CC MIN 04122022 - Laserfiche WebLink

Councilmember Testa clarified her understanding of the importance of the West Las Positas Boulevard repairs. She explained it should get funded, but it does not belong on the community benefit project list. In response to Councilmember Arkin, Interim City Manager Dolan confirmed all these items were on the City Council's priority list. He explained the Repair and Replace Fund and the CIP Reserve Fund are both historically funded by splitting the budget surplus. He advised both are drawing from the same source in this case and noted he is hearing community benefit should not be the sole consideration. Councilmember Arkin advised West Las Positas Boulevard and the library roof are community safety issues and there is not enough money even to do just the library roof and West Las Positas Boulevard improvements. Councilmember Narum advised she is unable to support the motion. She reported the Repair and Replace Fund is down to $19.5 million worth of money used to replace police cars, fire engines, air conditioning units, and other things. She noted paying for West Las Positas Boulevard here would leave a large shortfall. She advised the City Council to put the surplus into the CIP Reserve Fund and not the Repair and Replace Fund. Councilmember Narum explained that before the City adds amenities, the City has to fund the maintenance cost of those amenities. She advised many of the amenities have been assessed as a high maintenance cost. She noted they are already using the Rainy Day Fund to balance the budget following a year without high maintenance costs but advised safety and infrastructure need to be dealt with. She advised the library and West Las Positas Boulevard must be the focus, along with the lower- cost items of the cricket pitch, Bernal Community Farm, and Century House. She noted if the City will not repair the Century House, it should consider selling it with restrictions. Councilmember Balch advised the improvements to West Las Positas Boulevard would be his top priority, followed by the library roof and light projects. He noted the City needs to take care its facilities before adding more. The Century House would come next after West Las Positas Boulevard and the library. Mayor Brown noted West Las Positas Boulevard would take two years to get to the construction phase, bridging several budget cycles. She proposed funding the West Las Positas Boulevard repairs in smaller annual sums instead of funding it all tonight. In response to Mayor Brown, Interim City Manager Dolan advised the City can cover some of the easier ones and put large chunks of funding into projects identified as the City Council's top choices. Councilmember Testa noted the West Las Positas Boulevard and library projects are incredibly important but cannot be put side-by-side with the community benefits on the list. She advised there is time to see if the grant funds are awarded. She noted the library roof is an ideal use of the Repair and Replace Fund, so the roof is not competing with a skateboard park for funding. Mayor Brown made a substitute motion to fund $500,000 for the cricket pitch, fund the two library projects, put $2 million aside for West Las Positas Boulevard, and add the remaining balance to the skatepark. She noted Bernal Community Farm can move forward without a startup cost once the MOU is finalized. In response to Councilmember Testa, City Attorney Dan Sodergren confirmed a substitute motion is needed and the original motion cannot be dropped. Councilmember Narum noted the substitute motion omits the Century House. She advised they are projected to need Rainy Day Fund money to balance the next few budgets already. City Council Minutes Page 17 of 18 April 12, 2022