COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

COUNTY MANAGER'S OFFICE

 

DATE:

May 1, 2003

BOARD MEETING DATE:

May 13, 2003

 

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

John L. Maltbie, County Manager

SUBJECT:

Status Report - 1999 and 2001-2002 Grand Jury Responses

 

Recommendation

Accept this report on the status of responses to the 1999 and 2001-2002 Grand Jury recommendations.

 

Discussion

During the first quarter of FY 2002-03 you approved the responses from County departments to the 2001-2002 Grand Jury Report and a status update from the 1999 Grand Jury Report. I am pleased to present you with this update as of May 1, 2003. You will continue to receive quarterly updates on the progress of implementing recommendations requiring ongoing or further action.

 

Vision Alignment

This response to the Grand Jury's findings and recommendations keeps the commitment of responsive, effective and collaborative government through goal number 20: Government decisions are based on careful consideration of future impact, rather than temporary relief or immediate gain.

Redevelopment Agencies and Their Role in Affordable Housing

Recommendation:

2.13 The Board of Supervisors should monitor and publicize annually the accumulation and expenditures of the 20% legislatively mandated set-aside funds, with sufficient detail about the types and sizes of housing units created so the public can assess the quality, benefits, and effect of the expenditures.

    Response: Concur with the Findings and Recommendation. While the Board of Supervisors has no legislative oversight of the expenditures of a Redevelopment Agency's set-aside revenues, the issue of affordable workforce housing is a countywide priority. The Grand Jury's recommendation to monitor and publicize the use of these funds can serve as a catalyst in the promotion of housing within the County. In addition, state law does allow a Redevelopment Agency to contribute "excess uncommitted housing set-aside revenues" to the County's Housing Authority or designated Housing Agency. The County Human Services Agency, Office of Housing, could become a beneficiary of these revenues. This possibility serves as an incentive to track the expenditure of housing set-aside funds with the desire to work collaboratively with Redevelopment in their expenditure of "excess funds."

    The County has no existing monitoring program, but the Office of Housing will work with the various city Redevelopment Agencies, the state Housing and Community Development Agency and the County Controller's office to facilitate the collection of information annually on the production of housing both long-term and on actual units completed. This report would in turn be submitted to the Board of Supervisors and circulated widely.

    Over the next 60 days, the Office of Housing will meet with key staff from the County Controller's Office and with as many Executive Directors of Redevelopment Agencies as possible. The purpose of the meetings will be to get agreement on a plan for collecting information on the status of set-aside funds and on specific housing developments in the various stages of planning, construction and on developments completed.

    The status of the County's efforts to collect this information will be provided quarterly to the Board of Supervisors.

    Status: An effort was made to determine whether sources exist that monitor the use of Redevelopment Agency's set-aside funds. Although the state tracks the amount of funds, the information is neither current nor does it provide detail about the types and sizes of housing units created. Therefore, the Office of Housing will plan to move forward to work with the various city Redevelopment Agencies to facilitate the collection of this information and report its findings annually to the Board of Supervisors. Future updates will be provided.

Hall of Justice Seismic Retrofit

Recommendation:

33. The San Mateo County 1999 Grand Jury recommends that the County Board of Supervisors direct the Director of Public Works to prepare a comprehensive time-phased plan for completion of the seismic retrofit and lead/asbestos abatement of the County Hall of Justice. Urgency should be placed on the development and implementation of the plan, including a detailed time-phased series of actions and the designation of personnel responsible for each action and associated deadlines. The plan should include details on office and employee relocation. The County Board of Supervisors should give high priority to implementation and funding of this program.

    RESPONSE: Concur. The Director of Public Works will work with the Court on developing a tentative phasing plan that allows for the work to go forward on the 7th and 8th floors. A similar approach will be undertaken with the Probation Department for the 5th Floor. However, a key aspect of this plan will be to identify additional funding sources. An additional $2.2 million will be required to complete the project. To date, the County has spent approximately $1.6 million in the design of the seismic retrofit plan, the remediation work that was done immediately after the Loma Prieta Earthquake, and for the work completed or under construction on the 4th and 6th floors. Public Works estimates that it will take approximately two years to complete the work once funding is identified and agreement with the Court and Probation is obtained.

    Abatement work is generally done in conjunction with other work on the structure, as encapsulated lead and asbestos in the building will remain in place and does not present a threat to either the citizens visiting the Hall of Justice or employees.

    Status of the County's response to this Grand Jury recommendation will be reported in the next quarterly report to the Board.

    Status: The seismic retrofit of the 5th floor is now complete except for minor punch list items. The next phase of the project includes the retrofit of the roof parapets and installation of the visco-elastic dampers. The start and completion dates of this next phase will be contingent upon funding. Future updates will be provided.