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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/19/1984 Meeting M I NUT E S e City Council Revenue Work Session McNutt Room June 19, 1984 6:55 p.m. PRESENT: Brian Obie, Mayor-elect; Richard Hansen, Debra Erhman, Freeman Holmer, Cynthia Wooten, John Ball, Councilors; Ruth Bascom, Councilor-elect; Mike Gleason, City Manager; Dave Whitlow, Assistant City Manager; Warrren Wong, Finance Director; Ed Smith, Hult Center; Gary Long, Administrative Services; Bob Coleman, Facilities; Marilynne Musso, Bob Deis, Finance; Bill Guenzler, Dave Reinhard, Public Works; Tim Birr, City Manager's office. Mayor-elect Obie called the worksession to order. Mr. Wong said the staff would present information about the capital project needs of the City. The council would then have an opportunity to decide about appropriate funding for the projects. 1. CAPITAL PROJECT REQUIREMENTS e A. Street System Mr. Guenzler reported on the street system using charts, a map, and slides. He discussed the need for street overlay, reconstruction and new construction. He estimated the ten year cost to be $29,500,000. The estimate would not solve all the problems. Many large projects had been excluded from the list. There was a big back-log of work that needed to be done. The estimate did not include any streets in the Santa Clara area or the unannexed section of the River Road area. Revenues from a three cent/gallon, four cent/gallon, and five cent/gallon gas tax were estimated. Answering questions, Mr. Gleason said new streets are constructed with systems development charges, Bancroft moneys, and other funds. Several years ago, a reserve of systems development charges was built up, but it has now been spent. Street repairs and constructions would have to be financed some other way. Adjacent property owners would not be assessed for overlays or reconstruction if they had paid for the streets once. Property owners could be assessed for reconstruction of streets which were not built to City standards. Those property owners could use Bancroft funds for the assessments. Some block grant funds are used for the Capital Improvement Program (CIP). They might be allocated for street improvements if the streets affected blight or low-income people, but the funds are very limited. e MINUTES--City Council Revenue Work Session June 19, 1984 Page 1 B. Parks System e Mr. Drapela said equity in the park system was one of the purposes of the Parks Master Plan. He pointed out that parks must change because people in the neighborhood change. For example, elderly people do not use playgrounds. He reviewed needed park acquisitions and development in each section of the city. He distributed a report dated May 15, 1984, prepared by the Aquatic Resources Study Committee. A balanced approach to acquisitions and development is needed. The City cannot ignore the future. The City is developing maintenance techniques which are not labor-intensive. Answering questions, Mr. Drapela said Alton Baker Park is not included in the Parks Master Plan, although it and Armitage Park may some day be within the City system. He did not have a definite plan for financing the parks. The public would probably respond best to atheletic facilities, completion of the ridgeline trail, and a swimming facility. The proposed Emerald Canal was not included in the Parks Master Plan. The 1976 bond issue is the only one the city is paying back related to parks. C. Other Capital Requirements Mr. Smith reviewed the City's buildings and equipment and said a comprehensive program for their maintenance is needed. Answering questions, he said the City leases 35,000 square feet of office e space for $227,000 annually. The FFA and revenue bonds may finance the expansion of the airport. II. COUNCIL DISCUSSION Ms. Wooten was not interested in working with the Springfield Council on a gas tax this year. She was not interested in funding new capital projects or a $3 million street overlay maintenance program this year, but she was willing to discuss an alternative revenue source to fund existing items in the budgets, such as the Hult Center. She might be willing to discuss a gas tax for the street maintenance program next year. Services that have been cut cannot be restored for two or three years. The council should wait for the economy to get better and to see what happens in the November elections. Mr. Hanson suggested the council tell the public what a two or three cent gas tax would buy in the next ten years and then get feedback from the public. Roads are a neccessity and they are in terrible shape. The capital projects budget had been robbed to pay operational costs in the past and operational costs would continue to go up. The council could probably not go to the voters for an increase in the operational costs but the voters might want to approve special funds for roads. e MINUTES--City Council Revenue Work Session June 19, 1984 Page 2 Mr. Holmer said there was enough money in the City's estimated revenues to pay for the street overlay program. The problem was that salaries were ~ being increased by over 6% when the estimated cost of living increase was only percent. He di d not want to ask the voters for money to repl ace unj ustifi ed expenditures. The City was not doing an adequate job of maintaining the infrastructure, but maintenance should be done within finishing resources. Mr. Gleason pointed out the City is in binding arbitration proceedings now. The council had adopted a conservative budget. There might have to be major cuts in the next year. The operational budget was really better funded that the capital budget. Mr. Obie also thought the citizens should have an opportunity to consider spec ifi c needs. Mr. Ball suggested the figures be refined by the staff. Then the council could consider a utility or gas tax. Mr. Obie wondered what it would cost to reconstruct and overlay the streets that are in extremely bad condition. Mr. Guenzler said the City has a $3 million backlog of paving needs and is neglecting about half a million dollars of work each year. The City needs $1.2 million to maintain the status quo on paved streets. A three cent gas tax would provide the $1.2 million. Ms. Erhmann and Mr. Ball did not want to wait to see what would happen to Ballot Measure 3. . Mr. Gleason discussed the presentation the council had been given. The City ... is spending about $500,000 more on operating expenditures than is received ~ in revenue and $5 to $7 million less on capital expenditures than is needed. Ms. Erhmann was in favor of considering a complete list of what is needed. Mr. Obie asked what process the councilors wanted to follow. Mr. Hansen suggested three packages--roads, parks, and buildings--be developed. The needs and a way to fund them should be in the package and then the public should be asked to comment. Mr. Obie instructed the staff to summarize the evening's presentations on one page and to summarize revenue opportunies on one page for the next council meeting on capital projects. Resll.ectf~ SUb~ ~~CZ. ~~~~ ~ Michael Gl eason City Manager (Recorded by Betty Lou Rarick) BLR:ky/CM23a21 e MINUTES--City Council Revenue Work Session June 19, 1984 Page 3