HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 06082010 - D.2RECOMMENDATION(S):
PROCEED WITH the public hearing and ask if any notified property owners wish to be
heard on the matters specified in Section B below; CLOSE Public Hearing.
Upon completion and closing of the hearing, MAKE the findings and determinations
specified in Section B below and ADOPT the attached Resolution of Necessity to acquire
the required properties by eminent domain.
FISCAL IMPACT:
In eminent domain actions the judgment will be the price paid for the property, and may
include court costs which are regarded as a roughly calculable expense of property
acquisition. Costs of acquisition in this case are funded 100% by the County General Fund.
BACKGROUND:
On May 25, 2010, the
APPROVE OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
Action of Board On: 06/08/2010 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER
Clerks Notes:
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
AYE:John Gioia, District I
Supervisor
Gayle B. Uilkema, District II
Supervisor
Mary N. Piepho, District III
Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V
Supervisor
ABSENT:Susan A. Bonilla, District IV
Supervisor
Contact: Michele Trecek (925)
313-2010
I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the
Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: June 8, 2010
David J. Twa, County Administrator and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors
By: EMY L. SHARP, Deputy
cc:
D. 2
To:Board of Supervisors
From:Julia R. Bueren, Public Works Director/Chief Engineer
Date:June 8, 2010
Contra
Costa
County
Subject:Kregor Peak Communication Site Project, Pittsburg area. Project No.: 4580-6X5165
BACKGROUND: (CONT'D)
Board opened the hearing to consider adoption of a Resolution of Necessity to acquire the
real property needed to ensure that the County will be able to operate the public safety
facilities located on the Kregor Peak Communication Site, in perpetuity, and without
interruption or interference by any party, at any time. Various property owners and their
representatives appeared at the hearing and requested a continuance to June 8, 2010, to
provide the opportunity for the appointment of a receiver who will have the authority to
represent all of the owners of the Kregor Peak Site with respect to this matter. The Board
was informed that a court hearing to appoint a receiver was scheduled for June 4, 2010.
The Board continued this hearing to June 8, 2010.
A. Proposed Project
The Kregor Peak Communication Site Project (Project) consists of acquiring a 1.0 acre
parcel in fee title (known by the County as Kregor Peak) and a 1.22 acre access easement
over a portion of APN 075-160-004 located in the Pittsburg area. In 1960, the County
entered into a lease with Edna Hanlon Thomas for the lease of a 1-acre portion of the
320-acre property then owned by Edna Hanlon Thomas, in the Pittsburg area, for the
purpose of a radio and microwave communication site. The property subject to the lease
also included a non-exclusive easement for road purposes along a 20-foot strip of land
that provides access across portions of the 320-acre parcel to and from Kregor Peak (the
access road). Following storm damage, the County and William Wayne Thomas,
Administrator of the Edna Hanlon Thomas Estate, entered into an Amendment to Lease
dated May 1, 1984, that revised the location of the access road as necessitated by the
storm damage.
It is the County’s understanding that title to the property was held by The Edna Hanlon
Thomas Trust (Trust) following Ms. Hanlon’s death, and that the Trust had been
managed by Mr. William Wayne Thomas. Upon Mr. Thomas’ death in 2008, it is the
County’s understanding that the Trust was dissolved, and title to Kregor Peak and the
surrounding property is now shared by at least 18 ownership interests.
As authorized under the lease, the County installed improvements on the site consisting
of two buildings and two communication towers. The Kregor Peak radio site is operated
by the County and is used predominately for public safety purposes by Contra Costa
County Sheriff and Fire Department, East Bay Regional Parks Police and Fire
departments, and American Medical Response (AMR). Other users include the Contra
Costa Water District, Mount Diablo School District, Tri Delta Transit, State of
California, and the Contra Costa County Library. Kregor Peak is also a key site for the
build out of the East Bay Regional Communications System (EBRCS).
The lease expires on November 21, 2010. If the lease were to expire, the County would
no longer have a right to use the Kregor Peak site and would be required under the terms
of the lease to immediately remove all of the facilities it installed at the site. The cost of
removing the facilities would be approximately $250,000. Because no single site can
replace Kregor Peak, the cost of relocating the County’s communication facilities to the
five or so required replacement sites would be upwards of $25,000,000. The expense
involved in finding replacement sites and installing new facilities would be
approximately twenty times the value of the Kregor Peak site. In addition, construction of
replacement facilities would take approximately four years. During that four-year period,
public agencies providing police, fire, medical, and other services in East and Central
County would be severely hampered in their ability to communicate, due to the fact that
they would be without two-way wireless radio communication. Those agencies would be
forced to use cellular service, which has inferior speed and reliability, and those public
agencies would suffer dropped calls and busy signals while trying to provide
time-sensitive emergency services. Lack of two-way wireless communication for even an
hour (let alone for four years) would have dire consequences for public safety. The only
way to ensure the County will have uninterrupted use of these public safety facilities, in
perpetuity, is to acquire the Kregor Peak site, together with the non-exclusive access
easement.
On March 23, 2010, this Board approved Appropriation Adjustment No. 5068
authorizing new revenue in the Department of Information Technology (0060) from the
General Fund-Reserve For Contingencies and appropriated for the negotiation of
acquisition for the Kregor Peak property, and authorized the Real Property Division,
Public Works Department on behalf of the County, to negotiate a Purchase and Sales
Agreement between the County and Grantors for the Kregor Peak property and found
that the Project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under
State CEQA guidelines pursuant to Article 5,Section 15061 (b)(3).
The County, through the Real Property Division of the Public Works Department, has
made an offer of just compensation to the owners of the properties for the rights required
for this project. The offers were based on an appraisal of the fair market value of said
property rights. As of this date, the County’s offer to purchase the Kregor Peak site and
the non-exclusive access easement has not been accepted. In each case, efforts were made
to acquire the required properties through negotiated purchase and sale instead of
condemnation. Attempts to negotiate a settlement involved discussions with the owners
of record and/or their representatives. Although offers have been made as required by
law, the parties are continuing to negotiate for the acquisition of the property. County
staff has recently learned that some of the owners have requested the Contra Costa
County Superior Court to appoint a representative for the owners. If a representative is
appointed, staff will continue efforts to acquire the property rights through negotiated
purchase and sale.
In order to acquire the necessary property rights in the Kregor Peak site and access
easement for uninterrupted operation as a communication site following expiration of the
lease on November 21, 2010, and thereafter in perpetuity, it is necessary for the County
to exercise its power of eminent domain. Pursuant to Section 1245.235 of the Code of
Civil Procedure, notice was given to the persons listed on the attached Exhibit “A”
whose names and addresses appear on the last equalized County Assessment Roll.
This notice consisted of sending by first-class and certified mail on May 3, 2010, a
Notice of Intention which notified the owners that a hearing on the Board’s intent to
adopt the attached Resolution is scheduled for May 25, 2010, at 10:00 a.m., in the
Board's Chambers, at which time they could have appeared to be heard on the matters
referred to in the notice. The Board opened the hearing on May 25, 2010, and for the
reasons discussed above, continued the hearing to June 8, 2010.
B. Scope of Hearing Per C.C.P. Section 1245.235
1. Public Interest and Necessity require the proposed project.
The Kregor Peak radio site is operated by the County and is used predominately for
public safety purposes by Contra Costa County Sheriff and Fire Department, East Bay
Regional Parks Police and Fire departments, and American Medical Response (AMR).
Other users include the Contra Costa Water District, Mount Diablo School District, Tri
Delta Transit, State of California, and the Contra Costa County Library. In order to
continue to use and operate the communication towers and related structures located on
Kregor Peak for public safety and other public purposes in perpetuity, and without
interruption or interference by any party at any time, the County must acquire the
property on which the communications facilities are located, as well as the right to access
those facilities along the access road.
Ownership of this property will ensure uninterrupted use of these public safety facilities
for which there is no backup site. Leasing the property would expose the County to
unpredictable operational costs in the future and complete loss of the site if the property
owners terminate the lease prior to its expiration date or refuse to renew it entirely. If the
County were to lose possession of the site, it would be unable to maintain the current
radio system service levels affecting the east county cities of Antioch, Brentwood,
Oakley, Pittsburg, and Bay Point and the central county cities of Concord, Pleasant Hill,
Walnut Creek, and Clayton. A loss of use for more than five minutes could seriously
threaten the public safety in these areas, and a sixty-minute loss of use would be
intolerable.
2. The project is planned and located in the manner that will be most compatible with the
greatest public good and the least private injury.
Staff has considered other alternatives for use as a communications site and estimates the
County would need to acquire rights to construct and operate communication towers on
several high and mid level sites to replace the geographical coverage that Kregor Peak
currently provides. These alternatives would disrupt the current public safety functions
performed by the communications facilities located on Kregor Peak, and result in greater
impact to private parties from whom rights to the additional replacement sites would be
required.
3. The properties sought to be acquired are necessary for the project.
The communications facilities at issue are located on the 1-acre parcel that the County
seeks to acquire, and the access easement the County seeks to acquire provides necessary
access to the communications site. If Kregor Peak is no longer available to serve as one
of the County’s six high level sites, staff has estimated that it would require several high
and mid level sites to replace the geographical coverage that Kregor Peak currently
provides. The estimated cost for each replacement site is $5 million with a typical site
development time of four years each. During such development, the County would not
likely be able to replicate the public safety function provided by the Kregor Peak
Communication site and maintain its current radio system service levels. In addition, the
replacement sites currently identified by staff do not include a coverage solution for the
12000 Marsh Creek Detention Facility.
Fee title is necessary for the project. When the County entered into a lease for the
property in 1960, it used two-way wireless radio communication services far less
frequently, and only for the sheriff and fire departments. The County’s usage of and
dependency on the site has dramatically increased over the past fifty years, such that fire,
police, sheriff, and other departments and public safety providers rely on it as a primary
means for providing emergency services for east county and parts of central county and
plan to do so in perpetuity.
4. The offer of compensation required by Section 7267.2 of the Government Code has
been made to owner or owners of record.
The County, through the Real Property Division of the Public Works Department, has
made offers of just compensation to the owners of record for the rights required for this
Project. The offers were based on an appraisal of the fair market value of said property
rights.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
The County will be unable to acquire the property rights necessary for the continued
operation of the Kregor Peak communication site prior to expiration of the lease.
CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT:
CLERK'S ADDENDUM
Speakers: Wayne Smith submitted a written Speaker Card; however, Mr. Smith left the
Board meeting before this item was addressed and did not speak.
ATTACHMENTS
Appendix A - attachment to Resolution 2010-324
Exhibit A - attachment to BO
Resolution No. 2010/324
Related Correspondence