MYRTLE AVENUE AND LOMA DRIVE UTILITY UNDERGOUNDING

ASSESSMENT DISTRICT (CIP 97-182 & CIP 97-183)

Recommendation:

It is recommended that the City Council: Approve the attached agreement for guaranteeing a payment for the engineering cost should the underground district not go forward.

Background:

Residents on Myrtle Avenue and Loma Drive have petitioned requesting undergounding overhead utilities. Residents of both areas have been working very hard for the past six months to collect the necessary 60% signatures that are required to move forward with the creation of the district. There are approximately 180 properties in the Myrtle avenue District of which we currently have 110 signatures. The City shall form the District under the combined proceedings of the Municipal Improvement Act of 1913 and the Debt Limitation Act of 1931, and the newly adopted requirements of Proposition 218. By doing so the City will be able to levy assessments on properties within the district that receive benefits. The City Council at their meeting of January 14, 1997 approved a recommendation to move forward with the process of creating the Underground District.

Analysis:

As it is highly desirable to accelerate the completion of these two projects, the City formally requested Southern California Edison to continue with the preparation of the construction documents, though these Underground Districts have not been formally established as yet. SCE has requested a fee of $15,000 per project for preparation of the design document for these two projects. The Public Works Department has requested SCE to waive the $15,000.00 charge per project, prior to the formation of the Undergrounding Assessment District. SCE requests an Agreement by the City that it will reimburse SCE if the project does not go through. As it takes approximately six (6) months to work the design plans and cost estimates, it is critical that these are completed to stay on schedule for these projects.

In keeping with the schedule of Berryman and Henigar, they require cost estimates of the undergrounding from Southern California Edision. This is needed in order to complete the Engineer's Report by August of -97.

To insure that the Design and Estimates are received at a timely manner, Southern California Edison requires a letter of guarantee as soon as possible.

Fiscal Impact:

The funds will be reimbursed to the City General Fund once the Underground Utility district is established. However, if the Underground Utility district is not established then funds expended from the City General Fund can not be recovered.