County to Be Successor of Redevelopment Agency

As a result of the , Alameda County has decided to step in as the successor of its agency.

District 4 Supervisor Nate Miley made the announcement at held at the hall.

He said the Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution on Jan. 12 designating the county to take over.

Redevelopment Director Eileen Dalton said the dozen parcels owned by the agency will be turned over to the county to be auctioned off.

"The law is crazy and stupid," Miley told attendants, saying the county will try to find funding to buy those buildings itself.

Also being axed are the community advisory commitees of Castro Valley, San Lorenzo, Ashland and Cherryland — all of which give input on how redevelopment funds were spent in the county's unincorporated areas.

According to Miley, by May 1, the county plans to establish an oversight board consisting of local representatives from various districts to advise supervisors on what should be done with the contracted redevelopment projects.

The board may likely include some of the eight former employees of the agency.

Non-housing funds and other assets will be turned over to to the county to pay off the agency's existing debts.

With redevelopment gone, the tax increments previously reserved for community projects in the unincorporated areas would revert to the county's general fund.

"There's also a lot of work for the county auditors," Dalton said.

The county will eventually get back some of the money based on the audits and the $1.7 billion earned by the state from the dissolution of redevelopment. However, she did not know how much.

"It will be at least six months until any clear picture emerges," Dalton said.

What Remains Active Or Goes in Limbo

Construction on the $9 million will continue forward until finished in June, according to Dalton. The will also continue, with an expected date of completion by either the end of this year or early next year.

In San Lorenzo, development remains in limbo for , the downtown Bohannon properties, the Hesperian Streetscape Project and the .

However, District 3 Supervisor Wilma Chan said despite the dissolution of the agency, the library's expansion project will continue. She announced that an have already been selected and formed for the project.

"We are planning on doing that and we are hopeful we can continue that and construct the library," Chan said.

Also in limbo are a firehouse, community center, and sidewalk project in Cherryland and a streetscaping project along East 14th Street in Ashland.

The county is also left to decide on taking over several programs that are focused on improving residential and commercial properties in the unincorporated areas such as graffiti abatement and sidewalk repair.