My 4.15.25 Meeting Summary

On Tuesday the Council met to discuss the results of the annual audit for fiscal year ending June 30, 2024.  Unfortunately there was a scheduling miscommunication and the City's auditor was not in attendance.  As a result, we tabled the discussion to a future meeting.

There was also a closed session with no reportable items.

Upcoming Meeting 4.15.25

At our next meeting we will be discussing one significant item:

- The City's audited Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) will be presented and discussed.

If you have thoughts or questions on the above, please let me know.

My 4.1.25 Meeting Summary

On Tuesday the Council met and discussed several significant items:

- We received a report from the Financial Sustainability Committee.  While the Committee did not approve of the report given by its chair, it did share information regarding the activities of the Committee.  Ultimately a request was made of the Council to clarify the purpose of the Committee.  Council referred back to the original formation goals of the Committee.  For example - to identify areas of additional evaluation for financial savings or revenue generation.  Identifying areas however, is not the same as performing detailed analysis in place of City staff.  

The Council recommended that the Committee participate in the budget process that will occur over the next couple of months, provide any recommendations they may have, and report out both to the Budget and Audit Committee and to the public.  After this budget cycle, the Council will evaluate whether there is a need to continue this Committee.

- We received a report from HdL, the service provider that assists the City's business license processing and administration.  When we first engaged HdL (discussed at our 9.19.23 meeting), City staff represented that the City had approximately 1100 active businesses in the City.  Extrapolating from there, HdL estimated that through their efforts they could discover an additional 900 businesses and therefore expand the pool of licensed businesses.  If this were possible, it would increase City revenues.  

After review, it turns out the information that prior City leadership (no longer employed with the City) overstated the actual number of businesses in the City.  The actual number is closer to 500.  HdL gave a presentation on their work in processing renewals, and the effort to discover any additional businesses that may be operating within the City that would need a license.

- We approved the annual report on military equipment use.  There have been no new acquisitions of military equipment, no use of military equipment, and no complaints regarding military equipment in the annual reporting period.  This report is required annually.

- We approved the streets selected for the 2026 Clayton Neighborhood Street Rehabilitation project.  After much discussion, the Council decided to prioritize streets that were in poor condition, and also certain streets that were higher use areas.  In addition, the Council after receiving lower cost projections for Mountaire Pkwy including approval of grant funding, decided to include that section of street that we previously discussed at our 2.4.25 meeting.  The streets included in the 2026 project are: Main St., Mountaire Pkwy, Marsh Creek Rd., Herriman Dr., N. Mitchell Canyon Rd., Eagle Peak Ave., and El Portal Dr.

The GHAD Board also met to discuss the level of outreach desired by the Board regarding the upcoming mail ballot to GHAD residents asking to increase assessments.  The Board determined that one recorded virtual presentation and Q&A, an informational packet to be included with the ballot, and posting information on the GHAD's website hosted by the City was sufficient.

Upcoming Meeting 4.1.25

At our next meeting we will be discussing several significant items:

- We will receive a report from HdL regarding their services for business license processing

- We will review the annual military equipment report as required by AB 481.  The report details all equipment that fall under the City's military equipment funding, acquisition, and use policy.

- We will discuss street selection for the 2026 neighborhood street rehabilitation project.

The GHAD Board will also meet and discuss the desired level of outreach to property owners within the GHAD as part of the prop 218 ballot vote to increase assessments.

If you have any thoughts or questions on the above please let me know.

My 3.18.25 Meeting Summary

At our last Council meeting we discussed several significant items.  The majority of time was spent on the Biennial Pavement Assessment Report, which I will go into further details below.

- We received a report on the mid year budget.  There were a few increases in spending that were authorized by Council (painting/carpeting at City Hall, and a new riding lawnmower), but other than that the results at mid year were in line with expectations.  There were various puts and takes, the most significant being increases in contractor spend that was offset by lower compensation expense due to staff vacancies.

Excluding the general fund appropriation ($230K) that was approved with the adoption of the budget, overall the City is projecting a deficit of approximately $110K at year end.

- We discussed a potential pilot program for sidewalk repairs.  Sidewalks in front of residents property are the responsibility of the property owner, however the sidewalk if primarily on City property.  As a result, if sidewalks create a hazardous situation, the City is potentially liable along with the homeowner.  Combine this with the fact that sidewalk repair is often very expensive, the City is seeking ways to mitigate risk and assist homeowners in fulfilling their responsibility.

There was general consensus that the City was not interested in subsidizing the cost of sidewalk repairs directly.  We considered a few different options that included the City facilitating the repair and billing the homeowner, as well as exploring joining other neighboring cities' sidewalk repair program that utilizes a network of qualified professionals.  A larger program may provide benefits of scale.  Ultimately the Council gave direction to staff to seek more information and report back.

- Most of the discussion was around the pavement assessment report we received.  Overall Pavement Condition Index (PCI) of the City is approximately 73.  The scale is out of 100, and is divided into four general condition categories. Pavements in “Good” condition have a PCI above 70, pavements in “Fair” condition have a PCI between 50 and 69, pavements in “Poor” condition have a PCI between 25 and 49, and finally pavements in “Failed” condition have a PCI below 25.  Here are examples roads with different PCI values:

While a score of 73 is considered "good", it also reflects consistent and steady declines over the last 10 years.

The table above shows the current score of 73, with a score of 85 in 2016.  This table also illustrates the work that has been done on City streets.  We typically do work every two years in order to get slightly lower costs with larger scale.  The work scheduled in 2020 was postponed due to COVID.

Picking the streets to work on is a bit counterintuitive.  At first it may seem logical to pick the streets that are in the worst condition.  However, rehabilitating these streets is also the most costly.  With limited funds, the entire pool could be consumed with 1 or 2 streets, leaving the rest of the streets in the city to continue to deteriorate through normal wear and tear.  As a result, it is often more cost efficient to do maintenance on a streets in better condition, as maintaining current conditions is less expensive in the long run, and more areas of the city could be improved.

The City uses a program called StreetSaver.  This program is designed to maximize PCI overall in the City based on the amount of funds available.  Because it costs more to rehabilitate streets in poor condition often StreetSaver will not select the streets in the worst condition for maintenance and rehabilitation work.

Given the steady decline in PCI overall, it is important to determine what level of funding is necessary to maintain the current road conditions.  Each year we receive approximately $1M in our share of gas tax, and other state and local funding.  We accumulate these funds and every other year pick streets to do maintenance on in order to improve the road condition and the overall PCI.

Based on analysis, in order for the City to simply maintain a PCI of 73 that it currently has overall, the City would need to spend approximately $13M over 5 years, or $2.6M/year.  Our funding is approximately $1M/year.

Unless the City is able to spend a significantly greater amount on street maintenance and rehabilitation, the conditions of roads in the City will continue to decline.  At our current rate of spending, this is the projected outcomes on overall road conditions:

Total general fund revenues for the entire year are projected to be just under $6M.  As we enter the budget planning process, we will need to begin a discussion with the community regarding what level of overall services, quality of streets, and maintenance of the City is desired, and what we are willing to pay for.

A link to the detail by street PCI for both the 2025, and 2023 years can be found here:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sUUWREdNL1FC1iccvXJghYzsAv5IhBd4/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=103891531140515892067&rtpof=true&sd=true

- The Oakhurst Geological Hazard Abatement District (GHAD) Board also met and adopted a resolution declaring the intent to increase the overall assessments in the District in accordance with Prop 218.  Ballots will be mailed to properties in the district no later than 4/18.  There will be a public hearing on 6.3.25 to determine the results of ballots received.  More to come on what this means for the GHAD.

Upcoming Meeting 3.18.25

At our next Council meeting, we will be discussing several significant items:

- We will receive a mid year budget report out.  Results at the mid year are largely in line with expectation, though still in a deficit position.  

- We will discuss the biennial pavement assessment report and the 2026 paving project street selection.  Overall the City's PCI is approximately 73.  The scale is out of 100, and is divided into four general condition categories. Pavements in “Good” condition have a PCI above 70, pavements in “Fair” condition have a PCI between 50 and 69, pavements in “Poor” condition have a PCI between 25 and 49, and finally pavements in “Failed” condition have a PCI below 25.

A list of every street and the associated PCI score is included in the agenda packet.

- We will discuss a pilot sidewalk repair program for assisting fronting property owners.  This would involve options for sharing costs with property owners to repair various sidewalks that is the sole responsibility of the property owners.

After the Council meeting, the Oakhurst Geological Hazard Abatement District (GHAD) board will also meet.  There the Board will discuss a resolution declaring the intent to increase assessments in the GHAD in accordance with prop 218.

If you have any thoughts or questions on the above, please let me know.

My 3.4.25 Meeting Summary

Last night the Council met to discuss one significant item:

- We authorized the recording of a noise abatement agreement for Oakhurst Golf Course.  City ordinance prohibits landscaping work before 7am, however due to the nature of golf course operations Oakhurst has always had an agreement with the city that allows them to start earlier.  The prior agreement had expired and the City renewed it with updated terms last night.

The new agreement has a 36 month term, and provides that no maintenance activity shall be performed prior to 5:30am.  It also specifies later start times around certain areas of the course to reduce the noise impact to nearby residences.  The agreement provides an avenue for complaints and a resolution process as well, and includes a provision that a survey of adjacent residences towards the end of the term of the agreement will be conducted in order to collect feedback for any future modifications.