Resolution No. _____________

Board of Supervisors, County of San Mateo, State of California

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Resolution Authorizing the Director of Public Works to Enter into Agreements with Property Owners and with Engineering Consultants for the Purpose of Financing and Completing an Engineering Study and Assessment District Proceedings to Provide Sanitary Sewer Service to Properties in the Los Trancos Woods Area

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RESOLVED, by the Board of Supervisors of the County of San Mateo, State of California, that

WHEREAS, a group of property owners in Los Trancos Woods have been working with the West Bay Sanitary District (West Bay), the sewer service provider for the area, over the past four years in order to obtain sewer connections for their property; and

WHEREAS, the property owners have requested that the County aid them by contracting for the design of the system and in forming an assessment district (District) to finance the construction, as West Bay declined to process the formation of a District as West Bay does not have the staff expertise, and the District process has become more complex with the changes in the State Constitution and State law; and

WHEREAS, the preferred option for connecting the area to sewers requires a sewer main to be constructed across property owned by the Town of Portola Valley; and

WHEREAS, Wilsey and Ham, engineering consultants, have provided, without cost, advice to the property owners and the County on the proposed District and concur that it will cost not more than $106,000 to proceed with preliminary engineering and the work to form the District, including County staff costs; and

WHEREAS, property owners are concerned about the method of assessment which cannot be confirmed until after it is determined how the area will be connected to sewers; and

WHEREAS, property owners will need to advance funds to finance the completion of the preliminary engineering and the formation of a District; and

WHEREAS, funds advanced by the property owners do not guarantee that a sewer collection system will be built until after the District is confirmed, design and bidding completed, and any necessary bonds sold; and

WHEREAS, the Director of Public Works has recommended that he be authorized to execute agreements with property owners who are willing to advance funds to pay for the preliminary design to validate the method of connecting the area to sewers, and to finance the assessment district proceedings in order to limit the amount of funds the property owners have at risk before the District is confirmed; and

WHEREAS, said agreements will not commit County funds for said work; and

WHEREAS, the Director of Public Works has also recommended that he be authorized to enter into agreements with an engineer(s) to do the necessary preliminary design and the necessary assessment district engineering; and

WHEREAS, this Board has reviewed and considered the recommendations of the Director of Public Works.

NOW THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY DETERMINED AND ORDERED that:

1.

This Board hereby agrees to aid the property owners in the Los Trancos Woods area by proceeding with the formation of an assessment district (District) and the preliminary design of a sewer collection system to serve the owners' property, said work to be financed by the property owners.

2.

This Board has determined that the property owners wishing aid are the 53 owners that have petitioned the Local Agency Formation Commission to be annexed to West Bay. The property owners wishing County aid shall either individually or collectively advance sufficient funds to finance the preliminary engineering and assessment district proceedings and execute agreements with the County prior to the County doing any additional work on the proposed District.

3.

The agreements shall provide that the property owners acknowledge that the funds deposited with the County will be used to pursue the formation of a District and the preliminary design, but the County makes no guarantees that a District will be formed, what the amount of the final assessment will be, or what specific method of assessment will be used.

4.

The Director of Public Works is hereby authorized to:

a.

provide a 60-day period when said agreements(s) shall be executed by the property owner(s) in order to insure that sufficient funds are available to finance the work; and

b.

execute said agreements with property owners on behalf of the County.

5.

The Director of Public Works is also authorized to:

a.

only have the necessary design engineering work performed if the Director determines that deposits have not been received to finance both the engineering work and the District work, and;

b.

to cease all work on the project and not proceed with any work if sufficient funds and executed agreement(s) are not received within the 60-day period; and

c.

to reimburse the Department of Public Works for any and all costs associated with the work done on behalf of the property owners from the funds so deposited, irrespective of whether the preliminary design or formation of the District work goes forward.

6.

The Director of Public Works is also authorized to enter into an engineering agreement with either Wilsey and Ham, Engineering Consultants, or with other engineering consultant(s) as determined by the Director of Public Works, to perform said preliminary engineering work.

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