The City invests in its infrastructure through the five-year Capital Improvement Program (CIP). Using a variety of funding sources, Fullerton acquires, repairs, and replaces critical assets needed to deliver its services to the City's residents and businesses. The CIP includes projects such as water main replacement, sewer repairs, major facility system upgrades, traffic safety improvements, street rehabilitation, and a variety of other infrastructure projects. 

While the City continues to make progress in addressing infrastructure needs, significant challenges remain, specifically with the City's aging streets. The available funding is not sufficient to maintain current conditions; therefore, without additional funding, street conditions will continue to deteriorate over time.

The CIP is organized into eight major capital program areas : streets; sewers, storm drains, water; airport; traffic signals and safety lighting; facilities; and parks. 

Street Repairs

 Routine Maintenance & Repair

Funding for the street maintenance program is a combination of General Fund, Measure M2, RMRA/SB1, Gas Tax, and Infrastructure Fund. Due to the annual Maintenance of Effort (MOE) requirement under County Measure M2, these internal expenses cannot be reduced below the original pre-tax funding level. These funds provide for pothole repairs, localized asphalt concrete (AC) overlay, signage installation, roadway striping, street sweeping, minor storm drain inspection and repairs, catch basin maintenance, localized sidewalk repair, and administration of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). 

Arterial and Residential Street Repair and Reconstruction Program

The condition of Fullerton's streets is one of the most visible infrastructure challenges. Like many cities throughout California, Fullerton faces a significant funding gap in maintaining and rehabilitating its roadway network. The current program prioritizes street rehabilitation to coincide with water main installation, sewer main installation, or both whenever possible, to minimize construction impacts and improve cost efficiency.

 

Funding for street rehabilitation primarily comes from County Measure M2, State Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account (RMRA/SB1; Gas Tax), and local Infrastructure Funds.  The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) did provide $1.2 trillion for transportation and infrastructure; however, most of the funds are dedicated to large-scale infrastructure such as bridges, railways, public transportation, airports, ports/waterways, broadband internet, electric fleet/infrastructure, etc.  Street maintenance is the City’s responsibility and not directly funded through any of the BIL competitive grant-based programs.  

City Council and staff are aware of the current street pavement conditions that exist throughout the City; however, as with many agencies, infrastructure needs significantly exceed available funding. With nearly 300 miles of streets in need of attention and very limited funding, our ability to address these conditions is very challenging.   For reference, it currently costs approximately $2.3 million per mile to reconstruct a residential street and $4.9 million per mile to reconstruct arterial streets (design, construction, inspection, testing, etc.).  With current funding levels, we can only address approximately 2-4 miles per year. At this rate, the reconstruction cycle is approximately every 100 years, which far exceeds the typical pavement design life of 20 years.

To be eligible for County Measure M2 funding, The City is required to complete and maintain a Pavement Management Plan (PMP). The PMP evaluates distresses like cracking, potholes, rutting, raveling, and patching and helps determine whether a street needs slurry seal, overlay, reconstruction, etc.  The PMP assigns a Pavement Condition Index (PCI) to every street, which is a standardized rating system used to measure the overall condition of a pavement surface. The PMP has identified a funding shortfall needed to maintain current PCI levels, therefore, overall street conditions will continue to decline without additional investment. 

There is no simple, single solution to the street system's long-term repair needs. A combination of additional funding, possible grant opportunities, and innovative public/private partnerships will be required to improve and maintain the City’s roadway network.

Sewer Utility

The Fullerton sewer system includes approximately 330 miles of pipeline, 6,900 manholes, and 33 siphons.  In 2005, the City Council approved a Sewer Enterprise Fee to fund sewer operations and capital repairs. The fee provides revenue for routine maintenance and capital improvements to the system. The City’s in-house sewer division inspects all sewer mains via video rover every 5 years and performs routine cleaning every 18 months to maintain system performance. Repairs are usually made using one of two methods: the old sewer line is excavated and replaced with a new line (which can last up to 100 years), or sometimes the existing main can be relined using "cure-in-place" technology, which minimizes excavation, reduces costs, and limits disruption. 

Storm Drain System

The storm drain system throughout the city provides flood protection during storm events and is comprised of local catch basins, storm drain pipes, and flood control channels.  The local system connects to the County flood control system prior to exiting the City limits. Like all infrastructure, storm drains require ongoing maintenance, repair, and replacement.  The City has established a Drinainge Capital Overlay Fund to dedicate resources to these systems and support long-term system reliability.

Water Utility

The water utility is comprised of approximately 423 miles of pipeline, 15 reservoirs, 9 groundwater wells, 7 import water connections, 4,300 fire hydrants, and over 32,000 services.  The capital improvement program focuses on replacing aging pipeline infrastructure (primarily old cast iron mains), managing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) compliance, technology upgrades, and improving system reliability through emergency resiliency measures (i.e. generators, redundancies, etc.).  All capital improvements are funded through the Water Enterprise Fund, which primarily receives revenue from local water bills. 

Airport

Fullerton Municipal Airport is the last general aviation airport in Orange County.  The capital improvement program focuses on as-needed facility upgrades and maintenance, including runway paving/lighting, flight control tower upgrades, hanger rehabilitation, and any ancillary improvements needed to maintain and/or improve the airport. The Airport Enterprise Fund typically funds all projects; however, the City actively pursues and has successfully secured Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grant funding to supplement local enterprise funds. 

Traffic Signal and Lighting

The City owns and maintains 156 traffic signals, 22 CCTV cameras, and all roadway striping and signage throughout the City.   The capital improvement program focuses on multi-modal safety enhancements, traffic signal operation enhancement/maintenance/replacement, signal timing synchronization upgrades, traffic management center expansion, and various other miscellaneous traffic related improvements.  Funding for these projects is typically provided through Measure M2 and/or regional, state, or federal grant programs. 

Streetlights

There are nearly 7,000 City-owned streetlights in Fullerton with an additional 623 owned and operated by Southern California Edison (SCE). Unfortunately, nearly 3,000 of the street lights in the City are on outdated high-voltage series circuits. 

Communities across Southern California face the challenging prospect of replacing these antiquated series circuits. Series systems are operated by regulated output (RO) transformers which are only manufactured by a single company.  Given the declining market for these transformers, the company no longer manufacture or support the transformers required to power series circuits.  Fullerton has approximately 3,000 streetlights on series circuits throughout the City.  SCE is responsible for providing power to these systems, however, is struggling to repair/replaced failing transformers due to the scarcity of parts/replacements.  As a result, transformer failures now take weeks to resolve, resulting in neighborhoods being dark at night for an extended period.  To make the switch to modern street light technology (multiple circuits), not only do the SCE transformers need to be replaced (by SCE), but the City owned conduit, wiring, and light fixtures must also be replaced.

An alternative to conventional conversion is installing independent solar lighting in its place.  Use of solar is a sustainable option and removes reliance on SCE.  Funding for conversion is difficult since there are no dedicated resources or grant programs for this purpose.  Staff will continue to make progress toward converting antiquated systems and providing necessary upgrades via the capital improvement program. 

Facilities

The City owns and operates 31 buildings, all of which require routine maintenance and occasional capital improvement to sustain operations. New projects and additions are only part of the City's long-term facility needs. Fullerton established a Facility Capital Repair Program to fund the repair and replacement of major building assets such as air conditioning/heating systems, flooring, exterior painting, and roofing. Facilities are charged by square footage, with the charges based on the facilities' long-term funding needs. Recommendations for improvements are based on the expected life cycle and the estimated useful life span of each asset. The Public Works Director and City Manager review the recommended list of projects as part of the budget review process. The final list of projects is presented to Council as part of the CIP portion of the annual budget. 

Park Improvements

Parks have always been one of Fullerton's greatest assets. Fifty-six parks encompass over 1,000 acres of open space, from state-of-the-art sports complexes to natural areas. Most of the parks include buildings, playgrounds, and other "hardscape".  Using Park Dwelling fees, grants, and other funding, Parks and Recreation staff have worked with Public Works to substantially upgrade the amenities at many parks. Most funding for park improvements is from Park Dwelling Fund, which received revenue from residential developments.  This funding sources is heavily dependent on the economy, construction costs, and over local market for residential development.