COUNCIL NEARING PARK BUY ASKING PRICE IS $6.5 MILLION.Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff WriterCANYON COUNTRY - The City Council is poised to buy 38 acres adjacent to Santa Clarita's Sports Complex and planned Aquatics Center despite concerns that the purchase could force the city into deficit spending Deficit spending When government spending overwhelms government revenue resulting in government borrowing. deficit spending Expenditures that are in excess of revenues during a given period of time. and deplete de·plete v. 1. To use up something, such as a nutrient. 2. To empty something out, as the body of electrolytes. its reserves. The council members are expected to settle on a price for the hilly hill·y adj. hill·i·er, hill·i·est 1. Having many hills. 2. Similar to a hill; steep. hill land near Soledad Canyon Soledad Canyon is a long narrow canyon / valley located in Los Angeles County, California between the cities of Palmdale and Santa Clarita. Soledad Canyon contains the localities of Vincent, Acton, Ravenna, and Agua Dulce. Road and Ruether Avenue during a closed-door meeting today before the regular 6 p.m. council meeting. ``I think the City Council recognizes the uniqueness of the land near the Sports Complex and the need for parkland in Canyon Country,'' said Bob Allen
Bob Allen (born 1958) is an American politician who has been a Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives since 2000, representing Florida's 32nd district. , one of the four owners of the land. Allen and his co-owners are business associates of developer Larry Rasmussen, the owner of the nearby Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, Business Park. The asking price for the land remains unchanged at $6.5 million, Allen said. Improving and grading the land is expected to cost the city an additional $3.5 to $5.5 million. City officials and the landowners have agreed to a $2.3 million down payment, coming from the city's Public Facilities Replacement Fund reserve account, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Allen and Steve Stark, the city's director of administrative services. The proposal, reached after six weeks of intense negotiations, calls for the rest of the purchase price to be borrowed from the landowners and paid over a yet-to-be-determined length of time or interest rate. Those details are expected to be worked out along with the purchase price at today's meeting, Stark said. The city also has the option of borrowing money from the state. ``(This agreement) is not a financial windfall windfall An unexpected profit or gain. An investor holding a stock that increases greatly in price because of an unexpected takeover offer receives a windfall. for us,'' said Rasmussen, who conducted the negotiations with city officials. ``They're doing the right thing by building a park there.'' Mayor Laurene Weste and Councilman Bob Kellar have spearheaded the push to buy the Canyon Country land. Initial plans call for portions of the property to be used for parking lots and open practice fields to supplement the Sports Complex and three-pool Aquatics Center. Santa Clarita needs 550 acres of new parkland to catch up with the homes springing up throughout the city, especially in Canyon Country where there are few parks. ``This land is crucial,'' Kellar said. The Public Facilities Replacement fund is typically used to replace city buildings and repair infrastructure damaged in emergencies such as earthquakes and other natural disasters. The account would be reduced to $300,000 by the purchase. Earlier this year, $2 million from the replacement fund was lent to the William S William, crown prince of Germany William or Frederick William, 1882–1951, crown prince of Germany, son of William II. In World War I he commanded (1914) an army on the Western Front and was nominal commander in the German attack . Hart Union High School District to complete the first phase of Golden Valley Road. City Manager George Caravalho began warning the council in May that the the purchase of the 38 acres would put a heavy burden on the city's budget this year and next. In an Aug. 17 memo, Caravalho recommended that the City Council scuttle or defer other city projects to fund the park purchase, rather than further depleting the city's reserves. Santa Clarita's financial picture has been stretched by the slowing economy, rising energy prices and Santa Clarita's ambitious capital improvement program. Revenues generated by sales taxes sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. are expected to decline throughout California next year, according to state officials' projections. Over the past year, the council's focus on building roads and parks has drained more than $4.5 million from the city's reserve accounts, threatening officials' ability to meet unforeseen costs, such as the dispute over the cleanup and development of the former Bermite munitions mu·ni·tion n. War materiel, especially weapons and ammunition. Often used in the plural. tr.v. mu·ni·tioned, mu·ni·tion·ing, mu·ni·tions To supply with munitions. factory. The purchase plan does not propose to use any of the $1.5 million the council members set aside in an Open Space Reserve Fund when they approved the budget in June. CAPTION(S): map Map: Golden Valley Road Site of acres city is considering adding to sports complex |
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