The Yuba City Council voted unanimously to award and authorize work on a citywide traffic-signal hardware upgrade aimed at improving safety and standardizing signal equipment.

Public Works Director Josh Wolf told the council the project covers 57 signals in city limits, including some Caltrans-owned signals, and will replace 8-inch bulbs with 12-inch units, add retroreflective backplates and update street-name signs to current standards. He described two bid packages (city and Caltrans components) and said the lowest responsible bidder was recorded in the staff report as Behr Electrical Solutions with a bid cited at about $804,000; the staff recommendation seeks authority to award a construction contract and have the city manager execute it pending city attorney review.

Wolf said the estimated total project cost is $950,000, comprised of $723,735 for the citywide portion and $227,000 for the Caltrans portion; staff proposed a 10% contingency and internal construction management costs. To cover the city portion, staff requested authorization to appropriate $194,593.73 in HSIP grant funds and $51,970.54 in unallocated Transportation Development Act (TDA) funds, contingent on an amendment to the HSIP funding agreement. Wolf said Caltrans staff have indicated they are working actively on the amendment and that he expected a decision "probably within a month." He also said a delay to wait for formal Caltrans approval would be possible but is not recommended because it would push the schedule.

Council members asked about scheduling; Wolf projected completion in late spring to early summer 2026. After brief council questions and no public comment, a council member moved to approve staff recommendations (including the corrected Recommendation C noted in the staff report); the motion carried unanimously.

The contract award and funding appropriations are contingent on the HSIP amendment; if the amendment is not approved staff also authorized the finance director to use unallocated TDA funds as needed to fully fund the project, per the motion. The council instructed staff to proceed with contracting and to continue coordination with Caltrans.