Coronado Common Sense

No Coronado HRC Meeting This Week

 

Oversight Board Meeting, Part Two

 

Oversight Board Commissioners Randie Allen, William Huck, Blair King, Doug Metz, Mark Ochenduszko and Jean Roesch taking their oath.

 

This is Part Two of the “Oversight Board” article that appeared Friday, April 13, 2012 in Coronado Common Sense.

 

A conversation ensued about availability of funds to pay the debts:

 

Mr. Metz: “Should we be concerned that the funds are there? Are there sufficient funds?”

 

Mr. King: (said something but I didn't get it down)

 

Mr. Huck: “I suggest this Board receive a thoughtful summary by Blair King’s staff of what was built and what is owed.”

 

Mr. Ochenduszko: “It’s my understanding that we’re to determine what is an enforceable obligation and if it will be challenged . . . if it can be successfully challenged. The City is not responsible and the successor agency would not pay it because the funds would not be coming from the County trust fund.

 

Ms. Hurst stated that the City has tried to be comprehensive and tried to list all ROPS. Which ones are due in this fiscal year? What are due by June 30? What funding source that they are intended to be paid from.

 

The first due date is April 15. The County requested the second set of ROPS be turned in on April 15 also. That’s the first two. We’re trying to respond as best we can. And apply that to the third set.

 

Ms. Allen asked “The trust fund was formed and there is no intention to make draws from it before June?” Ms. Hurst replied that the State said not to expect any funds. Mr. King added that 52% of what we expected was received. They did not have money for the bond payments. So the General Fund made a loan to the CDA and it is unknown if that money will be returned.

 

Ms. Hurst said that we are transitioning to the ROPS stage.

 

Mr. Metz mentioned a recent San Diego Union-Tribune article and said citizens are asking him about it. “Do you perceive that Coronado will have to dispose of any City properties?”

 

Mr. King responded that we “might have to sell the Hospital property. Another concern is the land where the Marina and restaurant are located. So in answer to your citizen’s question: there may be exposure for the Marina, restaurant and Hospital lands.”

 

Ms. Roesch stated that she would like more information and more direction. She would look forward to a City presentation.

 

“The first two ROPS are due,” said Ms. Hurst. “What is critical at this point is the consideration of the ROPS. They must be approved before being submitted to the State and County on April 15. We need to move forward toward approval.”

 

“Most of those obligations have already been paid,” continued Ms. Hurst. “We will be doing it again very soon for the July-December payments. The City Council has already looked at it and a draft was posted on the website on March 1.”

 

Ms. Hurst then proceeded to present the ROPS documentation. The total debt is $388.9 million. $22.4m will be due this year and obligations due now are $13.8m. Items 1-10 are solid obligations with none being questioned by the State. All other debts have questions on them. She continued to read through items 11-13 (over $50m), 14-17 (hospital land and improvements), 18-21 (co-op agreement between CUSD and City ($23.2m obligation to CUSD from City).

 

The hospital land was purchased for $1.3M a year over fifteen years.  The remaining total is $16.5M over ten years or roughly $2M a year. The former CDA owns 2/15s undivided interest.

 

Items 22-26 are Successor Agency expenses and related expenses. These are estimates or projections to carry out services for existing contracts and obligations.

 

Items 27-30 relate to portable housing and affordable housing. Most housing contracts last 55 years. The second Successor Agency is a Housing Authority. We have to wait and see on this. If too much of a burden, the housing transfers to a Housing Authority. The City is the Successor Agency for housing. $105,000 is set aside for administration on line 37.

 

Items 30-50 refer to the Marina and the restaurant there. The restaurant may resolve with title. The Council thinks the lease runs to 2036. The State thinks it’s expired. The property belongs to the Port and Coronado. The lease is the big question.

 

Item 51 is an Administration Loan to reimburse the City. It is still pending.

 

Items 11, 12, 13 and 21 are still outstanding with the Department of Finance as they are still questioning the information provided.

 

Mark Ochenduszko made the motion to approve the ROPS and Bill Huck seconded it. The Board voted unanimously to approve the ROPS.

 

Mr. Huck wants the Board to come together and discuss how to proceed unless it’s not appropriate. He said he wants to “Refinance the bonds so money flows back to the community. Be good stewards to the taxpayers’ dollar.” 

 

Doug Metz said that they had refinanced the CUSD bonds and he thought that it was a great idea.

 

Oral comments were called for at this time. Note that oral comments are usually asked for before the meat of the meeting so residents can let their feelings be known and this can be taken into consideration before the vote is taken. Since this was a vote to pay bonds due, comments would have had little effect. But residents had to sit through more than two hours of meeting to voice their concerns.

 

The first speaker spoke on the whole CDA issue saying “Sure you’ll be legal . . . but will it be moral? Stating that Coronado is a ‘blighted community’ is not honest. This moral transgression has cost the community $390M in debt. Honesty is the best policy. Coronadoans are honest.”

The second speaker spoke about how many of the people on the commission were recycled from other committees. He asked why these people were back. He spoke on how the people voted to pass Proposition J and then the City sued them. He recalled the Tunnel Project and how people were shut up. He called out Bill Huck on his leadership efforts on the Tunnel Commission and Mark Ochenduszko on both the Tunnel Project and Prop J.

 

Bill Huck asked to schedule another meeting and Rachel Hurst told him they were not ready to schedule another meeting. She told the Board to check their availability for the next two weeks and give her their information. She would email them a date.

 

Doug Metz motioned to adjourn the meeting. It was seconded and passed. The meeting was officially adjourned at 4:48pm.

Oversight Board Meeting, Part One

 

Oversight Board Commissioners Randie Allen, William Huck, Blair King, Doug Metz, Mark Ochenduszko and Jean Roesch taking their oath.

 

The Oversight Board met for their first meeting on this past Monday, April 9th. The Oversight Board presides over the Successor Agency that replaced the Coronado Redevelopment Agency that was dissolved with fifteen other agencies by Governor Jerry Brown. The Board’s task is to oversee the dissolution of the CDA and the distribution of property taxes to pay its ROPS (Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule).

 

The meeting took place in the Coronado City Hall Council Chambers and, unlike its former CDA meeting, was not broadcast to the public on Channel 19. Rachel Hurst, Community Development Director, conducted the meeting to administer the activities of the successor agency.

 

Six members were present to take their oath of office. Businessman Greg Walker could not attend due to a previous commitment. Commissioners taking the oath of office were Coronado Unified School District Associate Superintendent of Business Randie Allen, Businessman William Huck, Coronado City Manager Blair King, Coronado Unified School District Board trustee Doug Metz, former Coronado City Manager Mark Ochenduszko and Southwestern College Board Member Jean Roesch.

 

Ms. Hurst quickly reviewed the Oversight Board’s Roles & Responsibilities. She informed them that they would be “serving at the pleasure of the entity that appointed you.” All members have personal immunity from lawsuits and must abide by the Ralph Brown Act, CA Public Records Acts and Political Reform Act of 1984 (Fair Political Practices). The latter requires them to fill out Form 700. All members must attend Ethics training.

 

Meetings will not be scheduled on a regular basis but will be scheduled as necessary. Ms. Hurst said that she would attempt to give more notice in the future.  The City Manager will be the point of contact for the Board. Ms Hurst said, “No terms were specified so it is assumed they (the Board) will be there for the duration (or 2016).”

 

Any actions take by the Oversight Board are not valid for three days until reviewed by City Council. The Board will receive no pay and no budget. They have no policy-making ability. City Manager Blair King said, “It seems we are operating in a lot of grey areas.”

 

There was some confusion as to how to approach the whole issue, as the deadlines given seemed to put the cart before the horse. For example, the January to June ROPS needed to be approved in April but the Board did not need to be formed until May 1. The Board meeting was hurriedly scheduled so that they could vote to pay the ROPS.

 

The first order of business was to pick a Chairman for the Oversight Board. Mark Oschenduszko immediately nominated Bill Huck and it was seconded by Blair King. A unanimous vote was received by all present.

 

Chairman Huck asked each boardmember what was important to them to achieve while serving on this board. Here are their answers in a nutshell, with Mr. Huck adding his at the end:

 

Ms. Roesch: “Important to represent the community and know where our money is going.”

 

Mr. Ochenduszko: “Big mistake by the State to take the action they took. We need to make sure the law is properly implanted. Our job is closing out the Redevelopment Agency and getting the loans repaid.”

 

Ms. Allen: “This really affects the district—80% from the State and 20% from property tax. The State took $1.5 million out of their account. The Coronado Unified School District needs $2M a month.”

 

Mr. Metz: “Our duty is of loyalty and we should put their (community’s) interest above our own.”

 

Mr. King: “Trying to achieve smooth dissolution. The key is predictability and reliability. Don’t hurt the schools and don’t hurt the city. How we can smoothly dissolve without negatively affecting the citizens or the city.”

 

Mr. Huck: “Disadvantage to the people of California—less in vestment and more in cost. As a bond nerd and a math nerd, I see opportunities to reduce the cost of the debt. In the draft ROPS there appear to be contracts and I don’t know if we’ve entered into contracts. The laws are written in English and we don’t need attorneys to interpret them.”

 

Mr. Huck mentioned that the Hospital Foundation, Village Theater and some others are non-bonded obligations. He asked Mr. King’s staff to “give us more information and clarity.”

 

This conversation took place during the meeting when Doug Metz asked an obvious question:

 

Mr. Metz: “Who is responsible for the bond payments?”

 

Ms. Hurst: “In the past, the CDA was responsible.”

 

Mr. Metz: “Who was responsible with the new law and the CDA being dissolved?”

 

Ms. Hurst: “The Successor Agency was to step up and take over the CDA obligations. The responsibility of making payment is new to the Successor Agency.”

 

Mr. Metz: “The City is the Successor Agency.”

 

Ms. Hurst: “The City is not taking on debt.”

 

Mr. Metz: “So who is responsible?”

 

Mr. King: “The County holds the trust fund and can release funds to pay the ROPS. The State Audit Controller can release the money to the Successor Agency to make payments.”

 

Someone asked if we owed the Hospital Foundation to pay a bond due, who would the Hospital Foundation sue? The answer was the Successor Agency. It was asked if the General Fund money was a risk and the answer given was “no”.

 

I apologize for the choppiness of this article but that is the how the entire Oversight Board meeting progressed. I am trying to give you a more detailed account than usual since the meeting was not broadcast. Coronado Common Sense will present the rest of the meeting in an article early next week. Stay tuned for Oversight Meeting, Part Two.

 

 

 

Strategies Reports From The Coronado Traffic Commission

 

So what's happening with the Coronado Transportation Commission (CTC)?  You might remember that the commission was formed not too long ago to work on traffic issues.

 

Thought you'd like to see what's being discussed lately by CTC commissioners Michael Giorgione, Phil Monroe, Jeff Alison, Patrick Garahan, Dick Scharff and John Moutes. The information below came from their March 8th meeting.

 

Coronado CDA Successor Agency Board May Have Conflicts Of Interest

 

A Common Sense reader wrote:

"The State pulled the plug on redevelopment agencies, alleging the action was necessary due to findings by the state comptroller that certain municipalities have over-borrowed, misused funds, and committed other acts of fiscal irresponsibility.  They put the cookie jar on a higher shelf.

 

A seven-member Oversight Board has been created to oversee the dissolution of Coronado's CDA and to oversee the distribution of property taxes to now somehow try to pay off the enormous debt created by the CDA (a partnership between the City of Coronado and Coronado Unified School District).

 

The true amount of Coronado's municipal debt is unclear, but it is somewhere in the area of $388 million.  One clear obligation is repayment of some $188 million in municipal bonds.  These millions were apparently loaned to the City/School District by William Huck, Managing Director of Stone & Youngberg, LLC."

The Oversight Board will have its first meeting today at 2:30 at City Hall. The new seven-member board will take an oath of office, review the Board role and responsibilites and appoint a Chairman. Then they will approve the Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule, also known as ROPS, for the period from January 1st to June 30, 2012.

The Oversight Board Agenda reads:

The Common Sense reader had this to say about the seven appointed members of Coronado's Oversight Board:

"What may raise questions is how the man who arranged the $188 million in loans to the City/School District and who now has started a business which hopes to profit from defaults of municipal bonds, has Seat No. 3 on this Oversight Board.  Will his priority be for the City to pay his bond investors or will it be for the City to default? (See Common Bond Capital Partners Is Fomed to Invest In Distressed Municipal Bond Projects) 

 

Other members of this Oversight Board who may be viewed as having conflicts of interest are: 

Seat No. 1 - Doug Metz, member of CUSD Board of Directors

 

Seat No. 2 - Mark Ochenduszko, City Manager during the money-spending years

 

Seat No. 3 - William Huck, Loan Arranger (majority of bond proceeds was spent on CUSD construction projects)

 

Seat No. 4 - Randie Allen,  CUSD Associate Superintendent

 

Seat No. 5 - Dr. Jeanne Roesch, Board Member, Southwestern Community College

 

Seat No. 6 - Greg Walker, Owner, Del Coronado Jewels

 

Seat No. 7 - Blair King, Coronado City Manager (appointed by Mayor Casey Tanaka, a CUSD full-time employee)"

The reader does pose an interesting point. Another interesting note is that former City Manager Mark Ochenduszko is no longer a Coronado resident.

To see the list of ROPS, you might be interested in reading the OVERSIGHT BOARD Agenda.

The meeting is today, April 9th, at 2:30 pm in the Coronado City Hall, located at 1825 Strand Way. The meeting is open to the public and any person wishing to speak on the agenda will be allowed three minutes.

CCS apologizes for the late notice but the email from the City Manager's office was sent at 3:43pm on Thursday before a very busy Easter weekend.
 

CAC Working Committees Off And Running

Each of the seven members of Coronado’s new Cultural Arts Commission has agreed to chair a “working committee,” aimed at involving the greater Coronado community in promoting and appreciating various aspects of the arts in our city. After a public application process, the following committees will meet informally and are open to interested individuals and groups willing to serve a minimum three-year term.

PUBLIC ART: Contact Jeff Tyler, Chair jefftyler@msn.com (619) 435-5333. This is the art that belongs to all of us! A kickoff meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 27, 8:30-9:30 AM at the Coronado Public Library (home of some of Coronado’s most significant public art) in the Winn Room.

ARTS EDUCATION: Contact Kris McKlung, Chair kmcclung@gmail.com (619) 435-4271. Actor, teacher, director, founder of our acclaimed CoSA. Kris’s committee
will bring together Coronado’s wide variety of arts education programs in one glorious spirit of collaboration.

 

VISUAL AND LITERARY ARTS: Contact Doris Besikof, Chair dorisbesikof@aol.com (619) 575-8317. Calling all local artists, gallery owners and writers, from emerging to professional: Doris wants to hear from you.
 

 

PERFORMING ARTS: Contact Steve Baker, Chair smbaker5@gmail.com (619) 737-7519. Join Steve’s dynamic committee of performing arts groups and individuals. Lots of ideas (and talent) found here!

ARTS ADVOCACY: Contact Healy Henderson, Chair islandviolin@hotmail.com (619) 235-8491. You can assist Healy in her survey of all the businesses and arts organizations to determine the economic impact the arts have in our community. (You’ll be amazed.)

 

MEDIA: Contact Heidi Wilson, Chair CoronadoClassics@gmail.com (619) 435-1108 Some ideas: A website, a calendar with links, social media presence. The operative word here: collaborate.

PUBLIC RELATIONS AND FILM: Contact Doug St. Denis, Chair dstdenis@san.rr.com (619) 435-0413. Film in Coronado? Location, location, location. How do we make it happen without disrupting our citizens? And what about a Coronado Film Festival? Let’s talk about it . . . and more. Kickoff meeting TBA.

 

Submitted by Doug St. Denis

Coronado's Speckels Mansion On The Drawing Board Again

 

Fox 5 News recently aired this story about the renovation going on at the historical Spreckels Mansion located on Ocean Boulevard:

 

     

 

At the HIstorical Review Commission meeting today at 3pm, the commissioners will listen to a preliminary review of a conceptual proposal. The new owners wish to alter the historical permit on the house and restore the 1907 roofline. You may read all the details and view the diagrams beginning on page 99/PDF page 102 of the 03.07.12 Historic Review Commission Complete Agenda.

New Bicycle Advisory Committee Already On A Roll

 

On December 5, 2011, the Coronado City Clerk swore in the new members of the Coronado Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC). The committee is composed of two city staff: Principle Engineer Jim Newton and Recording Secretary Nancy Reynolds; and seven committee members. The seven members are Pat Callahan, Bruce Davidson, Dot Harms, Larry Hofstetter, Bruce Johnson, Dan Orr and Trisha Trowbridge.

Mr. Hofstetter was elected to be the Chairman of the BAC and Mr. Johnson will be the Vice Chairman.

Here are the introductions for the group as was recorded in the Coronado Bicycle Advisory Committee Minutes of December 5th:

This follow-up to the Ad Hoc Bicycle Committee accomplished two things: the creation of a Bicylcle Master Plan and then the creation of the Bicycle Advisory Committee.

 

The committee's primary purpose is to advise City Council and staff on bicycle-related matters. This might include items as basic as bicycle parking or as elaborate as future requests for bicycle facilities and projects. The BAC could also host bicycle eduction programs or events, encouraging people to bicycle in Coronado.

 

There are six goals listed in the Bicycle Master Plan Overview:

 

The committee is working on an agenda item to discuss "Committee Goals — Long Term and Short."

New Coronado City Attorney Position Not Posted

 

The last City Council meeting of 2011 was probably not seen by many Coronado residents as they were hunting down those last Christmas presents and stocking stuffers. But I think this is something that they might want to pay close attention to.

 

During Council Reports on Inter-Agency Committee and Board Assignments (Item 11A), Councilwoman Barbara Denny asked Mayor Tanaka about how the subcommittee (to choose a new Coronado City Attorney) posted the position. The subcommittee consisted of Casey Tanaka and Carrie Downey. The mayor referred the question to City Manager Blair King.

 

I found the answer rather interesting. You may listen to it yourself by going to:

• The City of Coronado website

• Clicking in the lower right corner on [City Council & Planning Videos]

• Clicking on [City Council] for the date 12/20/2011

(It'll start playing immediately so hit the || [the stop button] on the left under the image)

• Scroll down to [Council Reports on Inter-Agency Committee and Board Assignments (Item 11A)]

• To skip to the chase, move the scroll bar until the time reads 26.43 (that's where Councilwoman Denny asks the question I referred to earlier)

 

Let me go back here to say that Morgan Foley had been working as the Coronado City Attorney for more than ten years (since approximately 1998). In fact, he was paid by the city even before he was employed as city attorney. He left about a year ago, not long after the big public outcry about an 18% raise he had received. He replaced himself with Johanna Canlas, an attorney from his firm of McDougal Love Eckis Boehmer & Foley. I understand that Ms. Canlas, who graduated from California Western School of Law in 2001, got Mr. Foley's big salary.

 

So now the contract has run out and it's time to take applications for the Coronado City Attorney position. Here's how they do it in North Carolina—"City extends deadline for applications to city attorney position".  Dallas, Texas; Reno, Nevada and Los Angeles, California—to name just a few—all post theirs on their city website.

 

I knew that the attorney position was available and was watching for it. I never saw it . . . anywhere. And neither did anyone else, probably even the attorneys who were actually qualified for the position.

 

City Manager King stated that they didn't post it on the Coronado City website. It also was not posted in a newspaper and "putting it in a daily journal" (is this a derogatory term for online newspaper?) didn't seem appropriate." Instead, it was sent to about a dozen firms . . . much like you'd invite a dozen friends to a dinner party. I know several excellent attorneys in the Coronado and San Diego areas and they didn't receive a party invitation.

 

So does that mean that McDougal Love Eckis Boehmer & Foley will be reaping the benefits of all those lawsuits discussed in Council Chamber closed sessions? According to their website, this company represents the City of Calexico, the City of Carlsbad, the City of Chula Vista, the City of Coronado, the City of Del Mar, the City of El Cajon, the City of El Centro, the City of Encinitas, the City of Imperial Beach, the City of La Mesa, the City of Lemon Grove, the City of Lynwood, the City of National City, the City of Oceanside, the City of Poway, the City of San Diego, the City of San Marcos, the City of Santee, the City of Solana Beach, the City of Vista, the County of San Diego and SANDAG.

 

So when push comes to shove, who's back do they really have?

Coronado's Heritage Tree Program

 

The City's Heritage Tree Program is Appendix I of the Tree Master Plan.  Trees that have been designated Heritage Trees in accordance with Appendix I are listed below.

 

• Serial 001 TORREY PINE located in Palm Park (Palm Ave at Third St.) was designated a Heritage Tree on 3 April 2008.  The Torrey Pine was recognized by the City Council as the City's Official Tree in 2006.  Pinus Torreyana is the rarest pine in the United States and is native to this area.  It was planted early in the twentieth century under the supervision of Louis C. Bandel, Coronado's Superintendent of Parks for forty years.

 

 

• Serial 002 TORREY PINE located near the front entrance of the Coronado Library was designated a Heritage Tree on 3 April 2008.  This Pinus Torreyana is typical of the Torreys that were planted about a century ago in the City.  Well-cared for, Coronado's Torreys grow to more than fifty feet in height.  This tree, sharing characteristics with serial 001, was planted in a city-wide program by Supt. Bandel and assisted by Kate Sessions of Balboa Park fame.

 

• Serial 003 STAR PINE located in Rotary Plaza was designated a Heritage Tree on 3 April 2008.  This Araucaria Heterophylla is native to Norfolk Island in the SW Pacific and was transplanted to this location by Supt. Bandel in 1936.  The project was funded by the Coronado Rotarians and has since served as the City's living Christmas tree.  Star pines can grow to 100 feet in height.

 

• Serial 004 TORREY PINE located at Sixth St & Pomona Ave was designated a Heritage Tree on 5 May 2011.

 

 

Is there a tree in your yard or neighborhood that you think might be a candidate for the Heritage Tree Program? If so, you might want to fill out a Heritage Tree Nomination Form.

 

 

For more information, you may contact the City of Coronado Department of Publilc Services • 101 B Avenue • Coronado, CA 92118 • 619.522.7380.