Rancho Murieta Association members received a letter from President Jack Cooper this week justifying the association's use of park facility funds to reimburse its legal expenditures for the pedestrian bridge. It was one of several recent letters about the legal fees.

"The (Community Services District) board of directors has requested that all of the money reimbursed to RMA for legal fees be repaid to the Parks Fund. They contend that RMA acted improperly. RMA believes that CSD's contention is technically correct, but has a difference of opinion about the amount of the reimbursement," Cooper's letter reads. "The legal fees incurred for this project were in excess of $100,000. RMA, who has been managing the account since 1990, reimbursed itself for only $88,350.60 for legal fees for the bridge project."

Cooper's letter points out the RMA has repaid $25,376.60 to parks fund, and has not been reimbursed for more than $260,000 in expenses for the Parks Committee and parks projects over the years.

The CSD board responded to the partial reimbursement with a letter to the RMA requesting the return of additional funds.

"RMA contends that the outstanding balance was approved by the County as legal fees for obtaining easements," the board's April 28 letter reads. "While the District Board has continuing concern regarding the manner in which the funds were unilaterally withdrawn without Parks Committee review or approval, we do acknowledge that the County anticipated that RMA would be reimbursed for certain legal fees."

RMA legal expenses of $44,506 were part of cost overruns the RMA submitted to the county on behalf of the Parks Committee during the preparation of the permanent ordinance for the bridge. The Sacramento County approved the ordinance with additional developer funding of $250,000 in 2005. A temporary urgency ordinance approved in 2003 provided $1.5 million in developer funding for the project.

At a meeting earlier this month, the Parks Committee considered another letter about the legal fees. It was written by Gary T. Parker of Reynen & Bardis Communities.

Reynen & Bardis has one of the two developer positions on the committee. The letter proposes filling the second position, now vacant, with another Reynen & Bardis representative. The Parks Committee has five voting members -- two from RMA, two developers, and one CSD representative.

In January, the two RMA members of the Parks Committee voted against returning the funds and the development representative and the CSD representative on the committee voted to have RMA return the funds, resulting in a stalemate that allowed the RMA to keep the money.

Reynen & Bardis provided $1.5 million in funding for the bridge and paid $71,500 as its share of the $250,000 in additional funding. The rest will be paid as part of a per-lot fee on new development, although reductions in density make it unlikely the full amount will be paid. The Parks Committee approved using parks funds to cover the overruns, but did not approve the release of funds for RMA legal expenses. 

According to Parker's letter, parks funds can't be used to reimburse any costs for the bridge because "the provisions for funding and construction are not part of the Park Development Agreement and the bridge is definitely not identified in the matrix of improvements ... Specifically, RMA cannot be reimbursed for any costs related to their legal effort with regard to this bridge."

"It's my opinion that the trail system and the bridge is not part of the RMA's responsibility to maintain nor is it RMA's responsibility to fund or replace or even be involved in," commented Mike Martel, one of the RMA Parks Committee representatives.

The Park Development Agreement established the Parks Committee and a park financing plan. The agreement has three parts that were separately signed in 1990 and 1991 by the South landowners, North developers and the Pension Trust Fund for Operating Engineers. The CSD and the RMA signed all three agreements.

Under the agreement, the landowners agree to convey park sites and a system of pedestrian and bike trails to the RMA at no cost. According to the agreement, "The trail system may include a river crossing."

The agreement calls for the RMA to establish a park development fund and utilize the funds "to construct the facilities described in the matrix ... The fund shall be used for no other purpose."

According to the agreement, after the planned community park facilities are completed, "the landowner members shall be replaced by RMA appointees."

Both Martel and Paul Gumbinger, the other RMA representative, said the RMA shouldn't provide staff support for the committee.

Gumbinger described the Parks Committee as a "separate and distinct committee," and asked, "Why are we using the RMA staff?"

"I don't think it was ever intended for us to spend -- and I'm going to throw out a figure here -- $250,000 of RMA money to maintain the Parks Committee and some of the different things that are not our responsibility," Martel said.

"By implication if it says you're going to build the parks, then you're going to provide the staff to build the parks," said CSD General Manager Ed Crouse.