HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/16/2007 B A K E R S F I E L D
CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE
MEMORANDUM
March 16, 2007
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Alan Tandy, City Manager PTj„
SUBJECT: General Information "Z
1. Viewpoints came together in the last 24 hours prior to the Kern Cog meeting, and it
turned into a unanimous vote in support of the position we advocated! Thanks to Vice
Mayor Hanson and Councilmember Scrivner for negotiations with board members. The
follow up action will be to adopt the enclosed letter as Council policy at the meeting on
March 28th.
Now if we can get the CTC to approve the plan, which includes another $170 million for
the Westside Parkway, the project will be fully funded. That effort will require some hard
work, however, and should not be assumed. We are working on a plan to positively
influence that process and can use the help of any and all!
2. The groundbreaking of Fire Station #5 went very well, and construction is underway!
3. 1 will be taking off Monday through Wednesday, the 26th - 28th. John will be in charge,
assisted by Christine Butterfield, and they will staff the council meeting on March 28th.
4. As you are aware, the local newspaper carried several articles in the Sunday, March 4th
edition, regarding the state of our local transportation system. Enclosed is a summary
that provides a factual and balanced clarification of the topics that were covered in the
articles.
5. Recreation and Parks' February activity report is attached.
6. The Streets Division work schedule for the week of March 19th is enclosed.
7. The annual Employee Appreciation Breakfast will take place on Friday, May 11th at
Yokuts Park. You will be receiving invitations and, as always, we welcome your
participation on the serving line!
8. A response to a Council request is enclosed:
Councilmember Benham
• Report on a possible grant funding opportunity for "Art in the Parks".
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cc: Department Heads
Pamela McCarthy, City Clerk
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Alan Tandy • City Manager
March 15, 2007
Board of Directors
Kern Council of Governments
1401 19th Street
Suite 300
Bakersfield, California 93301
Dear Board members:
Kern COG has the very rare opportunity under the 2007 STIP Augmentation program to
bring $213 million in badly needed funds to Kern County. The City of Bakersfield
strongly supports that goal, and we support the Kern COG staff recommendation.
The Westside Parkway is the only project that has the size and "readiness" position to
bring a windfall of extra money to our area under this year's special set of
circumstances. Only one project can be submitted which exceeds the formula
allocations for the area. The Westside Parkway is the only large dollar project that is
ready, and which can bring a substantial amount of funds. With the increases in
construction that have occurred over the last few years, we need to do everything
possible to get the dollars turned into asphalt and concrete as soon as possible!
It is also the intention of the City of Bakersfield to be fair with the other Kern COG
members. While the Westside Parkway has been Kern COG's number one priority for
many years, we support the staff recommendation which funds State Route 46, West
Ridgecrest Boulevard and Laval Road, in addition to the Westside Parkway.
It also happens that 7th Standard Road is eligible for TRIP funding, as well as STIP
Augmentation. As a further gesture of good faith, the City of Bakersfield is willing to
commit to the following: If the "windfall" of $114.75 million is received for the Westside
Parkway, $22.5 million in TRIP funds, inclusive of the local match, will be reallocated to
7`h Standard Road. Should Bakersfield receive only a portion of the windfall, for
example 50%, that same proportion of 7th Standard Road will be funded. For clarity, as
an example, if 1/2 of the $114.75 million is received, the 7th Standard Road project would
be funded at $11.25 million.
City of Bakersfield • City Manager's Office • 1501 Truxtun Avenue
E3akersfield, California • 93301
(661) 326-3751 • Fax (661) 324-1650
Kern Council of Governments
March 15, 2007
Page 2
Additionally, we understand that, should the full windfall be received, it might tie up
resources for future years. The City of Bakersfield is, and will be, agreeable to
discussion of phasing portions of the Westside Parkway to accelerate funding in non-
metro payments in future STIP cycles.
In order to assure all parties that this commitment will be honored, this letter is
scheduled to be validated by the Bakersfield City Council at the regular meeting of
March 28, 2007. All parties will then have the formal promise from our elected officials
which will commit the City to follow through.
In short, while we have no guarantee of anything over the normal STIP allocation, we
have some opportunity to gain an additional $114 million for our area. We believe that
the Kern COG staff recommendation, coupled with our offer for 7 t Standard Road,
makes this a win-win situation for the entire County, and we ask for your support!
Sincerely,
Alan Tandy
City Manager
cc: Honorable Mayor and City Council
Raul Rojas, Public Works Director
Bakersfield's Roads System — The Facts
The series of articles that appeared in the Sunday, March 4, 2007 edition of the local
newspaper were fraught with a number of dramatic statements about the "failure" of our
local transportation system.
Among other inaccurate and misleading remarks, the articles suggested that local politicians
would not implement an adequate traffic impact fee in 1992, but yielded to pressure from
developers. In fact, many developers were instrumental in the establishment of this fee.
Bruce Freeman, the president of long-time developer Castle & Cooke, had a key part in
moving the process forward. Over time, as development in Bakersfield increased, the
developers came to understand that for their new projects to continue, it was a practical
necessity to have a mechanism in place that provided for mitigation of their impact on local
transportation. The implementation of an impact fee has been a collaborative evolvement
between government and the developers.
Further, today's $6,800 fee may not seem large when compared to the median-priced home
of $380,000, but 15 years ago, Bakersfield's median-priced home hovered around $88,000.
Placing a $6,800 fee then on an $88,000 home would be comparable to placing a nearly
$30,000 fee on a home today, a fee that new home buyers would pay when they buy a
house. These are the same new residents that purchase goods and services throughout
our community strengthening our local economy.
One article stated that developers have paid only $130.8 million in traffic impact fees since
1992. While that statement is technically correct, it must be placed in the proper context,
because what was not stated is that over half of those fees have been collected in just the
past four years. At that rate, the $396 million the fee is supposed to generate by 2025, as
stated in the article, will actually be generated years earlier!
Bakersfield continues to be one of the fastest growing cities in California. With the changes
that take place with the fluctuation of growth trends, the traffic impact fee program continues
to evolve. Projects are constructed and taken off the list; new projects are added; project
construction costs are escalated and the fee is adjusted accordingly to accommodate these
increases. Staff and our consultants are currently in the middle of a complete reevaluation
of the program - as provided for in the ordinance that implemented the fee program.
Contrary to statements in the news articles, the fee is not "stalled" by politics or by any other
item. The fee system is doing what it was intended to do, and to characterize it as a "failure"
is simply not accurate.
As for comments regarding the Westside Parkway, the final federal environmental clearance
for the project was obtained just 8 weeks ago. The second of two contracts for the final
design of the project is on the Council agenda, to be awarded at the March 14th meeting.
The reference in the story about the collapse of the project is not accurate and is
misleading. Staff has been working very closely with KernCOG during the past few weeks
to submit a program to the California Transportation Commission for some of the "dried up"
State road building money that is being generated from the State Transportation Bond
approved by voters last November. This would result in the complete funding of the
Westside Parkway project, from Truxtun Avenue to Heath Road, by 2010. Approval of this
program is on the KernCOG agenda for Thursday, March 15th.
Bakersfield's Roads System
March 12, 2007
Page 2
The map showing "The mess we're in" and the description shown for on the map legend for
the "levels of service" ("Drivers are hemmed in"; "if you're lucky, you can crawl") is a very
subjective reference to traffic volume. It is true that as our community grows, we have more
citizens driving on Bakersfield streets everyday. While we have all experienced some traffic
delays, particularly during normal commute times, it is not correct to presume that the roads
listed on the map are continually slow to travel on at all times of the day, or in a continuous
state of gridlock.
Finally, far from doing nothing, in 1992 City and County leaders had the foresight to institute
the Metropolitan Bakersfield Regional Traffic Impact Fee - one of the first traffic impact
mitigation fees programs implemented in the San Joaquin Valley. In fact, we understand
Fresno today still does not have a traffic impact fee in place. Our local program is definitely
not a "failure", but actually a success story. While recent significant escalating highway
costs are a definite concern (Federal Highways data indicates highway construction costs
have increased nearly 50% the past few years), they are not isolated to Bakersfield and
cannot be blamed on local planners, leaders or elected officials. The Bakersfield City
Council, City staff, and the local development community are all working together to address
the region's transportation issues.
There is no way we can adequately thank Congressman Thomas and what he was able to
do for the community by bringing $630 million in federal earmarks to the area for
transportation. This infusion of federal funding, plus a local match of$100 million from traffic
impact fees, will allow us to construct the backbone of a comprehensive transportation
system to serve metropolitan Bakersfield. We were overlooked for three decades, while
other California regions received major road improvement funding. We have a lot of
catching up to do, but we have seized the opportunity provided by Congressman Thomas to
bring our local roads system up to the level it needs to be.
We all agree that there is still definitely a need for additional road funding in Bakersfield and
Kern County. The dollars provided by a local transportation measure, along with the
additional state and federal dollars they could leverage, would provide a major portion of
these needed funds. The City of Bakersfield will continue to promote accurate and complete
public information and education to increase the community's awareness and understanding
on these vitally important issues.
L1 -001
CITY
OF
B A K E R S F I E L Q
Department of Recreation and Parks
Date: March 12, 2007
To: Alan Tandy, City Manager
From: Dianne Hoover, Director of Recreation & Parks
Subject: February Monthly Report
ADMINISTRATION
• Staff sent Request for Proposals for the design of Greystone Park
located at the southwest corner of Harris and Mountain Vista Roads.
• Formed a staff work group which included Planning, Parks, Traffic
and GIS divisions to discuss issues related to an overall citywide
trails plan and new slopes.
• Accepted 2.96 acres into maintenance districts.
Handled an increase of park reservations over last year, due to the
exceptionally warm weather this winter.
• Applied for three national awards through the National Recreation
and Park Association. Notification will be in late July.
• Accepted the Kern Cog Award for the Park at River Walk.
• Attended the annual Legislative Forum in Washington DC to
encourage more funding for parks and programs to assist in keeping
Americans healthy.
• Staff began preparing the department budget which will be an
ongoing process until approval.
• Darin Budak, the new Park Superintendent started his employment
with the City on February 20, 2007. Training and orientation began
immediately and included a welcome reception by staff.
PARKS
Repairs completed on drinking fountains damaged by the freeze.
"We create a quality community through people, parks and programs"
Page 1 of 2
PUBLIC WORKS
STREETS DIVISION —WORK SCHEDULE
WEEK OF MARCH 19 — MARCH 23, 2007
Resurfacing/Reconstructing streets in the followinq areas:
Continue installing asphalt base on streets between College Avenue and Hillburn
Drive, Fountain Drive to Cerin Way
Finishing placing a two-inch top asphalt lift on the streets in the area south of
White Lane between So. Real Road and Vaughn Way.
Miscellaneous Streets Division projects:
Continue installing curb and gutter in the area between California Avenue and
Chester Lane, east of Oak Street.
Continue working on the installation of a storm line at the new Fire Station #5
location on White Lane, east of Union Avenue.
Working on the installation of a storm line and catch basins on Benton Street,
between Wilson Road and Belvedere Avenue.
CADOCUME-1\rsmi1ey\L0CALS-1\Temp\WeekofMarch192007.WorkSchedule.doc
MAR 12 7007
Department of Recreation and Parks
Date: March 12, 2007
To: Alan Tandy, City Manager
From: Dian n�Roov 4�Director of Recreation & Parks
Subject: Explore Grant Opportunities via the Bakersfield Foundation
Referral # 001697—Ward 2
Councilmember Benham requested staff explore grant opportunities via the
Bakersfield Foundation and report back to Council.
In a follow-up conversation with Councilmember Sue Benham, she indicated that
Jeanette Richardson of the Arts Council had some ideas using the Bakersfield
Foundation as a way to obtain grant dollars.
Dianne Hoover and Donna Kunz met with Jeanette Richardson to further explore
these possibilities. A current, specific grant opportunity for Art in the Parks can
only go to a 501(c)(3) entity, and not a city agency. All three entities at the
meeting: The Arts Council, EDCD, and Recreation and Parks plan to partner in
developing this Art in the Parks grant request for the Mill Creek Project.
If funded, the money received can be channeled through the Bakersfield
Foundation, which meets the non-profit status required in the grant.
Page 2 of 2
STREET SWEEPING SCHEDULE
Monday, March 19, 2007
Between Panama Lane and Panama Road, Stine Road to 99 Highway.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Between Gosford Road and Ashe Road, District Boulevard to Panama Lane.
Between Ashe Road and Stine Road, Panama Lane to Pacheco Road.
Between Ming Avenue and White Lane, Stine Road to Westholme Drive/Wilson Road.
Cul-de-sacs north of Angela Way between Manley Court and Chris Court.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Between White Lane & Panama Lane, Buena Vista Road to Old River Road
Between Old River Road & Gosford Road, White Lane to Pacheco Road.
Between College Avenue & Willis Avenue, Park Drive to Morning Drive.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Between Snow Road & Hageman Road, Jewetta Avenue to Calloway Drive.
Between Berkshire Road & Astor Avenue, So. "H" Street to Union Avenue.
Friday, March 23, 2007
City streets in the area between Hageman Road & Meacham Road, Old River Road to
Calloway Drive.
Between Calloway Drive & Coffee Road, Norris Road to Granite Falls.
Alfred Harrell Highway — 178 Highway to the N/W City Limit.
Lake Ming Road — Alfred Harrell Highway to the north City Limit.
Streets in the area north of 178 Highway, east of Valley Street.
Miramonte Drive — 178 Highway to the south end.
Streets in the area east of 184 Highway, north of Chase Street.
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