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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 06262012 - C.142RECOMMENDATION(S): DETERMINE that Lynbrook Park, Hickory Meadows Park, Viewpointe Park, Boeger Park and Tradewinds Park, all in the Bay Point area, are no longer required for County use. APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Board Chair to execute the Settlement and Property Transfer Agreement and Release of Claims (“Settlement Agreement”) between the County and the Ambrose Recreation and Park District (“Ambrose”), attached hereto as Exhibit A. APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Board Chair to execute the Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement (JEPA) for the Transfer of Funds for Maintenance of Bay Point Parks between the County and Ambrose, attached hereto as Exhibit B. APPROVE the conveyance of County’s interests in Lynbrook Park, Hickory Meadows Park, Viewpointe Park, Boeger Park and Tradewinds Park to Ambrose, pursuant to Government Code section 25365, subdivision (a), and in accordance with the terms of the Settlement Agreement, and AUTHORIZE the Board Chair to execute quitclaim deeds to Ambrose as to each park. AUTHORIZE the Auditor-Controller to issue a warrant in the amount of $478,681.32 to APPROVE OTHER RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE Action of Board On: 06/26/2012 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER Clerks Notes: VOTE OF SUPERVISORS AYE:John Gioia, District I Supervisor Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor Mary N. Piepho, District III Supervisor Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor Contact: David Kramer (925) 313-2227 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 26, 2012 David Twa, County Administrator and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors By: June McHuen, Deputy cc: Maureen Flores, Real Estate Division C.142 To:Board of Supervisors From:Julia R. Bueren, Public Works Director/Chief Engineer Date:June 26, 2012 Contra Costa County Subject:APPROVE Settlement Agreement and Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement Transferring Maintenance Funds and the conveyance of parks to Ambrose Park Dist. RECOMMENDATION(S): (CONT'D) Ambrose from the Bay Point area Park Dedication Trust Fund accounts, and AUTHORIZE all future disbursements of Quimby Act (Park Dedication) fee revenues to Ambrose that are required by the Settlement Agreement. DETERMINE that this activity will not have a significant effect on the environment, and that it is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under Article 5, section 15061, subdivision (b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines. DIRECT the Director of the Department of Conservation and Development (DCD) to file a Notice of Exemption with the County Clerk, and AUTHORIZE the Public Works Director, or designee, to arrange for payment of the $50 fee to the County Clerk for filing and a $25 fee to the DCD for processing of the Notice of Exemption. FISCAL IMPACT: 100% Quimby Fee (Park Dedication) Revenues BACKGROUND: The County charges fees to developers in lieu of requiring dedications of land for park purposes. These charges, authorized by the Quimby Act (Government Code section 66477), are called “Quimby fees.” The County historically has shared the revenues from the Quimby fees with other public park and recreation agencies. On September 22, 2009, the Board denied a request by Ambrose for $400,000 in Quimby fee revenues to partially fund improvements to Ambrose Memorial Park, in particular the first phase of a pool renovation plan. County staff had recommended denial of the request, advising the Board that there were insufficient funds to satisfy Ambrose’s request as well as fund an estimated $500,000 in improvements planned by the County in parks maintained by the County in the Bay Point area. In response to the Board’s action, Ambrose filed a lawsuit against the County (Ambrose Recreation and Park District v. County of Contra Costa et al., Contra Costa County Superior Court Case No. C09-03545), seeking a writ of mandate to compel the County to turn over to Ambrose all of the Quimby fee revenues collected from developments within the territorial boundaries of Ambrose. County and Ambrose staff have negotiated a resolution to the dispute that would avoid the need for further litigation. Under the proposed Settlement Agreement, with some exceptions, the County will be obligated to transfer to Ambrose all of the Quimby fee revenues that have been or will be collected from developments within Ambrose’s territorial boundaries. On the closing date set forth in the Settlement Agreement (“Closing Date”), the County would be required to pay Ambrose a total of $478,681.32, the amount contained in the Bay Point area Park Dedication accounts collectively as of December 31, 2011. Within 30 days after the Closing Date, the County would be required to pay Ambrose the interest earned on the above amounts from January 1, 2012, up to but not including the Closing Date. Thereafter, with some exceptions, the County would be required on a regular basis to transfer Quimby fee revenues collected by the County from developments within Ambrose’s territorial jurisdiction. Ambrose will be required to use the transferred funds only for purposes authorized by the Quimby Act, and to indemnify and defend the County from claims regarding Ambrose’s use or management of the funds, as well as claims by other entities that may assert entitlement to a portion of these funds. The Settlement Agreement further requires the County to convey to Ambrose the County’s rights, title and interest to each of the County’s Bay Point parks to Ambrose, and requires Ambrose to accept those conveyances. The conveyances are authorized by Government Code section 25365, subdivision (a), if the property is not required for County use. The Settlement Agreement also requires the County to transfer to Ambrose, in semiannual installments, a portion of the assessment revenues that are now collected from parcels in the various zones of the Countywide Landscaping District (LL-2) in the Bay Point area where the parks are located, i.e. Zones 1, 2 and 4 (Lynbrook Park), Zone 3 (Hickory Meadows Park), Zone 10 (Viewpointe Park) and Zone 42 (Boeger and Tradewinds parks). The assessment revenues are collected to maintain parks as well as public right-of-way landscaping in those zones. County and Ambrose staff negotiated the amounts to be transferred to Ambrose to maintain the parks. These amounts total a maximum of $51,428 per year. The amounts to be transferred to Ambrose as to each park are set forth in the JEPA. The remaining assessment revenues – approximately $118,636 in all of these zones – will be available for the County to maintain the public right-of-way landscaping. The details regarding these transfers, the use of the assessment revenues and responsibilities of both parties as to preparation of the annual Engineer’s Report are also set forth in the JEPA. Both parties recognize there is limited funding available from the LL-2 District within the zones in the Bay Point area. These revenues cannot be increased without approval from the property owners within each zone via a Proposition 218 assessment ballot proceeding. Given the current economic climate, it is unlikely that an attempt to increase any of the existing assessments within the various zones would be successful, and none is planned at this time. The transfer of the parks from the County to Ambrose has been determined to be exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Article 5, section 15061,subdivision (b)(3), because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility the change in ownership and transfer of funds to Ambrose may have a significant adverse effect on the environment. Ambrose has approved and executed both the Settlement Agreement and JEPA. Upon approval and execution of these agreements by the County, County staff will work to prepare for the closing, at which time the park conveyances will be consummated. The closing is scheduled to take place within 30 days. CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION: The Settlement Agreement and JEPA will not be approved, the parks will not be conveyed and the transfer of Quimby fee revenues to Ambrose will not take place. The lawsuit filed by Ambrose against the County would proceed. CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT: Not Applicable. CLERK'S ADDENDUM Speaker: Debra Mason, resident of Bay Point. Ms. Mason provided the Board with a DVD copy of Ambrose Recreation and Park District meeting of March 8, 2012; Rollie Katz, Public Employees' Union Local One. ATTACHMENTS Exhibit A Exhibit B Quitclaim Deeds