In 2018: The best and not-so-best in Yorba Linda

Reviewing 2018 in Yorba Linda:

Best trend (Part 1): Again more students took more Advanced Placement examinations at El Dorado, Esperanza, Valencia and Yorba Linda high schools with up to 88 percent pass rates.

Best trend (Part 2): And a record number of students earned the International Baccalaureate diploma at Valencia High with a 91 percent success rate, far exceeding the global 79 percent.

Worst trend: Again, sadly, this is the only county city without scheduled bus service, to the detriment of high school and college students, budget-minded workers and senior citizens.

Best (or, at least, better) behaved politicians: Only two negative campaign mailers – one in the City Council race and one in the water board contest – marred the year's election cycle.

Worst behaved politicians: The race to replace Ed Royce in Congress drew an onslaught of “hit piece” mailers, from winner Gil Cisneros and opponent Young Kim, often two each day.

Newest city record: Peggy Huang won the highest-ever City Council vote of 18,764 (three candidates, two seats), to beat Allen Castellano's 16,879 in 2004 (five candidates, three seats).

Most surprising election news: The first by-district election in the Placentia-Yorba Linda school district failed to draw opponents to trustees Carrie Buck in Area 5 and Karin Freeman in Area 4.

Least surprising election news: Democrats registered in this city dropped behind “no party preference,” 23.6 to 22.1 percent, with the GOP figure at 50.5, reversing statewide trends.

Most hopeful consultant contracts: One firm has been hired to help recruit businesses for the city's retail centers and another to manage a significant portion of the city investment portfolio.

Best reaction to safety concerns: Placentia-Yorba Linda school district added security cameras to high school campuses and instituted several measures for visitor checking at all school sites.

Best audit policy: Special “deep dive” audits examined the use of city credit cards and disposal of surplus property last year and contact administration and overtime use this year.

Most unusual contract: Yorba Linda Water District employees were granted 3 percent salary increases for each of the next five years that mix lump sum payments with base salary hikes.

Most usual contract: Yorba Linda's city employees were granted salary hikes for each of the next three years, consisting of 2 and 2.5 percent increases, along with other benefits.

Best hospital news: Placentia-Linda Hospital celebrated 46 years by opening a new $10 million operating room, allowing more procedures to be performed at the 114-bed facility.

Most interesting real estate news: A portion of city-owned land once designated for a Friends Christian High School campus on Bastanchury Road will be sold to build 23 high-end homes.

Most noteworthy factoid: Water use in Yorba Linda Water District jumped 14 percent, up 6 percent from expected 8 percent hike.

Yorba Linda: Cielo Vista zoning, library bid award

Two Yorba Linda City Council actions – pre-zoning for the near 85-acre Cielo Vista project at the city's northeast border and bid award for construction of the Lakeview Avenue library and arts center – are two key decisions as the panel winds up activities for 2018.

The Cielo Vista property is now in county territory but is in Yorba Linda's sphere of influence, so eventual annexation is almost assured. Pre-zoning will allow a planned development that proposes 80 homes on some 42 acres with about 43 acres of open space.

The council's action does not approve the project but identifies potential zoning “if and when the property is annexed to the city,” according to a report from Senior Planner Greg Rehmer.

Annexation of the property to the city is a multi-step process that will take from three to four months to complete, Rehmer noted. Initial steps include the pre-zoning by the city and an application to the county Local Agency Formation Commission that begins the annexation process.

“The zoning would then become effective at the same time that the annexation becomes effective,” Rehmer stated. The city's General Plan identifies the area as low-density resid-ential and open space, with an overall density of one unit per acre.

Proposed property development standards include a minimum lot size of 7,277 square feet; maximum building height of 35 feet or two stories, whichever is less; 40 percent maximum lot coverage; 10-foot minimum building separation; and minimum of two covered parking spaces.

The bid award totals a bit more than $38.2 million for the two-story, 47,800-square-foot library and a one-story, 15,00-square-foot arts center, with construction to be “substantially complete” by May 2020, according to a report from Max Maximous, the city's public works director.

Five pre-qualified contractors submitted bids, with the second-lowest bidder only $43,000 higher than winner Bernards Bros. Highest bid was some $40.2 million. An estimate from

the project's architect was just under $40.3 million.

“Bernard Bros. has successfully delivered similar civic-related buildings in both Orange County and throughout Southern California,” Maximous stated. He cited as “notable” a 98,000-square-foot Newport Harbor High School building for a theater, library and museum completed on time and within a $46 million budget.

Council authorized budget appropriations, inclusive of prior budgeting for the design phase of about $50.7 million, reflecting full project budget, including contingency (made up from $25.1 million for the library fund's contribution; $15.6 million from lease revenue bonds; and $10 million from a Bastanchury property sale and special reserves).

Not included in the bid award were two alternatives involving outdoor lighting enhancements. One was “festoon lighting” in an “events meadow” east of the arts center and the other was a lighting design to accentuate the building facade.

Yorba Linda's healthy reserve account allows council decisions for future financial stability

A healthy balance in Yorba Linda's reserve funds that continues to build as the city's revenues exceed expenditures has enabled City Council members to make some key decisions that will impact the city's future financial stability.

The most recent council action will continue a three-year-old policy to accelerate amortization of the city's unfunded employee pension liability and reduce the liability for medical payments for retired employees.

The speed-up plan is to fully amortize pension liability by the 2035-36 fiscal year – well ahead of a costlier 30-year payoff period – and contribute additional funds to the city's “other post-employment benefits” trust, with deposits to the state Public Employees Retirement System.

This fiscal year's extra payment for pension funding will be close to $300,000, in addition to a regular payment of nearly $1.6 million. Extra payments for the previous two years totaled just below $600,000, with regular payments totaling a bit under $2.5 million.

The money comes from the city's general fund and a separate library fund, with the amounts based on the proportion of city and library employees in the workforce. The library's property tax revenue from its status as a former independent district still funds its operations.

And this year's payment for retiree medical benefits from the city's general fund will be the same as each of the prior two years, $200,000. Library funds will add nearly $35,000 this year.

After these extra payments, some $2.2 million in excess operating funds remain in the city's reserves, with “excess” defined as the amount above 50 percent of one year's expenditures.

Council policy calls for the panel to review a spending plan for any excess above 60 percent.

At a meeting last month, city staff recommended council delay making decisions regarding use of the funds, since the sale of the city property along west Bastanchury Road is expected to be more than will be needed to build the arts center next to the new library on Lakeview Avenue.

A report outlining anticipated sizable additions to the city's reserve accounts will be presented at an upcoming council meeting by Scott Catlett, finance director and treasurer.

Catlett told council members: “This additional information will facilitate a more comprehensive discussion of the city's unfunded needs, with the goal of eliminating the remaining funding gap in the Town Center project, repaying in full the outstanding Town Center loan and replenishing special reserves.”

The city is in the second year of a two-year budget cycle, with first-quarter results recently reported to the council. Catlett noted the current projection for 2018-19 “remains positive.”

He estimated a budget surplus of $302,000 and stated “operating reserves are anticipated to remain safely above the City Council's minimum balance policy of 50 percent of general fund expenditures at approximately 57 percent.”

Yorba linda, north Orange County voter turnout for 2018 midterm election shows noteworthy gains

Every north Orange County city in the News-Tribune coverage area posted noteworthy gains in voter turnout last month over the midterm election four years ago, with Yorba Linda leading the seven-city field with 77 percent of registered voters casting ballots, up from 49 percent in 2014.

The other numbers: Brea turnout leaped from 48 to 74 percent, Buena Park from 38 to 63 per-cent, Fullerton from 44 to 69 percent, La Habra from 38 to 69 percent, La Palma from 48 to 71 percent and Placentia from 44 to 73 percent (all rounded to nearest percentage).

The Yorba Linda Country Club and Fairlynn county islands turnout for 1,565 registered voters increased from 50 to 76 percent, while the East Placentia county island turnout for 570 voters jumped from 52 to 79 percent.

However, turnout figures still didn't match voter participation in the 2016 presidential ballot, when the percentages ranged from 76 percent in Buena Park to 86 percent in Yorba Linda.

One of the most interesting contests was in the 39^th Congressional District that includes Brea, Buena Park, Fullerton, La Habra, Placentia and Yorba Linda, as well as areas in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.

Democrat Gil Cisneros, who moved to Yorba Linda about the time he began his candidacy in 2017, replaces Republican Ed Royce, who didn't seek re-election after 26 years in Congress.

Cisneros is the first-ever Democrat to represent Yorba Linda in Congress, although Democrat Richard Hanna represented some north county areas during his six terms in Congress, 1963-1974, when he resigned.

Republican Young Kim defeated Cisneros in Brea with a 53 percent margin, in Placentia and the East Placentia county territory with a 51 percent margin and in Yorba Linda and Country Club and Fairlynn county areas with a 64 percent margin.

Cisneros won Buena Park with 58 percent, Fullerton with 55 percent and La Habra with 56 percent. His overall Orange County tally was 49 percent to Young's 51 percent, but he won districtwide 51.5 to 48.5 percent.

In the governor race, Gavin Newsom won Buena Park (55 percent), Fullerton (53 percent), La Habra (53 percent) and La Palma (51 percent). John Cox won Brea (56 percent), Placentia (54 percent) and Yorba Linda (67 percent).

Diane Feinstein won in all seven cities and countywide for senator, as did Marshall Tuck for state schools superintendent, although Tony Thurmond won the office in statewide balloting.

Yorba Linda opposed all four bond propositions, while Buena Park approved all four. Brea, Fullerton, La Habra, La Palma and Placentia approved two and opposed two. The gas tax repeal won in all seven cities, with Yorba Linda recording the highest “yes” vote at 67 percent.

Yorba Linda and Villa Park were the only two of 34 county cities to oppose setting confinement standards for certain farm animals. “No” posted a 2.6 percent margin in Yorba Linda and a 7.9 percent margin in Villa Park.