Lake Elsinore Oversight Board Navigating Uncharted Waters

Lake Elsinore now has a seven-member board in place to ensure the city’s $180,955,635 in redevelopment obligations get met.

For the first time in history, the newly appointed “Oversight Board” met in open session Tuesday at the Lake Elsinore Cultural Center to begin the process of winding down the city’s redevelopment obligations.

Lake Elsinore is not alone in going down such an uncharted path.

“We’ll learn this together,” Oversight Board Attorney Barbara Leibold told the seven members.

Leibold, who also represents the City of Lake Elsinore, said her service for the Oversight Board is outside and separate from her work for the city.

An Oversight Board for a defunct redevelopment agency is a new concept.

Prior to legislation signed by Governor Jerry Brown last year, local government had been allowed to use increased property tax to obtain and repay bonds that cover the cost of projects in designated blighted areas. Local jurisdictions formed redevelopment agencies to oversee the process.

But California legislators decided last year to disband the local agencies. Effective Feb. 1, 2012 redevelopment agencies across the state dissolved – including Lake Elsinore’s.

But outstanding obligations have not disappeared. Lake Elsinore is still on the hook for money tied to housing and development projects in the city.

Leibold helped guide the seven-person committee Tuesday that includes among its members Lake Elsinore Mayor Brian Tisdale; City of Lake Elsinore Management Analyst Justin Carlson; Storm Baseball President Dave Oster; Educator Genie Kelley; Administrator for the Riverside County Office of Education, Erin Lillibridge; President of Mt. San Jacinto College, Dr. Roger Schultz; and Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District Director Phil Williams.

During the meeting, Tisdale was unanimously appointed as board chair; Schultz was appointed vice chair in a unanimous vote.

City of Lake Elsinore Director of Administrative Services James Riley was also on hand Tuesday and provided a schedule of payment obligations to the board for consideration. The payments were only broken down through the end of the 2011-12 fiscal year that concludes June 30. (Click here to see the payment schedule.)

The schedule was approved by the board in a 7-0 vote.