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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTC Min 2001-05-09 r-., TOWN COUNCIL MINUTES CALL TO ORDER Mayor Thompson called the special meeting of the Tiburon Town Council to order at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 9, 2001, in Town Council Chambers, 1505 Tiburon Boulevard, Tiburon, California. ROLL CALL PRESENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Bach, Gram, Matthews, Slavitz, Mayor Thompson PRESENT: EX OFFICIO: Town Manager McIntyre, Finance Director Stranzl, Acting Town Engineer Wilson, Town Clerk Crane Iacopi ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. PUBLIC HEARING Mayor Thompson described the evening's proceedings (below). He said that those Stewart Drive residents who had not yet submitted a ballot could do so at any time up to the close of the Public -- Hearing. (1) Stewart Drive Undergrounding Assessment District A. There will be a summary of the project and the proposed financing by representatives of the proposed District and Staff. Margarita Perry, 540 Silverado Drive, gave the presentation on behalf of the proposed Assessment District. She noted the Town's past history in support of under grounding utilities and highlighted the three main reasons for formation of the district in the Stewart Drive neighborhood: 1) safety, 2) beautification, and 3) reliability. Perry said the cost of the project was $1,373,700, and was this low due to two years' worth of [PG&E] Rule 20A credits, which were being allocated to the project by the Town. She also noted that Pacific Bell was not charging for their portion of the undergrounding, and that the homeowners would pay for the trenching and laying of conduit through an assessment of $15,790 per household. ,- Ms. Perry said the cost of the project would be financed through the sale of a 26-year municipal bond, amounting to an assessment of approximately $1,200 per property owner per year, or lower, depending on interest rates. She said the homeowners would pay for their individual hook-ups from the curb to their meters as an additional cost. Town Council Minutes # 14-2001 May 9, 2001 Page 1 - __ Ms. Perry said that 10% of the bond had been set aside to assist those homeowners who needed help in financing their individual hook-ups. Ms. Perry then gave examples of the benefits of undergrounding utilities for safety and reliability reasons. She cited an instance of a house in Mill Valley that had caught fire and burned down as a result of [safety] vehicles being unable to cross the downed power lines to reach the fire. She noted that the State now requires the undergrounding of utilities in all new subdivisions and said it not only improved the ambience of a neighborhood but also increased property values. Ms. Perry also pointed out that if the utility poles were not undergrounded, they would continue to grow higher as a result of more wires and services being added by the utilties in the future. , She concluded her presentation with a slide show of the Stewart Drive area showing "before and after" shots of the neighborhood with and without its existing utility poles and lines. Vice Mayor Matthews asked about the cost to the neighbors of their individuals hook-ups and was told that they ranged from $200 to $2,000, with some as high as $3,000 if tree removal or other work was involved. In response to a question about the legal basis for formation of the district, bond counsel Stephen Casaleggio gave Council and the audience a brief history going back to the 1913 -- Municipal Improvement Act and 1915 Improvement Bond Act. He said that a majority approval was required for formation of the district, and that in the proposed Stewart Drive Undergrounding Assessment District, each property had one vote, rather than a vote weighted on assessed value ofa property. He noted that the undergrounding assessment would follow the land, not the property owner, and that the County of Marin would collect it on the annual property tax bill. Councilmember Slavitz asked why the assessments were identical in this district. Mr, Casaleggio said that under Proposition 218 the assessment was to be determined by a civil engineer based on the nature of the district, location, and value received. He said the Proposition did not address how to avoid the complications of determining value based upon views and other aesthetics, and that Proposition 13 had created a disparity of property values. Engineer of Work Roger Poynts, UDI-Tetrad, addressed this issue and said the benefits were difficult to decide based on individual circumstances, but in this neighborhood, every pole was to be removed, not just some poles, and it was his decision to distribute the value evenly. He said he used the same process in a 1990 undergrounding project in Oakland, which affected 3,000 homes, after the Oakland fire. Poynts said he thought it was a "fair" approach, Acting Town Engineer Jim Wilson discussed the bid process. He said the Town had received four bids ranging from $1,036,540 to over $3 million, and noted that the low bid was within -- Town Council Minutes #14-2001 May 9, 2001 Page 2 - .. .-- ....---... -. ._----~~_._-----_._- -- $35,000 of the Engineer of Work's estimate. He said that the individual homeowners had the option of using the contractor that was awarded the [low] bid, or could chose their own for the individual hook-ups. He told Council that Staff was reviewing the low bid and would make a recommendation for an award of contract in June. In response to a question from Vice Mayor Matthews, Wilson said that Staff was checking the low bidder's references, and noted that the contractor, Underground Construction, Inc. of Benecia, had completed over 100 undergrounding projects. R. The public hearing will be opened. Speakers will have three (3) minutes and are required to state their name, address and identify the property they Qwn or represent within the proposed Assessment District. Mayor Thompson opened the public hearing. The following residents spoke: . David Joyner, 23 Sutter Court, was in favor ofthe project for the reasons stated above. He said the cost was reasonable and noted the low interest rates and good financing. . Dorothy Gallyot, 545 Silverado Drive, spoke against the project, stating her property values would not be increased and that the utilities should pay more. . Debbie Korchek, 529 Silverado Drive, proponent, said that safety was the most important issue. . Christopher English, 561 Silverado Drive, questioned the issue of safety and said if that was -- really an issue, then PG&E should address it. He also said the other utilities, Pacific Bell and AT&T stood to gain at the homeowner's cost. Finally he challenged the argument against increased equity stating that it was irrelevant for aging people on fixed incomes. . Eric Schmidt, 534 Silverado Drive, said he and his wife had backed assessments for schools and open space, but said "this was different" in that "it doesn't affect society in a significant way." Mr. Schmidt also said he doubted that the actual assessment would be as low as $15,790. . Ron Hurwin, 558 Tenaya, spoke in favor of the project and noted that the assessment is not taken out of the sales price when a home sold. He also noted that even though he did not have children, he paid for school assessments. . Candace Nordstrom, 535 Silverado Drive, said a recent power surge had ruined the TV's and computers in her home, and she wanted the lines down. She also said that her parents, who lived in Mill Valley, were without power for five days when a tree fell on the power lines. . Camilla English, 561 Silverado Drive, asked if there was a method of assessment that would follow the proportion of property tax paid by the individual homeowners. . Mr. Rypinski, Stewart Drive, said he was in favor ofthe project for all the reason stated. He also said that with the growth of telecommunications, there would be more carriers (and more wires added) in the future. He complemented the organizers of the project and said that the planning had been "extremely competent." . Ray Fisher, 541 Comstock, asked for a breakdown of "real costs" and "soft costs." Finance Director Stranzl said the amount of the bond was $1,373,000, and detailed the other costs and credits which he said were contained in the Engineer's Report. /"'"', Town Council Minutes #14-2001 May 9, 2001 Page 3 ".-.. · Victor Zffuska, 150 & 158 Stewart Drive, said it was "an easy decision to make" to vote for the project for all of the reasons stated. . Jim Rushwick, 14 Sonora Court, said that at the beginning of the project, over 50% of the homeowners had put up $700 to fund the engineering studies, which resulted in the comment by Ms. Perry that the formation of the district was supported by a majority of the affected homeowners. C. The Mayor will ask for the final submittal of ballots to the Town Clerk. Two additional ballots were submitted. D. The Public Hearing will be closed and the Council will take a short recess to allow the Town Clerk time to open and tabulate the Ballots. Mayor Thompson closed the public hearing, stating that whether or not there was agreement on formation of the district, everyone had worked hard to make the community a better place to live. The ballots were opened and tabulated by Town Clerk Crane Iacopi and Acting Town Engineer Jim Wilson. Town Clerk Crane presented the results to Mayor Thompson. Mayor Thompson announced that 81 ballots had been received and counted. He said one ballot was disqualified for lack of signature. He said the results of the 80 remaining ballots were 60 votes for the district and -- 20 against, resulting in a 75% majority approval of the project by the homeowners. E. Based upon the results of the balloting, the Town Council will then discuss the matter and determine how to proceed. If the Council decides to proceed with the formation of the Assessment District, it will adopt the following resolution: (i) A Resolution of the Town Council of the Town ofTiburon Adopting the Engineer's Report, Confirming the Assessment, Ordering the Work and Acquisitions and Directing Actions with Respect thereto - Town ofTiburon, Stewart Drive Undergrounding Assessment District Council waived further discussion. MOTION: Moved: Vote: To adopt above Resolution. Bach, Seconded by Matthews AYES: Unanimous ,-. Town Council Minutes # 14-2001 May 9, 2001 Page 4 ,.-... -- r- ADJOURNMENT There being no further business before the Town Council of the Town ofTiburon, Mayor Thompson adjourned the meeting at 9:35 p.m., to the May 16, 2001 regular meeting. C4J ;- y~ ANDREW THOMPSON, MA OR ATYftftl& ~ ' I/~~ DIANE CRANE IACOPI, TOWN CLERK Town Council Minutes #14-2001 May 9,2001 Page 5