The state grant funded improvements to the Memorial Trailway have been completed. They include the installation of seven (7) new rest areas along the length of the Trailway, the  paving of  the last unimproved section of the Memorial Trailway that runs along the east side of the Paradise Community Park to Foster Road, the re-routing of the Trailway north and south of Pearson  Road  to the Pearson/Black Olive Road signalized intersection; and the establishment of a new Downtown public parking facility south of  Pearson along the Trailway. Most of the improvements were necessary before the building of Paradise Community Park.

Currently, under engineering design are the pedestrian sidewalk and streetscape improvements for the Skyway/Foster Frontage road area. walk and streetscape improvements for the Skyway/Foster  Road commercial area. These improvements are slated for construction during the latter part of this Summer, 2005.

These improvements include new pedestrian sidewalks, street lights, street trees, and the installation of a new storm drain.

Paradise Community Park

Bid plans and documents for the Paradise Community Park project are 99% completed. The Redevelopment Agency’s public financing for the project will take place in September, 2005. Plans are to put the project out-to-bid during the November/December, 2005 period in order to generate the most, possible interest among potential bidders. Construction will start in early Spring, 2006 and take  a good 5-6 months to complete, weather permitting.

In the meantime, the Town should hear by September/October, 2005 if its grant application to the state for $ 113,000.00  in exterior renovation funds for the Train Depot is approved.

Demolition Projects Completed 

During the last several weeks, the Redevelopment Agency has through a hired contractor demolished various unoccupied, blighted buildings and standing concrete foundations in the Downtown area in order to make way for the construction of Paradise Community Park, to establish additional Downtown public parking, as well as to eliminate structurally unsafe buildings full of asbestos and mold. Those demolitions are now completed.

Recent Commercial Facade Renovations Completed, Underway, Approved or in Design

Both the design and commercial facade renovation applications for the Downtown Market, Myra Bailey's new Downtown law offices at 5778 Almond St., and Back-At-The-Ranch's new Downtown location at 6194 Skyway have been approved by the Redevelopment Advisory Committee.

The Redevelopment Agency itself is currently in preliminary design for a new facade renovation if the Jeffords Electric Building in the Downtown on Black Olive Drive that it owns. The design will be ready to submit to the Design Review Board in August for their consideration.

Actual commercial building facades that are presently under construction that are part of the Paradise Redevelopment Agency’s partnership-based Commercial Facade Renovation Program include House of Color and the Snoop Shoppe on  Fir Street; the Paradise Art Center on Almond St.; and Art Colyer’s Veterinary Service at 8919 Skyway.

The Town and Agency’s very successful Commercial Facade Renovation Program has thus far generated an average of $ 3-4 of private investment for every $1 of public monies spent through grants or loans. This private investment in building renovation has helped add to the Town’s overall tax base.

Business Assistance Grants/Loans  Approved                 

The first recipients of the Paradise Redevelopment Agency’s private/public sector, partnership-based business assistance/incentive programs (e.g. Business Relocation/ Recruitment; Business Expansion; and New Business Start-Up) are Skyway Pet & Feed Supply, which received financial assistance from both the Business Relocation/Recruitment and Expansion Programs, Perkin’s Mobile Auto Glass which is receiving financial assistance through the Business Expansion Program; and Pearson Collision Repair, which received assistance through the New Business Start-Up Program.

All of the recipients were provided with free business counseling services through the Agency’s arrangement with SCORE or the Butte College Small Business Development Center, and were required to develop or update their business plans, Currently, over 15 more businesses are going through business counseling, business plan development, and the application process for one of these three assistance programs. In addition, the Paradise Redevelopment Agency through SCORE and the Small Business Development Center has provided a number of business training seminars for existing, as well as prospective businesses in Paradise.      

PARADISE YOUTH COUNCIL APPOINTED - 8/1/05

After an extensive application and interview process, the Town Council at their May 24, 2005 meeting appointed the following individuals to the Paradise Youth Council:

    Emily Anderson (PHS) – Appointed to a 2-year term

    Rachel Boyd (PHS) -              “          “  “    “       “

    Michaela Gulbransen (PHS)_ “         “  “    “       “

    Ambrosia Krinsky (PHS) _     “         “  “ 1-year term 

    Rachel Norton (PHS)-             “         “  “    “       “

    Jennifer Scism  (PAA) -          “         “   “    “       “

    Buz Wallick (PHS) -               “         “   “    “       “

The newly appointed  Paradise Youth Council will have an orientation meeting in July, and begin their monthly meetings in August. All meetings will be open to the public.

FISCAL YEAR 2003/04 ANNUAL REPORT

Introduction:

Fiscal Year 2003/04 was the year that the Agency’s commitment and plan to fulfill the Town’s Downtown Revitalization Master Plan, and to physically and economically revitalize a larger, deteriorated area of our community became a reality with the adoption of the Redevelopment Plan, and with the establishment of various programs that further advanced the Redevelopment Plan’s goals and objectives.

The previous year had seen the Town Council’s decision to form a redevelopment agency challenged at the ballot box, but overwhelmingly affirmed by Paradise voters. Following these successful election results, the Agency formed the Redevelopment Steering Committee, and retained the services of a consultant firm (Quad Knopf) to assist the Committee, and Agency, with the development of the Redevelopment Plan.

“A Year of Many Firsts”

Fiscal Year 2003/04 can be easily characterized as a year in which much of the ground work for the Agency’s future activities and plans was accomplished, but a more fitting description was that it was a year of many firsts.

Certainly, the single action during this fiscal year in which much of the ground work for all  that the Agency does and strives to achieve was the completion of the six-month process of formulating the Redevelopment Plan, with this process culminating in both the Agency and Town Council’s adoption of the Redevelopment Plan in early July, 2003. At the same time, the Plan’s Environmental Impact Report was certified as well.

To underscore the Agency’s commitment to pursuing those capital projects that will have a profound, positive impact on our efforts to economically revitalize the Redevelopment Project Area, the Agency, in August 2003, retained the services of 7-H Technical Services to develop a master plan for the establishment of clustered wastewater treatment system(s) in the Downtown.

Realizing that this fiscal year was the Agency’s base year, and that the Agency would not be earning any redevelopment property tax increment revenue until 2004/05, the Agency decided in September, 2003 to pursue necessary funding to finance (and leverage) initial redevelopment programs and projects with the issuance of a Tax Allocation Note (based on very conservative revenue projections). To that end, the Agency retained the services of our Agency’s Public Finance Consultant and Bond Counsel. The $ 1.6 million Tax Allocation Note was issued and sold in December, 2003 and netted  the Agency $ 1.3 million. The Note requires interest only payments for ten years and can be rolled over at any time as a bond issue when the Agency is earning more increment revenue.

Upon the sale of the Tax Allocation Note, two separate Agency funds were established through the Local Agency Investment Fund (LAIF) – the Non-Housing Fund and the Housing Fund. Eighty per cent of the Tax Allocation Note proceeds were placed with  LAIF in the Non-Housing Fund and the remaining twenty per cent of the Note’s proceeds were deposited in the Housing Fund.

In October 2003, the Town and Agency had approved a second advance, start-up interest bearing (5%) loan from the Town to the Agency in the amount of $ 156,285 to cover initial administrative (including staff, legal, redevelopment plan & plan consultant & property acquisition, etc.) and program costs. This was in addition to the first start-up advance loan that was approved in January, 2003 between the Town and Agency in the amount of $ 80,533. Shortly after the Note was sold, the Agency used part of the Non-Housing proceeds to pay off both advance loans from the Town, which netted the Town’s General Fund $ 4,026.00 in interest earnings.

During that same month, the Agency purchased an undeveloped, Downtown commercial property located at 796 Birch Street for $ 57,000. The decision to purchase the property was with the intent to sell the property for a commercial/retail development that would complement the future Paradise Community Park, the future Town Hall Community Civic Center, and help revitalize the Downtown economy.

The Agency also provided as leverage/matching funding $50,000 from Non-Housing Funds for the Pearson Road/Black Olive Drive Downtown Signalization & Intersection Improvement Project.

In February, 2004, the Redevelopment Agency on a recommendation of the Redevelopment Steering Committee and staff adopted criteria by which the Agency will be able to objectively evaluate and annually report on its performance and progress once it starts earning its firs year of redevelopment tax increment revenues.

This same month, the Agency approved the extension of the major and minor Commercial Facade Renovation Programs beyond the Downtown to the entire Redevelopment Project Area.

In order to achieve the necessary re-routing of the Memorial Trailway to Black Olive Drive south of Pearson Road as part of the Town’s grant funded Memorial Trailway Improvement Project, the Agency, in March 2004, approved the purchase of the Jeffords Electric commercial property located at 5456 and 5450 Black Olive for $ 150,000. The purchase involves a 15-year note at 8% with monthly payments that comes from a combination of Non-Housing Funds and the rental income from the tenant.

Redevelopment Fiscal Year 2003/04 Annual Report

Conclusion:

Posted 1/10/05