Water & Sewer
Standards
Committee
City Manager
HOMER,
ALASKA City Manager
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HOMER, ALASKA AMENDING THE ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY FOR PENDING WATER AND/OR SEWER IMPROVEMENT/ASSESSMENT DISTRICTS
TO 7550% PROPERTY OWNER SHARE AND 5025% CITY SHARE OF THE TOTAL PROJECT COSTS AND AMENDING
THE ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY FOR FURTURE
WATER AND/OR SEWER IMPROVEMENT/ASSESMENT DISTRICTS TO 75% PROPERTY
OWNER SHARE AND 25% CITY SHARE OF TOTAL PROJECT COSTS .AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO AN
AGREEMENT WITH THE KENAI PENINSULA BOROUGH TO PROVIDE FIRE AND EMERGENCY
MEDICAL SERVICES TO KACHEMAK EMERGENCY SERVICE AREA
WHEREAS, there are
nine water and/or sewer improvement/assessment districts on the books awaiting
constructionthe Kenai Peninsula Borough formed the Kachemak
Emergency Service Area to provide fire and emergency medical services in the
service area; and
WHEREAS, the improvements have been found to be necessary,
the property owners have voted in favor of these improvementsthe City of Homer
has contracted with the KPB on behalf of the KESA to provide fire and emergency
medical services to the area included within the KES, which contract expired June
30, 2002;
and
WHEREAS, the present
methodology, City share
75% property owner share 25%, was adopted during a time in which State funding
was available to cities for funding at the 75% levelthe City of
Homer, the Kenai Peninsula Borough administration and Kachemak Emergency
Service Area board have negotiated a new six-month agreement
for continued provision of fire and emergency medical services to KESA; and
WHEREAS, most of these
projects were assessed with the basis of the City receiving funds from the
State of Alaska, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and/or
other State funding and there have been and are no State funds for these
projectsat its meeting June 27th,
2002, the KESA board approved renewing the interim contract with the City of
Homer for six-months at a cost of $95,800; and
WHEREAS, funding at the 75% level is no longer available to
the City from any sourcethe KPB
Assembly, through KPB Resolution 2002-101, authorized
the KPB Mayor to execute the negotiated contract, which he has done; and
WHEREAS, using the existing assessment
methodology, City share
75% property owner share 25%, the total cost of the City’s share is
$5,420,337the City desires to
extend the interim agreement for six; and
WHEREAS, the
City presently has on hand only $1,743,000 available for the City’s share of
the total costs; and
WHEREAS, although the voters of the City of Homer during the 1999
General Municipal Election approved the use of unexpended sales tax revenue for
water and/or sewer improvements, this only
increases the
projection of available
funding for the City’s share at the rate of approximately $300,000 per
year; and
WHEREAS, some of these
projects have been awaiting funding for nearly seven years; and
WHEREAS, the
Water and Sewer Standards Committee has been tasked, in part, with bringing
these projects to fruition using available those
funds; and
WHEREAS, many
hours have been spent ascertaining the most efficient method of utilizing the
sales tax funds and the
funds presently available to complete
construction of bring to project
completion these
improvement/assessment districts and to
establish a policy for assured future funding of water and sewer improvement
districts; and
WHEREAS, the
Water and Sewer Standards Committee has made the recommendations outlined in
this resolution; and
WHEREAS, it
is the conclusion of the Council that assessment
methodology must be changed if water and sewer projects are to actually be constructed
in a timely, orderly and equitable fashion; and
WHEREAS, the
Council has determined that a two step process is
necessary in the
implementation of an assessment
methodology change fairly address the required change to this City
policy; and
WHEREAS, the
first step would be to establish an assessment methodology for the
aforementioned nine improvement districts of 50% share for the property owner
and 50% for the City; and
WHEREAS, the
change in the methodology must be approved by petition by the members
of each improvement
district for
construction to proceed in each improvement district; and
WHEREAS, it may be
necessary for the boundaries of the nine
districts to be modified by the
property owners to accomplish their goals with the
assistance of the City; and
WHEREAS, a
reasonable time to accomplish the reconsideration by the property
owners is ninety days; and
WHEREAS, any
of the nine aforementioned improvement districts that would fail to be endorsed
by a majority of the
property owners within the 90 days, or with such extension(s)
granted by Council, would be dissolved and no longer be in existence; and
WHEREAS, if
the 50%-50% change is
approved by property owners in each district, Harrington Heights, Mariner
Village, Thompson Drive, Saltwater Drive, Forest Glen and East Road could be
constructed in the first
year and Hillside Acres[sewer], Hillside Acres [water] and Lakeshore Drive
could be completed with the next four years; and
WHEREAS, the
second step of the
methodology change is to implement an assessment policy for all future water and
sewer improvement districts by which the City would pay 25% and the property
owner would pay 75% of the total costs; and
WHEREAS, a
methodology by which the shares are 25% City and 75% property owner, could permit the construction of $1.2 million in projects per year,
indefinitely, if the
Council decides to allocate all water/sewer sales tax revenues to
LIDs; and
WHEREAS, these
improvements have been found to be necessary, the property owners have voted in
favor of these improvements; and
WHEREAS, current assessments on most of these
projects is at the 25%(property owner)/75% (city share) split; and
WHEREAS, most of these
projects were assessed with the basis of the City receiving funds from the
State of Alaska, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and/or
other State funding and there have been and are no State funds for these
projects; and
WHEREAS, if the property owners go along with the
75% (property owner)/25%(city) split the City has located funding for a ten to
twenty year loan for the property owner share at a 5%, m/l, interest rate; and
WHEREAS, the plan is to construct these projects
during the 2001 construction season and to do that the City has determined that
an increase in assessments is necessary; and
WHEREAS, with a 75% property owner share/25% City
share all of the presently constituted
improvement/assessment districts can be done with the funds designated
to water and/or sewer improvements; and
Page
Two
Resolution
01-07
City
of Homer
WHEREAS,
pursuant to Homer City Code 17.04.030, Improvement districts--Formation and
assessment, the Council may create local improvement districts and assess the
real property benefittingbenefiting from such capital improvements for all or a
portion of the cost of acquiring, installing and constructing such
improvements; and
WHEREAS,
pursuant to Homer City Code 17.04.070(b), Assessments and assessment roll, the Council shall be the sole authority for
determining the method of assessments to the affected district.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HOMER, ALASKA:
1.The Council
concludes that the present assessment methodology of the City
paying for 75% and the property owner paying for 25% of the total costs of the
improvement districts is impractical and unworkable considering
the funding source available; and
1.The Council
concludes that a two phase implementation of new assessment methodology is necessary
because it must fairly deal with both presently approved improvement districts
and future improvement districts; and
1.The Council
hereby establishes the assessment methodology for the
presently approved improvement districts as City share 50% and property owner
share 50%; and
1.The property
owners in each
presently approved LID shall have 90 days from the date
of this Resolution’s enactment to approve this
change in policy; and
1.The property
owners, with the
assistance of the City, shall have the opportunity to adjust the
boundaries of their
LID’s during the 90 day period; and
1.Following the
expiration of the 90 day period, plus any Council
approved extension(s,) it is the intention of
the Council to adopt a resolution to forward to the construction phase any and all of the nine
improvement districts approved by the property
owners; and
1.
1.The Council
hereby establishes the assessment methodology for all future
water and sewer improvement districts at 25% City share and 75% property owner
share of total costs.
1.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED
by the City Council of the City of Homer, Alaska that
the Assessment Methodology for water and/or sewer improvement/assessment
districts is hereby amended to a 75% property owner share and 25% City share of
the total project costs; and
BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, that all the property owners of the current nine improvement/assessment
districts shall be notified of this action by the Council and the process
followed as set forth in the Homer City Code for a public hearing date set,
objection period and notifications thereof.
SECTION 1. The City Manager is authorized to execute the accompanying Interim
Agreement for Provision of Fire and Emergency Medical attached
hereto and incorporated by reference, in which the
City of Homer will provide fire and emergency medical services for
a six-month period beginning July 1st, 2002 for the
sum of $95,800.
SECTION
2. This Resolution shall take effect
immediately upon its enactment.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Homer City Council this 26th
day______ of April February, 200112th
day of August, 2002..
Page Two
Resolution 02-48
City of
Homer
CITY OF HOMER
____________________________
ATTEST:
JACK
CUSHING, MAYOR
_________________________________________
MARY
L. CALHOUN, CMC, CITY CLERK
Fiscal Note: Contained in backup memorandum from
the City Manager. Fiscal note:
notification and advertising costs.