WHAT HAPPENED City Administrator Ray Silver updated...

WHAT HAPPENED

City Administrator Ray Silver updated the City Council on the

timeline for property tax refunds.

WHAT IT MEANS

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. and Huntington Beach resident

Chuck Scheid filed a lawsuit in 1999 alleging that the city was

illegally collecting a property tax to pay for employee benefits.

The city lost the suit and must now pay millions of dollars to

residents who paid the tax between 1997 and 2001.

As of March 5, the city has received about 45,000 refund claims,

2,700 of which are incomplete. All completed claims have been entered

into the city’s database and are ready to be verified against the

county’s database.

The city is in the process of working to resolve the incomplete

claims. Letters to incomplete claim filers are being mailed out this

week.

The City Council will be asked to approve a bond resolution and to

adopt a refund processing ordinance at an April 19 City Council

meeting.

City officials are hoping to start issuing refunds by mid- to late

September 2004.

WHAT HAPPENED

The City Council approved the installation of a traffic signal at

the intersection of Geraldine Lane and Slater Avenue.

WHAT IT MEANS

Parents packed the auditorium on Monday night to support the

traffic light, which will be installed adjacent to Lakeview

Elementary School.

The Public Works Department began evaluating traffic safety in the

area after a fatal accident at the intersection on Nov. 18 that took

the life of 9-year-old Jimmy Pham.

Jimmy and two others were hit by a pickup truck while walking in

the crosswalk. He died Nov. 26.

The signal will be installed east of the existing crosswalk and

operate as a pedestrian crossing, to provide safe access to the

elementary school. The signal will change to red for traffic when the

pedestrian button is activated.

The goal is to have the light installed and working by Sept. 1,

Public Works Director Bob Beardsley said.

WHAT HAPPENED

Mark Carnahan, a building inspector for the city, was honored with

the mayor’s award.

WHAT IT MEANS

Building and Safety Director Ross Cranmer and Mayor Cathy Green

presented the award.

As a building inspector, Carnahan inspects private construction in

the city, ensuring that houses are safe and built properly and within

city code.

Carnahan began working as a contract inspector for the city in

1998.

Within two years, he received his building, mechanical,

engineering, plumbing and electrical certifications. Receiving all

five certifications so quickly is impressive and unusual, Cranmer

said.

Carnahan’s most remarkable trait, Cranmer said, is his customer

service. He has been known to give his home to out to contractors and

has the ability to explain difficult code issues in a simplistic

manner.

WHAT WAS SAID

“He’s just a real approachable, likable guy,” Cranmer said.