2002-06-04 CIC MinutesMINUTES OF THE SPECIAL COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT COMMISSION MEETING
TUESDAY - - JUNE 4, 2002 - - 7:25 P.M.
Chair Appezzato convened the Special Meeting at 7:25 p.m.
Commissioner Daysog led the Pledge of Allegiance.
ROLL CALL - Present: Commissioners Daysog, DeWitt, Johnson,
Kerr, and Chair Appezzato – 5.
Absent: None.
MINUTES
(02-013) Minutes of the Special Community Improvement Commission
Meeting of May 7, 2002. Approved.
Commissioner Johnson moved approval of the minutes.
Commissioner Kerr seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous
voice vote – 5.
AGENDA ITEMS
(02-014) Recommendation to: 1) initiate boundary change
amendments, fiscal merger and technical corrections for the Alameda
Point Improvement Project (APIP), the Business and Waterfront
Improvement Project (BWIP), and the West End Community Improvement
Project (WECIP); 2) approve budget expenditure and contract
amendment with Seifel Associates, Inc.; 3) recommend that the City
Council adopt a Resolution expanding the BWIP survey area; and 4)
recommend that the City Council enact an ordinance to repeal the
time limit for establishing debt in the WECIP as provided for in SB
211.
Commissioner Daysog inquired whether deadlines are involved.
Elizabeth Seifel, Consultant, responded June 2003 is WECIP’s time
limit for incurring debt; after June 2003, WECIP can no longer
incur bonded indebtedness or any other form of debt without
adopting an ordinance to repeal or extend the time limit; the
recommendation is to amend APIP by transferring the Catellus
project East Housing, currently in APIP, into BWIP, which is a
minor amendment to APIP and a major amendment to BWIP; merging the
BWIP Plan with WECIP at the same time is more cost effective and
time efficient; the process takes about a year.
Commissioner Daysog inquired whether a two-week postponement would
Special Meeting Community Improvement Commission
June 4, 2002
impact time constraints, to which Ms. Seifel, Consultant, responded
in the negative.
Commissioner Kerr inquired whether redevelopment areas have a
finite length, to which Ms. Seifel, Consultant, responded in the
affirmative.
Commissioner Kerr inquired what the impact on WECIP’s existing debt
obligation would be; stated the State is proposing to eliminate the
Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund (ERAF) shift exemption for
redevelopment areas; inquired whether the ERAF shift would
jeopardize the City’s ability to pay existing bonds.
Ms. Seifel, Consultant, responded pass through obligation does not
trigger immediately; passthrough obligation would be calculated
based on assessed value as of Fiscal Year 2003-04; existing bonds
are secured by tax increment generated by an assessed value prior
to said year [FY 2003-04]; there are sufficient funds to pay the
passthrough; passthrough obligation for the first 10 years is only
20% of incremental growth above the FY 2003-04 base year amount;
calculations are only on incremental growth above FY 2003-04, which
is the amount distributed to taxing entities for ten years; then
there is an increase, a second tier, which begins after said time
[10 years].
Commissioner Kerr inquired about how much of the tax increment
would be retained.
Ms. Seifel, Consultant, responded the CIC would have access to more
dollars than the City would without the merger; the WECIP generates
tax increment, while the BWIP does not; merger enables WECIP
dollars to be spent in BWIP justifying continuation of collecting
WECIP funds to alleviate adverse physical and economic conditions
in BWIP; the CIC will rapidly run out of projects to spend WECIP
money.
Commissioner Kerr stated taxes of some kind would continue to be
collected from WECIP and would go into the General Fund.
Ms. Seifel, Consultant, responded if the [WECIP] Plan stopped,
funds would go into the General Fund versus to the CIC; more funds
would go to the CIC to fund improvements than would go into the
General Fund.
The Executive Director stated the City only retains twenty-six
cents of every property tax dollar; three quarters of every dollar
goes to other taxing agencies; staff can calculate the difference
Special Meeting Community Improvement Commission
June 4, 2002
between letting the [WECIP] project area lapse and consolidating
[WECIP and BEWTIP] to continue generating tax increment.
Commissioner Kerr inquired whether case law exists regarding fiscal
merging of two redevelopment areas involving blight, to which Ms.
Seifel, Consultant, responded merger is an allowable choice and has
been done by many agencies.
Commissioner Kerr stated the question is whether the City would get
more money from property taxes or tax increment; requested the vote
be delayed until staff reviews the State’s completed budget plans;
stated that she would recuse herself from voting on the fourth
recommendation [that the City Council enact an ordinance to repeal
the time limit for establishing debt in the WECIP as provided for
in SB 211] because a house count around WECIP has not been
completed and she lives near a little corner of WECIP.
Chair Appezzato stated the main benefit of joining the BWIP and
WECIP is to focus revenues on where funds are needed most.
Commissioner Daysog stated that he is concerned with ensuring that
military base conversion remains a separate redevelopment area;
BWIP should continue to fund activities east of the [former] base;
inquired whether there are guarantees that historic Alameda, the
BWIP and businesses on Park Street and Webster Street will get
their share [of funding]; requested staff to structure funds to
allow tracking.
The Executive Director stated the Economic Development Strategic
Plan and Downtown Vision have been adopted and will be used to
prioritize spending.
The Development Specialist stated several stages would require
approval during the one-year process; Seifel Consulting will
develop a detailed report on economic impacts, including
ramifications of questions raised tonight.
Commissioner Daysog requested the impact of APIP being reassessed
be clarified.
Ms. Seifel, Consultant, responded that to allow transfer, APIP must
be reassessed to demonstrate that East Housing meets redevelopment
blight standards; military base law blight standards are less
stringent.
Commissioner Daysog moved approval of the staff recommendation.
Commissioner Johnson seconded the motion.
Special Meeting Community Improvement Commission
June 4, 2002
Under discussion, Commissioner Johnson requested staff to include
the economic impacts of not approving the recommendation in future
reports.
Commissioner Kerr requested the motion be amended to approve only
the first three recommendations.
Commissioners Daysog and Johnson agreed to amend the motion.
Commissioner DeWitt noted improvement project areas are established
to benefit the community.
Commissioner Kerr requested staff to review the State’s completed
budget plan.
On the call for the question [approval of 1) initiating boundary
change amendments, fiscal merger and technical corrections for the
Alameda Point Improvement Project (APIP), the Business and
Waterfront Improvement Project (BWIP), and the West End Community
Improvement Project (WECIP); 2) budget expenditure and contract
amendment with Seifel Associates, Inc.; and 3) recommending that
the City Council adopt a Resolution expanding the BWIP survey
area], the motion carried by unanimous voice vote – 5.
By consensus, on the call for the question [approval of
recommending that the City Council enact an ordinance to repeal the
time limit for establishing debt in the WECIP as provided for in SB
211], the motion carried by the following voice vote: Ayes:
Commissioners Daysog, DeWitt, Johnson and Chair Appezzato – 4.
Noes: None. Abstentions: Commissioner Kerr – 1.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, Chair Appezzato adjourned the
Special Meeting at 8:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Lara Weisiger
Secretary, Community Improvement
Commission
The agenda for this meeting was posted in accordance with the Brown
Act.
Special Meeting Community Improvement Commission
June 4, 2002