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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/11/04 B A K E R S F I E L D CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE MEMORANDUM June 11,2004 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: Alan Tandy, City Manager ~7-'L~.,?, SUBJECT: General Information 1. The opening of the McMurtrey Aquatic Center.got off to a great start this week with the ribbon cutting and fundraiser events. Continuing with "Pack the Pool" on Saturday and the official opening on Monday, we're expecting a very positive response from the community. There will be grand "reopening" events at the Beale Pool on Monday, June 14th at 12:00 p.m. and the MLK Pool on Wednesday, June 16th at 12:30 p.m. 2. This week, the Budget Conference Committee (which includes members of the Senate and Assembly) asked the State Legislative Analyst to rewrite a constitutional protection measure that protects the "aggregate" amount of local government revenues, but permits the Legislature to move revenue around among local jurisdictions. It would actually allow the State to force us to give our revenues to other cities. This latest suggestion for "reform" would simply be another creative method for the State to manipulate our funds as they do now! The enclosed letter of strong opposition to the new proposal was sent to the Committee. More information on the push to revamp the Governor's proposal is included in several articles, including the League's weekly publication from June 4th, and the June 11th Sacramento Bee and Los Angeles Times. The attached June 7th report from the Police Chief's Association indicates that the full reimbursement of booking fees to city police departments for another year is at risk. We had assumed that could happen, so we did not budget for the revenue. 3. Water Resources Manager Florn Core reports that an unexpected full flow test of the repaired Carrier Canal system from Golden State Highway to Coffee Road occurred this week. Due to the levee failure in the San Joaquin delta, and the resultant loss of California Aqueduct deliveries, local Kern River water was ordered from Isabella Reservoir, at extraordinarily high flows, to make up for the deficiencies. City Water Resources crews ramped the flows in the Carrier Canal through the reconstructed Oak Street culvert and the refurbished road crossing Honorable Mayor and City Council June 11, 2004 Page 2 culverts along Truxtun Extension to a maximum rate of 750 cubic feet per second. Extra canal patrols were scheduled during the high flow period. The culvert crossings all safely passed the water without incident. The culverts will be thoroughly inspected when the canal is shut down. 4. A status report on the use of the $2.0 million from CDBG and Section 108 funding for projects in southeast Bakersfield is enclosed. AT:rs cc: Department Heads Pam McCarthy, City Clerk Trudy Slater, Administrative Analyst DEPARTMENT OF RECREATION AND PARKS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: June 11, 2004 Holly Larson (661) 326-3150 Re-Opening of Beale Pool Set for Monday, June 14 The City of Bakersfield is pleased to invite the media and the public to the rs-opening of Beale Pool. Due to the amazing efforts of the Bakersfield Californian, KBAK and American General Media and the generous donations of the citizens of Bakersfield, we are very pleased to re-open this pool for our summer season. Mayor Harvey L. Hall and representatives from the Bakersfield Californian will be present to recognize the re-opening of this facility. In celebration, the first 50 children will be admitted free of charge. Date: June 14, 2004 Time: Noon Location: Beale Pool (Oleander & Dracena) Fee: The first 50 children are free! B A K E R S F. I E L' D City Manager's Office PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Rhonda Smiley Friday, June 11, 2004 City Manager's Office Public Relations (661) 326-3753 GRAND "RE-OPENING" EVENT ANNOUNCED FOR MLK POOL The media and members of the community are cordially invited to attend a special ribbon cutting ceremony to recognize the grand "re-opening" of the MLK Pool on Wednesday, June 16th at 12:30 p.m. The pool is located adjacent to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Park and Community Center at East California Avenue and King Street. The MLK Pool has recently undergone a major renovation project, which was funded by Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funds. Councilmember Irma Carson, along with neighborhood citizens, will be on hand to commemorate the grand re-opening of the pool. Special guests will include children from the Police Activities League facility, who will be taking the first jump into the pool to celebrate the reopening and officially kick off the MLK summer swim season. For more information, please contact Rhonda Smiley at 326-3753. City of Bakersfield · City Manager's Office · 1501 Truxtun Avenue Bakersfield, California · 93301 (661) 326-3751 · Fax (661) 324-1850 June 11,2004 Budget Conference Committee Members: Senator Wes Chesbro, VIA FAX (Fax (916) 323-6958 Senator Dede Alpert, VIA FAX (Fax (916) 327-2188 Senator Ross Johnson, VIA FAX (Fax: (949) 833-0696 (Irvine) Assembl~, Member Darrell Steinberg, VIA FAX (Fax: (916) 319-2109 Assembly Member Judy Chu, VIA FAX (FAX: 916-319-2149 Assembly Member Rick Keene, VIA FAX (Fax: (916) 319-2103 RE: OPPOSITION TO AGGREGATE PROTECTION PROPOSAL Dear Budget Conference Committee Members: In the Budget Conference Committee meeting of June 9, the Legislative Analyst was given the assignment to completely rewrite a constitutional protection measure for local government revenue that protects the "aggregate" amount of local government revenues but permits the Legislature to move revenue around among local government jurisdictions. This is no different from the current system that permits the State Legislature to manipulate local government funding to accomplish state purposes and which has had such a devastating impact on local government. This provides no protection, no stability and no predictability in local government, continuing to leave it at the mercy of State Legislative whims. With statewide aggregate protection, revenues are protected at the statewide level but City A can be forced by the Legislature to give all or a portion of its revenues to City B or County A. There is no protection, no stability, and no predictability in this proposal for any one or all local governments who have widely diverse economic needs and resources. Such a measure would leave local governments in a position where they would not be able to plan for nor provide necessary community services. 'This places not only local government at risk but the entire State of California as the serious unintended consequences of such an action unfolds. The City of Bakersfield urges your strongest opposition to the aggregate protection proposal being pushed by Senator Steinberg. Harvey L. Hall Mayor cc: .Members of the City Council City Manager, Department Heads Administrative Analyst 1501 Truxtun Avenue · Bakersfield, Califomia 93301 · (661) 326-3770 · Fax (661) 326-3779 E-mail address: mayor@BakersfieldCity, us Article from Priority Focus (http://www.imake~ews~m/pd~rit~f~cus/e-artic~e~26.~58~cfmZx.=.b3cWk~.L~bl~3bgbv) .lune 4~ 2004 Budget Conference Committee Begins Deliberations The Budget Conference Committee began work this week to reconcile differences between the Senate and Assembly versions of the state budget bill. The conference committee is scheduled to meet this weekend, and every day through at least June 11. The committee members are: Senators Wesley Chresbro (D- Arcata), Dede Alpert (D - San Diego) and Ross Johnson (R - Irvine; and Assemblymembers Darrell Steinberg (D - Sacramento), Judy Chu (D - Monterey Park) and Rick Keene (R - Chico). ~ Some legislators have expressed concerns about the budget agreements the governor has struck with various parties. The deepest concerns seem to focus on the funding cuts in health and welfare and in education (particularly the increased higher education student fees and limited enrollment opportunities in the U.C. system). But there are also indications that legislators will push for changes to some aspects of the local government agreement negotiated by our LOCAL coalition with Governor Schwarzenegger. (Note: the language for the local government package- the statutory language and constitutional amendment - are close to completion, and may be available in printed bill form next week.) Concerns in the local government package include: · Locking in a lower VLF rate in the consti- tution. · A constitutional amendment that would require the state to make good on its promise to reimburse cities and counties for the FY 2003-04 VLF funding gap loan (about $1.3 billion total, with $520 million going to cities). (l~s one thing to promise to repay local government. It's another thing to put the requirement in the consti- tution.) · A continuing desire on the part of some legislators to take advantage of the constitutional measure in the local gov- ernment package to achieve a long- sought policy goal of swapping some portion of local sales tax for property tax. supporters of this approach believe that this revenue swap will create incentives for local government to approve more housing, rather than commercial develop ment, which produces sales tax. The League strongly opposes changes to the local government package, which has been carefully negotiated with the governor and our LOCAL coalition partners over many months. Indeed, core concepts embedded in the package have been carefully analyzed and negotiated among cities, and among our local government partners, literally for years. We are deeply concerned that "quick fix" approaches based on theory, rather than careful analysis, will lead the state and local government down the "unintended consequences" path that the state carved out with energy deregulation. We urge city officials to contact their legislators and ask them to support the budget package and constitutional amendment as negotiated. Constitutional reform is the most important priority for the League and our members. It is the only way to provide predictability and stability for local services, and to ensure that our cities can plan for the current and future needs. The arguments against the sales tax/property tax swap proposal are as follows: · There is No Evidence That a Swap Will Change Decision-Making. The advo- cates for such a proposal contend that a swap of this nature would make local decision-making less reliant on the ap- proval of retail development to fund city services, but there are no credible studies that test or confirm this premise. Moreover, cities have supported legislation that has passed in recent years to limit local tax incentives for large retail projects. There is no compelling reason to give up a key local government revenue source simply to experiment with this untested theory. ... · Administration Package Balances Local Revenues. The local government finance package agreed to by local governments and the administration already shifts about $4.1 billion in property tax revenue to local government in exchange for vehicle license fee revenues. This change in local finance will make significant strides in better balancing the mix of local government revenues. As a result, beginning in FY 2006-07 cities on a statewide basis will be receiving more revenues from property tax than sales tax for the first time since before Proposition 13 in 1978. No further changes are needed until the impact of this change in local finance can be ad equately assessed. City officials should coordinate with their League Regional Representatives in the area to generate letters and phone calls to members of the Assembly and Senate asking them to REJECT any attempt to amend the Administratiods local government finance package with another sales-tax-for-property-tax-swap proposal and to SUPPORT the package agreed to by the Administration and local government!!! (See related article: '_'.!~i.ng.~th~ LQ.C_.A_.L_._B_u_~Iget ?.~..~.!~_ag~: We.i..!~!.~.~_~.._Y_~U!'.~) http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-budget 1 l jUn 11 ,'1,6644438.story?coil=la-headlines-california THE STATE Key Budget ProviSion Attacked Some .legislators say Schwarzenegger's'vow to protect future local revenue doesn't mitigate cities' and counties' reliance on retail stores. By Evan Halper Times Staff Writer June ! 1, 2004 SACRAMENTO -- A group of lawmakers is seeking to block a linchpin of Gov. Amold Schwarzenegger's budget plan: the deal.he brokered with cities and counties to protect their revenue through a constitutional amendment. The lawmakers warn that the agreement would feed local governments' addiction to "big box" stores, such as Wal-Mart and Costco, that generate heavy sales taxes. "Why in the world would we lock into our Constitution a system of finance which discourages regional cooperation, discourages housing and discourages higher-end economic development?" Assembly Budget Committee Chairman Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) asked Thursday. "It just doesn't make any sense." under the agreement, local governments would sacrifice $1.3 billion during the next two years to help close the state's projected $14-billion deficit. In return, the governor would support a constitutional amendment to protect their share of state money -- including a large chunk of sales taxes -- from getting reduced in the future. But with the deadline for enacting a spending plan only.three weeks away, some lawmakers say they are unwilling to support a proposal that doesn't wean local ~govemments off their dependence on retail stores. In many cases, cities compete with one another to attract the mega-stores, offering multimillion-dollar incentives to corporations and the waiving of environmental rules. The group argues that 'the best way for the state to slow down the building of.big-box businesses and to encourage the construction of badly needed housing is to swap those sales taxes with a larger share of property taxes. They want such a swap included in the constitutional amendment. The latest bipartisan push follows years of efforts by groups across the political spectrum to reform state tax formulas to promote "smart growth" policies. "Because of cities' over-reliance on sales tax, they welcome and often overly subsidize big boxes," said Orange County Supervisor Chris Norby, a Republican and one of several local officials calling for changes in the tax formula. "This is our opportunity to fix a broken system." Sen. Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch), Sen. Denise Ducheny (D-San Diego) and Assemblyman Todd Spitzer (R-Orange) also warned against locking the sales tax allocation into the Constitution. But local government representatives say now is not the time to rush through complicated reforms. They have resisted past efforts because the proposals threatened to shortchange communities that had historically depended on big-box stores for revenue. T~offi~eials also reminded critics that if the agreement fell.apart, local governments would push hard to persuade voters to pass a measure that has already qualified for the November ballot. That measure would force the state to give back any money taken fi.om cities and counties this year to help balance the budget. Mike Madrid, a spokesman for the League of California Cities, said the Legislature's most important task right now related to local government was guaranteeing cities and counties some revenue stability. He said that the state had consistently used local governments as a piggy bank in tough times and that lawmakers needed to focus on preventing such a scenario if they hoped to avoid a showdown in November. ' ~' "You can't go to a dying patient on the table bleeding to death and ask them to change their will," he said. "you first must stop the bleeding." Madrid said "the door is always open" to reform the tax structure later and .warned of past well-intentioned reforms sped through the Legislature that had unintended results. "This is the same Legislature that brought us the electricity crisis," he said. "It is ludicrous. It is shameful. It is not the way government should be done." Administration officials also warned against pulling apart the complicated deal. "There are going to be opportunities for. any number of further reforms for local government in the future,'" said Department of Finance spokesman H.D. Palmer. "Our focus right noW should be on getting a responsible budget that doesn't increase taxes done in a timely manner." Although most Republicans stand behind the governor, there has been only lukewarm support among Democrats for his deal with local governments. But it is unclear whether Steinberg-- the lead budget negotiator in the Assembly-- has enough influence to keep colleagues from voting for the measure. After years of blowing their constitutional deadline, legislators are under intense political pressure this year to get a budget passed and signed by the governor before the ' fiscal year ends June 30. "The timing of this is just horrendous," said Assembly Budget Committee Vice Chairman Rick Keene (R-Chico). "These [tax-revision] proposals didn't get traction in the past for a reason. There were concerns that they Were not going to make people any better off." But Steinberg said cities and counties had to get serious now about reforming a "system of local government finance that is skewing land-use decisions." If lawmakers wait Until after that system is locked into the Constitution, he said, they may never get local officials back to the negotiating table: "Our view is, protection must be coupled with reform." If you want other stories on this topic, seamh the Archives at latlmes.com/archive& lSReprints Article licensing and reprint options Copyright 2004 Los Angeles Times This story is taken ,from Politics at sacbee.com.. Rift puts budget .pact at risk By Alexa Bluth -- Bee Capitol Bureau - (Publisl edSune 2004) A group of lawmakers said Thursday that they will fight Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget deal with cities and counties, signaling a growing rift between some key Democrats and the Republican governor as the days dwindle until Tuesday's key budget deadline. Assembly Budget Committee Chairman Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, is leading the opposition to .the agreement that the governor made last month with a coalition of groups rep.resenting local governments. Most opponents are Democrats, but one Republican legislator and a GOP county supervisor from Orange County, Chris 'Norby, also said. Thursday that they dislike part of the governor's deal. The local officials said they would accept steep budget cuts this year and next, in exchange for Schwarzenegger's support for a constitutional amendment that would prohibit state government from siphoning their tax dollars in future 'years. Democrats and Republicans have said they support the notion of preventing the state from grabbing local money to ~help fill in its own coffers. But the governor's deal, Steinberg and .others contend, would make permanent a flawed process in which the state doles out dollars to cities and counties. The current system --which would be cemented in the constitutional amendment lawmakers would place on November's ballot if Schwarzenegger and a coalition of local governments get their way - encourages sprawl and discourages the development of housing, Democrats said. Since 'Proposition 13 vastly reduced the amount of property taxes that would go to local governments, they have increasingly relied on sales taxes produced by commercial development. "We should not lock a broken system into the constitution," said Sacramento City Councilman Dave jOnes. "It will doom us to Continued sales tax competition between cities and counties." Steinberg has been .pressing for changes to the way in which the state distributes dollars to local governments, special districts and redevelopment agencies. He said the 'state should revamp the system to shrink cities' and counties' reliance on the sales tax. The race for sales tax revenues, Steinberg said, leads local governments to opt for developing so-called big-box retail centers and auto malls, rather than affordable housing. "Our view is that protection must be coupled with reform," Steinberg said. The coalition that struck the deal last month with Schwarzenegger on Thursday decried the efforts to undo the agreement. "The agreement between local government and the administration came after extensive deliberation and thoughtful negotiations," said Catherine Smith, executive director of the California Special Districts Association, in a prepared statement. "The constitutional amendment will ensure that local residents can have the stability and predictability they deserve to ensure that their critical local services will continue to be delivered." Schwarzenegger's accord with' local government, groups is just one of several he secured before sending his revised budget to the Legislature in mid-May. He also worked out side deals with leaders from the state's universities and with the powerful teachers union - persuading them to back his proposed cuts in exchange for the promise of protection or more money in coming years. A six-member budget panel has been meeting for two weeks, but has yet to tackle any of the issues covered in the agreements. And, lawmakers acknowledge, they are among the major remaining sticking points for the Legislature to agree upon a budget to send to the governor. Tuesday is the seldom-met constitutional deadline 'for the Legislature to send the governor a budget. Because the Legislature has customarily missed the mid-.lUne deadline, most negotiators say they are aiming to put a budget on Schwarzenegger's desk before the .]uly start of the fiscal year. Under the local government agreement, cities.and counties would swallow a $1.3 billion cut in each of the next two years if Schwarzenegger presses for-the constitutional amendment. The pact also would lower the amount of car-tax revenue that cities, receive, while .increasing their property tax share by the same amount. But the governor's deal would not change local governments' shar~e of sales tax revenues. Steinberg said he would accept alternatives to the deal, such as lowering the amount of sales tax and increasing the amount of property tax .that cities and counties receive. But he also acknowledged that 'crafting a new system .before the new fiscal year begins in less than three weeks will be difficult. So Steinberg and others have said they would accept a constitutional amendment that would protect the amount of money .cities and Counties get, but Would not specify how the money, would be distributed. ":It cannot preclude the possibility or opportunity for changing what we know is broken," Steinberg said. Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, R-Orange, said'he would not support a constitutional amendment that locked in the amount of money cities and counties will get in the future. But Republican Assemblyman Rick Keene, a member of the two-house panel negotiating .the Legislature's version of a budget agreement, criticized his Democratic counterparts for trying to unravel an agreement that "took months .to craft." ~ "I see this.as a very bad sign if we want to have a balanced ,budget on time," Keene said. About the Writer The Bee's Alexa H. Bluth can be reached at (9[6) 326-5542 or abluth@sacbee.com. Go to: Sac;bee / Back,to story · Contact Bee..Custgmer. Ser~ice Ad__v~e__rt_i.s_e_QQn_!i_n_e I Pr_jiv__a_c_y_._Po~i_c_y I T_e_r~ms__of_Us_e I H_eJp_ I _Site_H_a_p_ ~e_w_s_ I ~l~o__rt~ I B_u~si_n_e. ss I Politics I _O.l~i_nio~n I En__t_e _rt_a.i_omcn_t I LLfe_s~'yJ~ I ~l'ray_e] I Women Classifieds I Homes I Cars I .!.obs I Shopping GUID.E..TO...THE. BEE;. I Su.bs.c!;ib.e I Coritacts I ~l.~e~is_e I .!~e~..~E~eots i .C;_.o_mmp~.i. ty...!_o~o.!ye_m, ent [ Sacramento Bee Web sites ] Sacbee~. oj~ I SacTicket.com I Sa_cj:amento_~cg_m_ Contact sacbee.com This article is protected by copyright and should not be printed or distributed for anything except personal use. The Sacramento Bee, 2[00 Q St., P.O. Box [5779, Sacramento, CA 95852 Phone: (9[6) 32[-:1.000 Date: 6/7/2004 11:26:04 AM Subject: 6/7 WEEKLY LEGISLATIVE REPORT FROM JOHN LOVELL TO ALL CHIEFS Here is John's weekly report. It will be posted later today on the Cai Chiefs website, Craig SteCkler Communications Committee Chair From: John Lovell [mailto:jlovell@johnlovell.com] Sent: Sunday, June 06, 2004 3:51 PM Subject: Legislative Report The Budget Conference Committee began their work this past week. The Committee did take action .to restore $134,000,000 in funding for juvenile camps and related juvenile services. The California Police Chiefs' Association participated in a broad law enforcement coalition that worked to secure this restoration and President Cam Sanchez met personally with several key .legislators urging restoration. This .week the Budget Conference Committee will be continuing their work and they will be dealing with one issue that is of major import to police chiefs. The issue before the Conference Committee is whether to continue the $ 38.2 million subvention that goes to city police departments to reimburse them for the cost of booking fees they are required to pay counties. The California Police Chiefs' Association and the California StateSheriffs' Association entered intO a three-part agreement on booking fees. One part of that agreement calls for providing the full reimbursement to city police for booking fee charges for another year. It's this element of the agreement that is at risk. The Budget Conference Committee will-be considering the booking fee-issue and it is not at all clear that city police agencies will receive the $ 38.2 million reimbursement that they have received in the past, Both the Legislative .Analysts Office.and a number of budget staff people are recommending that the reimbursement be terminated. It is critical that each Chief .contact the members of the Budget Conference Committee and urge them to support the full reimbursement, According to studies done by the California Police Chiefs' Association, the loss of this funding will result in the laying off of approximately 300 city police officers. Since city police departments protect over 70% of Californians, such a loss has serious public safety consequences. Here are the members of the ~Budget Conference Committee: Senator Wes Chesbro (chair) OFFICE: 916-445-3375 senator.chesbro@ sen.ca.gov FAX: 916-323-6958 Senator DeDe Alpert OFFICE: 916-445-3952 senator.alpert @ sen.ca.gov FAX: 916-327-2188 Senator-Ross Johnson OFFICE 916-445-4961 no email No Fax Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg OFFICE: 916-319-2009 assemblymember.steinberg@asm.ca.gov FAX: 916-319-2109 ' Assemblywoman Judy Chu OFFICE: 916-319-2049 assemblymember.chu @asm.ca.gov FAX: 916-319-2149 Assemblyman Rick Keene OFFICE: 916-319-2003 assemblymember, keene@asm.ca.gov FAX: 916-319-2103 Please make these contacts as soon as possible. Time is of the essence if booking fee .funding for city police departments is to be saved. UN-O 2004 MANAGER'S ,.'; .. BAKERSFIELD Economic and Community Development Department MEMORANDUM 3une 8, 2004 TO: Alan Tandy, City Manage~~~~ FROM: Donna L. Kunz, Economic Development Director SUBJECT: Status of $2.0 million - Section 108 & CDBG Funds for S.E. Bakersfield On September 18, 2002, Council approved the use of $2 million in CDBG and Section 108 loan funds for activities in southeast Bakersfield. The following is a summary of activity to date relating to the use of Section 108 and CDBG funds for Southeast Bakersfield. Section 108 - $1.0 million Of the $1.0 million in Section 108 loan funds, $800,000 is reserved for street improvement projects by the PW Department on California Avenue, Brundage Lane and Union Avenue: · California Avenue Streetscape: $413,500 - Install median streetscape, sidewalk and lighting improvements on California Avenue between Union Avenue to Washington Street. Design was completed in May. Construction to start by August with completion by November 2004. · Brundage Lane Streetscape: $325,000-Install median streetscape, sidewalks and lighting improvements from Chester Avenue to Union Avenue. Curb, gutter, and sidewalk work has already begun and is expected to be completed by late July 2004. · Union Avenue Streetscape: $61,500 - Street lighting improvements on Union Avenue between Terrace Way to 4th Street. Design is scheduled to be completed by late June 2004. Construction is scheduled to start by October with completion by November 2004. The additional $200,000 in Section 108 loan funds is allocated for the Southeast Training Facility. Originally planned was a 4,000 square foot facility to be located on HACK property at East California Avenue, however, recent correspondence from the Housing Authority of the County of Kern indicates that due to cutbacks in state and federal funding, the training center as initially planned is not feasible at this time. CDBG - $1.0 million The following information for the PW administered projects reflects completion dates and associated amounts expended to date: · Lakeview Streetscape: $237,591 - Median street improvements and lighting between East California Avenue and 4th Street. Project completed January 2003. · Union Avenue Street Improvements: $100,000 - Street improvements including curb, gutter and sidewalks on Union Avenue between "V" and 3rd streets. Project completed in the Fall of 2003. · Union Avenue Street Improvements: $18,000 - Street improvements including curb, gutter and sidewalks on the 600 block of Union Avenue. Project completed in the Fall of 2003. · Southwest Corner of Chester Avenue and Brundage Lane Street Improvement Project: $92,000 - Street improvement including curb, gutter and sidewalks, right turn lane, and reconfiguration of traffic signals. Design is underway with construction expected to be completed by Fall of 2004. · Martin Luther King, Jr. Pool Rehabilitation: $175,000 - Rehabilitation of the swimming pool at 1000 South Owens. Construction completed in June 2004. Business Assistance Program: $377,409 - The remaining CDBG balance of $377,409 lies in the Business Loan category. These funds were recently reprogrammed at the recommendation of the Budget and Finance Committee to the Planz Wet-Play Area ($157,000) and Street Reconstruction (HUD eligible areas - $220,000) projects. Design is underway. S:\VZ\SEActivityU pdate022604.doc