Yorba Linda's tree-trimming costs increase; Hank Wedaa served 30 years on City Council, not 29

Costs for maintaining more than 32,000 city-owned trees within Yorba Linda's 20-square-mile area will jump 25% under a contract extension approved by City Council members at a recent meeting.

The contract with the Anaheim-based West Coast Aborists will total $6 million for a three-year period through June 2022, up from $4.8 million, based on two more extensions allowed under the current contract. The company has been maintaining city trees since 2011.

West Coast will work on more than 25,000 trees in the city's Landscape Maintenance Assessment District, some 4,000 trees in city parks and about 3,500 along the streets.

The prior 2016 contract estimated annual maintenance expenses at $681,500, but actual costs over the three-year contract term jumped 35% to $920,476 “due to emergency tree removals and other required work due to the drought,” according to a city report.

An additional $406,503 for each year would be required under three one-year extensions, bringing the total cost to $6 million through June 2022. Consumer price index adjustments, higher insurance limits and indemnification language account for much of the added costs.

New costs include a 10% contingency “to mitigate against future unanticipated emergency tree maintenance work,” eliminating the need for future change orders or council actions to allocate more money.

Regular pruning prices range from $43 to $139 per tree, with special request pruning running from $173 to $259 per tree.

Also, owners of 630 single-family homes in a local landscape zone in the north central portion of the city are voting by mail on a proposed 64% increase from $363.50 to $595 in the annual fees each pays for landscape maintenance.

Ballots are to be returned before council's March 3 public hearing on the issue. The zone is one of 33 local landscaping zones in the city's Landscape Maintenance Assessment District.

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Historical note on Hank Wedaa's City Council years: Wedaa's fourth term (1982-1986) was extended eight months, when elections were moved from April to November, so his service totaled more than 30 years, not the 29 listed in the city obituary and by speakers at his well-attended Jan. 16 memorial service.

And Wedaa's record five times as mayor would have been six or maybe seven, but he was on the short end of a 3-2 council split during the 1990s, and three of his colleagues ignored the longtime practice of rotating the office among all members to deny him the mayor's chair.

His record 30 council years and five times as mayor and mayor pro-tem won't be matched unless city voters repeal the three-term limit approved in 1996, by a 15,087 to 6,906 count.

Interestingly, a two-term limit passed 13,008 to 8,517 on the same ballot, but the three-term limit became law due to winning more “yes” votes. A 1992 advisory vote on a two-term limit passed 17,064 to 4,817, but the council didn't act on the matter until the 1996 election.

How Yorba Linda pays for infrastructure due to new development with state-allowed 'impact fees'

New development – whether residential or commercial – brings additional infrastructure needs to communities, and state law allows municipalities to levy “impact fees” on building projects to pay the often hefty costs associated with providing new park facilities, roads and storm drains.

Yorba Linda's City Council members recently reviewed state-required annual reports on three of the fees charged to developers, who then tack the costs onto the price that purchasers pay for completed projects, including new home construction.

One levy – a local park impact fee – is “to ensure that new development is paying its portion of the parks and recreation infrastructure costs associated with the new development growth pro-posed,” according to the city's report describing the levy.

The fee is based on the type of residential development and number of dwelling units: $16,716 per lot for single-family homes and $10,718 per lot for multiple-family units. The city collected a total of $164,604 from the levy and earned $8,883 in interest on the fee the past fiscal year.

Close to $160,000 was spent on Phillip Paxton Equestrian Center plans ($68,000), Adventure Playground master plan ($34,000), Yorba Linda Middle School field conversion ($30,000) and Fairmont Knolls restroom project ($28,000), leaving $13,541 unspent.

Another levy – a local traffic development fee – is “to ensure that new development is paying its share of the transportation infrastructure costs associated with the growth proposed,” the yearly report stated.

The fee is based on land use and zoning: $600 per unit for residential projects, $1.98 per square foot for commercial projects, 48 cents per square foot for office projects and 15 cents per square foot for industrial projects.

The traffic fee account had $1.2 million at the beginning of the fiscal year, collected another $116,000 during the year and earned $46,000 in interest. The fiscal year ended with a $1.5 million balance, due to reimbursements for various projects from a separate traffic signal fund.

A third levy – a storm drain impact fee – is “to fund construction of facilities contemplated in the city's master plan for storm drain infrastructure to accommodate storm run-off,” as stated in the annual report.

The fee is $14,000 per acre. It's the city's oldest impact fee, first levied in 1968, nine months after incorporation.

The drainage fee account had $7.4 million at the beginning of the fiscal year, collected another

$140,000 during the year and earned $249,000 in interest. The year ended with a $7.3 million balance, after close to $500,000 was spent on Town Center drainage facilities.

Update to my Dec. 12 column on Paxton Equestrian Center improvements: Contract for a scaled-down project at the 5.5-acre site is expected to be awarded next month. Work will include expansion of a horse arena and modification of landscape and irrigation.

Completion is set for July.

Yorba Linda trash-hauling bill increase due to diversion of green waste from land-fill sites

By now, most residential customers of Republic Services, Yorba Linda's trash-hauling cont-ractor, have noticed a 13.4% spike in their bills for the three-month period ending March 31.

The extra $2.88 per-barrel per-month cost will pay for diverting the city's annual 14,000 tons of green waste – mostly grass clippings and leaves collected in the brown containers – from local county landfills to a composting facility co-owned by Republic Services in Chino.

The change is the result of a state law passed in 2014, with an effective date of Jan. 1 this year. The new three-month rate for weekly trash pickup for residential customers is $73.26, up from $64.62, for the trash (black), recyclable (green) and green waste (brown) containers.

Prior to the start of this year, the city's green waste was transferred by Republic Services mostly to the 565-acre Olinda Landfill in Brea, where it was used to cover the active parts of the landfill at the end of the day to control vectors, fires, odors, blowing litter and scavenging.

The green waste earned the city “diversion credit,” and the county did not charge for disposal.

But now, according to a report from Assistant City Manager Dave Christian, the green waste – called “alternative daily cover” – will be considered regular trash and the credit eliminated.

The state goal is to reduce “the amount of organic waste sent to landfills to 50% by 2020 and to 75% by 2025,” Christian noted, adding, “CalRecycle requires all California cities to divert at least 50% of their trash from the landfills each year.”

One option explored was to continue dumping the green waste at county landfills and have it counted as regular trash. That would have increased the city's monthly per-container charge $1.52, boosting the three-month bill to $69.18 instead of $73.26.

However, that option “could cause the city's diversion credit rate to drop below the 50% minimum required by CalReycle,” Christian reported. The City Council voted 5-0 for the $73.26 rate.

The city retains the right to choose the location for delivering the green waste, with rates reduced or increased if costs of using a different facility are lower or higher. Republic will notify the city if a lower cost plan becomes available before the regular annual rate adjustment July 1.

Update to my Sept. 19 and 26 and Dec. 5 columns on the state mandate to plan for future housing needs: The city hired Karen Warner Associates to prepare an eight-year General Plan Housing Element by April 2021 at a cost of $127,400.

The city was allotted a preliminary new construction need of 2,322 units for the 2021-2029 planning period under the Regional Housing Needs Assessment process, to be distributed among very-low, low, moderate and above-moderate income categories.

The firm will plan for community engagement and create visual simulations of hypothetical projects of varying densities on potential housing sites.

North Orange County residents seek to represent Democrats, Republicans on Central Committees

A record 40 North Orange County residents are seeking 24 positions on the county's Democratic and Republican central committees in the March 3 primary election.

However, don't expect to see brochures, cable television advertising, paid endorsements on slate mailers or candidate statements printed in the county's voter information pamphlets for the contenders, who are running in down-ballot races that draw little voter attention.

Winners tend to be incumbents, candidates with name recognition due to high-visibility posts on city councils and school boards or who have notable occupations listed under their names.

The positions they're seeking are volunteer slots on the two party organizations, which are the nuts-and-bolts bodies that keep the partisan Democratic and Republican apparatus operating throughout the county.

However, the committees have one important role that can affect races for federal and state legislative offices, as well as the nominally non-partisan contests for county, city council, school trustee and water board positions.

The committees can endorse candidates, thus giving the selected individuals a leg up on their competitors by allowing them to campaign with the official imprimatur of the Democratic or Republican party.

Each central committee has 42 elected members, six from each of the county's seven state assembly districts, plus ex-officio members that include elected officeholders and candidates from past elections.

Only voters registered as Democrats can vote for Democratic central committee positions and only voters registered as Republicans can select the GOP committee members.

Democratic candidates seeking the six seats to represent the 55^th Assembly District (Brea, La Habra, Placentia and Yorba Linda) are incumbents Cynthia Aguirre, Lourdes Cruz, Jeff Letourneau and Molly Muro.

Others are Gail Cain, Natalie Estrada, Isabella Rubio and Sean Thomas. Not seeking re-election are Joana Barcelona and Allyson Vincent.

Republican contenders are incumbents Brett Barbre, Gene Hernandez, Tim Shaw and Craig Young. Others are Anthony Johnson, Elvira Moreno, Michael Navarro, Melissa Salinas and Rhonda Shader. Not seeking re-election are James Gerbus and Peggy Huang.

Democratic candidates seeking the six seats to represent the 65^th Assembly District (Buena Park, Cypress, Fullerton, La Palma, Stanton and parts of Anaheim and Garden Grove) are incumbents Arnel Dino, Mirvette Judeh, Ed Lopez and John Vassiliades.

Others are Eric Barlow, Ada Briceno, Jose Castanada, Bruce Johnson, Andy Lewandowski, Jose Magcalas, Marisol Ramirez, Mike Rodriguez and Patricia Tutor. Not seeking re-election are Monika Broone and Jesus Silva.

Republican contenders are incumbents Baron Night, Leroy Mills, Steve Sarkis, David Shawver and Cynthia Thacker. Others are Nicholas Dunlap, Bobby Florentz, Amy Fremen, Dewayne Normand and James Waters. Not seeking re-election is Shawn Nelson.

Yorba Linda City Council to consider canceling loans made to Black Gold Golf Club next month

Yorba Linda's City Council is expected to consider canceling all loans due to the city's general fund and special reserve fund from the Black Gold Golf Club and waiving the accrued interest payable on the loans, probably at a February meeting.

The forgiven debt would total $20.2 million – $18.8 million in loans and $1.4 million in interest.

A plan outlining loan cancellation and interest waiver will be reviewed at a city Finance Committee meeting this month, according to Finance Director Scott Catlett. Committee members are Mayor Beth Haney and Councilwoman Peggy Huang.

The committee viewed an eight-page report on the issue from Catlett at a Nov. 19 session. The committee asked Catlett to return with a draft plan for feedback and to incorporate the feedback into a revised report to the full council.

To save on interest payments, the council in 2013 used $1.2 million on hand and $14 million from “excess general fund operating reserves” to pay off Black Gold's outstanding debt, with interest on the city's loan ranging from about $100,000 to $450,000 this past year.

However, Catlett noted the “total debt outstanding today of $23.2 million remains virtually unchanged versus the 2003 balance of $23.7 million when construction was completed.”

Because “the likelihood of the internal loans ever being repaid is minimal” and other factors, Catlett has recommended the council consider “cancellation of all interfund loans due to the general fund and special reserve fund” and “forgiveness of the related accrued interest.”

Catlett's draft report also is expected to recommend a new, $2.4 million loan from the city's Master Plan of Drainage fund to the golf course fund to eliminate the latter fund's “negative cash balance” and provide $200,000 in “working capital.”

The new loan would be repaid over a seven-year period, with interest due annually and with early payments permitted. Already available to the golf course is about $100,000 in working capital in a separate account.

The total $300,000 “is anticipated to be sufficient to accommodate any minor variances in year-to-year net income of the golf course in the immediate future,” Catlett reported at the November committee meeting.

Catlett noted: “With the infusion of cash from this loan, the golf course fund will truly be in sound financial shape for the first time in its history, with sufficient cash flow anticipated to be available to repay the loan in seven years or less with interest.

“It is currently anticipated that the golf course's positive cash flow should range from $375,000 to $450,000 in a typical year based on recent trends,” Catlett stated, with a minimum payment due on the loan each year of approximately $375,000.

Another recommendation is to present within one year for council consideration a long-term financial plan that would include developing reserve and dividend policies for dispersing the golf course's future revenues.