TO: Mayor and City Council
THROUGH: Steve Powers, City Manager
FROM: Peter Fernandez, PE, Public Works Director
SUBJECT:
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Intergovernmental Agreement for transfer of real property between the City of Salem and Salem-Keizer School District 24J
Ward(s): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8
Councilor(s): Bennett, Andersen, Nanke, McCoid, Dickey, Bednarz, Lewis
Neighborhood(s): Faye Wright, Grant, Highland, NEN, Northgate, SCAN, SESNA, South Gateway, Sunnyslope, West Salem
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ISSUE:
Shall City Council authorize the City Manager to execute the attached Intergovernmental Agreement with Salem-Keizer School District 24J transferring multiple properties between the City of Salem and Salem-Keizer School District 24J?
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Authorize the City Manager to execute the attached Intergovernmental Agreement with Salem-Keizer School District 24J transferring multiple properties between the City of Salem and Salem-Keizer School District 24J.
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SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND:
Over the last several decades, the City of Salem and Salem-Keizer School District 24J (SKSD) acquired properties adjacent to each other with the intent of co-locating and jointly operating schools and parks. During this period, City and SKSD improvements were constructed, maintenance responsibilities were developed, and uses evolved without necessarily regarding property ownership or boundary lines. As a result, both the City and the SKSD now manage, utilize, and maintain assets that are wholly or partially located on property owned by the other entity.
To correct and clarify responsibilities, the City and the SKSD have been working on a proposal to exchange ownership of multiple properties. The exchange involves co-located park and school properties where current ownership does not align with current uses and users, or with responsibilities for maintenance and operation. The key objectives of the proposed property transfer are:
1. Properties primarily used by the SKSD will be owned and operated by the SKSD;
2. Properties primarily used by the City will be owned and operated by the City; and
3. The City and the SKSD will share equally in the costs related to this transfer.
If approved by Council, the Intergovernmental Agreement between the City and SKSD will impact 14 properties. A map and a listing of the properties with proposed acres to be transferred are provided as Attachment 1. As proposed, approximately 35 acres will be transferred from the City to the SKSD and approximately 40 acres will be transferred from the SKSD to the City. To balance the acreage transferred between the City and SKSD, the City will purchase approximately five acres of property in west Salem at Grice Hill, which is adjacent to existing City-owned property and is the site of a future community park.
Council may approve the transfer as recommended by staff or choose to transfer a subset of the proposed properties. If City properties are removed from consideration, the total acreage to be transferred or purchased from the SKSD’s Grice Hill property will be adjusted accordingly.
Public Outreach
When this matter was brought before Council on February 22, 2016, Council voted to postpone action to allow for additional public outreach and further discussion among Councilors. Since then, a Council work session has been conducted and outreach has been completed to all ten affected neighborhood associations.
FACTS AND FINDINGS:
1. The City and SKSD have come to terms on the proposed property transfer as presented in the draft Intergovernmental Agreement. The Agreement is provided as Attachment 2, and contains maps that delineate each individual property under consideration for transfer.
2. Among the key terms of the proposed agreement:
a. All land (owned by both City and SKSD) will be valued at $75,000 per acre;
b. Property will be transferred between the City and SKSD on an acre-for-acre basis;
c. The City shall acquire the remaining portion of the Grice Hill property from SKSD in cash for $75,000 per acre;
d. The SKSD will pay the City $75,000 for the existing outdoor restroom facilities located at West Salem High School;
e. City staff will have lead responsibility in surveying, property line adjustments, deed preparation, and other aspects of due diligence;
f. Due diligence and closing costs are estimated at $130,000, mostly because of the extensive required survey work;
g. All due diligence and closing costs will be split evenly between the City and SKSD;
h. City and SKSD shall each bear the cost of their own staff time and legal costs;
i. City and SKSD agree to use their best efforts to maintain public access to all properties involved in the transaction upon transfer; and
j. Closing shall occur no later than June 30, 2017.
3. The purchase of the outstanding acreage of the SKSD property at Grice Hill qualifies for the use of Park System Development Charges (SDCs). Funds for the City’s portion of due diligence, closing costs, and any required acreage will also come from Parks SDCs. There are adequate Parks SDC funds to cover the cost of this transaction.
4. The price per acre was determined by the City’s Real Property Services Manager using the Marion/Polk County appraised values, which have typically been very close to market values over the last several years. An area-weighted average price was calculated to estimate the cost per acre. This value came to $76,476, which the City and SKSD agreed to round to $75,000.
5. Regarding access to facilities co-located on school grounds, the SKSD will continue to be responsible for the safety and security of its students and staff. Measures have been, and will continue to be implemented on, property operated by the SKSD regardless of underlying property ownership. Safety and security actions taken by SKSD may include maintaining perimeter fencing to restrict travel onto and off of school property and limiting access during each school’s operating hours.
6. The following four school parks are currently classified in the City’s Comprehensive Park System Master Plan as a subset of neighborhood parks with a note that they may have “restricted access during the hours school is in session” (see page 23 of the Park System Master Plan). However, these four properties currently function as SKSD-operated and controlled schoolyards, just as all other SKSD schools in Salem. Once ownership is transferred from the City to the SKSD, and to be consistent across all neighborhoods, these four parks will be removed from the City’s inventory of neighborhood parks when the Park System Master Plan is next revised.
a. Chapman Hill Elementary School Park: The 5.85 acres proposed to become SKSD property include the school’s entry road, several playfields, a track, a portion of the parking lot, and an unimproved steep hillside. The SKSD is the primary user of these facilities and currently operates and maintains all but the hillside, which is maintained by the City.
b. Highland Elementary School Park: The 3.27 acres proposed to become SKSD property contain several play fields and hard surface courts, a parking lot, a playground, and connecting paths, all of which are used by the school. The playground, currently located on City-owned property, was constructed at SKSD expense. The proposal is to transfer all the City-owned property that surrounds Highland Elementary School to the District. Highland Park, located across Broadway Street NE, will be unaffected by the transfer.
c. Lee Elementary School Park: The 3.80 acres proposed to become SKSD property include an access walkway from the neighborhood and part of the school’s parking lot. The area also includes portions of two of the playfields and portions of a track, all of which were constructed by the SKSD.
d. McKinley Elementary School Park: The 1.04 acres proposed to become SKSD property include portions of the school’s playfields and track. The area proposed to be transferred represents about two-thirds of the entire turf areas used by the students for outdoor activities.
7. Transferring property ownership from the City to the SKSD will impact eligibility for some sources for grant funding. The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department’s Local Government Grant Program, for example, is specifically designed for public recreation facilities of local government agencies. Also, the guidelines for the Salem Park Improvement Fund specify eligibility is for City park properties.
8. A Council work session was conducted on July 18, 2016. An information packet was prepared for this work session containing a map showing the properties and providing a summary of the proposed transfer. An electronic version of this packet was placed on the City’s website immediately following the work session.
9. Letters were sent to the chairs of all ten affected neighborhood associations in June 2016. This correspondence provided a summary of the property transfer, listed the specific park property located in the neighborhood, and described the proposed changes in use. Comments and concerns were solicited and staff were made available upon request to attend a neighborhood association meeting. Of the ten neighborhood associations:
a. Staff provided a presentation and answered questions at three association meetings (Faye Wright on July 14th, Sunnyslope on July 21st, and NEN on August 16th);
b. To date, no formal positions have been taken by seven neighborhood associations;
c. Highland Neighborhood Association has endorsed the proposal specific to Highland Park School;
d. Sunnyslope Neighborhood Association passed a motion opposing the proposal specific to Sprague School Park unless the City agrees to give top priority to funding improvements to Secor Park; and
e. SCAN passed a motion requesting McKinley Park be deleted from the proposed transfer list, noting it is the only neighborhood scale park east of Commercial Street in their neighborhood.
Attachment 3 provides a summary of the feedback received from the neighborhood associations.
10. Staff provided a presentation and answered questions at the Glenn Gibson Creek Watershed Council on July 21st. Following the meeting, the chair of the Watershed Council wrote recognizing the opportunity presented with acquiring property at Grice Hill for a future community park in west Salem, but noted a general concern regarding the equity of transferring existing park properties located in south Salem to the SKSD while acquiring the new property in west Salem.
11. The issue was presented to members of the Salem Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (SPRAB) at their August 2016 meeting. SPRAB adopted a motion accepting the property transfer in its entirety, while noting concerns related to McKinley Park. (See Attachment 4.)
12. Following the transfer of properties between the City and the SKSD, the entities will be updating two agreements: (1) The Cooperative Facility Use Agreement, which provides standards and policies for joint use of school and park properties; and (2) The Joint Maintenance Agreement, which establishes responsibilities for maintaining and operating properties and their facilities.
Robert D. Chandler, PhD, PE
Assistant Public Works Director
Attachments:
1. Map and Table of Properties
2. Draft Intergovernmental Agreement
3. Summary of Neighborhood Association Feedback
4. SPRAB Resolution
09/09/2016