HomeMy WebLinkAboutPCDC Minutes 06/13/2002June 13, 2002
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0City of Petaluma, California
n � Petaluma Communitv Development Commission Meeting
Meeting Minutes
Monday, June 13, 2002 - 7:00 p.m.
Special Meeting
1 PRESENT: Cader-Thompson, Vice Mayor Healy, Maguire, Moynihan, O'Brien,
2 Mayor Thompson,
3 ABSENT: Torliatt
4
5 :
6 Budaet Workshop
7
8 Director of Economic Development and Redevelopment Paul Marangella presented the
9 FY 2002-2003 PCDC Proposed Budget, including revenues, projects and expenditures,
10 and a multi-year forecast,
11
12 Housing Administrator Bonne Gaebler presented the FY 2002-2003 Housing Proposed
13 Budget, and reviewed new proposed projects,
14
15 Commissioner Moynihan - Regarding the parking garage, approximately $600,000 was
16 budgeted. Looking at the CIP, it now shows $1 million.
17
18 Mr, Marangella - This is the security phase,
19
20 Commissioner Moynihan - Are the cracked ceiling and painting being considered part
21 of a CIP?
22
23 Mr. Marangella - Previous cracking is a structural problem. Now we are considering how
24 to keep pigeons out, light it better, keep people out after hours,
25
26 Commissioner Moynihan - Recognizes problems with garage but that's a lot of money, Is
27 there a way to save some money there? He is concerned with revenue assumptions -
28 indications that we have a spike in revenues because the districts enlarge. He would
29 think, in light of the economy and recent drop in sales tax revenue, the number would
30 decline, Other than garage and depot rehabilitation he assumed that was physical
31 construction?
32
33 Mr. Marangella agreed.
34
June 13, 2002 Page 2
1 Commissioner Moynihan - There seem to be a lot of design projects and not a lot of
2 physical construction. We're spending lots of money on design. He would like to see
3 considerably more money going into immediate street reconstruction in blighted areas
4 instead of into design. This budget is not an aggressive approach to solving
5 infrastructure problems. Has Mr. Marangella talked to anybody about funding street
6 reconstruction?
7
8 Mr. Marangella - With the exception of the Keller Street Garage, and McDowell
9 Boulevard/East Washington Street, no construction is scheduled for FY 2002-03. The City
10 does not have project managers to manage them - and they have to engineer and
11 design before we can construct. Unlike the Gas Tax Funds or General Fund,
12 redevelopment deals with building -to -building, not curb -to -curb. It includes street trees,
13 sidewalks.
14
15 Vice Chair Healy - Are we legally precluded from curb -to -curb reconstruction?
16
17 Mr. Marangella - We can do major reconstruction of a street.
18
19 Vice Chair Healy - Most policy makers don't have the problems we have in this
20 community.
21
22 Commissioner Maguire - We haven't directed all our redevelopment priorities to curb -
23 to -curb, either.
24
25 Commissioner Moynihan - We have set streets as priorities, but they don't appear to be
26 a priority in this budget. Curb -to -curb is an appropriate and legal use. One of our goals
27 a year ago was to come up with a plan to fix streets. This hasn't happened. This is an
28 opportunity to get the ball rolling. There is not enough maintenance or street
29 reconstruction budgeted. There is a good source of funds from PCDC this year. If the
30 City needs to hire a "Street Czar" to manage this, so be it. Maintenance can get rolled
31 into the Capital Improvement program - and can use redevelopment agency funds.
32 Even if it requires dipping into fund balances, it should be our number one priority to
33 reconstruct identified problem streets. Don't wait for some future, nebulous plan.
34 Regarding the Central Business District (CBD), and the assumption that City can pay
35 back PCDC loans, he doesn't see property tax increments occurring that will allow the
36 pay back. Does Mr. Marangella feel the debt can be retired by the end of the life of
37 the district?
38
39 Mr. Marangella - Was not concerned about repayment in the early years.
40
41 Commissioner Moynihan - Interest is expensive.
42
43 Mr. Marangella - Interest expense is not included in the budget. It would be calculated
44 at the time of repayment.
45
46 Commissioner Moynihan - Booked at interfund loan?
47
48 Mr. Thomas - Accruing to interfund loan.
June 13, 2002
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2 Commissioner Moynihan - If we're booking it, we should show it in the budget.
3
4 Finance Director Bill Thomas - That's enterprise fund accounting, which we don't do for
5 PCDC,
6
7 Commissioner Moynihan - On page 25 of the budget, there is a transfer out - not shown
8 as a project. He assumed it was a loan and thought it should show in the Quarterly
9 Treasurer's Report,
10
11 Mr. Marangella - He will have to ask Mr. Thomas what that was.
12
13 Commissioner Cader-Thompson: "If this is about slamming staff - I'd like to make a
14 motion that we fire our entire staff and hire Mr. Moynihan to take care of the City. "
15
16 Chair Thompson - Commissioner Moynihan is asking a legitimate question.
17
18 Commissioner Maguire - Asked Mr. Marangella if using all the redevelopment funds for
19 street repair would meet legal requirements for those funds.
20
21 Mr. Marangella - Didn't think so.
22
23 Commissioner Maguire - Has heard Commissioner Moynihan "stake out his philosophy
24 ad nauseam. "He urged Chair Thompson to "keep this meeting on track.
25
26 Mr. Thomas - If it is the pleasure of the Commission, he could go back to the 2000 audit
27 papers and determine why this wasn't shown as an interfund loan. This has already
28 been audited.
29
30 Commissioner Moynihan - Asking simply of $10 million of capital improvement funds -
31 saying this is one source.
32
33 Vice Chair Healy - Regarding the $55.9 million shown in the slide presentation as
34 available for streets, etc. How does that correspond with what's in the budget
35 document?
36
37 Mr. Marangella - On page 47, line 36 - on the far right - is the projected ending fund
38 balance for FY 2007-08. This is the result of taking all projects out of this budget because
39 we have no project managers.
40
41 Vice Chair Healy - The budget document said something like $8 million available over
42 the next six years. That's quite a gap.
43
44 Mr. Marangella - At the back of the document is the Five -Year Implementation Plan.
45 These are plans that have not yet been changed - depending on what happens later
46 this evening in the CIP.
47
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1 Vice Chair Healy - Shares the frustration of others that the Commission seems to spend
2 all its time on plans and very little time implementing them. He is glad to see the
3 proposal for two additional staff. The Commission should have learned from experience
4 to pick projects that can be implemented - and emphasize curb -to -curb projects. If we
5 are going to the voters with a tax measure, we need to show we've done all we can to
6 find money. We need to make a commitment to spend a certain amount of money on
7 construction and not get hung up on design. He asked for discussion from other
8 Commissioners,
9
10 Commissioner Maguire - It's not as simple as just laying pavement. Infrastructure has to
11 be taken into account- and that does require design.
12
13 Vice Chair Healy - Some - but not a lot of CEQA work.
14
15 Commissioner O'Brien - Why are we spending all this money on design when in the
16 foreseeable future we will have no project managers? This is another budget spending
17 money for nothing.
18
19 Mr. Marangella - You'll see that the construction project managers are now budgeted
20 in the projects themselves.
21
22 Commissioner O'Brien - Who is going to pay 100% of their cost? Not one dime out of
23 General Fund?
24
25 Mr. Marangella - With all the redevelopment projects, not one dime comes from the
26 General Fund for project management.
27
28 Commissioner O'Brien - Does any of it coming out of General Fund?
29
30 Mr. Marangella - Not one dime of General Fund money will be spent on redevelopment
31 projects. Project Managers may be contract or City employees, but will be paid
32 exclusively by redevelopment funds.
33
34 Commissioner O'Brien - Regarding the parking garage - when we first saw the project,
35 $100K was budgeted, then $800K+. The slide says $2. 325 million.
36
37 Mr. Marangella - This is the Five -Year Implementation Plan and includes two other
38 parking garages.
39
40 Commissioner O'Brien - Projected parking revenue of $80K - how did you come up with
41 that?
42
43 Mr. Marangella - We are working with a parking consultant on this. The consultant
44 seems to feel we will generate much more than this, but this is a conservative estimate.
45
46 Commissioner O'Brien - Agrees with Commissioners Healy and Moynihan. He would like
47 to see some curb -to -curb projects. His phone rings continuously with people asking,
48 "When are you going to fix the streets?' Can we put some money into this?
June 13, 2002 Page 5
2 Commissioner Cader-Thompson - Parking garage - $2 million set aside for two garages
3 or just $2 million. Would like to commit money for parking structure for downtown.
4
5 Mr. Marangella - In Five -Year Plan, you have committed to it - in this budget it's out,
6 because we don't have project managers.
7
8 Commissioner Cader-Thompson - "Curb -to -curb" does not mean just fixing the street?
9 The street has to be ripped up to fix the infrastructure. Lynch Creek Trail going under
10 Payran Bridge - is that being designed now?
11
12 Mr. Marangella - Yes - you will be getting a status report.
13
14 Commissioner Cader-Thompson - Talked to Mr. Marangella, Mr. Stouder, etc. She feels
15 these projects are going very slowly. Even design charets could be expedited. Instead
16 of scrapping the design concept, let's get" it to move more quickly. Regarding project
17 managers - she thinks that should already be moving forward. For some reason,
18 everything always gets stalled. Water Street is a perfect example - everything is going at
19 a snail's pace.
20
21 Chair Thompson - Shares Commissioners' frustration with "design, design, design. " He is
22 willing to commit at least $3 million/year out of this budget for street reconstruction.
23 That's $15 million over five years.
24
25 Commissioner Cader-Thompson - When developers come downtown we will also have
26 money from developers for improvements.
27
28 Commissioner Moynihan - There is infrastructure work involved in street reconstruction -
29 leaky water mains, for one. Identified street work needs to be matched up with
30 infrastructure work needed in the area. Regarding salaries - these are not shown as
31 being paid out of sources and uses. Some salaries are being paid out of redevelopment
32 funds. He would like to see this broken out to see what percentage we've been paying
33 out of redevelopment funds. Is the EIR for Water Street budgeted?
34
35 Mr. Marangella - Not budgeted.
36
37 Commissioner Moynihan asked Housing Administrator Bonne Gaebler for a status
38 update on Eden Housing,
39
40 Ms. Gaebler - We will apply for tax credits next month. With regard to the $1.4 million -
41 this fall the City will be eligible to apply for home funds of up to $1 million.
42
43 Commissioner Moynihan - Are we on time, on track?
44
45 Ms. Gaebler - Right on time. The next thing is tax credits.
46
47 Vice Chair Healy asked for an update on Mary Isaac Center.
48
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June 13, 2002 Page b
Ms. Gaebler - This is moving along nicely with the great leadership of Jim Carr. The
architect is hired. Commission on the Shelterless (COTS) is the project manager. We
have a positive report from the soils engineer. Next Monday, a meeting is scheduled
with the private sector neighbors, not just the Corp Yard, to make sure the architect is
listening to them. We are hoping to open January 2003 - but it will probably be summer
2004.
Vice Chair Healy - Thinks $3 million per year out of redevelopment funds for street
reconstruction is doable, if there are projects ready to go that are curb -to -curb.
Regarding design - he hopes the Water Street experience has taught us something.
There is incredible commitment in the community to doing everything right. Water
Street is a one -block stretch - this is twenty times more than that. Are we biting off more
than we can chew? Should we break it down?
Chair Thompson - It seems like the Water Street design process is eating up all the
money. This is very frustrating.
Mr. Marangella - This is the hardest part. He thinks the areas upriver and around the
turning basin will be easier.
Chair Thompson - Thought the Commission had made it clear that they really want to
get the project moving.
Commissioner Moynihan - Is still pushing for more than $3 million per year for street
repair. Street CIP funds should not be spent on Water Street,
ADJOURN
The meeting was adjourned at 5:25 p.m.
ATTEST:
Claire Cooper, Recording Secretary
E. Clark Thompson, Chair