, or claimed in the Zoom comments that they heard, harsh or threatening language from workers, the only physical altercation the police has record of is a 40-year-old Elma resident who was arrested by the Elma Police Department for attacking a contractor construction vehicle with a rock, breaking two windows, and being charged with second-degree malicious mischief.

Sierra Santa Fe eventually left the project, and representatives declined to comment when contacted.

Health issues

Many residents expressed deep concerns about possible respiratory issues from the dust. Collette said that efforts to dampen the dust during the surfacing process, such as by spraying it down, would have dragged the process out longer.

“We didn’t have rain for a long time. That came into play,” Collette said. “It’s a miserable process. How do you minimize that?”

Many voiced comments or posted the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or other agency should get involved, while others claimed they’d heard an increase in medevac flights to Summit Pacific Medical Center, attributing it to adverse medical reactions from the dust.

“I’ve received calls from citizens, I don’t want to discount the experience that they’re having,” Collette said. “If you’re experiencing symptoms, I’m not going to say, ’no, you’re not.’”

Collette encouraged anyone who had made a trip to the doctors after experiencing symptoms possibly related to the dust to start a claim with city hall for submission to their insurance provider. A number of residents had already filed claims for damage, Collette said. No agency had communicated with the city about a health risk posed by the dust, Collette said.

“Damage is an unfortunate byproduct of any product,” Collette said. “Prior to (Monday) night, we had a handful come in. If you feel you’ve experienced damage, please, come in, fill in the form, submit it back.”

Communication shortcomings

Communication about the project was also harped on by residents, with many saying the city was ineffective at getting word out when work was going to be happening.

“That’s fair feedback. This was a rather large project,” Collette said. “Getting information out in a quick manner was a challenge for us.”

Collette said it’s unfortunate the city government was ineffective at keeping up with the demands, and that he’s committed to fixing it.

“When I stepped into office, that’s one of the things I’ve been working to improve,” Collette said. “It’s a setback when the communication is deemed to be insufficient for the situation. It’ll be a continuous state of improvement.”

Collette said the company’s rapidly changing plans meant that keeping up with communications was often difficult — the city would be notified just a day ahead of time in some cases, when social media was one of the only channels that would get the message out fast enough.

“I don’t think the citizens were aware of how quick of a turnaround from us getting the information to us turning the information back out,” Collette said, citing an example of a communication from Sierra Santa Fe. “‘Hey, we’re coming in tomorrow and we’re not leaving until we’re done.’”

Aftermath

The fun is almost over, as the road surface settles and a subcontractor is scheduled to come within the month to stripe the newly resurfaced streets. Collette said he’s open to continued dialogue with residents about how the city government can improve its communications with the townspeople of Elma.

“I don’t have all the answers,” Collette said. “If someone wants to provide information or feedback, I will take that into account.”

City councilors sympathized with resident concerns during their remarks at the end of the meeting on Monday, saying they were disappointed with the surfacing project’s execution, but heartened to see so many people turn out with concerns for their community in what’s usually a relatively empty chamber during meetings.

Contact Senior Reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or michael.lockett@thedailyworld.com.