Artesia Redevelopment at A Crossroads

Artesia City Council members will have until October 1 to mull the future of the city’s redevelopment agency due to the budget approved by Gov. Jerry Brown last month, according to a staff report from last Monday’s meeting.

One of the trailer bills from the 2011-12 budget effectively ceased the powers of local redevelopment agencies.

“The bottom line throughout the state is redevelopment stopped,” said William Kelly, chief operating officer of Urban Futures, a municipal consulting firm working with the city. “With the Governor signing that bill, [Artesia’s redevelopment agency] cannot enter agreements, transfer property or anything.”

Kevin Ennis, Artesia's city attorney, said at the meeting that the powers of the agency are suspended until November 1. However, by October 1, Artesia and the redevelopment agency must inform the state whether they can pay its share of a $1.7 billion payment by agencies to the state or dissolve the agency and shift powers to a successor entity which will wind down the operations.

Ennis said that according to the California Redevelopment Association, the city’s share of the $1.7 billion payment is estimated at $560,000. However, the state will release its assumption of Artesia’s estimated payment based on the agency’s debts and tax increment calculations of the 2008-2009 fiscal year on August 1 and the City has 15 days to appeal the estimate.

More analysis will be done at a later date because there are certain aspects of the law that are not clear or require more information, including what funds the city can use to pay its share of the redevelopment payment to the state and the consequences of dissolving the agency.

The move by the California State Legislature and Gov. Brown to effectively dissolve the powers of redevelopment agencies has prompted the city to issue statements on its website, calling the move illegal. Mayor Victor Manalo previously stated that shutting down the agency would have “dire consequences” on the community, including job cuts and threatening projects like the city’s downtown revitalization.

New Miss Artesia and Miss Artesia Teen Portraits

During its presentations period, the Artesia City Council held a ceremony honoring the outgoing and

The outgoing 2010 Miss Artesia and Miss Artesia Teen courts received their portraits that were displayed at City Hall, while the 2011 courts' portraits will take their place.

The Artesia City Council will hold its next meeting on Aug. 8 at 7 p.m. For more details, call (562) 865-6262 or go to www.cityofartesia.us.