Relentless rainy weather keeping Santa Maria work crews busy
SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- Another round of stormy weather hit the Central Coast on Tuesday and Wednesday.
"It's cold," said Santa Maria Public Works Director Brett Fulgoni on Wednesday while describing the recent weather. "It's wet. It's mucky. It's not a lot of fun compared to what we're used to."
The rain, which began Tuesday night and is carrying on into Wednesday, is once again keeping Santa Maria crews busy with maintenance and repairs.
"Basically, you name it and it's been a 24-hour operation since seemingly December," said Fulgoni. "It affects every department. It affects the Police Department. It affects the Fire Department. It affects the Utilities Department. Everybody has just been very, very busy with storm-related issues."
Fulgoni added constant storms have damaged Santa Maria roadways and buildings, as well as caused flooding and drainage problems.
While this most recent storm isn't as strong as some have been over the past three months, its yet another day of wet weather for crew members to work in.
“We've been really busy," said Public Works senior crew leader Julian Ruiz. "The rains leave behind a lot of damage to the roads, so we have to go out there and send crews to work constantly to take care of these hazards.”
On Wednesday, crew members with various city departments were deployed around the city carrying out various repairs and maintenance projects.
For Public Works, the department had crews patching many of the seemingly endless amount of potholes that have appeared on city streets the past few months.
"Potholes. Potholes, Potholes," said Fulgoni, while noting the amount of potholes has more than tripled this year. "It's been pretty much the work de jour."
Having to work in the relentless wet weather since December has, at times. left many city crew members exhausted and weary.
"Mentally, it drains you, said Ruiz. "Workers get drained. Their bodies, they get tired and we have to deal with it. We all want the rain. We want the lakes to be full, but at the same time, we want that sun. We want that sun to enjoy the weather and we want the sun back so we can get back to work."
After a long wet winter, there is hope drier conditions and sunnier weather is soon on the way, which will allow the city to begin a number of planned projects.
"Once the drier weather comes, you're going to see a lot of work being done," said Fulgoni. "We've got a big paving project scheduled this year. There is going to be a lot of concrete work that's going to be happening. We have two capital projects that are starting next week out at Preisker Park and at the Paul Nelson Aquatic Center."
For more from Dave, follow him on Twitter below:
Follow @DaveAlleyTV
