City Council
MEETING DATE: 7/11/2018
TITLE:
Title
Annexation into the Desert Recreation District
End
FROM:
Tami E. Scott, Administrative Services Director
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff recommends City Council authorize staff to move forward with Phase I of the Community Facilities District formation process, which will complete the feasibility analysis, outreach and polling for the possible annexation into the Desert Recreation District.
Body
BACKGROUND:
In April 2018, after working with City Staff, the Desert Recreation District submitted to the city a preliminary feasibility analysis that included the cost to maintain Ocotillo, Century and Panorama parks. At the meeting with staff, the city requested that the District incorporate the future dog park and dream homes park into the analysis.
April 25, 2018, the city hosted a meeting that included city and district staff as well as one District Board member and Council Members Aguilar and Carnevale to review the revised feasibility analysis that includes the cost to maintain Ocotillo, Century, Panorama parks and the future dog park and dream homes park.
On May 9, 2018, the Desert Recreation District provided a detailed presentation to the City Council about the District, its programs, and associated estimated fiscal analysis.
On June 13, 2018, the Desert Recreation District Board approved the recommendation to move forward with Phase I of the CFD formation process subject to City Council's agreement on July 11, 2018.
DISCUSSION:
During the discussions and presentation at the May 9, 2018 Council meeting, it was presented that it may be beneficial to the community for the Desert Recreation District to take over the maintenance of 3 current and 2 future parks and well as Cathedral City residents would be able to access all the recreational facilities and participate in programs and classes offered by the District at resident rates.
The Council asked for information related to the difference in costs associated with member versus non-member rates and the program availabilities as well as a schedule of activities and the process by which the annexation could occur.
The recreational facilities and programs consist of the following:
Over 30 facilities that include Community and Fitness Centers, Sports Fields, Swimming Pools, a Golf Course and Driving Range as well as various parks and open space.
Camps and After School Programs, Health & Wellness Fitness Programs, Active Adult and Senior Programs, Aquatics Programs, Zumba, Dance, Ballet, Martial Arts, Pickle Ball Tournaments, Basketball Leagues, Movies in the Park, Trips for Kids Mountain Bike Cycling Program, Arts & Music Classes, Softball Leagues, Sport Clinics to name a few.
Whether you reside in a member city or not, activities are available to all.
Membership vs Non-Membership Fees
As a resident in the District Boundaries, individuals would have access to District Community Centers at the member rate. The current annual membership rate for the centers is $50 and the non-member rate is $120. In January 2019, the member rate will increase to $75 and non-members rate will increase to $150. Keep in mind that these fees only apply for use of Districts Facilities. As for District programs and activities the Board has determined that District residents should be given priority in the use of District services. For example, this preference may be in the form of adjusted fees or priority registration opportunities.
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Registrants residing outside of the Desert Recreation District boundaries will be required to pay additional charges for programs, rentals and services provided based on the following schedule: Fee: $1 - $10.99……………………….……………$2.00 |
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Fee: $11.00 - $25.99……………….………………$5.00 |
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Fee: $26.00 - 75.99………………………………$10.00 |
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Fee: $76.00 - $125.99………………...………….$15.00 |
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Fee: $126.00 - $199.99…………………………$20.00 |
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Program Fee: $200.00+………………………….$50.00 |
For more information or to register for any one of 960 available activities people can visit <https://apm.activecommunities.com/desertrecdistrict/Activity_Search>.
Also presented during the May 9, 2018 Council meeting was the estimated service costs for the maintenance and operations of Ocotillo Park, Panorama Park, Century Park, the future Dog Park and the future Dream Homes Park, which was approximately $725,000. The preliminary rate for a single-family residence estimated to be $40.02 annually or $3.33 per month. The results are preliminary and may change as a full feasibility analysis is completed.
As for the process. Most of the actions regarding the normal resolutions related to the intention, formation, assessment etc. of a Community Facilities District would all be the responsibility of the Desert Recreation District. The District is in the process of obtaining a determination from the County Registrar's office if it can independently hold a special mail-in-ballot measure. If it cannot, below are the dates for upcoming elections and the dates for calling an Election for a possible Measure. The District would have to call the election on one of the established election dates and it would have to be a polling place election.
Upcoming Election Dates:
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
The District would have to call a Special Election and request consolidation with the County 88 days prior to the election, the following are the recommended dates for each of the above election dates to adopt the appropriate Resolutions:
March 5, 2019: October 24, 2018
June 4, 2019: February 23, 2019
November 5, 2019: June 26, 2019
The Desert Recreation District utilizes NBS located in Temecula for its formation and project management services associated with the formation of a new district. It also intends to use FM3 (Fairbanks, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates) for polling services (whom the City has used on several occasions in the past) and TBWB Strategies out of San Francisco for its communications efforts.
The proposed timeline is attached for your review.
If the community votes in favor of annexation into the District it would be on the condition of successful completion of the Local Agency Formation Commission approval process, whereby the Desert Recreation District would be the applicant.
FISCAL IMPACT:
As identified in the attached preliminary Feasibility Analysis, the average fiscal impact for a Single-Family Residence is estimated to be $40.02/year. It is important to note the current Century Park Lighting and Landscape District special assessment would be reduced from approximately $217/year to $138/year; and, the current Panorama Park Lighting and Landscape District special assessment would be reduced from approximately $66/year to $57/year should the community choose to annex into the Desert Recreation District. Please keep in mind the above referenced information is an estimate only until such time the Desert Recreation District does a full/formal feasibility analysis. This would only be done should the council decide to move forward.
The proposed budget for this formation process is estimated to be following:
ATTACHMENTS:
Desert Recreation District Preliminary Feasibility Analysis
Estimated Timeline for Annexation Process