City council approves new playground for Larry Moore Park
Highlights from Tuesday night’s Paso Robles City Council meeting:
Larry Moore Park Playground Replacement
The Paso Robles City Council endorsed the conceptual design for a new playground at Larry Moore Park in the Riverbank neighborhood. It will replace the deteriorated facility that was installed in the 1990s. The renovated playground will be part of a larger park renovation effort that will include the repair and rehabilitation of the public restrooms and eventual enhanced playing field development. The playground design itself will include features that are engaging and durable, similar to playgrounds recently upgraded at Sherwood Forest, Uptown Family Park, and City Park.
Commercial Banking Services
The city council approved a five-year banking arrangement with Heritage Oaks Bank to provide the city’s commercial banking services. Heritage Oaks was chosen after a competitive process that showed their services would result in the lowest net cost to the city.
Oak Tree Removals
The city council approved two separate oak tree removal requests where the trees were shown to have reached a point of declining health where they posed a hazard. The trees were each located in residential areas, one on Experimental Station Road and the other on Kleck Road. They will be replaced either on site or, if there is not a suitable location on site, elsewhere in the city.
Library Strategic Plan
The city council received a presentation of the library’s draft strategic plan that is designed to guide the efforts of future library services, programs, collections and facilities. In its drafting, the plan had received input from various library support and citizen groups. The city council requested that the draft plan be scheduled for additional public discussion and community input prior to formal adoption. This discussion will take place after the next step in the strategic planning process, which will consist of looking at options for meeting the plan’s goals.
Quarterly Budget Report
The city council received a financial report with the actual revenues and expenditures (compared to budget) for the 2nd Quarter of Fiscal Year 16-17. Revenues are coming in above expectations. Expenditures were lower than the projected budget in all areas, but expected to appropriately track by end of fiscal year based on the state of various capital projects. All city Departments provided 2nd quarter updates for their budgetary goals and associated metrics.
Financial Forecast
The city council received the city’s 5-year financial forecast focused on the state of the General Fund. The presentation concluded that the city’s revenues are likely to continue to rise by an average of 2.2% per year in a favorable economy, which is roughly the projected rate of inflation. However, the recent news from the California Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) regarding rate changes will consume much of that growth. The city council has directed and the city is pursuing financial strategies that will use General Fund reserves to help alleviate these financial pressures and save money over time.
Financial Advisement Services
The city council authorized a professional services agreement with NHA Advisors for financial advisory services specifically focused on the pay down of the city’s unfunded accrued liability attributable to participation in the California Public Employee Retirement System (PERS). NHA Advisors will provide analysis of options for cost saving measures associated with using a portion of the city’s General Fund reserves to pre-fund benefit plan obligations either through direct payment to PERS and/or payments into a Section 115 Trust.
Source: Paso Robles Assistant City Manager Meg Williamson
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