Dear Town Council,
With respect to our mid-year budget presentation and associated issues, I am hoping the following can be addressed in your meeting on February 11, 2026. ● Regarding the Inclusion In-Lieu Fund for Affordable Housing, on 9/10/25, the Council approved paying a $1,350,000 Affordable Housing Grant and $70,026.26 in Town Planning fees payments to Jim and Patty White for the Willow Commons project. I could not find a record of this in the mid-year budget. What is the accounting process for those payments?
● Regarding the Valley Oak Trail Bridges repair survey for $70,973, please explain why “the survey will be funded through the General Fund CIP fund and not through an insurance reimbursement as previously adopted.” Are we still eligible for insurance reimbursement?
● Regarding the changes to the line item by departments for Miscellaneous Consultants, can we receive more clarity on these adjustments, as this net total is $143,000 more than budgeted?
a. Town Manager (120) - Adopted $70,000 now revised to $103,000 b. Town Clerk (130) - Adopted $30,000 now revised to $10,000 c. Finance (140) - Adopted $20,000 now revised to $80,000 d. Planning Division (310) - Adopted $125,000 now revised to $95,000 e. Building Division (320) - Adopted $115,000 now revised to $215,000 I would also like to share my personal opinion regarding the funding for the Town Center Courts Resurfacing and the Ford Field Restroom Feasibility study. Both the Court Resurfacing and the Ford Restroom & Concessions project are important Town initiatives that benefit many members of the public. I strongly recommend we move forward with both projects, and that the Town not rely solely on fundraising for either of these efforts. In my opinion, it is not fair to our community members if the Town does not “put some skin in the game.”
In an ideal world, the Town would have previously built these projects into its long-term plan, along with budgeting for them. But we are in a unique situation, and as a cash-strapped community, we are going to have to rely on private donations. The challenge is how to ensure both projects keep moving forward.
As the Town Council made a commitment of $30,000 for the court resurfacing with Park in-lieu funds, this commitment should be honored, and I believe my fellow Parks & Rec Committee members agree.
I may veer from my fellow Committee members with respect to funding the incremental $5,000 for the Courts Resurfacing project, as I feel that we could rely on fundraising. Our thriving Pickleball Community has come to the rescue several times for much-needed nets and equipment when the Town did not have sufficient funds for this capital expense. This $35,000 project would then have 86% funded from Town funds and 14% from donations.
Although we have obtained significant “pledges” for the construction of the Ford Restrooms & Concessions project, it is unclear if any of the donors are willing to donate to the feasibility study, as the project may not come to fruition. The Town should absolutely bear some of this cost. Can we answer the following questions before moving forward? ● Will the Town be receiving any more funds into the Park in-lieu fund in the 25/26 fiscal year, i.e., from the Priory or Stanford Wedge projects? If so, can we apply those anticipated funds towards the Ford project?
● In the 24/25 fiscal year, we saw an increase in revenue to “Parking Lot and Field Rentals,” from a budget of $60,000 to actual revenue of $103,927. In the Finance Committee meeting on 1/27/26, Tony McFarlane confirmed that was primarily due to the Ford parking lot rental income from Rossotti’s Alpine Inn. Given this revenue increase of $43,927 was directly related to Ford Field, can we apply or reallocate some of the same revenue from 25/26 (now budgeted for $125,000 in total revenue) to the Ford project? ● When will the negotiations for both the Rossotti’s parking lease and Ford parking lot fees be concluded, and will any of this hit the 25/26 revenue line? We have been underpaid for many years, and it’s time to get this moving! A portion of this revenue should be allocated to the Ford project.
If the Town can’t find extra funding from the ideas listed above, I would like to see the Town use the rest of the Park in-lieu fund (approximately $17,000). In addition, Parks & Rec saved money on the Town Picnic and Zott’s to Tots, and we are approximately $6,000 under budget. Let’s put $6,000 toward the Ford project as well. That would put the Town commitment at $23,000 and rely on the community to raise approximately $17,000 to close this gap, equating to 58% funded by the Town and 42% funded by private donations. I am confident we can find donors quickly for that $17,000, but fundraising for more money may take longer that we can afford.
I hope all of my reasoning makes sense, and that we can find an equitable distribution between Town coffers and our generous community to fund both these much-needed projects.
Thanks for “listening” and for all you do for our Community. You are appreciated! Karen Askey