New leadership for city, school, water boards representing Yorba Linda expected in December

New leadership will be selected in December for the several elected governing boards that represent Yorba Linda residents, with most of the panels expected to follow the longtime practice of rotating members through the top positions.

Members of the various bodies appear to get along both professionally and personally, so residents can expect unanimous votes and little change in policies as a result of the selections, although some of the new leaders may promote different priorities.

The top positions are one-year terms and are largely ceremonial, with occupants chairing meetings, supervising discussions and representing the boards in the community. Often the jobholder has an advantage of higher visibility during an election year.

The Yorba Linda City Council is expected to follow the traditional voting pattern this year, although past years have seen personal antagonisms disrupt the sensible rotation policy. Gene Hernandez, first elected to the council in 2012, will vacate the mayor's chair.

Tara Campbell, elected two years ago, is in line to be mayor, with Beth Haney, also elected in 2016, replacing her as mayor pro tem. Campbell was a member of the city's Parks and Recreation Commission and is communications director for county supervisor Andrew Do.

Interestingly, Carlos Rodriguez, elected to replace Tom Lindsey, also was a member of the parks and recreation panel. Both were appointed commissioners a year before their elections to the council by council members who later endorsed their council runs.

The Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District board always follows a rotation policy, so expect eight-year trustee Carrie Buck to become president, replacing 18-year trustee Carol Downey. Ten-year trustee Eric Padget is in line to be vice president.

At the Yorba Linda Water District, expect Brooke Jones to become president, replacing Al Nederhood. Both were elected in 2016, when they replaced incumbents in recall balloting, and both won full four-year terms earlier this month.

The North Orange County Community College District board is expected to name Yorba Linda residents to the top two positions. Sixteen-year trustee Jeff Brown is in line for the presidency, replacing Jackie Rodarte, and two-year trustee Ryan Bent is in line to become vice president.

Bent, a city Library Commission member, represents most of Yorba Linda on the seven-person board, with Brown and Anaheim's Rodarte representing small westside sections.

At the county Municipal Water District, Yorba Linda resident and 18-year director Brett Barbre is expected to pass the president's position to Joan Finnegan, whose 33-year tenure includes time on a predecessor body.

A little-known fact: two apartment complexes in Yorba Linda's portion of Savi Ranch are in the Orange Unified and Rancho Santiago Communitry College districts. Kathy Moffat and Phil Yarbrough are in line to become presidents, respectively.

Results are in for Yorba Linda's contract with private financial firm for investing funds

Results are in for the initial year of what is believed to be Yorba Linda's first-ever contract with a private financial firm for active management of a significant portion of city funds available for investment, since the city was incorporated in 1967.

Based on a report compiled by consultants at the city-hired Public Financial Management's Los Angeles office, total returns were 0.62 percent since the company began managing the city's $44.6 million portfolio in March 2017.

Return for the 2017-18 fiscal year ending June 30 was 0.42 percent. Both return levels were above benchmark securities of 0.20 percent and 0.08 percent, respectively. Total returns are based on market value earnings, according to the firm's report.

“The total return continues to outperform the benchmark. However, the decline in the portfol-io's market value, due to rising interest rates, has reduced the absolute level of total returns,” the company's consultants noted.

Looking forward, the consultants stated: “Overall economic conditions remain strong with only a slight chance of a recession in 2019. However, trade wars, higher interest rates and political events could impact economic growth over the longer-term.”

And, based on an anticipated additional Federal Reserve rate hike this year and three increases in 2019, the consultants noted: “Higher interest rates will increase the city's interest earnings but will result in additional market value depreciation in the portfolio.”

So far, under the financial firm's management, the portfolio has been diversified to mitigate risk and enhance long-term performance, and maturities have been positioned at modestly shorter periods to mitigate the impact of rising interest rates.

Also, active management added incremental value to the portfolio. For example, according to the consultants, a federal agency note was sold and another security purchased for a net gain of $1,762, and a Colgate-Palmolive note was sold and a Charles Schwab note purchased for a net gain of $1,739.

And the company has diversified portfolio holdings to make broader use of security types to reduce the allocation to any one sector or issuer “to add value and manage risk.” State law and a City Council-adopted policy each restrict the type of investments the city can hold.

Also in Yorba Linda, the four-story parking structure in the Town Center development was accepted as complete by the city last month, with certifications from the state and Orange County Fire Authority in place.

Roadways, perimeter landscaping and pedestrian improvements leading up to the structure were completed earlier this month so the free parking opportunities could open to the public. The grand opening for the facility at 18423 Arroyo St. was scheduled for Nov. 20.

The structure has 446 vehicle spaces, motion sensor LED lighting, a car-count system and infrastructure for electric vehicle charging stations.

Yorba Linda 2018 midterm election results cement city's status as Republican enclave with 2-1 votes

Yorba Linda voters certainly cemented the city's status as a Republican enclave in midterm balloting by giving near or better than 2 to 1 majorities to GOP candidates for state offices and hefty tallies for Republicans in all other contests.

Yorba Linda is one of only two Orange County cities with a majority Republican voter registration – 50.7 percent at last count (tiny Villa Park's GOP signups stand at 56.3 percent).

Even the city's “no party preference” voters eclipse Democrats, 23.4 percent to 22.2 percent.

Although a number of ballots – vote-by-mail, provisional, conditional and paper ballots – are still being counted, the percentages posted by Yorba Linda voters are unlikely to change. County election officials have until Dec. 6 to certify results.

As expected, the Yorba Linda City Council will remain an all-Republican governing body, with Peggy Huang and Carlos Rodriguez joining Tara Campbell, Beth Haney and Gene Hernandez.

Huang, a state deputy attorney general, won a second term, again topping the tally. Rodriguez, a Building Industry Association official, ran second. Lourdes Cruz placed third, but she easily outperformed the city's Democratic turnout.

Huang and Rodriguez were endorsed by the county's Republican Central Committee, while Cruz was endorsed by the Democratic Central Committee. Huang is a member of the GOP body, and Cruz is an alternate for the Democratic group.

Three incumbents – Brooke Jones, Al Nederhood and Phil Hawkins – were returned as directors of the Yorba Linda Water District, easily besting Robert and Barbara Kiley. Longtime Yorba Linda resident Brett Barbre effortlessly won a sixth term as a county Municipal Water District director.

And Yorba Linda resident Jeff Brown handily won a fifth term as a trustee at the North Orange County Community College District in Area 6 that includes 827 registered Yorba Linda voters.

Yorba Linda's sizable majorities for Republicans for statewide offices included John Cox for governor and contenders for secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer and controller. The lieutenant governor race split evenly between Democrats Eleni Kounalakis and Ed Hernandez.

Winning better than 2 to 1 support from Yorba Linda voters were Marshall Tuck for state schools superintendent and Steve Poizner for insurance commissioner. Diane Feinstein pulled 54 percent of Yorba Linda's vote.

Young Kim took 66 percent of the Yorba Linda vote, beating Gil Cisneros to replace Ed Royce in Congress, and Phillip Chen won 70 percent, beating Gregg Fritchle for a second term in the state Assembly.

Also favored were Todd Spitzer for district attorney by 55 percent and Don Barnes for sheriff by 68 percent.

City voters convincingly nixed rent control, dialysis clinic rules and all four bond propositions, with “no” ahead by some 1,000 votes on the animal confinement measure. Gas tax repeal (68 percent) and the others had huge “yes” margins.

Yorba Linda's short-term rentals now pay transit occupancy taxes, obtain business licenses

An update on Yorba Linda's short-term rentals shows there are fewer operating than originally thought and most have become compliant with city requirements, including having a business license and paying a 10 percent transit occupancy tax.

Earlier this year, the city pegged the number of short-term rentals at 89 – 36 entire houses and 53 single bedrooms or guest quarters. Just three had business licenses and none had paid the transit occupancy tax, as noted in my March 29 column.

At the time, three of the rentals were described as disruptive to their neighborhoods, with the complaints including unfamiliar people in the neighborhood, additional traffic, lack of parking, loud music and hosting parties and other special events drawing a large audience.

The city hired a San Francisco-based company, Host Compliance, to inventory short-term rentals, monitor rentals for compliance with city regulations, provide guidance to the rental operators and flag suspected rental properties for further analysis by the city.

And the city authorized a six-month amnesty period with no back taxes or license fees as a one-time option that would expire if an operator didn't respond “in a timely fashion” after an initial contact.

Based on 89 rentals, the city estimated collecting $17,600 in transit occupancy taxes and $2,200 in business license fees each year. Per-night rents for single bedrooms were said to average $100, with entire homes averaging $1,000, based on Host Compliance data.

Currently, according to the latest report, Host Compliance is tracking 52 short-term rentals, since some of the original 89 identified were in neighboring jurisdictions and others weren't rentals.

After receiving letters from the city, a majority of the operators either came into compliance or delisted their properties upon learning the requirements for a business license and the transit occupancy taxes, noted the updated report from Scott Catlett, the city's finance director.

Of four non-compliant rentals, two were determined to be listings posted by previous owners, which were not removed when they sold their homes. Two cases were unresolved at the time of the report, with enforcement eventually possible through actions by the city attorney.

“Revenue collected from these businesses is anticipated to fully offset the costs of the Host Compliance agreement and generate a small amount of additional revenue for the General Fund,” Catlett's report stated.

Current city zoning laws don't allow homes to be used as “event facilities,” and only uses that complement “residential living” are permitted in residential zones. And a city noise ordinance lists specific allowable decibel levels during day and evening hours.

Zoning and noise ordinance violations are subject to citation by city enforcement officers, including sheriff's deputies, so, at present, the city is not considering a specific short-term rental ordinance.

New contaminate source discovered in Yorba Linda gas station cleanup will increase costs

A new contaminate source and residual hydrocarbon concentrations will increase the cost and lengthen the time required for remediation at the former gas station property between the Yorba Linda public library and Imperial Highway at the Lemon Drive intersection.

The library and the adjacent former gas station land is to be sold to In-N-Out for a fast-food operation, once the library moves to a Lakeview Avenue and Lemon Drive location in 2020.

Originally, the seven-year process to remove contaminates affecting groundwater under the city-owned property was set for final close-out at the end of this year, but now closure is not expected until late next year, noted a report from Assistant City Engineer Rick Yee.

And the project cost will jump $490,606 to $1,129,831 under the 2016 contract with Stantec Engineering, a Canada-based firm with offices in Irvine. Prior to an initial 2011 contract with Stantec, the city spent $540,000 to remove and dispose of contaminated soil.

Since 2011, some $2.5 million has been spent on remediation and groundwater monitoring at the site. The Orange County Transportation Authority paid $1.775 million, with the remainder coming from the State Underground Storage Tank Fund.

Of the $490,606 in additional costs, $320,000 is expected to come from state storage tank reimbursements and $170,606 from city reserve funds. The transportation authority says the latter can be deducted from money owed to the authority for purchasing the gas station land.

During the current remediation efforts, a new contaminate source was detected in the subsurface soil, according to Yee's report, which was reviewed at the most recent City Council meeting.

“Soil vapor concentrations at two monitoring wells suggest that diesel fluids are present on site and are believed to have been generated from a source other than the (former station) gasoline storage tanks,” Yee's report stated.

Also, while checks at 16 of 17 monitoring wells show “a reduction in contaminants below the required threshold for closure,” there is one monitoring location “with residual concentrations that warrants additional treatment to reach closure threshold levels,” Yee noted.

Work at the site is governed by the State Water Resources Control Board with local oversight by the Orange County Health Care Agency. After the city purchased the site in 2004 as a part of the Imperial Highway widening project, a Superior Court judgment required the city to clear up contamination, which had spread west under Imperial Highway toward a restaurant parcel.

The initial phase of site cleanup included the installation of equipment that removed floating gasoline from the groundwater, completed in 2011, with the past seven years devoted to an effort to remove the remaining dissolved gasoline mixed with the groundwater.

Since 2011, about 17,500 pounds of contaminant have been removed from the site, according to Yee's report.