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the landscaping and other improvements being maintained under each district is of <br /> special benefit to the property owners in each district. The Landscaping and Lighting <br /> assessment process, once assessments are updated to meet current maintenance <br /> requirements, will provide an efficient and effective means for maintenance to be <br /> assured. <br /> DISCUSSION <br /> The City currently has five Landscape Maintenance Districts which are being assessed. <br /> When the properties within the districts are assessed, the net amount is included on the <br /> properties' county property tax bill. At that time, the County adds 1.7 percent to the base <br /> assessment as an administration fee. The assessments on the city-owned parcels <br /> located within Ponderosa-Del Prado, Bonde Ranch, Oak Tree Farm, and Moller Ranch <br /> Districts will not include the 1.7 percent county administration fee as the Finance <br /> Department will transfer the money from the General Fund into the specific district fund <br /> without involving the County. <br /> The engineer's budget for each district should include a reserve fund to provide for the <br /> replacement of capital improvements such as planting, irrigation, decorative entry walls, <br /> signage, light fixtures, etc. Replacement costs have been calculated for the eventual <br /> replacement of the improvements of each district. Currently, the reserve funds are <br /> insufficient to cover these replacement costs due in part to the lack of adjustment of <br /> assessment amounts over the life of the districts. This needs to be addressed and is <br /> further discussed later in this report. <br /> Landscape Maintenance District 1984-1, Ponderosa-Del Prado <br /> The Ponderosa Homes subdivision (District 1984-1) has been in place for 37 years. <br /> Maintenance in this district includes the care of masonry walls, trees, shrubbery, <br /> groundcover and irrigation systems along Paseo Santa Cruz, between Corte Santa <br /> Maria and Corte Pacifica. <br /> The overall assessments for the coming year for District 1984-1 (Ponderosa-Del Prado) <br /> will remain unchanged at $16.90 per privately owned parcel, and $16.62 for the one <br /> city-owned parcel. With a total of 344 units, including the city-owned parcel, this <br /> amounts to $5,813.32 in total assessments. This amount provides enough funding for <br /> the maintenance and plant replacement costs in all the special district areas along <br /> Paseo Santa Cruz, including water and electrical costs, county administration fees, and <br /> city administration fees. But this amount does not provide adequate funding to cover <br /> the emergency repair costs or the eventual capital replacement cost of irrigation <br /> systems, planting in the general benefit area, masonry walls, and any additional <br /> emergency repair services or other required improvements. <br /> The fund balance for capital repair and replacement is approximately $84,000 for this <br /> district. This amount is not enough for several improvements for which replacement <br /> must be considered in the near-term. The improvements consist of an extensive <br /> irrigation system replacement and plant replacement, tree pruning, and other features. <br /> Additionally, this amount is insufficient to repair the existing soundwall if it needs repair <br /> in the future. <br /> Page 4 of 8 <br />