BACKGROUND:
There are areas within Cathedral City that are not served by a sewer collection system.
These areas are served by individual private onsite septic tank systems. Specifically, these areas are:
•Within the Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD) Service area (approximately 400 parcels):
oWhispering Palms Trail Neighborhood:
▪South of Ramon Road
oOcotillo Square Neighborhood:
▪Various Ocotillo Park area streets
oPomegranate and Papaya Lanes
oRoyal Palms and Caliente Sands Mobile Home Parks:
▪The above are either under allottee or private ownership •Within Desert Water Agency (DWA) Service area (approximately 100 parcels):
oLakeview Villas Condos
oPerez Road area:
▪Cathedral Canyon to Date Palm Drive
oSarah Street area:
▪Crossley Road and Sarah Street
▪The unimproved Agua Caliente Trail area
▪The Bochner Family property
The unsewered areas identified above within the CVWD and DWA service area (Lakeview Villas Condos) are currently subject to a State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) Program Grant Application. An application for that funding was prepared by the City’s Consultant Woodard & Curran (Consultant) and submitted in Fall of 2022. The Grant, when awarded, will provide funding for the planning services necessary for converting these existing residential septic tanks served areas to sewer collection system served areas.
Please note that only the existing residential areas are eligible to be included in this planning grant. The DWA areas cited above on Perez Road and Sarah Street are zoned for commercial and light industrial, and thus do not qualify for the current CWSRF Grant.
Agua Caliente Trail Area
With the above background information provided, there has been interest in the formation of an assessment district among the property owners of parcels in the undeveloped Agua Caliente Trail area. This area encompasses Agua Caliente Trail, San Juan Trail, Desert Primrose Trail, Starlight Trail and Whitewater Trail (location map attached). The property owners are informally calling this area the “Outpost Business Park.”
In August 2019, two (2) property owners conducted a grassroots campaign to determine if there was interest in forming an assessment district in this area. Seventy-five (75) qualifying lots were identified and were sent a survey asking if the property owner was in favor of exploring the formation of an assessment district to provide for streets, curbs, gutters, water, sewer and other utilities. The response was positive from the property owners as forty-nine (49) owners responded in favor and five (5) provided a “no” response.
Sarah Street Area
This light commercial/industrial area is comprised of Sarah Street, the south portion of Agua Caliente Trail and Crossley Road (location map attached). Historically, a few property owners have requested sewers to be installed. These requests have not progressed further into the assessment district stage.
Bochner Family Property
This single parcel APN 677-420-016 is owned by Bochner Family Real Estate and is located just north of Sarah Street, abutting the Whitewater River Channel to the east and the Dream Home Neighborhood to the north. This 29.41-acre parcel is generally triangular in shape and undeveloped.
On January 4, 2023, the City Council approved an agreement with Woodard & Curran (Consultant) to provide Assessment District Support Services to assist with the public outreach in the areas mentioned above.
DISCUSSION:
Assessment District Phasing
The City and Consultant developed an assessment district process flow chart identifying three (3) distinct assessment district formation phases. Since that time, it has become evident that Phase 2 should be broken into two parts: Phase 2A and Phase 2B. The phases identified are:
•Phase 1: Providing outreach and soliciting for interest in the formation of an assessment district using letters, meetings and individual discussions as the methods used.
•Phase 2A: Consultants engaged to prepare conceptual plans and preliminary cost estimates and an information neighborhood meeting. •Phase 2B: Consultants will continue outreach to property owners and bond counsel will be engaged to send out formal petitions for the assessment district formation.
•Phase 3: Assessment district plans prepared, City adopts the required resolutions of intention, notices send out, public hearing is held, vote is tabulated and the assessment district either proceeds or is not approved to proceed.
The modified Assessment District Flow Chart is attached to this report with the steps required for the assessment district formation.
Phase 1
Following the execution of the Phase 1 contract, the City and the Consultant began Phase 1 outreach. The Consultant engaged with property owners, informed them about the potential to form a special assessment district that would provide utilities and improvements to both developed and undeveloped parcels within the area, and solicited feedback to gauge the level of interest.
This initial phase of work was a prerequisite for the City to make an educated decision as to whether to proceed into Phase 2A of the assessment district formation processes.
During Phase 1, the Consultant performed the following:
•One virtual 2-hour meeting was held with City staff and two major property owners in the area of Agua Caliente Trail to discuss the details of the proposed assessment district.
•City staff and the two major property owners provided the names and contact information for all property owners to be served by the proposed district. •The Consultant prepared meeting minutes that included property owner contact information and an accompanying exhibit identifying all parcels included in the proposal.
•The Consultant coordinated with City staff to confirm that all parcels included in the proposed assessment district were accounted for.
•The Consultant drafted and mailed informational letters on City provided letterhead to inform property owners about special assessment districts and the need for the formation of an assessment district to provide public improvements for the direct benefit of their property.
•The informational letters included a self-addressed stamped envelope to solicit feedback and gauge initial property owner support for assessment district formation. The Consultant collected and summarized the survey results. •The Consultant, City staff, and the two major property owners followed up the mailing of informational letters with in-person visits, phone calls, and email correspondence to ensure letters were received, and to answer questions about the next steps in the assessment district formation process. •A final report of the responses received in the Phase 1 outreach was prepared and incorporated into the PowerPoint presentation the City Council will review today.
With the information provided from the Consultant’s Phase 1 outreach, the City can make an informed decision as to whether to move forward with Phase 2A assessment district actions.
Phase 2A
With the majority of property owners in favor of moving forward, City Staff solicited informal proposals for Phase 2A of the Sarah Road Assessment District Project. Initially, City Staff contacted the City’s On-Call Consultants: HR Green, Inc., Interwest Consulting Group, and Webb and Associates. The City’s On-Call Consultants responded that these are specialized services they do not typically provide and therefore declined to provide a proposal to the City. City Staff subsequently solicited informal proposals from specialty consulting companies providing these specialized services.
Proposals for Sarah Road Assessment District Formation Phase 2A were received from three (3) firms. The following table ranks each qualified proposer by total cost:
RANK CONTRACTOR AMOUNT
1 Willdan Engineering (Industry, CA) $ 49,300
2 Woodard and Curran (Walnut Creek, CA) $ 74,830
3 Michael Baker International (Palm Desert, CA) $131,000 The Proposals were reviewed by City Engineering Staff. The panel cited all consulting companies provided proposals that were responsive, qualified, and knowledgeable about the Project. Based on the proposals received, the lowest responsive and responsible company is Willdan Engineering (Willdan) from Industry, CA.
The proposal received from Willdan Engineering (Willdan) is consistent with current costs and in line with the City’s expectations for this service.
If City Council elects to proceed with Phase 2A of the Sarah Road Assessment District Project, City Staff will need to bring this back before the City Council for approval. A General Fund Budget adjustment will be required to proceed with Phase 2A as the $40,000 currently designated in each FY 2023/2024 and FY 2024/2025 would exceed the current allocation in the Engineering Professional and Technical Services budget, Fund 100-100-150-156-8600-8601. Currently, this $40,000 is included in the list of deferred items from the FY 2023/2024 approved budget to be reallocated toward the adverse financial impacts from Tropical Storm Hilary.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Currently, this item has no fiscal impact for the City, as this is for discussion, information, and comment only.
As cited in the Discussion, if the City Council would like to proceed with Phase 2A of the Sarah Road Assessment District Project with Willdan Engineering, a General Fund Budget adjustment will be required in the amount of $56,695, including a Professional Services Agreement with Willdan Engineering in the amount of $49,300, and a fifteen percent (15%) contingency in the amount of $7,395, for any unforeseen design costs.
FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN:
Goal B: Community Investment
Objective: Cathedral City roads, gateways, public spaces, and other city infrastructure are well planned, designed, constructed, and maintained.