The retiree benefit discussion, which began earlier this summer, was to have gone back to the council Tuesday night. The council is considering having retirees pay a surcharge assigned by the city's insurance carrier, which the city has been picking up since it was instituted a few years ago.
However, with Councilman Bob Rumfelt absent, Tom Engstrom – the city's retired police chief who was representing the group of close to 20 retirees and spouses who attended the meeting – asked if the council would postpone taking up the item until all of its members were present.
With Rumfelt not scheduled to return until after the next meeting, Kevin Burke, the city's police chief and interim city manager, proposed bringing the discussion back at the Oct. 20 meeting. The council agreed to the request.
Engstrom thanked Burke and Finance Director Janet Tavernier for their work to find solutions to the retiree benefits issue, saying they've gone out of their way to help.
One of the council's main actions of the evening – sitting as the redevelopment agency board – was to terminate a tentative housing loan agreement with developer Bruce Shimizu of Clearwater Homes.
Last October, the council had given city staff direction to negotiate an agreement with Shimizu for financial participation in the Avalon Co-Housing Project, a low-income housing project Shimizu proposed to build at 1240 Berry St.
In January, Shimizu returned to the council, seeking a $713,000 loan to fund the acquisition of the 2.6-acre property, which he already had purchased for $382,598. At that time, Shimizu was in arrears by $15,000 on a $275,000 note with Wells Fargo, and the council was reluctant to make a loan of any size on the property.
The redevelopment agency did decide to make a $173,200 pre-development loan to Avalon Cottages LLC in April.
Since then, Shimizu has since lost the land to foreclosure, which means the project is defunct, said Redevelopment Director Richard Knoll.
Knoll told the council that no money was ever actually loaned to Shimizu, although there were attorneys fees. Knoll didn't state the fees' amount.
Councilman Roy Parmentier moved to terminate the agreement, with Council member Suzanne Lyons seconding and the council approving the motion in a 4-0 vote.
Also on Tuesday, Lyons asked the council to consider sending a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, asking him to sign AB 74 by Assemblyman Wes Chesbro.
The bill authorizes state funding for the Middle Creek Restoration Project, which proposes to restore close to 1,400 acres of wetlands on Clear Lake's Northshore.
Mayor Ron Bertsch said he wanted to have a chance to read the bill before sitting down with Burke to work on the letter.
In other council action, council members approved an application for a $35,000 Community Development Block Grant planning and technical assistance grant for a neighborhood improvement study; awarded a contract for the Martin and S. Forbes Street Sidewalk Improvement Project to Epidendio Construction, which bid $36,946; and approved the civil engineering plans and specifications for the pedestrian improvement project at 562 and 566 S. Main St.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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