COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

Department of Public Works

DATE:

July 8, 2005

BOARD MEETING DATE:

July 26, 2005

SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

None

VOTE REQUIRED:

Majority

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Neil R. Cullen, Director of Public Works

SUBJECT:

Authorizing the County Manager or the Director of Public Works to Sign and File Documents with the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services - Scenic Drive Slide, Cuesta La Honda Area

Recommendation

Adopt a resolution authorizing the County Manager, or in his absence the Director of Public Works, to sign and file documents with the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services relating to the Scenic Road Slide.

Vision Alignment

Commitment: Ensure the basic health and safety for all.

Goal 7: Maintain and enhance the public safety of all residents and visitors.

Designating an agent to sign documents related to the Scenic Drive Slide can result in the partial funding of a repair project to reopen the portion of Scenic Drive that was heavily damaged by a slide. The repair of the slide will benefit the public as well as the surrounding property owners.

Background

Previous Board Action

Adopted Resolution Number 067242 on April 12, 2005, and subsequent resolutions thereafter, proclaiming the existence of a continuing local emergency due in part to the landslide that has closed Scenic Drive in the Cuesta La Honda area.

History

Several homes adjacent to Scenic Drive near Canada Vista were destroyed, and Scenic Drive was damaged due to a landslide that occurred in the area in 1998. Your Board authorized the acquisition of the property through a federal program, and the property was acquired by the County and the homes were removed. Scenic Drive was repaired with County funds and reopened. The road was closed again this spring after above normal rainfall resulted in high ground water that reactivated the slide. One home was damaged to a point where it was “red tagged” by the Building Division of the Environmental Services Agency, and another home is threatened but remains intact.

The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, on June 15, 2005, sent a letter to the President of the Board informing the President that the County qualifies for State public assistance under the California Disaster Assistance Act (CDAA), and that application can be made to obtain State funding to make permanent repairs to the road.

Discussion

We met with a representative of the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services who explained that the State requires that the local agency designate, by resolution of its governing board, an agent(s) that is authorized to submit the application for assistance to the State as well as any assurances or agreements that may be required to receive said funding.

We are recommending that the County Manager, or the Director of Public Works when the County Manager is not available, be designated to be the County’s Agent(s), to sign any necessary documents that need to be submitted to the State to obtain financing pursuant to the CDAA.

A standard State CDAA form of resolution has also been approved as to form by County Counsel.

Fiscal Impact

There is no fiscal impact associated with designating the County Manager or the Director of Public Works as the County’s agent in conjunction with seeking and obtaining State aid to repair Scenic Drive. However CDAA funding is limited to 75% of the cost of permanent repairs to a public facility and does not include property acquisition. The order of magnitude to repair Scenic Drive, at the writing of this report, is 3 to 3.5 Million Dollars. The County’s cost of the repair is therefore in the range of $750,000 to $875,000.

We anticipate financing the County’s costs from the Roadway Improvement Fund and the Road Fund. We will present your Board with a more detailed estimate if we are successful in obtaining CDAA funding and after a construction plans are completed.

There is no impact to the General Fund.