City Hall Funding Process Proceeds

• Resolution Authorizing COPs Is Slated for Approval

BY BILL KOENEKER

The Malibu City Council, at its meeting next week, is poised to adopt a resolution authorizing the reimbursement from certificates of participation for the acquisition of its new 35,000-square-foot city hall.
Certificates of participation, or COPs, are a form of financing commonly used by cities because they do not require voter approval.
Last month, the city was the successful bidder at $15 million in the auction of the building known as the Malibu Performing Arts Center, which had gone into foreclosure and was subsequently sold by the lender at the auction.
The building is accessed off Stuart Ranch Road and located directly behind the current city hall.
The city is in the process of issuing the COPs to fund the acquisition. The funds will be paid back over a 30-year period from the savings in rent payments, according to municipal officials, who indicate there will be no additional cost to the taxpayers.
The city is currently paying about $800,000 in rent annually for the 15,647 square feet it now occupies at the current city hall.
According to the city’s administrative services director and assistant city manager, Reva Feldman, the municipality wants to expedite the process of issuing the COPs, anticipating that the bond-like funds will be issued in August and money available to the city in September.
The escrow closing date, accordion to Feldman, is expected in July. “In order to close escrow as stipulated by the court overseeing the auction sale, the city will need to pay for the acquisition using funds on hand. Upon issuance of the COPs, the city will be reimbursed for the acquisition and all related expenses,” she wrote in a memo to council members.
Also on tap, the council is expected to renew the contract of grants consultant Barbara Cameron at next week’s meeting.
Cameron was tapped by the city in 2000 to become the city’s grants consultant and subsequent councils have repeatedly extended her two-year contract.
The current agreement calls for a compensation package that includes $7327 per month plus up to $4000 in pre-approved expenses for fiscal year 2009-2010, which reflects no increase from the previous year, according to a municipal staff report. The position is to research and take advantage of the many available funding opportunities for which the city may qualify.
“This position has become increasingly critical to the city and more time demanding for the consultant. With the purchase and implementation of Legacy Park, it is vital that sufficient time is spent to research and prepare for the city’s grant applications,” the staff report goes on to state.
Cameron is expected to attend workshops, seminars and meetings and an increased amount of time “will be required to perform outreach to the granting agencies, boards, commissions and environmental organizations to ensure that the project is well-documented and received.”
The passage of Prop 84 has been a gold mine of grant funding opportunities for clean water projects and the city is expected to take advantage of that. The staff report estimates that during the upcoming year, an average of 120 to 150 hours per month will be necessary to fully perform the scope of work.