|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The Pleasanton City Council will be receiving a quarterly update Tuesday on several projects and programs related to the city’s water system that staff have been working on since October.
According to the Jan. 21 staff report, the council will review key issues like the Water Enterprise Fund financials; a water rate and connection fees study; near-term water improvements projects; the issuance of water enterprise bonds; and compliance with regulatory requirements.
“The purpose of this report is to promote transparency and provide insight into the City’s efforts to effectively manage the water system in alignment with the City’s Strategic Goals and ensure a reliable and sustainable water supply for the community while promoting water conservation and environmental stewardship that prepare the city for the future,” according to the staff report.
Another topic that staff will review as part of the update is the Water System Management Plan, or the WSMP, which will also be discussed separately following the systems update.
According to the city, the WSMP is a document that recommends a “near-, mid-, and long-term Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and improvements to the operation and maintenance (O&M) program to determine funding needs that will ensure the sustainability of the water system.”
The council previously approved a contract in 2022 for Carollo Engineers to prepare the management plan, which focuses on reviewing several aspects of the city’s water system in order to make appropriate recommendations. The planning document is to be reviewed on a two year cycle and updated every six years.
During a separate agenda item, the council will look to approve the final WSMP document after the item was originally continued during the council’s Nov. 19 meeting.
“The resulting long-term CIP includes prioritized projects to be implemented over the 20-year span with a cost estimate of $262 million; however, as implementation will require additional City engineering staff and result in new O&M requirements, the total estimated cost impact ranges from $283 to $289 million,” according to the staff report. “Additionally, O&M program improvements were recommended for compliance with future regulations and to be consistent with industry best practices; implementation and additional O&M staff over the 20-year span is $19 million.”
According to staff, the WSMP will also be used as a foundation for the city’s upcoming water rate connection fee studies, which will then be used to calculate and recommend a water rate structure for the city.
The City Council meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday (Jan. 21). The full agenda can be accessed here.
In other business:
* The council will be reviewing the Downtown Pleasanton Property and Business Improvement District Feasibility Report and possibly approve the allocation of $70,000 in order to implement the formation of a Downtown Property & Business Improvement District
In the past, the city has provided matching funds to the Pleasanton Downtown Association (PDA) which manages the Downtown Pleasanton Business Improvement District, as part of the annual Business Improvement District assessment.
Just like previous years, the city is anticipating that its matching funds for the 2025 annual assessments will be around $80,000, however, the council will be voting on a new one-year agreement to match up to 50% of the funds during the consent calendar portion of the meeting.
And according to the staff report, it has become apparent to the city that the annual assessment funding has not been providing enough revenue to “support the PDA in meeting the PDA’s and City’s shared expectations to sustain and increase the vitality and economic health of the downtown district.”
Staff have been working with consultants over the past four months to evaluate the current Downtown Pleasanton Business Improvement District structure and the feasibility of a Property & Business Improvement District (PBID).
“It is anticipated that creating a PBID would generate significantly more revenue than the approximately $80,000 provided through the current assessment,” according to the staff report.
* As part of the council’s consent calendar, the council will be accepting the improvements done at the historic Century House as completed.
Originally closed in 2014 due to several code and life safety violations, the Century House was listed in the city’s CIP budget for renovations. The goal was to restore the facility and bring the structure up to code regarding accessibility, among other things.
However, the council deprioritized the project in March 2024 in order to fund the restoration of the city’s storm drain system, which was damaged by heavy storms in early 2023.
Despite the deprioritization of the project, the city maintained some funds in order to stabilize the structure by fixing the roof and gutters, which were past their 30 year useful life, according to the city.
The city approved a roughly $195,000 contract for the maintenance project.
The staff report states that the work to fix the roof leaks, address the rot and include ventilation has since been completed.
“The Century House re-roofing maintenance project was completed to prevent further leaks by replacing materials at the end of their useful life, to protect the building for another 25 to 30 years,” according to the staff report. “The existing building is in stable condition and requires no further stabilization measures to protect it over the next three to five years.”
The building will still, however, remain closed to the public until further notice.
* The council will be looking at potentially approving amendments to the city’s Master Fee Schedule which would update various city fees and charges.
The fees and charges that would be updated include special event and support services permit fees; Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department stand-by service fees; stormwater facility inspection fees; Pleasanton Public Library fines and fees; and co-sponsored group use of city fields fees.
“Establishing the amended and updated fees for the four services allows the City to recover costs currently being absorbed by City funds,” according to the staff report.
* Also on the city’s consent calendar is an introduction and first reading of an ordinance to update the city’s municipal code in order to address unauthorized uses of parks and recreation facilities.
According to the staff report, the city’s municipal code does not prohibit the unauthorized use of the city’s parks and recreation facilities for groups under 25 people, which means smaller youth sports clubs and various private groups don’t have to obtain permits, pay fees and maintain insurance policies in order to use city facilities.
The update to the code would ensure that “smaller sports groups follow the same rules as the larger sports groups when utilizing the city’s parks and recreation facilities.”
* Another project the council will be accepting as completed during the consent calendar will be the Pleasanton Public Library light replacement project, which replaced the library’s interior lights with energy-efficient LED lights and replaced the dysfunctional lighting control system.
* The council will be looking to approve the purchase of a $256,781 backhoe loader, which is a heavy equipment vehicle that is essential for various maintenance projects, as well as emergency repair and recovery operations.