Fontes offers wide-ranging city update
at Good Morning Santa Paula
February 20, 2015
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
City Manager Jaime Fontes offered a wide-ranging update at Good Morning Santa Paula at the February 11 Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting.
Mayor John Procter, Vice Mayor Martin Hernandez and Council members Jenny Crosswhite and Jim Tovias were also in the audience.
Fontes noted, “Some monumental things are occurring,” that are generating “excitement, and part of the excitement is the direction we are going,” with three new Council members seated in December.
“Things that were waiting, there were reasons for that, but now,” the city is moving forward on various fronts including the franchise agreement with Recology, which purchased the city’s refuse hauler, Crown Disposal.
Fontes noted that Crown had not raised rates in about three years - a deal the city made in exchange for lengthening the company’s contract - but there is a slight increase scheduled for July.
Transferring the franchise agreement took careful steps: “The council had to consent in a way that benefits the citizens but they cannot unreasonably withhold,” a previously agreed upon rate increase.
Recology also kept Crown’s staff and perks “we enjoyed” such as free pickup at City Hall, on Main Street and other areas as well as free compost and other services given to residents.
The city’s Public Works Department continues to share office space with Recology in new digs, the ground floor of the Odd Fellows Hall on East Main Street.
The move, Fontes noted, is saving the city about $900 a month.
Crown will “hold on to the old digester” at the city’s former wastewater treatment plant, a facility the company purchased from the city where they will operate a “covered, controlled, no odors” processing and composting facility. The operation will provide up to 60 “good paying jobs,” and pay the city a “host fee” for loads accepted from outside the city.
The council has decided to purchase the wastewater treatment plant.
“The mayor,” said Fontes, “was not crazy about the original deal,” approved by a narrow council majority in 2008.
“That,” said Procter, “is an understatement.”
Fontes said the $70.6 million purchase ends the city’s threat of litigation against Santa Paula Water LLC; although confident the city would have prevailed in the suit alleging that SPW did not provide a plant that met all state guidelines for effluents, Fontes said any such litigation “is a risk whether you win or lose.
“But if you can get a discount,” on purchasing the plant and lower the 8.21 percent variable interest rate now paid by citizens “substantially” it was time to settle, offer lower rates and start a set-aside fund for future needs.
“If you were paying 8.21 percent for your home would you refinance? Most people would say ‘where do you sign up?’ “ for the 3.75 percent interest the city anticipates the facility purchase bonds will carry.
The city will no longer be liable for the $600,000 annual property tax for the city owned property having the approximately $63 million improvement via the plant.
The deal came together quickly and Fontes said Santa Paulans will soon have more disposal income due to the savings on their base rate cost.
Although refinancing the plant was suggested it was “not a good deal... “
Procter noted that once the plant is no longer a private, for-profit entity the city will be able to seek grant funding.
In late 2008 when two Santa Paula City Councilmen visited Nogales, AZ to check his background Fontes said “I took them out to dinner... one of the councilmen ate an enormous steak... and got sick the next day.”
“Not me!” Tovias called from the audience.
Over that dinner Fontes said he was questioned about Nogales’ sewer plant, “Why we had 92 cops and how we created a pretty substantial economy in a border town,” whose population is two-thirds of Santa Paula’s.
Notably, Fontes said he was questioned as to how he could “unplug the Limoneira East Area 1,” development.
Now, six years later, Fontes said the regulatory studies and requirements the project has been subjected to as it wound its way through the process “boggles the mind... “
When construction starts the city will see “one-shot” revenues from permitting and fees but the “sustainable money” will come from property and sales taxes, as well as the city benefits including an almost 40-acre joint use park.
The council also had a “First ever meeting with the unified school board,” and they have common goals: “When people move into a town they want a good school, a good hospital,” and an attractive setting with plenty of parks and open space.
East Area 2 will be “largely commercial and have the big box stores,” that provide sales tax revenue.
Percentage-wise Santa Paula has led the county in sales tax revenue for the last three quarters.
Fontes said the Nogales’ Walmart brought that city $1.4 million annually in sales tax: “That’s good money, that’s the type of thing we’re looking at... “
Such revenue funds public safety and although the city had a two-year period with a combined record of nine murders, violent crime has decreased “substantially... we’re doing our part but it’s costly,” including overtime costs for murder investigations.
Arrests have been made in all but one of the homicides, and “The Measure F folks,” that in November failed to pass a public safety sales tax measure are still active.
Downtown must take advantage of the “wonderful opportunity” growth will provide, and Fontes said a “very exhaustive charrette” done a few years ago by Cal Poly SLO students should be implemented.
The charrette recommends design themes and other improvements that business owners will have to support, but “If we don’t decide quick,” Fontes said the chance to attract new enterprise and customers to the historic Downtown will be lost.
