Interest in the Civic Association-sponsored forum on the proposed Saguaro Boulevard street bond was relatively light Tuesday, Sept. 24.

Former Mayor Jerry Miles, treasurer with the Citizens 4 Saguaro committee supporting the bond, told the audience this is an important project for the community.

“This road has had years and years of neglect and we do not want to have Saguaro in this condition,” Miles said. “Whether you drive on Saguaro or not, its condition has an impact on the overall value of our community.

“This needs to pass, the street is in really rotten condition.”

No questions came from the audience, but Bob Thompson, chairman for the Citizens 4 Saguaro Committee, related some questions he has heard from residents when asking them to support the bond proposal.

One of the questions that come up, according to Thompson, is why complete reconstruction is necessary when overlays and seal coatings seem to have made a big difference to the street’s condition.

Town Development Services Director Paul Mood said core samples taken during summer 2012 indicate the road has just a couple of inches of asphalt on a base of about four inches.

He said standards would dictate that a road with the traffic Saguaro Boulevard has should have a six-inch base with four inches of asphalt.

He also said the emergency patching done this spring cannot be expected to last more than a couple of years.

Mood said the asphalt underneath is still degraded and there was no improvements done to the base.

Thompson said people are also asking why the curbing needs to be replaced.

Mood said all the curbing may not need to be replaced. He said there are places where the curb is placed on top of the asphalt, which can allow water to get underneath the asphalt and force the curbing to “walk.”

Mood said those places need to be redone properly.

There are also those who believe the work might be done for half the $8.2 million bond request, according to Thompson, and he asked how the town arrived at that figure.

Mood said he did the estimate based on his 10 years of experience, and using unit prices for materials and bid tabulations for similar projects done recently by other municipalities.

Mood added that the bonds will be sold only for the amount of the contract -- if it is lower than estimated the project will be at a lower cost to taxpayers.

Voters will cast a ballot in the all-mail election beginning mid-October through Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5.