There is an issue with the new Oakdale water main that has caused residents who have been connected to the new water main to lose water pressure, or to have very low water pressure.

The contractors exposed the new Oakdale main at Kenberton in advance of making that connection tomorrow. It’s likely that the temporary cap on the stub from the new Oakdale water main came off causing the flooding. The contractor and Oakland County WRC (the City’s water maintenance partner) are en route to address this. Water service will be restored this evening. We do not believe that a boil water notice will be required as a result of this, but WRC will notify you with a flyer on your front door if there is.

Please accept our apologies for this disruption and inconvenience.

Notice of Construction:

Pavement Joint and Crack Sealing Program
(all streets west of Woodward)

 

As part of the City of Pleasant Ridge’s commitment to maintain the City’s infrastructure, the City has contracted Michigan Joint Sealing, Inc., to route and reseal pavement joints and random cracks on streets. This maintenance work will help prolong the life of our concrete streets.

The 2025 project work will include all streets west of Woodward. The east side will be completed in phase 2 of the project in 2026.

The anticipated start date for the work is Monday, April 7, 2025. It is expected to take 2 – 3 weeks to complete the project. We ask for your cooperation and patience with the short-term disruption of this project. The contractor will be working daily (weather permitting) between the hours of 7:30 am to 5:00 pm.

Please do not park your vehicles on the street between 7:00 am and 5:30 pm. Cars parked on the street will impede the work.

The general work sequence will include routing and cleaning out all pavement joints and random cracks. The area will then be cleaned and filled with rubberized joint sealant. If a joint is being repaired in front of your driveway, the contractor will assist you with accessing your driveway while work is ongoing, if needed.

The contractor will start on Cambridge Blvd west of Ridge Rd and proceed north. Once the contractor has completed the streets west of Ridge Rd, they will start on Cambridge Blvd east of Ridge Rd and proceed north.

Please note, Oakdale Blvd will be skipped at this time due to the upcoming water main replacement project. The joint sealing on Oakdale Blvd will be completed next year during phase 2 of the project after the water main work is complete.

The City of Pleasant Ridge would like to thank you in advance for your continued patience and cooperation during this important infrastructure maintenance project.

 

The Water Infrastructure Citizens Advisory Committee has completed its work and delivered a recommendation to the City Commission. The City Commission received the recommendation on April 12, and is taking that under advisement as it develops the City’s June 30, 2022 through July 1, 2023 budget (referred to as Fiscal Year 2023 or FY23 from this point forward).

CAC Recommendation

The CAC made a recommendation to fund the water infrastucture project using three components to each raise one-third of the necessary revenue. For FY23, that revenue need will be about $900,000, so each component would generate about $300,000 of revenue. The CAC considered many options before arriving at their recommendation. The CAC was also focused on reducing the spread between the lowest and highest cost for households in the City. Under the full 3.5 mill option, the highest annual cost increase was $1,771 while under the CAC’s recommended option the highest annual cost increase would be $1,314, a reduction of 26%.

If the CAC’s recommendation is implemented, the three components will be as follows in FY23:

The CAC also recommended that each component be adjusted equally to maintain a one-third funding share if the City receives external funding that reduces the cost of the project, or if costs increase and additional revenue is needed.

The CAC considered water usage rates as a method for raising infrastructure revenue, but did not include that method in their recommendation. Water usage rates will be reduced for FY23 compared to FY22.

Next Steps

The City Commission is in the process of reviewing the FY23 budget, which includes the millage and water rates. The budget and water rates will be introduced at the May 10 City Commission meeting, with a budget public hearing on June 14.

If approved the average water customer will see a 7.75% reduction in water/utility bills with an increase on property tax bills. The amount of the property tax increase will depend on each property’s taxable value and the City’s final FY23 millage rate, which includes the water infrastructure millage and all other City, Ferndale School, Oakland County, and other taxing jurisdiction millages.

The survey is closed and the results are in. Click Here to view the full survey results.

Overall, about 75% of residents are satisfied with curbside leaf pickup. About 30% think it’s great,  48% think it’s okay, and the remaining 22% find it unsatisfactory.

There were a few recurring themes from the survey comments, which are consistent with what we hear from residents during tougher leaf pickup seasons like the one we just had. Below is a summary of those themes and what we’re doing to address them.

We hope that the above gives some clarity about why leaf pickup is scheduled the way it is, the issues and concerns we have with making changes to the schedule, the capacity constraints we have and must consider when planning leaf pickup, and what we may change in future years.

We’re looking for input on how you thought this challenging leaf season went. We’ll use this input to find ways that we can improve leaf collection next year. The survey is short – two questions – and will be open until Friday, December 20.

Click on the link below to go to the survey:

Leaf Collection End of Season Survey

Hartwell Cement has been contracted by the City to remove and replace degrading joints on our streets. They will be working throughout the City over the coming weeks. All streets will remain open and passable during this project, but the streets will be narrowed while they are working.

The replacement project is focusing on areas where the joint between concrete slabs is degrading along most or all of the joint. Corner areas that have been spray patched are not being replaced at this time. All areas to be replaced have been marked with spray paint.

You may have noticed the new street signs at Cambridge and Woodward. These are a new style of sign that we will be installing as needed in the City. The first batch of these signs are being installed at intersections along Woodward. Following is further information about the new signs:

Finally – what is MMUTCD? It’s the Michigan Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which is a thick set of standards for everything about signs and traffic control.

Have an opinion or an observation about the stop for pedestrian signs on Ridge at Oakland Park? Then please share them with us by completing a short survey at this link.

We will consider making the pedestrian signs permanent in the spring based on our observations of the test and your input.

The survey will remain open until Wednesday, October 3.