Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutSPJT Minutes 1984-01-18SRCC/SRRA Minutes (Special Joint) 1/18/84 Page 1 In the Council Chambers of the City of San Rafael, Monday, January 18, 1984, at 7:30 Phi . Special Joint Present: Lawrence E. Mulryan, Mayor/Agency Chairman Meeting: Dorothy L. Breiner, Councilmember/Agency Member Gary R. Frugoli, Counci lmember /Agency Membe Richard Nave, Councilmember/Agency Member Jerry Russom, Councilmember/Agency Member Also Present: Robert F. Beyer, City Manager/Executive Director; Jeanne M. Leoncini, Agency Secretary; Peter J. Muzio, City/Agency Attorney RE: WORKSHOP RE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT NEEDS - File 8-5 Mayor/Agency Chairman Mulryan opened the joint workshop meeting, indi- cating the problem has been to obtain the basic maintenance financial needs of our infrastructure in place. City rianager/Executive Director Beyer acknowledged Assistant City Manager Nicolai and Public Works Director Bernardi for preparing a presentation which will review the City's needs tonight, such as the public buildings, street lights, sewer maintenance and resurfacing. He added that, as indicated in the past, there is a substantial gap between what are the needs of the community to maintain the present facilities, and what the actual maintenance costs are. If major steps are not taken, the gap will continue to get larger. He indi- cated the workshop will offer an opportunity to Council/Agency to determine what steps should be taken to augment funding. Ms. Nicolai indicated that included in the packet was a booklet which describes the problems and what could be done to help solve them. The booklet gives almost a complete inventory of the City's facilities, what the buildings are, the miles of parks, streets, etc. A slide show was then presented. Ms. Nicolai indicated that the City owns and is responsible for the upkeep of 18 buildings, including the new parking structure at Third and "A" Streets. Maintenance responsibili- ties, aside from regular cleaning, include building repairs, repair and replacement of furnishings and fixtures, interior and exterior painting, roof maintenance or reroofing. Revenue Sharing Funds are dwindling, and there is going to be less money to operate. The City is working on ideas of remodeling some of the older facilities; the Library needs a new roof. It was pointed out that the Falkirk reno- vation has been done with grant money. Other facilities and buildings include Fire Station #1; the roof has just been replaced. Montecito #2; Terra Linda. #3; Canal #4; Glenwood #5; Terra. Linda #6 - needs a new roof; Civic Center #7; even though a newer building, the roof needs repairing. We have three recreation centers which we maintain. The Terra Linda pool needs replastering. In addition, there is the Blue House (1313 Fifth Avenue), the Boyd House (City is responsible for the facility even though the building is rented); and finally, the Corporation Yard/Garage and the police boa:tL Other facilities include 135 acres of park grounds; 21 parks and mini -parks; 22 restrooms; 11 tennis courts; 2 ponds, 1 swimming pool; 11 ballfields; 5 soccer fields. Some of these need constant maintenance, the tennis courts need resurfacing, the pool needs replastering, etc. All of this has been financed through the Revenue Sharing Budget. It was also pointed out that the City has 2,500 acres of open space which are not maintained or patrolled. Also, the County will no longer main- tain the fire roads. The City maintains 70,000 street trees; 40 miles of islands and parkways. Public Works Director Bernardi stated that in many cases, replanting has been done with iceplant. The strip areas which are equivalent to 40 football fields, must be mowed every 10 days. Ms. Nicolai indicated that there are 150 miles of streets; 240 miles of curb and gutter; the City should be resurfacing 9 to 10 miles every year; however, we are doing only 4 miles and have a $600,000 shortfall. We are filling potholes and using up to 500 tons of asphalt per year. SRCC/SRRA Minutes (Special Joint) 1/18/84 Page 1 SRCC/SRRA Minutes (Special Joint) 1/18/84 Page 2 Mr. Bernardi stated that 20% of the City streets are less than 20 feet wide and the City is liable for trees on each side of the roadway. Ms. Nicolai added that the City maintains street signs in compliance with State regulations; 3,000 regulatory signs. A study made in 1971 in- dicated that 25% needed to be replaced. It has not been possible to implement the program because of lack of budget and manpower. Also involved are the street signals. We should be repainting street directional signs annually. Five years ago, we applied 1,200 gallons of paint. This year we used 700 gallons. Because of having to do emergency repairs during bad weather, we have not had the manpower to do regular maintenance. The City has spent over 7,000 manhours on storm drains, pump stations, etc. because of the severe weather. The City repairs damage caused by City tree roots which damage -sidewalks and driveways as'well. Mr. Bernardi then spoke of the pump stations, stating that there are 12 pump stations, 20 years old, with 26 pumps. He showed the various pump stations on the screen, explaining their locations and conditions. These are the Kerner Boulevard, 400 Canal Street, Rossi, Mosquito Abatement, West Francisco Boulevard, Glenwood, Peacock, San Quentin, Spinnaker Point, Piombo, Lindaro Street and Corporation Yard stations. They require maintenance of motors, station float controls, control panels, etc. There are 26 gates which are hard to maintain. The flapgates keep the high tide out. Because of age of the facilities, the gates are no longer made and must now be special ordered. As an example, at the San Pedro Station, the flood gate fell off and it took six months to have it remade. City Manager/Executive Director Beyer stated that the other booklet prepared for Council/Agency consideration and review is the 1983-1986 Capital Improvement Program. It was prepared as a separate document in order to point out and separate the exact figures. The City has used the following sources for funding capital improvement and major maintenance items: Gas Tax, Revenue Sharing, Redevelopment, Grants (such as Housing and Community Development, Buck Trust Funds and Statewide Bond Issues). Included in the booklet is also a list of. Unfunded Needs. The three year Capital Improvement Program shows what can be accomplished with available funds and sources. This allows only minimum maintenance and few new programs. Mr. Beyer stated that, referring to the report presented to Council last summer, there are financial options. What is needed now is to know whether the Council/ Agency is interested in having staff review some additional sources of revenue. There are new methods that the City could use, such as the lease -purchase of certain types of equipment, revenue bonds, etc. Mayor/Agency Chairman Mulryan stated that the need is crucial. He indicated that the City and County are moving.along 4Uite well toward a resolution of Redevelopment issues, involving some $10,000,000 in new Redevelopment funds, with matching funds to be explored with Corps of Engineers, Caltrans, and other sources. Councilmember/Agency Member Frugoli stated that one way to reduce up- keep and maintenance expenses could be the consolidation of the police and fire stations. Mr. Beyer indicated that is a possibility and could be investigated. Councilmember/Agency Member Breiner funds to repair streets. Mr. Beyer is to take the existing revenue and street repair. There is a proposal voters to ask for a 2 or 3 cent tax about $200,000 percent. discussed shifting more gas tax said that the program, as presented, apply the funds available for whereby the County could go to the override for 4 years to generate Councilmember/Agency Member Breiner asked how the City would be affected by the sale of bonds. Mr. Beyer said that this would be done at an- other level of authority. Councilmember Frugoli asked if there were other bonding mechanisms, and Mr. Beyer replied that ABAG has a bond program; however, the City would only get a small portion. Councilmember/Agency Member Breiner stated the streets are so bad that they cause deterioration of cars and tires and the repairs are a basic necessity. Councilmember/Agency Member Frugoli said that the voters should be asked if they would pass an initiative for road improvements. SRCC/SRRA Minutes (Special Joint) 1/18/84 Page 2 SRCC/SRRA Minutes (Special Joint) 1/18/84 Page 3 Mr. Beyer stated the Council has an option and that is, they could take a drawdown on the reserves but this could be done only on a one- time basis. The program as presented is just showing the level to which the needs under current revenues are not being met. Mayor Mulryan asked if this meant that the operational maintenance costs would use up all the money and Mr. Beyer replied that even with the anticipated increase of sales tax revenue, because of on-going needs, the expenditures on the operation side will also have some growth and it will remain at the status quo in terms of balancing for the next 3 or 5 years. There is no surplus that could be shifted. Ms. Nicolai stated that the City is 1.4 million dollars short. Mrs. Breiner stated that one of the impacts of drawing down the reserves is that you wipe out the interest on the money. Finance Director Coleman replied that the City would lose 1 million dollars. Councilmember/Agency Member Nave said that if the City asks the voters furfunds to maintain the streets, they would expect some of the money to come from the City's General Fund. Councilmember Russom said that it seems the anticipated revenue is not sufficient to meet the needs for street repair to which Ms. Nicolai replied that this was correct. The City should be repaving 10 to 15 miles of street a year at a cost of $125,,000 per mile. For 10 miles per year, the cost would be $1.2 million. We have $400,000 in the budget. Member Russom asked if the 15-18% reserve fund was based on the City's own historical experience. Mr. Beyer said that the reserve is based on what seems prudent. Mr. Beyer said that as an example, in 1982 there was a drawdown of $800,000, and in 1983, it was $500,000. Seeking other revenue sources, Member Breiner asked if there was any possibility of getting more from Falkirk by renting rooms for office space. Mr. Beyer replied that perhaps the second or third floor could be rented to artists or writers. Mrs. Breiner stated that the Cultural Affairs Commission also discussed turning it over to a non-profit corporation. Mr. Beyer said that was an option. Mayor Mulryan asked about the maintenance costs and Library Director Stratford indicated that the operating expenses are $48,000 per year, adding that the new director is aggressively searching for grants with the San Francisco Foundation as well as funds from the private sector. Member Breiner then referred to the tax levy and asked if the City Attorney could look into this. City/Agency Attorney Muzio stated that the City could institute a tax on the City employees' pension plan (already approved by the voters). Mr. Beyer indicated the pension plan tax could generate $160,000 per year, and Member Breiner indicated this could to be used to cover shortfalls. Mr. Beyer replied that this will come back at budget time. Member Breiner addressed Mr. Bernardi on the condition of the sanitary sewers mentioned on Page 3 of the booklet entitled, Capital Improvements and Financial Options, and asked if the City would have to pay for a survey and how much it would cost. Mr. Bernardi indicated there had been some televising of the pipes done in 1973, and smoke testing, and he would review his records. Mrs. Breiner stated we wouldn't want to start digging up the streets and repaving them if we have to repair the sewers. Member Breiner referred to the Storm Drain Master Plan and asked for its status. Mr. Beyer replied that in terms of the Storm Drain Master Plan and the levees, staff has taken some steps to develop some addi- tional information on the levees. Once the information is obtained, we will have to determine which plan we are going to use so that the City can generate revenue to implement that plan, and where the pro- posed new pump station might be located. Also, he indicated that the Master Plan does not address the question of our existing storm drains. Member Breiner stated that we should find out what a survey of the sanitary sewers would cost, and Mr. Beyer indicated he would bring back a report on both the sanitary sewers and the storm drain system. Member Nave expressed concern about the tidegates that are no longer manufactured. Mr. Bernardi replied that manufacturers are going to new designs and different methods, and to buy these new gates would mean that the pump systems would have to be modified. SRCC/SRRA Minutes (Special,'.Joint) 1/18/84 Page 3 SRCC/SRRA Minutes (Special Joint) 1/18/84 Page 4 Mayor Mulryan stated that an assessment of the financial needs should be made for the next five years regarding the gates. Dick Endy, Public Works Superintendent, stated that the gates the City has right now are made by Alco and they no longer make hydrolic gates; they only make gravity pumps and for severe pump use they only last 3 years. If one gate falls off, the next tide floods the area. We have found a place in Fresno that can replace them, but it is expensive. Member Nave asked what it would cost to have them made, and Mr. Endy said that there is a place in Colorado that can remake the gates for about $10,000 each. Mayor/Agency Chairman Mulryan asked that a report be brought back to Council on gates and pump stations, with cost figures. Mr. Bernardi stated that funds have been budgeted for the past 3 or 4 years, but it really has not been enough. Mayor/Agency Chairman Mulryan referred to the roof leak at Fire Station #7 and said that it was rebuilt only 5 or 6 years ago. Fire Chief Marcucci stated that efforts have been made with the architect and the roofer, but they could not get satisfaction from them as to what could be done about repairing the leak. Member Frugoli stated that the high priorities were the storm drains, sanitary sewers and the condition of the streets; however, the flood areas have a higher priority. Member Russom agreed that the streets need repair but the flood area should get top priority. Mayor/Agency Chairman Mulryan invited comments from the public. Mr. James Carstarphen of Creative Merchandisers, Inc., 785 Andersen Drive, asked Council to give high priority to the problem of flooding in his area which has been going on for so long. Mr. Bernardi stated that the Council has authorized a contract for the installation of an emergency pump to help drain the area where his business is located. Mr. L. Felton also stated that the flood problem should be given high priority and that the good weather should not allow Council to forget the floods. Mayor/Agency Chairman Mulryan asked staff to look at funding sources for the priorities identified. City Manager/Executive Director Beyer stated that at staff level the issue of flooding is the top priority, and he intends to keep Council apprised of what is being done regarding the issue of flooding on a monthly basis. The joint meeting was adjourned at 9:30 PM. JEANNE M. I&RCINI, City Clerk/Agency Secretary APPROVED THIS DAY OF , 1984 MAYOR/AGENCY CHAIRMAN OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL SRCC/SRRA Minutes (Special Joint) 1/18/84 Page 4