CC 2018-05-22 Items Rec'd at Mtg. I ( • 2. •
Jessica Matson
From: Kristen Barneich
Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2018 4:59 PM
To: Jessica Matson; Kelly Wetmore
Cc: Jim Bergman
Subject: Fwd: item lla
Hi Jessica and Kelly—
Can you please print this out and have it at the dais for the Council Members? I'm sure you might be already
doing this,but just to be sure. I know some CC members might not check their email this late, and I want them
to have the benefit of Mr. Guthrie's comments.
TY!
Kristen Barneich, Council Member
Begin forwarded message:
From: James Guthrie <
Date: May 22, 2018 at 3:45:19 PM PDT
To: Caren Ray<cray@arroyogrande.org>, Kristen Barneich<kbarneich@arroyogrande.org>,
Tim Brown<tbrown@arroyogrande.com>, "Barbara Harmon" <bharmon@arroyogrande.org>,
Jim Hill <jhill@arroyogrande.org>
Cc: Jim Bergman<jbergman@arroyogrande.org>
Subject: item lla
Mayor and City Council:
A few thoughts on the CIP budget item on tonight's agenda.
$160,000 for a study of the Elm St. Soto Sports facility. We have not heard a public outcry that
Soto Sports field is inadequate or need of a major over hall.
I suggest we wait until the Recreation Department gets sorted out over the next couple of years
before we create a distraction with a new "dream plan".
$250,000 to pay public works staff for basic road maintenance. The original justification(thin as
it was) for this charge against the CIP fund was the reduction in gas tax and the impact it might
have on basic maintenance. That, in turn, would increase capital expenditures in the future. The
gas tax is back(at least for this year) and changes proposed to the public works department will
result in less, not more road maintenance. And yet this charge is proposed to increase this year.
Next, we will repackage our janitorial expense saying that cleaning the floors and windows
increases their lifespan. These are expenses rightly supported by the General Fund. The local
sales tax should be spent on it's the original intent, primarily major infrastructure improvements
and maintenance.
Redirecting these two items alone would more than double the city's first-year commitment to
building the Briso Halcyon improvements and maintain consistency with the tax advisory votes
in 2006.
i
I know I am a broken record on this,but we need to complete the last 10% of the infrastructure
maintenance plan so that we at least have some concept of what we are "managing". My rough
calculation is that the maintenance of existing infrastructure (not includeing sewer and water) is
5 million a year for just maintenance (not including improvements like Castillo Del Mar or
Brisco-101). The 5-year plan for the sales tax supplies just 1.4 million a year, add in$400,000
for LTF and SB 1 and 1 million for grants that go toward to maintenance (probably generous) and
we are spending 2.8 million a year. So we are "managing" to fall behind 2.2 million a year, every
year. We owe it to the public to let them know the existence and scale of this unfunded liability.
Thanks for your consideration
Jim Guthrie
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