Patterson Irrigator

Council agrees to meet with West Park developer.

Council members expressed frustration with the meetings they are having with PCCP West Park, the group that is negotiating with Stanislaus County to develop the former Crows Landing naval airbase. They said they want more information.

Mayor Becky Campo and City Manager Cleve Morris have had monthly meetings with West Park developer Gerry Kamilos. On Tuesday, the council decided to meet as needed with West Park officials, county staff and county Supervisor Jim DeMartini.

“This is an opportunity to have the county there,” said Councilwoman Annette Smith, who will also be joining the meetings.

The council hopes to get more information about a proposed 7.5-square mile industrial center proposed for the county-owned airfield between Patterson and Crows Landing.

The council also directed Morris to invite Kamilos to give a presentation about his project at City Hall. If he accepts the invitation, it would be the second presentation he has given to the council.

This time, the council is requesting that Kamilos give the same presentation he has given to the Alliance, an economic development agency used by Stanislaus County and its cities.

The council also had the option to decide whether city staff should meet with West Park officials, but the meeting minutes do not indicate that issue was addressed.

With a 5-0 vote, the council also decided to request $706,330 from the Economic Development Bank of Stanislaus County, which provides loans to spur economic development. The money would pay for designs for sewer plant expansions.

The council had approved paying $896,870 for the design work in September, but the money is not available because developers of the recently approved Villages of Patterson housing project will not start work on their 3,100-home project as quickly as first expected.

Eventually, the sewer treatment plant expansion will allow the system to accommodate development in the 817-acre West Patterson Business Park. Morris said the loan could be paid back with money from the Villages of Patterson when it develops or when the business park grows.

This is the second time in two months the council has authorized incurring debt to cover costs it expected the housing market would handle. In July, the council unanimously decided to issue as much as $5.2 million in bond anticipation notes to pay debt that was about to be due. The city had accumulated the debt in the previous year when the council issued bond anticipation notes.

Morris said the city wasn’t in a position to pay the original notes because the nearly 1,000-home Patterson Gardens housing development had not built out as quickly as anticipated.

The high rate of foreclosures that has accompanied the slowing housing market also prompted the city to start the foreclosure process last month on many Patterson homes that have delinquent property taxes.
Part of the property taxes people pay go to fees the city imposes on most new housing in Patterson. The city has sold bonds based on revenue the fees will generate. As a part of a sale agreement of those bonds, the city had to start foreclosure proceedings to ensure the bond purchasers will receive their money.

Patterson Finance Director Margaret Souza said the city is still in good financial standing, even with the high foreclosure rate. However, the city could face tough economic times if the same foreclosure rate persists next year, she said.

Souza said the type of revenue the city collects on housing generally goes to pay for the impact of that housing such as lighting, roads, sewer and water. So, the city’s finances are typically insulated from the housing market.

To reach John Saiz at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Comments (1)

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Patterson deserves it
written by Country Dweller , August 29, 2007

This city has embraced growth like it is solution to everything and let the developers off the hook by allowing them to form Mello-Roos districts. Let the foreclosures continue and watch the city's financies go down the tubes.

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