Laguna Hills staff: community and civic center reserve shortfalls, $4M biennial pavement gap

Interim City Manager Joe Ames presented the council with reserve studies for the community center and civic center and the city’s 2024 Pavement Management Plan, concluding the city faces significant ongoing funding shortfalls for long‑term maintenance.

Ames said the community center reserve study recommends roughly $500,000 per year to fully fund long‑term maintenance; the current biennial budget sets $250,000 annually for each fiscal year. For the civic center, the reserve study recommends $425,000 annually while the city’s budget currently includes $150,000, leaving an approximate $275,000 annual gap relative to the study recommendation. On roads, the pavement management plan recommends allocating $6.9 million per biennial period; the city’s budgeted amount is $2.9 million, leaving a roughly $4 million shortfall each budget period. Deferred maintenance is projected to rise about 340% by 2030 under current funding models.

Ames noted the city has used reserves and one‑time funding to cover priority projects (for example, coupling gas tax revenues with general reserves to repave Paseo de Valencia). He recommended targeted asset‑management studies (parks/open‑space and storm‑drain/bridges) to identify long‑term needs and suggested issuing RFPs for those studies if the council chooses to allocate funds.

Council members thanked staff for the report, emphasized urgent safety items (electrical issues at the community center were described as needing immediate attention and are already in contract work), and instructed staff to prioritize safety‑critical repairs while evaluating long‑range funding strategies.

The council voted unanimously to receive and file the report and directed staff on next steps, including continuing to pursue grants and considering RFPs for additional assessments.