Council tables final decision on downtown employee parking lots

Posted: 7:46 am, December 18, 2024 by Editor Skye Pratt

Yellow rectangles represent employee lots.

Item will return for final decision June 17

– The Paso Robles City Council has delayed a final decision on the future of downtown parking permits, opting to revisit the issue on June 17 following a 3-2 vote at Tuesday’s meeting.

Councilmembers John Hamon and Fred Strong opposed the delay.

During the discussion, several council members, including Strong, expressed a preference to “stay out of parking, period.” Public comments revealed mixed opinions from business owners, with some supporting the continuation of the permit system.

The item will be returned for the final decision in six months.

Presentations

Mayor John R. Hamon, Jr. led the recognition of outgoing Councilmember Sharon Roden. Additionally, Hamon presented proclamations honoring the American Legion’s 100th anniversary and the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ 125th anniversary.

Consent calendar

The consent calendar passed unanimously.

Public hearing

The council held a public hearing regarding the annexation of an area of the Olsen/South Chandler Ranch development into the Paso Robles Community Facilities District. The council unanimously approved the annexation, and the final map, levying and apportioning special taxes for Vinedo Planning Area 9. The tax applies to future homebuyers in the area and is supported by the developer.

In a later discussion item, the final tract map for the planning area was also unanimously approved.

Other discussion items

Agreement with CalRecycle
The council unanimously approved an agreement with the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) to better manage funding for the city landfill’s closure and post-closure maintenance. State law requires landfill operators to set aside money each year to cover the costs of closure, monitoring, and corrective actions once the landfill reaches capacity, which is expected to happen in 2070.

Previously, the city maintained one combined fund for all three activities. The new agreement creates two separate accounts: one for closure-related projects and another for post-closure and corrective action. This change allows the city to prioritize funding for immediate closure work while committing to fund post-closure and corrective action needs later.

As of June 30, 2024, the city had about $5 million in its Closure, Postclosure, and Corrective Action Fund. The agreement enables the city to use more of these funds now to support the partial closure of the southern third of the landfill. There is no additional financial impact, as the city already sets aside $250,000 annually from solid waste revenues for these purposes. The city manager is now authorized to finalize the agreement with CalRecycle.

Change order for design contract of new city corporation yard
The council unanimously approved a $159,037 increase to the design contract for the city’s new operations facility, known as the corporation yard. This brings the total contract with design firm Omni Design Incorporated to $1,058,490.

The city’s goal is to create a space that will meet the city’s growing needs for at least the next 10 years.

The facility will be built at 2924 Union Road, next to Fire Station No. 3 and the future Union Road Safety Training Center. It will serve as the headquarters for city maintenance crews and utilities staff, including workers from the landscape, facilities, and fleet maintenance divisions, as well as the utilities department’s administrative and engineering teams.

Initially, the plan was to build one large building to house all staff. However, the project design changed to include three separate buildings: one for landscape and facilities staff, one for fleet maintenance operations, and another for utilities department staff.

The expanded design requires additional architectural, structural, mechanical, and electrical planning, which is why the extra $159,037 was added to the original design contract.

The plan for the new corporation yard was approved by the Planning Commission on Aug. 27, 2024. The entire project, including the design changes, is expected to cost just over $15 million. The city’s Capital Improvement Program Fund will cover the cost of the design change. Once the final design is finished, the city will review the total project budget to make sure it stays on track with funding.