City Council approves new sewer rates, will adjust senior downtown parking program
–The Paso Robles City Council met on April 20 and 21 and approved new, increased sewer rates. They also discussed potential changes that will need to be made to the recently-introduced downtown senior parking program, among other items.
Highlights from the regular Paso Robles City Council meeting held on April 20 and 21, as sent by the City of Paso Robles, are as follows.
In compliance with social distancing, the council, staff, and the public participated via conference call, the meeting was adjourned late on Tuesday and continued to Wednesday due to technical issues. The recording is available at www.prcity.com/youtube.
The council took the following actions:
Welcomed Interim City Manager Greg Carpenter – Council welcomed Interim City Manager Greg Carpenter, who began his service on Monday, April 19. The city clerk administered Carpenter’s oath of office, indicating his commitment to serve the city and the public with honesty and integrity and to strive to leave the city better than it was when he arrived. He will serve in this role for at least a few months while the search for a permanent city manager continues.
Received an update on COVID-19 – The county remains in the “Red Tier” of the State’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy (info at www.emergencyslo.org) and vaccine efforts continue with all residents age 16 and over now eligible (info at www.emergencyslo.org/vaccines). City recreation programs including swim lessons and other allowable activities will proceed this summer, and staff is preparing to hold Concerts in the Park starting in July if the state reopens on June 15 and if allowable under state guidelines at the time. The library continues to allow “grab and go” services and is now also allowing patrons to use the outdoor patio behind the library and to sign up for outdoor preschool storytime. More info is available at prcity.com.
Received a capital projects update – Ornamental lights are now operational on Spring Street from 24th to 36th. The downtown area road rehab project is complete, which included roadway improvements on 6th to 10th Streets from Pine to Spring and on Park from 6th to 9th St. Construction of the Union Road and Golden Hill intersection improvements is being planned for later this year. A community outreach plan will come before the council in May in order to ensure the community can plan for construction impacts. Finally, the 2021 Annual Street Maintenance project is also in the pre-construction phase.
Received a presentation from the Paso Robles Main Street Association: The presentation described their activities and priorities, including economic restructuring and economic vitality. They have had to modify some events during COVID and have had to cancel others. They requested $95,000 for the calendar year 2021 to continue their work as “the heartbeat of Downtown.”
Approved construction agreements for Dry Creek Road repair Phase 2: Council authorized the city manager to enter into a construction agreement with Raminha Construction for $1,297,736, and a professional services agreement for construction engineering services with Wallace Group for $292,422. Construction of the section of roadway from Estrella to the city limits will begin in May or June and last for 6-9 months.
Conducted a sewer rate protest hearing and implemented new sewer rates: The city provides for collection, treatment, and disposal of wastewater in Paso Robles, funded primary by sewer rate payments. Sewer rates have not been adjusted since 2016. As a result, Paso Robles had some of the lowest sewer rates in the region. The city is obligated by state regulations to maintain the integrity of its sewer assets to protect public health and the environment. Costs of meeting state requirements regarding water disposal into the Salinas River are significant and required the completion of comprehensive upgrades to the Wastewater Treatment Plant. While expenditures have increased since the last rate increase, revenues have also decreased, due to lower water usage and Templeton’s construction of its own treatment plant. Combined, these factors necessitated sewer rate increase. This week’s hearing concluded the Proposition 218 process, which required the city to notify residents of the proposed rate increase 45 days prior to the public hearing and provided an opportunity for residents to protest. The Prop 218 process did not result in a majority protest, and council voted to implement the proposed rate increase, which was developed though the Wastewater Rate Study completed by Bartle Wells & Associates. Rate increases will go into effect on July 1.
Held a second study session on the local roadway safety program: The city was awarded a grant from the California Department of Transportation to develop a Local Roadway Safety Plan. The purpose of the safety plan is to establish the framework and process for identifying, analyzing, and prioritizing roadway safety improvements for city streets, such as crosswalk enhancements or visibility improvements at intersections. Paso Robles experienced an estimated $17 million in total societal costs associated with traffic collisions in 2019. Council provided preliminary input at the first study session in February. Input was also collected from residents. Speeding, intersection visibility, and impaired driving arose as top collision factors. Council provided additional input on the plan development. The final plan will be presented to council for adoption in May.
Made 3rd Quarter FY 2020-21 Budget adjustments and provided preliminary general fund budget direction for FY 2021-22: Council received a budget report for the third quarter of the current fiscal year, indicating that the city’s fiscal position has improved since the original budget projections for this year. Council approved funding for community partner contracts for January through June 2021, and other minor budget adjustments, some of which are offset by grant funding.
Council also considered general fund budget information for FY 2021-22 and approved conceptually the (a) FY 2021-2 Measure J-20 basic needs packages for police, emergency services, and streets, the (b) general fund capital improvement program, and the (c) general fund operating budget. Council approved the use of general fund reserves to cover one-time, high-priority capital costs but directed staff to reimburse the reserves from other revenue sources if possible in the future. Council directed staff to fund community partner organizations for FY 2021-22 and to move to two-year contracts thereafter to match the city’s typical two-year budget cycle. The final budget adoption will be in June.
Directed the Downtown Parking Advisory Committee to consider adjustments to the senior permit program: On March 16, council converted the Senior Permit Pilot Program into an annual program available to all seniors 65 years of age and older at a cost of $5 per year. Since then, the police department has been overwhelmed with almost 700 permit applications, including from residents outside the area, multiple permits per household, etc. The outgoing city manager paused the program last week to seek council direction on potential unintended consequences of the program given the high demand. Council directed staff to honor permits issued, pause issuance of additional permits for 90 days, return funds for any permit applications submitted after the pause implemented last week, and to seek direction from the Parking Advisory Committee on how to modify the program.
The next regular City Council meeting is on Tuesday, May 4 at 6:30 p.m., via livestream at www.prcity.com/youtube. Public comment can be made during the meeting by calling 805-865-PASO (7276) or provided prior to the meeting by emailing cityclerk@prcity.com.
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