HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-06-11 City Council (5)TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
City of Palo Alto
City Manager’s Report
FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: PUBLIC WORKS
DATE:
SUBJECT:
JUNE 11, 2001 CMR:271:01
UPDATE ON SANTA CLARA VALLEY WATER DISTRICT
FUNDING FOR SAN FRANCISQUIT0 CREEK
This is an informational report and no Council action is required.
BACKGROUND
Flood control activities for Santa Clara County creeks are performed and funded by the
Santa Clara Valley Water District (District). Palo Alto is located within the District’s
Lower Peninsula Watershed, which includes San Francisquito, Matadero, Barron, and
Adobe Creeks and their tributary streams. The District’s revenue for flood control
activities is generated through property taxes, benefit assessments, and a special tax
approved by the Santa Clara County electorate in November 2000 (Measure B). The
Measure B spending plan included a total of $16 million over a 11-year period from all
revenue sources for the planning and design of a comprehensive flood control project for
San Francisquito Creek. This report provides an update on District funding for San
Francisquito Creek for fiscal years 2001-02 and 2002-03:
DISCUSSION
District and City staff are working together with San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers
Authority (JPA) Executive Director Cynthia D’Agosta and staff from the other JPA
member agencies on projects that will control flooding and erosion on San Francisquito
Creek while preserving the environmental character of .this valuable stream. Ongoing
JPA activities include the Bank Stabilization and Revegetation Master Plan, the Levee
Restoration Project, stream sediment studies, and efforts to secure US Army Corps of
Engineers (Corps) funding for a flood control reconnaissance study.
One of the largest challenges facing the JPA is reaching agreement on how to share the
costs of these various activities amongst the member agencies. If the Corps agrees to
undertake a reconnaissance study, it will pay 100% of the cost, The next step in the
Corps project development process is a feasibility study, which requires 50% matching
funds from the participating local agencies. The local share of the feasibility study costs
is estimated at $3 million. St~iff believes that the local share should be contributed by the
District and the San Marco County Flood Control District, the agencies with primary
CMR:271:01 Page 1 of 3
responsibility for flood control. The District has a funding mechanism in place that
would cover these costs, but, thus far, the San Mateo County Flood Control District has
not made a commitment to fund the feasibility study due to concerns about limited
resources.
The District recently approved a two-year budget for fiscal years 2001-02 and 2002-03.
The following amounts have been budgeted for activities related to San Francisquito
Creek:
Budget Category
San Franeisquito Creek Coordination
San Francisquito Creek Levee Repair
San Francisquito Creek Sediment Study
Lower Peninsula WatershedPerformance
Efficiency and Accountability Reserve
Those categories are defined as follows:
FY 01-02 Funding FY 02-03 Funding
$ 379,157 $ 377,449
$ 905,052 $ 37,756
$ 185,577 $ 281,153
$1,911,778 $ 2,546,433
San Francisquito Creek Coordination: Funding for Districtstaff who coordinate with
the San Francisquito Creek JPA and the Coordinated Resource Management and
Planning (CRMP) group, as well as the District’s share of JPA operating expenses.
San Francisquito Creek Levee Restoration: Funding for the District’s estimated
share of the JPA project to restore the San Francisquito Creek levees to their 1958 as-
built condition.
San Francisquito Creek Sediment Study: Funding for a study of the sources of
sediment in the creek and development of sediment control measures. The study, to be
conducted jointly with other agencies within the watershed, is mandated in the National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) storm water discharge permits for
Santa Clara and San Mateo County municipalities. Supplemental grant funding .was
recently awarded to the JPA for this study.
Lower Peninsula Watershed Performance Efficiency and Accountability Reserve Fund:
This funding is intended to cover the District’s share of local matching funds for a US
Army Corps of Engineers flood control feasibility study for San Francisquito Creek and
other associated costs for project planning work to be conducted by the District. This
funding is being held in reserve until the JPA member agencies reach consensus on a
formula for sharing of costs. ¯ Use of these funds is restricted to the Lower Peninsula
Watershed.
PREPARED BY: ~~
JOE TERESI
Senior Engineer
CMR:271:01 Page 2 of 3
DEPARTMENT HEAD:
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
GLENN S. ROBERTS
Director of Public Works
-~---~EMILY-~ S ON
Assistant City Manager
Greg Zlotnick, Santa Clara Valley Water District Director
Jennie Micko, Santa Clara Valley Water District
Cynthia D’Agosta, San Francisquito Creek JPA
Pat Showalter, San Francisquito Creek CRMP
Jeffrey Shore, Duveneck/St. Francis Neighborhood Association
Terry Trumbull, Crescent Park Neighborhood Association
Janet Levy, .Creek Action Committee
CMR:271:01 Page 3 of 3