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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPA4 CMTE - 06/19/06PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY MEMORANDUM TO: RACHELLE KLASSEN, CITY CLERK FROM: BETH LONGMAN SENIOR OFFICE ASSISTANT DATE: SEPTEMBER 21, 2006 SUBJECT: SUBMISSION OF MINUTES FOR THE CITIZENS' ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR PROJECT AREA NO. 4 Attached is a copy of the approved Minutes from the June 19, 2006, meeting of the Project Area No. 4 Committee. Please let me know if you have any questions or need additional information. Thank you. Lea Attachment (as noted) G:\RDA\Beth Longman\CommttteeslPA MMlnute Transmittal.doc PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY CITIZENS' ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR PROJECT AREA NO. 4 MINUTES June 19, 2006 CALL TO ORDER Chairman Campbell called a regular meeting to order on Monday, June 19, 2006, at 3:00 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Members Present: Russell Campbell, Chairman Charles Ash Fred Benford Harry Church Robert Duncan Roberta Grubb Frank Prouix Sherry Trevor Also Present: Members Absent: Jane Daugherty Douglas Luhring Susan McMillen. Mike Adkins, Code Compliance Officer Lauri Aylaian, Redevelopment Manager Randy Case, Palm Desert Country Club Development LLC Phil Drell, Director of Planning Mark Greenwood, Director of Public Works Chris Herrington, Intern Richard Kelly, Councilmember Justin McCarthy, ACM/Redevelopment Beth Longman, Acting Recording Secretary Aria Scott, Senior Financial Analyst Dave Simmons, Kosmont Companies Robert Spiegel, Councilmember Janis Steele, Parks and Recreation Manager Larry Taylor, Golf Links Veronica Tapia, RDA Accountant Dave Yrigoyen, Director of Redevelopment/Housing CITIZENS' ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR PROJECT AREA NO.4 MINUTES JUNE 19, 2006 III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Member Grubb stated that she had recently seen the film "An Inconvenient Truth" and highly recommended that everyone see it, including the City Council members. It is a documentary on global warming and she thinks the City could benefit from implementing programs to limit the effects of global warming. Member Trevor commented that she thinks the City has already taken the first step with the use of hybrid cars. Member Grubb stated that she would like to see more efforts in this area, and she would be willing to work on a committee for the environment if the City Council pursues more of these types of programs. IV. CONSENT CALENDAR APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE CITIZENS' ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR PROJECT AREA NO. 4 MEETING OF MARCH 20, 2006. Member Ash stated that the residence he reported as having an accumulation of junk around it was on Illinois Avenue and not Wyoming Avenue. The Minutes will be corrected to reflect this change. MOTION made by Member Duncan, and unanimously carried, that the meeting, as corrected, be approved. V. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None VI. NEW BUSINESS None VII. CONTINUED BUSINESS None Vlll. OLD BUSINESS seconded by Member Benford, minutes of the March 20, 2006, Member Ash said he understood that a traffic report was suppose to have been presented to the golf course developers approximately three months ago, but that nothing had yet been presented. He is concerned with the traffic flow, the marking of the golf cart crossings, and that the curbs in the golf cart crossing areas need to be smoothed out. He is also concerned G: RDA\Beth Longman\Comm ttees\PA #4\Minutes\2006 MinutesWhnutes 061906.doc 2 CITIZENS' ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR PROJECT AREA NO.4 MINUTES JUNE 19, 2006 about speeders in the area of the intersection at New York Avenue and California Avenue and recommends that a stop sign be installed. Mark Greenwood will prepare a report for presentation at the September 18 meeting. IX. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS A. PROGRESS AT PALM DESERT COUNTRY CLUB Randy Case reported that he and Larry Kosmont have purchased two-thirds of the interest in the Palm Desert Country Club from Mr. Cho. They are in escrow and hope to close within the next few days. Mr. Case announced that they have signed a contract with Golf Links to be the overall operator of the golf course and clubhouse. He then introduced Larry Taylor from Golf Links, and stated that in the future Mr. Taylor will be accompanying him to the meetings to keep the committee updated. He also introduced Dave Simmons who works for Kosmont Company and does liaison work with the community. Mr. Case provided an update on the construction- reporting that the 18-hole golf course is completed, and the nine -hole executive course is nearly complete. The executive course will probably not open until October or November following the overseeding and the completion of the construction in the area of the first tee. The construction on the exterior of the clubhouse is almost completed and work is progressing on the interior. The drywalling and final wiring are underway, and light fixtures and paint colors have been selected. A soft opening is anticipated sometime in August or September with a grand opening in early October. Plans for the maintenance building are being finalized with the construction timeframe expected to be approximately two months. Plans for the restrooms and the pump house on seventeen have also been submitted. These facilities will be constructed at the same time as the maintenance building. All construction except the infrastructure in the 54-lot clubhouse area should be completed within the next two to two and a half months. Mr. Case provided the committee with a copy of an article that will be included in the next homeowners' association newsletter. The article addresses the complaints received about brown spots on the golf course. These spots are the result of the rye grass dying out G:\RDA\Beth Longman\Committees\PA #4\Minutes\2006 Minutes\Minutes 061906.Ooc 3 CITIZENS' ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR PROJECT AREA NO. 4 MINUTES JUNE 19. 2006. with the onset of hot weather and exposing areas of weak Bermuda grass. They are continuing to seed new Bermuda grass and apply fertilizer, but it will take time to bring back the Bermuda grass. This should not be a problem by next summer. The new irrigation system is also undergoing adjustments and it takes time to get everything in sync. The courses will be beautiful this winter following the rye grass overseeding in the fall. Member Proulx recalled that in early meetings with the homeowners they were told that during the first season the grass would not be all green. Member Benford asked for an update on the status of the incident of the vehicle driving on the golf course and causing damage to both the course and to the vehicle and its occupants. Mr. Case replied that the driver has been identified and their attorney has followed up with the detective handling the case. They are still intent on prosecuting the individual, but the matter has stalled. There are still problems with people thinking the golf course is a park that can be used as a playground. They are diligent about reporting these incidents to the police, and have a great set of marshals patrolling the course. Member Grubb stated that they are still looking forward to a tour of the course and facility. Mr. Case replied that they intend to invite the committee for lunch and a tour when construction is complete. Councilman Spiegel asked if they had started selling houses. Mr. Case replied that D.R. Horton had begun selling, but that he did not know how many houses had been sold. Councilman Kelly commented that the floor plans he has seen are well laid out. Mr. Case stated that the architect does a lot of desert homes, and that D.R. Horton is very happy with all of the floor plans. Member Benford stated that it doesn't appear that the course is being well utilized, and asked if any consideration was being given to lowering prices. Mr. Case replied that they had just lowered the price to $35 from opening to 12 noon, and $25 after noon. These prices are as low as anywhere in the area. B. PRESENTATION OF PROJECT AREA 4 BOND ISSUANCE Dave Yrigoyen reported that the Agency was embarking on an overall bond issue for all of its project areas. Essentially, they are looking at $125 million of new money with about $25 million of refunding. He introduced Arla Scott and Veronica Tapia. Ms. Scott is a Senior Financial Analyst, and Ms. Tapia is the Redevelopment Accountant. They are both part of the team doing the overall bond issue. G:\RDA\Beth Longman\Committees\PA #4\Minutes\2006 Minutes\Minutes 061906.doc 4 CITIZENS' ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR PROJECT AREA NO. 4 MINUTES JUNE 19, 2006, Ms. Scott presented the particulars of the bond issue for Project Area No. 4 stating that they expect to price the bonds on July 12, and close the bonds on July 24 and 25. The bonds consist of two series: current interest bonds for $14,120,000, and a capital appreciation bond series for $4,795,000. A small portion of the series 1998 bond issue will also be paid off allowing new bonds to be issued. After all of the various cost of issuance are paid, there should be approximately $15,480,000 in bond proceeds. The bond proceeds will be used for necessary work on neighborhood and arterial undergrounding as well as the Fred Waring sound wall. The bonds were insured by MBIA (Municipal Bond Insurance Association) and have ratings of A3 from Moody's, and A- Stable from S & P. Member Benford asked how the bonds are to be paid back. Mr. Yrigoyen stated that these are tax increment bonds from the Redevelopment Agency. In order to continue to collect tax increment revenue, debt must be placed against the revenue. He explained that at the time a redevelopment project area is created, the amount of the existing property tax becomes the base property tax. Any tax collected over and above the base property tax becomes tax increment revenue that comes to the redevelopment agency to be used to alleviate blight. Phil Drell- further explained that this tax increment revenue is used to sell bonds that provide the funding to build parks, streets, and buildings. Taxes are not increased to create this revenue, but rather the revenue is generated through normal property appreciation resulting in increased tax on the value of the property. Member Grubb asked what the Project Area 4 redevelopment projects are. Ms. Scott replied that new projects are the Fred Waring sound wall, the undergrounding of neighborhood utilities, and the undergrounding of arterial utilities. Freedom Park, the Fred Waring street improvements, the Warner Trail storm drain improvements, and undergrounding of utilities are projects funded from the previous bond issue. Councilman Spiegel pointed out that residents are also required to contribute to the neighborhood undergounding of utilities if the project is approved. C. REPORT ON FRED WARING WIDENING PROJECT Mark Greenwood provided a handout showing the timeframe and projected cost for installing the soundwall along various portions of Fred Waring. He stated that the City Council had awarded the soundwall contract to Sukut Construction of Santa Ana for $6,931,432.50, which was higher than the initial estimate. The G1RDA\Beth LongmanZommitteesTA #4\Minutes\2006 MinutesUnutes 061906.doc 5 CITIZENS' ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR PROJECT AREA NO. 4 MINUTES JUNE 19, 2006, widening plans are currently in design, and it is expected that the street widening will begin in the spring of 2007 with completion in the fall of 2007. Member Benford asked about the center median area that is not landscaped yet, and whether it is the responsibility of Palm Desert or Indian Wells. Mr. Greenwood replied that Palm Desert is the lead on that project and he expects work will start on that area in the fall of 2006. D. UPDATE ON FREEDOM PARK Janis Steele reported that construction began on the park approximately one month ago. The official groundbreaking was May 24 and they are working on the site. She expects completion to be in the spring of 2007. X. REPORTS AND REMARKS A. COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON/MEMBERS None B. AGENCY BOARD LIAISONS None C. PLANNING COMMISSION LIAISON None D. STAFF As a follow up to Member Grubbs' request on energy issues, Mr. Yrigoyen reported that the City is developing an Office of Energy Management to identify programs that will assist with energy conservation measures. He asked the committee if they would be interested in a presentation from the director of that program. The response was affirmative and a presentation will be scheduled for the September 18 meeting. XI. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the eeting as adjourned at 3:43 p.m. / y s Beth Longman, Aecording Secretary GARMBeth Longman\Comrnittees\PA #4\Minu1es\2006 Minutes\Minutes 061906.doc L�: