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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - June 12, 2001 SSCITY OF LODI INFORMAL INFORMATIONAL MEETING "SHIRTSLEEVE" SESSION CARNEGIE FORUM, 305 WEST PINE STREET TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2001 An Informal Informational Meeting ("Shirtsleeve" Session) of the Lodi City Council was held Tuesday, June 12, 2001 commencing at 7:02 a.m. A. ROLL CALL Present: Council Members — Hitchcock, Howard, Land, Pennino and Mayor Nakanishi Absent: Council Members — None Also Present: City Manager Flynn, City Attorney Hays, and City Clerk Blackston B. CITY COUNCIL CALENDAR UPDATE City Clerk Blackston reviewed the weekly calendar (filed). Announcements City Manager Flynn announced that he sent flowers on behalf of the Council and Administration to former City Manager Hank Glaves who is in the hospital. At the request of Mr. Flynn, Public Works Director Prima reported that last September a number of streets were chip sealed, including Crescent, the frontage along Hutchins Street, Vineyard Drive, and Aspen Grove Drive. A new product called Polymer Modified oil was used, which has since created a number of problems. Some areas have had to be re -patched. A more serious problem has occurred in certain areas where the oil has softened to the point where the rock has become mobile. Staff is working with a consultant on a solution to which they expect to have resolved later this week. Mayor Nakanishi asked when Jackson Street would be resurfaced. Mr. Prima replied that he would obtain the information and report back. C. TOPIC(S) C-1 "Parks and Recreation Commission presentation on Parks and Recreation Project priorities" Parks and Recreation Director Baltz introduced the Parks and Recreation Commission members. Commissioner Bob Johnson reported that the Parks and Recreation Commission held two public meetings for the purpose of obtaining public input on the priority of capital projects. The meetings were well attended and included representatives from the swimming community, BOBS, and Friends of Lodi Lake. The top three parks projects selected by the community at these meetings were: Indoor Sports Complex, Aquatics Center, and DeBenedetti Park. Mr. Johnson provided the following information describing the Commission's position and concerns related to the three proposed projects: Indoor Sports Complex The City does not own any indoor gym space facilities. As programs have grown, scheduling at various school and church gyms has become more difficult. The City rents space at the Grape Festival, but this is costly and inadequate. Lease of the Armory building will help; however, it will not solve the problem. Currently under consideration is a $6 million, 30,000 square foot indoor sports facility at a site east of the railroad tracks. It Continued June 12, 2001 is to include three basketball courts, bathrooms, offices, and meeting rooms for community use. The Commission is concerned about whether this proposal adequately plans for future growth and needs. They also feel that the offices and meeting rooms are not an appropriate use of this athletic facility. Aquatics Center The City owns two small outdoor pools. The indoor pool at Hutchins Street Square is considered to be for therapeutic/rehabilitation or senior swimming purposes. The City has a growing summer swim program and greater need for expanded swimming lessons and facilities for competitive swimming activities. The proposed $3 million Aquatics Center would be a multi -pool facility to accommodate competitive and recreational swimming. The Commission is concerned about an over -emphasis on competitive swimming. Statistics indicate that 75% of all swimming activities in a community take place in less than five feet of water. There should be a balance between competitive and recreational swimming in this project. The Commission prefers the site west of Lower Sacramento Road, behind the Baptist Church. DeBenedetti Park The BOBS organization has complained for years about the lack of adequate sports facilities. Salas Park, completed 20 years ago, was the last significant sports complex built in Lodi. The plan for DeBenedetti Park calls for a 49 -acre site, a portion of which is to be utilized for a storm drain basin, and calls for three baseball fields, three softball fields, two soccer fields, a multi-purpose field, parking, lighting, and restrooms. It is a $6 to $7 million project to be phased in over a number of years. The Commission is concerned that there may be problems similar to what was encountered at Peterson Park. As new subdivisions are built around DeBenedetti Park there may be opposition by surrounding residents to lighted fields, etc. Mr. Johnson noted that all three of these projects were mentioned as needed in the 1994 Master Plan adopted by the City Council. Design costs are anticipated to be 10% — 12% of the total project cost. The Commission urges the Council to designate these projects in the 2001-03 budget and allow the Parks and Recreation staff to move forward in seeking Requests for Proposals and initiate the design process. Community members at the public meetings held by the Commission expressed an interest in the possibility of funding these projects through a '/4% sales tax increase. Using a multiplier of ten, this could generate $17 million for these projects. Individuals that proposed the sales tax increase felt that it should be dedicated specifically to Parks and Recreation projects and should have a sunset. Another funding option would be a Certificate of Participation (COP). In addition to funding the construction of these projects, ongoing costs for operation and maintenance needs to be considered. The Commission requests that the Council not authorize using the $600,000 in Proposition 12 funds as part of the financing for these projects. PUBLIC COMMENTS: • Blaine DeYoung, President of the BOBS organization, 2855 Bristol Lane, Lodi, fully endorsed and supported the Commission's recommendations for these projects. He reminded the Council that BOBS has approximately 5,000 youth involved in its programs annually, which represents 10,000 voters. He believed the '/,% sales tax increase is an option worth exploring. • Don Smith stated that he has been involved with youth in the community for 35 years and represents the Lodi Sports Foundation. These new facilities would keep thousands of students and children off the street for a significant number of hours. Mayor Pro Tempore Pennino agreed that planning for future growth needs to be taken into consideration when designing the Indoor Sports Complex, particularly if funded through COPs spread out over 30 years. He also agreed that meeting rooms inside the Sports Center would not make the best use of the facility. In reference to the Aquatics 2 Continued June 12, 2001 Center, he expressed support for a 50 -meter pool. Mayor Pro Tempore Pennino stated that he was adamantly opposed to a sales tax increase and believed that the City has funds available for the projects. He explained that a sales tax increase would harm the District's efforts to pass a school bond. He agreed that the $600,000 of Proposition 12 funds should not be spent toward financing the projects. Mr. Johnson pointed out that the school bond issue would be decided before a sales tax increase could be considered by the voters. The school bond is a property tax, whereas the sales tax increase would effect everyone, including those from outside the community. As an example, a %% sales tax increase would amount to only 25 cents on a $100 grocery bill. Council Member Howard agreed that the $600,000 Proposition 12 money should not be used toward these specific projects, as it could be utilized elsewhere with the needs of the Parks and Recreation Department. She also agreed that planning for future growth is important when considering the Indoor Sports Complex and believed that the 30,000 square foot space was only for phase 1 of the facility. Mr. Baltz reported that Council took action a few weeks ago for staff to negotiate a land purchase of approximately 30,000 square feet near the railroad tracks. This was for a parcel of land to be used for a campus concept for the Indoor Sports Complex. There are two additional pieces of property totaling another 30,000 square feet. In reference to Proposition 12, Mr. Baltz explained that the Council recently adopted a resolution, which will be sent to the State. The State will then send the City a contract that it will enter into for spending the Proposition 12 funds. The City must specifically identify and apply for the projects, which it wants to use grant funds on. Council Member Land pointed out that the Indoor Sports Complex, Aquatics Center, and DeBenedetti Park were included in the 1994 Recreation and Open Space Plan. He expressed support in moving forward with these projects. Mayor Nakanishi stated that his priorities are the Indoor Sports Complex, Aquatics Center, Animal Shelter, and DeBenedetti Park. He fully supported moving forward on the design process so that funding could then be considered. Council Member Hitchcock recalled that the Development Impact Fee report indicated that these projects would be paid for. She questioned where the Impact Fee money was spent and noted that if the City does not have sufficient funds to pay for the design costs related to these projects, then it is unlikely that it will find another $3.5 million a year to pay for the construction out of the General Fund. She challenged Mayor Pro Tempore Pennino to present to the Council and the public, a City budget that would include sufficient funds for construction of these projects, as well as the ongoing operations and maintenance costs. She expressed support for a sales tax increase as a funding option. City Manager Flynn stated that schools are critical to attracting people and businesses to the community. He stated that there are two choices for financing the projects: 1) a general obligation bond, paid for with a tax increase, or 2) a COP, which is a lease purchase arrangement. COPs can be paid by existing property or sales tax. According to the long-range plan developed by PFM (the City's financial advisor) the City could finance these projects over the next ten years. In reply to Council Member Hitchcock's concerns about the Impact Fees, Mr. Flynn acknowledged that the City is approximately 30% behind where it should be at this time. Public Works Director Prima explained that the Impact Fee program was developed in 1991. At that time approximately $18 million was designated for Parks and Recreation projects. The Impact Fee program was slow in getting started because of a two-year downturn in the economy just after its initiation. The Impact Fees have been used to prepare the City's Master Plan and to build Katzakian and Peterson Parks, as well as to acquire additional land for Roget and DeBenedetti Parks. The balance of the Impact 3 Continued June 12, 2001 Fees is now in the hundreds of thousand dollar range. The City has developed only 30% of the land that is included in the program, which is in part, the reason there is not enough money in the Impact Fee account to pay for these projects. Council Member Land objected to the intimation that the City may have misplaced or hidden funds. The Impact Fees are spent as they come in and used in an appropriate manner. Impact Fees for new development were not intended to pay for 100% of the facilities. All options of revenue should be considered, including sales tax, grants, service fees, user fees, impact fees, and donations. Council Member Hitchcock stated that the Council has diverted funds to other projects and suggested that a two-year budget may not be a good idea because it aides in loosing focus on priorities. Randy Snider, Chairman of the Aquatics Task Force, asked whether the City could lock in the current favorable interest rates for these projects. Mr. Flynn stated that the projects must be designed prior to obtaining financing. Mayor Nakanishi stated that he is against a tax increase and supported moving forward) on the design of these projects. Randy Snider reported that the Aquatics Task Force recommended approval of the Request for Proposals of the Aquatics Center that was presented to them by Parks and Recreation Director Baltz. They feel that there should be an emphasis in the recreational aspect of the Center, which will be its primary purpose. Mayor Pro Tempore Pennino emphasized the need to begin working on the fund-raising aspect of these projects and hoped to have scale models that could be used when making presentations to potential contributors. City Manager Flynn introduced Steve Dutra, new Parks Superintendent, who gave a brief summary to Council of his background. D. COMMENTS BY THE PUBLIC ON NON -AGENDA ITEMS None. E. ADJOURNMENT No action was taken by the City Council. The meeting was adjourned at 8:13 a.m. ATTEST: Susan J. Blackston City Clerk 4 Mayor's & Council Wmbei o's Weekly- Wendnr WEEK OF JUNE 12, 2001 Tuesday, June 12, 2001 7:00 a.m. Shirtsleeve Session 1. Review of proposed 2001/03 Financial Plan and Budget 4:00 - 8:00 p.m. Community Workshop for the proposed Civic Center Parking Structure, Carnegie Forum. Wednesday, June 13, 2001 8:00 a.m. Groundwater Banking Authority Coordinating Committee/Board of Directors Meeting, 5JC Public Works Building, Conference Room, Stockton. Thursday, June 14, 2001 7:00 p.m. Nakanishi. Lodi Youth Commission Teen Lead Program Graduation Ceremony, Hutchins Street Square - Crete Hall. 7:00 p.m. Land. Arch Bear & Lighting Dedication (in conjunction with the Downtown Farmers Market). Council Member Land to give welcome. Friday, June 15, 2001 9:00 a.m. 2nd Annual 011ie Gibb's Golf Classic, Oakmore Golf Course, Stockton. Saturday, June 16, 2001 Sunday, June 17, 2001 Monday, June 18, 2001 APPA Annual Conference, Washington D.C., 6/18 - 6/20/01 (no Council attendees). Disclaimer: This calendar contains only information that was provided to the City Clerk's offce council', nis6mcaindr.doc