City Manager’s Report

August 5, 2015

To:          Mayor Schoaf and City Council Members

From:      Darryl H. Crossman, City Manager

Tierra Verde Lake Wall Construction
On Thursday, July 9, 2015, Assistant City Manager Sonny Culbreth and I met with Laguna Royale HOA President Kerry Giangobbe and HOA resident Dave Reeg to discuss the revised plan for the lake wall construction and pathway.   Kerry retracted her comment that the HOA is being represented by an attorney and said that she has an attorney available for review of documents only.   Ms. Giangobbe stated that the attorney—who she did not name—is not in an active role at this point in time.

Both HOA representatives said that they “love” the new plan.   We did advise them that the pathway will be eight feet wide, rather than the originally planned 10 foot pathway, as the connecting pathways on Villa Nueva are eight feet in width.   I advised the HOA representatives that the city did not need any easements, approvals or agreements from the property owners.   The only item we would like the HOA to decide is whether the majority wants a “view fence” with a gate, or not; which will be constructed on city property.   The city is fine with a view fence or no fence at all.   There was some discussion as to the color of the view fence, which I will discuss with Chuck. 

The HOA representatives were very pleased with the plan and thanked us several times.   They did mention that they expect a property owner or two to object, but that the great majority of owners fully support the plan.   I provided Kerry with a copy of the plan and pictures of a similar wall and sidewalk (pre and post construction) built in California.   A letter from the HOA President, Vice President and Board members was sent to the Laguna Royale homeowners on July 15, 2015, stating that the new plan is the best solution for the residents and that the HOA approves the City’s design.

Mayor Schoaf and I will meet with the HOA members to review the new city plan and the costs of both the new enhancement plan and the former plan.  It is expected that the lake wall design consultant and builder will complete their final design and guaranteed maximum price by the end of August, so that it can be presented to the Mayor and Council for consideration at the September 16, 2015 Council Meeting.

Litchfield Road Pavement Reflectors
The hauling of fill dirt to the Cachet Home site required constant washing and sweeping of the truck route; that being Litchfield Road.  The developer provided two sweepers which were used all day long during the trucking of the fill.  I noticed after a few days of constant sweeping, that the Pavement Reflectors along Litchfield Road were no longer reflective, as the wire brushes removed the reflectivity of the centerline and edge-of-road reflectors.  The developer was contacted and has agreed to replace all pavement reflectors upon the completion of the trucking of the fill.

Six Acre Parcel at The Village at Litchfield Park Phase II
The City owns a six acre parcel along Camelback Road in The Village at Litchfield Park Phase II.  In accordance with an Agreement, the City must develop at least two acres as a park and expend $200,000 for improvements by July 19, 2016.  Staff has met with a professional open space planner and is reviewing proposals for full development of the six acres.  Within the past two years, we had some discussions with the Litchfield Park Historical Society in reference to possibly relocating the museum on to the six acre parcel.  That concept is no longer being considered, and we are exploring other development options.

The Recreation and Public Grounds Commission will be evaluating the various proposals and options, and we expect that the Commission will make a recommendation to Council within six months.

Scout Park Renovations Phase I
The Public Works Department commenced Phase I of the Scout Park renovation project two weeks ago.  Twenty-four truckloads of fill dirt were brought in to build landscape mounds in the 40’-60’ meandering landscape buffer at the north end of the park.  There were 5-6 trees on the north end several years ago and we will be replanting 27 trees on that north side.  Also, the public works department will be planting 18 different types of bushes, ground cover, grasses and perennials that will bloom different times of the year and attract butterflies and hummingbirds (between 100-200 plantings total).  The planned turf area will be approximately twice the size of the current configuration.

Last week, another 51 loads of fill were transported to the park.  It is estimated that the park will need about 40-50 more loads to meet the Phase I plan.  This area will all be rough graded over the next few weeks, and then will be top dressed with sandy loam and laser leveled.  Once the top dressing is complete, the public works crews will begin installing new irrigation lines for turf, trees and plants.  Once the irrigation is completed, the crews will plant trees, shrubs and plantings, drip irrigate and spread the decomposed granite to the landscape buffer area.  Although we are not certain that these steps will be completed in time for the planting of winter rye this fall, it will be certainly ready for spring Bermuda seed.

All of this work is in accordance with the Scout Park improvement plan, which was presented to Council on April 15, 2015, and was included in the Capital Improvements of the FY 2016 Budget.

Darryl H. Crossman

City Manager