AGENDA
Tuesday, September 23, 2025 6:00 P.M. Open Session
SPECIAL MEETING
CITY COUNCIL
THIS MEETING WILL BE HELD IN PERSON AND VIRTUALLY (HYBRID).
Council Chambers
211 Hillcrest Avenue
Marina, California
AND
Zoom Meeting URL: https://zoom.us/j/730251556
Zoom Meeting Telephone Only Participation: 1-669-900-9128 - Webinar ID: 730 251 556
PARTICIPATION
You may participate in the City Council meeting in person or in real-time by calling Zoom Meeting via the weblink and phone number provided at the top of this agenda. Instructions on how to access, view and participate in remote meetings are provided by visiting the City’s home page at https://cityofmarina.org/. Attendees can make oral comments during the meeting by using the “Raise Your Hand” feature in the webinar or by pressing *9 on your telephone keypad if joining by phone only.
The most effective method of communication with the City Council is by sending an email to [email protected] Comments will be reviewed and distributed before the meeting if received by 5:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting. All comments received will become part of the record.
Council will have the option to modify their action on items based on comments received.
AGENDA MATERIALS
Agenda materials, staff reports and background information related to regular agenda items are available on the City of Marina’s website www.cityofmarina.org. Materials related to an item on this agenda submitted to the Council after distribution of the agenda packet will be made available on the City of Marina website www.cityofmarina.org subject to City staff’s ability to post the documents before the meeting.
VISION STATEMENT
Marina will grow and mature from a small town bedroom community to a small city which is diversified, vibrant and through positive relationships with regional agencies, self -sufficient. The City will develop in a way that insulates it from the negative impacts of urban sprawl to become a desirable residential and business community in a natural setting. (Resolution No. 2006-112 - May 2, 2006)
MISSION STATEMENT
The City Council will provide the leadership in protecting Marina’s natural setting while developing the City in a way that provides a balance of housing, jobs and business opportunities that will result in a community characterized by a desirable quality of life, including recreation and cultural opportunities, a safe environment and an economic viability that supports a high level of municipal services and infrastructure. (Resolution No. 2006-112 - May 2, 2006)
Agenda for Special City Council Meeting of Tuesday, September 23, 2025 Page 2
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The City recognizes that it was founded and is built upon the traditional homelands and villages first inhabited by the Indigenous Peoples of this region - the Esselen and their ancestors and allies - and honors these members of the community, both past and present.
1. CALL TO ORDER
2. ROLL CALL & ESTABLISHMENT OF QUORUM: (City Council, Airport Commissioners, Marina Abrams B Non -Profit Corporation, Preston Park Sustainable Communities Nonprofit Corporation, Successor Agency of the Former Redevelopment Agency Members and Marina Groundwater Sustainability Agency)
Jenny McAdams, Brian McCarthy, Kathy Biala, Mayor Pro-Tem/Vice Chair Liesbeth Visscher, Mayor/Chair Bruce C. Delgado
3. MOMENT OF SILENCE & PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE (Please stand)
4. FUNDING ALTERNATIVES AND STRATEGIES FOR CONSTRUCTI NG CITY
FACILITIES
a. Review and discuss funding alternatives and strategies for constructing critical city facilities including : police and fire stations; civic center including city offices, city council chamber and community center ; and p rovide direction identifying next steps for development and construction of new city facilities.
5. ADJOURNMENT:
CERTIFICATION
I, Anita Sharp, Deputy City Clerk, of the City of Marina, do hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing agenda was posted at City Hall and Council Chambers Bulletin Board at 211 Hillcrest Avenue, Monterey County Library Marina Branch at 190 Seaside Circle, City Bulletin Board at the corner of Reservation Road and Del Monte Boulevard on or before 7:30 p.m., Friday, September 19, 2025.
___________________________________
ANITA SHARP, DEPUTY CITY CLERK
City Council, Airport Commission and Redevelopment Agency meetings are recorded on tape and available for public review and listening at the Office of the City Clerk and kept for a period of 90 days after the formal approval of MINUTES.
City Council meetings may be viewed live on the meeting night and at 12:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. on Cable Channel 25 on the Sunday following the Regular City Council meeting date. In addition, Council meetings can be viewed at 6:30 p.m. every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. For more information about viewing the Council Meetings on Channel 25, you may contact Access Monterey Peninsula directly at 831-333-1267.
Agenda items and staff reports are public record and are available for public review on the City's website (www.ciytofmarina.org), at the Monterey County Marina Library Branch at 190 Seaside Circle and at the Office of the City Clerk at 211 Hillcrest Avenue, Marina between the hours of 10:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m., on the Monday preceding the meeting.
Agenda for Special City Council Meeting of Tuesday, September 23, 2025 Page 3
Supplemental materials received after the close of the final agenda and through noon on the day of the scheduled meeting will be available for public review at the City Clerk’s Office during regular office hours and in a ‘Supplemental Binder’ at the meeting.
ALL MEETINGS ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. THE CITY OF MARINA DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE AGAINST PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES. Council Chambers are wheelchair accessible. Meetings are broadcast on cable channel 25 and recordings of meetings can be provided upon request. To request assistive listening devices, sign language interpreters, readers, large print agendas or other accommodations, please call (831) 884 -1278 or e -mail:
[email protected]. Requests must be made at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting.
September 19, 2025 Item No. 4a
Honorable Mayor and Members City Council Meeting
of the Marina City Council of September 23, 2025
COUNCIL RECEIVE INFORMATIONAL PRESENTATION, REVIEW AND
DISCUSS FUNDING ALTERNATIVES AND STRATEGIES FOR
CONSTRUCTING CRITICAL CITY FACILITIES INCLUDING PUBLIC
SAFETY BUILDINGS - POLICE AND FIRE STATIONS(S); COMMUNITY
SERVICE BUILDINGS - CITY OFFICES, COUNCIL CHAMBE RS, AND COMMUNITY AND SENIOR CENTER.
PROVIDE POLICY DIRECTION AND IDENTIFY POSSIBLE NEXT STEPS FOR
FUNDING MECHANISMS, PRIORITY -SETTING, PHASING, AND
STRATEGIES FOR CONSTRUCTING OR RENOVATING CRITICAL CITY FACILITIES.
BACKGROUND
Beginning with the 2021/22 budget process, the City Council ranked, prioritized, and funded important and critical needs of the community that were able to be met within existing revenue resources including road and park infrastructure, public safety equipment, and city facilities.
Since that time, many public meetings have been held discussing critical unfunded facility needs and strategies to meet these needs. In 2022 the Council directed staff to engage a consulting firm to assist with the public engagement and education efforts and a polling firm to conduct an opinion survey to assess citizen support for a $50 million-dollar General Obligation Bond to be placed on the November 8, 2022, ballot to build these city facilities. Following the results of the survey, the consulting firm recommended that the City not move forward with placing a measure on the ballot for November 2022 and instead continue with public engagement and education ef forts and look at the November 2024 election.
Needs Assessment Study
Public engagement efforts continued in 2023 and beginning in 2024 the Council approved the hiring of a consultant (Team CivX) to assist with the public engagement and education efforts and also approved hiring RNT Architects to provide a Community Facility Needs Assessment which consisted of two components. First, an inspection and assessment of the actual conditions of the police, fire, council chamber, and city hall facilities which included:
• Reviewing engineering documentation
• Actual site inspection and observation
• Evaluation and ranking of age; structure; interior and exterior envelope; mechanical, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and lighting systems
• ADA requirements
• Site reuse and expansion potential
• Comparing and providing recommendations of repair versus replacement 1 The second component consisted of an assessment of the actual facility needs based on quantifiable data, in-person interviews, and facility needs benchmarking from cities comparable to Marina in size, population, and service demands. The study findings concluded space deficits across all City departments, shortage of adequate meeting and training rooms, and operational deficits and shortcomings in the police and fire department. The Study also developed an estimate of the size or square footage needed to me et current community service and staffing needs as well as future needs. They also provided a high-level estimate of the cost to build these facilities. (EXHIBIT A)
On July 23, 2024, an open house followed by a City Council study session was held. Presentations were made by RNT Architects and staff with display boards, pictures and other information provided to the public in the City Council chambers. The public was able to ask questions directly to the architects, staff, and other consultants.
The construction cost estimates to build these facilities at this time were:
• Fire Station - $16 million
• Police Station - $17.5 million
• Community Center and City Hall facilities - $21.5 million • Total - $55 million
Potential Site Locations
At previous meetings, the Council reviewed and had discussions with the community about potentials sites for new civic center facilities which included the existing civic center site; Locke- Paddon Park (listed as a potential site in the General Plan), vaca nt land owned by MST adjacent to the Marina/Salinas Transit Station, and the future Cypress Knolls area. There was no consensus from the public and the Council on where the appropriate site should be, so the Council decided at this point not to identify a specific site for the civic center buildings, since there were several potential sites identified that would work and possibly others that may be considered. Instead, the Council decided to delay this decision and have a more involved and robust communit y engagement process to identify specific sites for the civic center facilities that would happen later if the bond was approved.
A fire services Standards of Cover: Deployment Analysis study conducted by the consulting firm Emergency Services Consulting International identified the appropriate sites needed to build two fire station sites in Marina that would address and meet the response times needed for critical life- saving and fire services currently needed today, and would also be the appropriate sites for fire stations when Marina is built out in the future. The first fire station will serve as the new headquarters fire station which would house the new ladder truck which will be delivered later this year or early next year, fire administration staff, and would include an Emergency Operations Center and training facilities. This station will be built in the corner area of California Avenue and Imjin Parkway.
The station currently located on Palm Street will remain in use after the new headquarters fire station is built and will continue to service central Marina until a second fire station is built at the Vince DiMaggio Park area. This second fire station at Vince DiMaggio Park will be built after the first few hundred homes in the Marina Station development are built and funded in part by the Marina Station development. When the second fire station is built, the fire station at Palm Street will close permanently. The fire station at the airport which currently provides our second engine company will turn into a backup fir e station and will house reserve fire engines, apparatus, and equipment after the new headquarters station is built in the California Avenue and Imjin Parkway area.
2 Measure U
In August 2024, the City Council approved placing a $50 million-dollar General Obligation Bond on the ballot for the November 2024 election. This ballot measure would authorize the issuance and sale of General Obligation Bonds in the amount up to $50 million dollars to provide a new fire station, police station, and a community center with associated community rooms.
Measure U received an overwhelming majority support of 60%. However, it came short of meeting the supermajority threshold of 66 2/3 % required under State law for a General Obligation Bond.
The ballot measure results show that the citizens of Marina unders tood the critical needs for new public safety and community facilities and were willing to pay additional property taxes to fund these facilities.
At the December 17, 2024, City Council meeting following the November election, the Council discussed the results of Measure U. The Council gave direction for staff to look at other funding and financing alternatives and other strategies to build new facilities and bring back to Council for possible consideration of a new ballot measure.
ANALYSIS
Overview of City Finances
The City has recently adopted its two -year budget for fiscal years 2025 -26 and 2026 -27 with revenues of $38.5 million for fiscal year 2025 -26 and $39.7 million for fiscal year 2026 -27. The City has strong General Fund finances and reserves. The City contin ues to have property tax growth from the new homes being constructed, transient occupancy taxes (hotels), and modest sales tax growth. Average annual tax revenue increased by 2.8%, which represents over 80% of General Fund revenues. The City maintains stro ng emergency fund reserves of $7.7 million and $3.5 million reserves for vehicle and equipment replacement and a $5 million pension stabilization reserve.
The City has spent most of its unallocated General Fund balance toward infrastructure improvements for roads and sidewalks, parks and maintenance and repairs for city facilities. An interfund loan of $11.8 million from the General Fund to support and fund the aquatics and recreation centers will be repaid with FORA dissolution fund revenues in approximately eight years. Expected growth from property, transient occupancy, and sales tax especially from new automobile dealerships and new hotels, will help fund increasing maintenance costs, infrastructure costs, and new required staffing as the city continues to grow. While the city’s finances are solid, current and future unrestricted General Fund revenues are likely insufficient to fully fund large facility projects, especially giver other operational, maintenance, and public safety demands. New revenue sources must be developed to fund these critical facility needs.
Net Facility Funding Costs
EXHIBIT B shows the net funding amount needed for the various facilities, reflecting the estimated construction cost, less impact fees or other revenue sources. The estimated construction cost for city hall and council chambers is $16 million, less $12 million from impact fees and General Funds reserves for net additional funding amount needed of $4 million. Public Safety facilities have a total cost of $33 million, less $2 million in impact fees for a net additional funding amount of $31 million. Senior/youth/community facilities have an estimated construction cost of $12.4 million, less $3.4 million in impact fees and $1 million in State funding for a net additional funding amount needed of $8 million.
Possible Funding Strategies
The following are potential funding strategies that could be used individually or in combination:
• General Obligation Bonds
o Requires 66 2/3% voter approval
3 o Repaid via increased property tax by property owners, residential and commercial o Best suited for facilities with long-term community benefit • Certificates of Participation (COPS)/Lease Revenue Bonds o Lease-based financing does not require voter approval o Repaid from General Fund or other dedicated revenues annual appropriations o Provides flexibility but reduces ongoing budget capacity for on-going expenditures
• Utility User Tax (UUT)
o A tax imposed on the consumption of utility services such as electricity, natural gas, telecommunications, water, cable television, internet o Many California cities rely on a UUT to fund general services and capital projects o Voter approval (50% +1) required if established as a general tax o Could support the issuance of lease revenue bonds
o Reliable, ongoing revenue source that has a broad base • Grants and State/Federal Funding
o Highly competitive and have been unsuccessful so far
• Preston Park
o Depending on refinancing the existing $36 million dollar loan and reserves needed for long-term capital improvements, a portion of a saved amount of $13 million dollars to buy down the loan may be available
Utility User Tax as a New Revenue
Most cities in Monterey County have a utility user tax (UUT) and depend on it for funding city services. A 5% UUT would generate an estimated $2.1 million dollars in annual revenue. This additional revenue would provide an estimated bond capacity of $35 mi llion dollars. A 5% UUT would cost the average household approximately $14.60 monthly or about $175 annually. (EXHIBIT C).
Previously, the City of Marina had a UUT of up to 5% which sunsetted in 2004 and was not approved again by the voters.
In comparing Measure U to the UUT, Measure U would have cost the average homeowner in Marina (based on an average home assessed value of approximately $500,000) approximately $22.80 per month or $274 per year.
Timeline for Ballot Measure for November 2026 General Election If the Council is interested in placing another measure on the ballot for the November 2026 election, the following is a suggested timeline to follow.
October – December 2025
• Engage outreach firm for public engagement
• Engage survey research firm to gather public feedback • Survey research
• Outreach plan development
• Create a community advisory committee
January – June 2026
• Host workshops, engagement meetings, virtual forums
• Promotion of public participation in meetings
4 • City mailers
• Social media strategy and outreach
• Informational videos
• Open house events
• Press releases and budget transparency materials
• Initial and second tracking public survey
• Lauch dedicated webpage
• Site visits existing city facilities
• Potential future building site location identification June – July 2026
• Prepare final ballot language and legal language
• Adopt a ballot resolution to approve a ballot measure • Press release/story on ballot measure
• Coordinate and plan election calendar
August – November 2026
• Public information and facts
• Voter information support
• Measure Information page
• Measure FAQ management
• Educational video
Strategic Considerations, items for discussion and next steps • Public engagement plan – clear communication demonstrating need, costs, and benefits.
Conduct outreach to understand which projects are most valued, acceptable and engage the public in all steps.
• Prioritization or phasing – build highest priority facilities first, followed by others as funds allow.
• New revenue funding strategies…UUT and if so, what amount. General obligation bond again, and if so, what amount. Other considerations.
• Identify opportunities to co-locate facilities and services. • Build smaller facilities that are designed to expand later; focus on programming that meet highest demand and needs
• Other ideas
Potential Challenges & Risks
• Voter resistance to increased taxes or assessments
• Rising construction costs and inflation
• Site constraints
• Cost overruns
CONCLUSION
The City of Marina faces pressing facility needs that exceed current budget capacity. However, by combining multiple funding sources, prioritizing, and engaging the community, a realistic strategy to build or renovate needed facilities can move forward.
_____________________________
Layne P. Long
City Manager
City of Marina
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