From: Tom DuBois
To: Clerk, City; Council, City
Cc: Alamos, Lupita; Lai, Lauren; Tong, Sunny; Ramberg, David; Bill Blodgett; Deborah Grant Subject: La Comida License to use 455 Bryant Street, Consent Item #10 Date: Friday, October 17, 2025 3:14:53 PM
Attachments: Council Letter La Comida 10172025 (1).pdf
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links.
i
Council,
Thank you for your support of La Comida. Please see my letter attached below.
Best,
Tom
This message needs your attention
This is a personal email address.
This is their first mail to some recipients.
Mark Safe Report
Powered by Mimecast
SUBJECT: La Comida License to use 455 Bryant Street, Consent Item #10 of October 20th, 2025 Council
Meeting
Council Members, First, as a Board member of La Comida, I want to say THANK YOU for supporting La Comida and getting
us
to
this
stage.
This
agreement
between
La
Comida
and
the
City
of
Palo
Alto,
will
help
us
continue
to
achieve
our
goals
of
enhancing
the
physical
and
mental
well-being
of
Palo
Alto
seniors
by
providing
nutritious
lunches
and
reducing
social
isolation.
By
providing
certainty
in
terms
of
a
long
term
license
to
use
city-owned
space,
you
are
a
true
partner.
Thank
you
again,
this
is
truly
a
momentous
occasion
for
La
Comida
and
the
residents
we
serve.
I also want to thank city staff, who have worked with us to ready the license agreement before you tonight.
Specifically
Lauren
Lai,
Sunny
Tong,
Lupita
Alamos,
and
David
Ramberg.
These
four
met
with
me
throughout
the
last
year
to
agree
to
the
terms
of
this
license
and
were
always
positive
and
professional.
I
also
want
to
thank
Cooley
who
provided
pro-bono
legal
advice
for
the
entire
period
of
time.
Finally, I want to thank the First Methodist Church (FUMC), which has continued to rent space to La Comida
to
serve
the
Palo
Alto
downtown
area.
La
Comida
first
submitted
a
term
sheet
for
the
use
of
455
Bryant
in
October
of
2023,
two
years
ago.
FUMC
continued
to
rent
to
us
throughout
this
extended
period
while
the
use
of
the
building
and
its
refurbishment
was
being
determined.
Without
their
flexibility,
we
would
have
experienced
a
real
crisis.
To supplement your staff report, I wanted to point out some of the key provisions from La Comida’s perspective.
● Purpose : The agreement grants La Comida de California the nonexclusive right to use approximately
1,602
rentable
square
feet
on
the
first
floor
of
the
building.
Our
license
gives
us
exclusive
use
from
10AM
-
2 PM,
M-F.
● Term : The term of the license begins on the first day of the month after renovations are complete
and
lasts
for
10 years,
with
a
5 year
extension.
Our
hope
is
for
a
successful
partnership
that
will
continue
beyond
those
15 years.
● Use : Because many of our volunteers are elderly themselves, the City has agreed operationally
to
restore
the
tables
and
chairs
in
the
configuration
La
Comida
uses
to
minimize
setup
at
10AM.
● Continued Construction: La Comida aims to move in as soon as the downstairs is habitable.
However,
because
the
City’s
community
center
work
on
the
second
floor
and
common
areas
will
not
be
complete,
we
will
have
to
operate
through
some
future
disruption
when
that
City
construction
occurs.
We
are
hopeful
the
disruption
will
be
minimal
and
meal
service
will
not
need
to
halt
during
that
time.
● Contribution to Improvements : The CIty was required to make some ADA improvements and general
repairs
to
the
building
and
asked
La
Comida
to
contribute
to
these
repairs.
This
was
probably
one
of
the
biggest
sticking
points,
as
we
are
not
leasing
the
space
(because
we
have non-exclusive use, this is a Licensee). We ultimately agreed to pay $50,000 towards the work
being
done,
in
the
future.
La
Comida
intends
to
raise
money
through
a
capital
campaign
to
pay
for
this.
Because
most
of
our
funding
comes
from
the
County
and
is
tied
to
meals
served,
we
will
need
to
get
creative
to
cover
these
costs.
● Operating Expenses : While the License is $1/month, we are also paying for utilities, janitorial,
maintenance,
and
other
operating
costs,
with
the
price
increasing
every
two
years,
and
paying
for
our
own
trash
service.
.
● Reporting: Both parties agreed to align reporting requirements with existing requirements already
in
place
with
the
County
and
City
as
part
of
La
Comida’s
funding
requirements,
saving
La
Comida
from
additional
administrative
overhead.
Council, thanks again for your support. I urge you to pass this item. La Comida will continue to focus
on
providing
over
200
nutritious
lunches
daily,
249
days
a
year.
We
look
forward
to
moving
into
our
new
home,
and
invite
you
all
to
come
see
us
in
operation,
once
we
are
up
and
running.
Best,
Tom DuBois, former Mayor and Council Member