CITY OF POMONA
COUNCIL REPORT
October 7, 2024
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Anita Gutierrez, City Manager
Submitted By: Rene Guerrero, Public Works Director
SUBJECT: CITY-FUNDED MAINTENANCE OF PHILLIPS RANCH GREENBELT RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council take one of the following actions:
Approve the conversion of the Phillips Ranch Riparian Greenbelt (Greenbelt) to a City Park and utilize General Funds to maintain the Greenbelt at a Level A frequency beginning July 1, 2025; and Approve an amendment to the agreement with Merchants Landscape Services, Inc. to include the areas known as Site 24 – Silverwood Lane/Village Loop Road Greenbelt, Site 25 – Falcon Ridge Drive/Village Loop Road Greenbelt; Section 1, and Site 26 – Falcon Ridge Drive/Village Loop Road Greenbelt; Section 2, collectively referred to as the Phillips Ranch Riparian Greenbelt, in an annual amount of $102,000, effective July 1, 2025; or Disapprove the conversion of the Greenbelt to a City park, thus continuing the current level of maintenance funded by the Phillips Ranch Assessment District.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
On April 3, 2023, property owners in the Phillips Ranch Maintenance Assessment District Zone A and B (District) issued a majority protest vote against the formation of a new Landscaping and Lighting Maintenance Assessment District, which would have increased the single-family property owner assessment from $277.81 annually to $511.58, and would have also increased commercial property assessments in order to fund landscaping and lighting maintenance services in the District sufficiently. Since the majority protest vote, the Phillips Ranch Assessment District Oversight Committee has been discussing alternatives. One such alternative is the conversion of the Greenbelt to a City Park to provide for its sufficient maintenance. This was presented to City Council on September 18, 2023, and it was requested that City Staff bring the item back for Council consideration and possible action at a later date. Should the Council vote in favor of converting the Greenbelt to a City park, it will be necessary to approve an amendment to the City’s contract with Merchants Landscape Services, Inc. (“Merchants”).
SB1439/GOVERNMENT CODE §84308 APPLICABILITY:
☒ When this box is checked, it indicates the agenda item is subject to the Levine Act SB1439 requirements. Councilmembers are reminded to check their campaign contributions and determine whether they have received a campaign contribution of $250 or more that would require disclosure and/or recusal from discussing or acting on this agenda item. Campaign contributions of $250 or more made 1) by any person or entity who is identified in the agenda report as the applicant or proposer or 2) on behalf of the applicant or participant, including a parent, subsidiary or otherwise related business entity, or 3) by any person who has a financial interest in the agenda item requires a councilmember to comply with SB1439.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Currently, the District pays for the maintenance of the Greenbelt from annual revenues of approximately $950,000 from property owners that pay their assessment. This annual assessment has not increased since 1993, but maintenance costs throughout the district, including the Greenbelt, have continued to rise. Over the last several years, costs to maintain the District have exceeded the budget while deferred maintenance continues to accumulate. With the various priorities the District faces and the need to adequately address basic safety needs, such as fire mitigation in the surrounding hills, one potential cost savings to the District would be to convert the Greenbelt to a City park, and for the City to assume the maintenance of the Greenbelt. If the Greenbelt is to be maintained by the City as a Level A park, the estimated costs beginning in Fiscal Year 2025-26 would be:
Estimated Costs to General Fund – Converting Greenbelt to City Park at Level A Maintenance Frequency Task
General Fund Account Number
Annual Cost
Annual Landscaping Maintenance – Greenbelt
101-4011-52932-00000
$102,000
Estimated Water Costs
101-4011-52071-00000
~$50,000
Estimated Tree Maintenance
101-4011-52931-00000
~$35,000
Total
$187,000
It is anticipated that the annual cost of landscape and tree maintenance will increase in accordance with the increase in the Consumer Price Index. The City Council awarded a contract to Merchants on February 1, 2021, to provide for the maintenance of City Parks at Level A, which represents the highest level of maintenance frequency (i.e., weekly mowing and weed clearing, daily trash pick-up, walkway clearing, etc.). If the City Council approves the conversion of the Greenbelt to a City park, Merchants will maintain the Greenbelt at a Level A frequency at the costs shown in the table above.
If approved, costs relating to the maintenance of the Greenbelt will be included in the FY 2025-26 Operating Budget.
PREVIOUS RELATED ACTION:
On July 20, 2009, the City Council adopted a resolution confirming the zone boundaries and assessment levy for the City of Pomona Landscaping and Lighting District for FY 2009-10. In the associated Engineer’s Report, it was noted that Country Crossings Park and Phillips Ranch Park will be removed from the Assessment District’s responsibility for maintenance and would be funded through the General Fund.
On February 1, 2021, the City Council awarded a three-year contract with two optional one-year extensions to Merchants to provide Occupied Space Landscape and Amenity Maintenance for an annual cost of $1,625,212.
On November 21, 2022, the City Council received the FY 2022-23 First Quarter Budget Report, which outlined cuts of $410,000 to the Philips Ranch Maintenance Assessment District due to the severe budget deficit the District had realized for several years.
On April 3, 2023, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2023-50, declaring the result of the Phillips Ranch Landscaping and Lighting Maintenance Assessment District Ballot Proceedings and Abandoning Proceedings to form the District.
On September 18, 2023, the City Council discussed the conversion of the Greenbelt to a City Park.
DISCUSSION:
The City Council is being asked to either approve the conversion of the Greenbelt to a City park, or reject this conversion and continue current funding for a lower level of maintenance from the Phillips Ranch Assessment District. For many years, the Phillips Ranch Maintenance Assessment District has been operating at a deficit, resulting in the depletion of its fund balance. With the depletion of the fund balance, specific line items in the District Budget (Fund 256) had to be cut significantly. On November 21, 2022, in the City’s First Quarter Budget Report, Staff outlined proposed cuts to Water, Tree, and Landscape Maintenance line items for the fund to stay within budget. The resultant cuts and service reductions create health and safety concerns with the lack of fuel modification and tree maintenance.
Staff meets quarterly with the Phillips Ranch Assessment District Oversight Committee (Committee). The Committee advises and provides recommendations to City staff regarding priorities for expending the limited funding the District receives. Health and safety issues related to fire danger have been identified by the Committee as a top priority to address most urgently. To provide additional funding for fire mitigation, one idea proposed by the Committee and agreed upon unanimously is the conversion of the Greenbelt to a City park. This would free up approximately $100,000 of the District’s annual budget, which could then be used for fire mitigation and can also address dangers posed by dead and dying trees. On July 20, 2023, the Committee presented their idea to the Parks and Recreation Commission and received unanimous support (6-0, 1 absent).
As discussed above in the Fiscal Impact, beginning in Fiscal Year 2025-26, the costs to the General Fund will be approximately $187,000. The Committee has also recommended that the City fund a one-time repair of the walkways in the paseos at a cost of $100,000. As the paseos provide a more specific benefit to the residents of the District and a limited general public benefit, staff does not recommend the City fund the one-time repair of the walkways in the paseos be included in the conversion Public accessibility would not be affected by the conversion to a park as the Greenbelt is already open to the public to enjoy. However, if the City were to provide a higher level of maintenance to the Greenbelt, and maintain it at the same level of frequency as other City parks, it could become a more utilized space and destination for all of the City, potentially providing an improved health benefit for all residents in the City. City-funded maintenance of the hillside areas in the District is not being recommended at this time, as the public does not generally access them.
It is a goal of the City’s General Plan to increase park acreage to 3 acres per 1,000 residents. Conversion of the Greenbelt to a City Park would help achieve this goal by adding approximately 17 acres of park space into the City’s inventory. Conversion to a City Park would also make the Greenbelt area more eligible for potential park grant funding. For example, annual Measure A allocations could be used to create new amenities in the park, if desired and approved by the City Council.
On September 18, 2023, the City Council was asked to discuss and advise on the Committee’s request to convert the Phillips Ranch Riparian Greenbelt into a City Park. The Council directed that this item be brought back for consideration and action at a later meeting.
Prepared by:
Shandy Dittman
Public Works Fiscal and Project Manager
City-Funded Maintenance of Phillips Ranch Greenbelt