SAN BRUNO CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING
May 27, 2025
Public Comment(s)
1 Lupita Huerta
From: Nicholas Rackard-Hilt >
Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2025 10:25 PM
To: Marty Medina; Rico Medina; Sandy Alvarez; Tom Hamilton; Michael Salazar; Lupita Huerta
Cc: San Bruno Merchants Association;
Subject: City Manager's Recommended Budget Public Comment Dear San Bruno City Council and City Manager Alex McIntyre, My name is Nick Rackard-Hilt, and I am a resident of San Bruno's District 4 writing to express concerns regarding current public investment decisions, including the proposed use of SBCF’s remaining funds for Fire Station No. 52, the City’s 5-Year Financial Plan, and the Downtown Beautification Project. I am also writing on behalf of San Bruno Healthy Homes, a community-driven project focused on environmental health, renter protections, and equitable investment in San Bruno neighborhoods.
I understand that public safety infrastructure is critical. However, the proposed fire station—while important—would be yet another multi-million-dollar investment in the west side of San Bruno, while District 4 and the east side continue to face chronic flooding, poor air quality, wildfire smoke exposure, and heat vulnerability without similar investment.
I’m especially concerned that the fire station project is already included in the 5-Year Financial Plan as if it’s a finalized decision, even though the City Council has not formally voted and the community has not been broadly engaged in that choice. If the fire station becomes the final legacy project for SBCF, then equity demands that the City’s budget also commit resources to east side neighborhoods, including:
Free or subsidized air filtration units for renters and frontline households Flood mitigation and stormwater infrastructure upgrades in District 4 Access to cooling centers and climate-adapted rental housing Multilingual, community-led emergency preparedness programming Additionally, I’d like to raise concerns about how we are using the $350,000 SBCF grant for downtown beautification. The current plan prioritizes irrigation, landscaping, banners, and a tree feasibility study. While those are helpful, they fall short of creating a downtown that serves the people who use it daily.
I strongly urge the City and SBCF to reallocate part of this budget toward meaningful, community- facing improvements such as:
Shaded public seating and social spaces
Local public art created by San Bruno artists and youth Actual tree planting to reduce heat and beautify the area A water bottle filling station
A multilingual community bulletin board for job postings, events, and neighborhood resources
2 All of these are feasible within the current budget and would create a more inclusive, functional, and people-centered downtown experience. Beautification should reflect the needs and voices of all residents—not just aesthetic upgrades, but investments in equity, belonging, and health.
Thank you for your time and leadership.
Sincerely,
Nick
Nicholas Rackard-Hilt
San Bruno Healthy Homes
1 Lupita Huerta
From: Nicholas Rackard-Hilt >
Sent: Monday, May 26, 2025 8:50 PM
To: Rico Medina; Marty Medina; Tom Hamilton; Michael Salazar; Sandy Alvarez; City Manager
Cc: Lupita Huerta
Subject: Public Comment – May 27, 2025 Re: Proposed Transfer of San Bruno Community Foundation Funds
Good evening Mayor, Councilmembers, and staff,
My name is Nick Rackard Hilt, and I am a San Bruno resident od District 4 emailing this evening to express serious concern about the recommendation to transfer nearly all remaining funds from the San Bruno Community Foundation to the City to fund the construction of a new fire station.
This decision would permanently eliminate the Foundation and bring an end to programs that have supported our community for more than a decade. These include scholarships for students, grants for local nonprofits, youth development, community wellness, and support for residents at risk of housing instability.
I want to raise several concerns.
First, this decision is moving forward without meaningful public engagement. While community surveys were conducted in 2015, 2020, 2021, and 2023, those surveys never identified building a new fire station as a top priority. Residents consistently called f
or investments in education, youth, recreation, and direct assistance to families. The Foundation has done a good job honoring those priorities. Reversing course without new community outreach is a disservice to the public.
Second, the scope of this proposal has changed without explanation. The public was previously told this would be an upgrade to the existing station. What is now being proposed is a full rebuild at a new location. That is a major shift, and residents deserve transparency about when and how that change was made.
Third, no cost estimate has been released to the public. We do not know the full price tag, and there is no clear plan for where the rest of the money will come from beyond the Foundation’s contribution. This makes it impossible for the public to understand tradeoffs or evaluate what might be lost in the process.
Fourth, this decision would eliminate one of the only flexible, community-guided sources of local investment. At a time when state and federal budgets are cutting support for education, nonprofit programs, and public health, we cannot afford to lose a fund that helps our city respond to community needs as they evolve.
This is not just a question about a building. It is a decision about whether we listen to residents and plan for a future that reflects the values of fairness, opportunity, and care.
2 I respectfully urge the Council to pause this process, reject the transfer as it stands, and create a transparent and inclusive path forward.
Thank you for your time.
-Nick
Nicholas Rackard-Hilt
San Bruno Healthy Homes
1 Lupita Huerta
From: Matt Jones
Sent: Monday, May 26, 2025 9:08 PM
To: Marty Medina; Rico Medina; Sandy Alvarez; Michael Salazar; Tom Hamilton Cc: City Manager; City Clerk; [email protected]
Subject: Public comment for Item 7
Hello all,
I am sending a reply to this prior email to SBCF and applying it as a public comment for Council's Item 7 for tomorrow night.
My comments generally still stand from my last email. Unfortunately in their last meeting, the SBCF voted to advance the fire station concept to Council against the wishes of San Bruno residents. SBCF received around a dozen written comments with 90% opposed to a fire station concept and residents noted the lack of public engagement around this decision. Additionally, over a dozen people came to the meeting and called in to express disappointment with the Foundtsion's impending decision. These people included students who received scholarships and nonprofit members that received grants and also included planning commissioners, parents, and members of the San Bruno Education Foundation.
Despite this opposition, SBCF ignore the community's concerns and voted to put the money towards a fire station.
I have looked through your budget. I completely understand that the city is in a tough financial position and this money would mean a lot towards your "Triple Flip" plan but this is not what the community wanted the money to be used for.
My number one ongoing concern with City management is generally focused on process. The City is already embarking on a citywide evaluation of public facilities, so it does not make sense why the city would accept funds for a very specific purpose when it might not be the most prudent decision, especially since the city doesn't even own the land where you are thinking of putting the station.
Furthermore, City management needs to build in more community engagement into decisionmaking, especially when both the
City and SBCF are making a major pivot from their original course of direction (1 legacy project + programs and scholarships).
Please choose the path that involves thoughtful decisionmaking and prioritizes democracy. We need more of that in this world right now.
Best,
Matt
On Wed, May 7, 2025, 7:46 PM Matt Jones > wrote:
Dear SBCF staff, Board Members and City Council and City Manager,
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on an important topic - the future of the San Bruno Community Foundation.
2 I fully support the language and direction of the Change.org Petition linked here which at the time of this email has 60 signatures.
I am a longtime San Bruno resident and I am currently working as a Director of a local nonprofit. These past few months have been plagued with uncertainty, chaos and fear with the change in federal government's policies. Nonprofits are increasingly turning to foundations for financial stability right now, so foundations like SBCF have become a lifeline for nonprofits that serve the San Bruno community.
What I will add to many others' comments around Measure Q is the urgency and need to retain your existing programming - the college scholarship program and community grants cycle - that is backed by substantial community input and support. The cost of making the shift from your programs to a large capital investment would cripple the community and local nonprofits at a time when we need you most.
Programs help supplement the work of city government and I believe the City of San Bruno is best to lead on assessing its own infrastructure needs and leading this process while seeking funds on its own through other means. The organizations you have historically funded involve many underserved segments of the population, including students, the poor, unhoused, and immigrant populations. These are populations that are very much part of San Bruno and are under attack by policies from the federal government. The cost far outweighs the benefit of making such a big change at this time and would cause tremendous harm and instability.
Please do the right thing. Vote "No" on the proposed resolution and re-engage the community, students, and local nonprofits to ensure that our voices are considered in your decisionmaking about the future of the foundation.
Thank you for your consideration.
Matt Jones
District 3 resident
1 Lupita Huerta
From: Save SBCF
Sent: Monday, May 26, 2025 9:12 PM
To: City Manager; Rico Medina; Marty Medina; Sandy Alvarez; Tom Hamilton; Michael Salazar; [email protected]; City Clerk
Subject: Public Comment – Vote NO on Dissolving the SBCF Good evening.
We are Save SBCF, a collecƟve of concerned San Bruno residents urging you to vote NO on the proposal to dissolve the San Bruno Community FoundaƟon to fund the construcƟon of a fire staƟon.
The FoundaƟon was established as a legacy to the people of San Bruno, born from tragedy and intended to serve generaƟons to come. Its purpose is to invest in our community’s long term growth, equity, and resilience… not to fill short term funding gaps. While we deeply value and support our fire department, completely dissolving the FoundaƟon to fund a single project would erase a vital resource that has upliŌed numerous lives in San Bruno.
AƩached to this message is a parƟal list of scholarship and grant recipients whose lives have been directly impacted by SBCF. These are our neighbors, our students, our nonprofits… real people that represent the heart of our city.
We also encourage you to watch nearly an hour of hearƞelt public comments, both in person and virtual, shared by concerned residents at a recent SBCF meeƟng on May 7th. This video reflects the depth of community opposiƟon and the overwhelming call to preserve the FoundaƟon: hƩps://youtu.be/38sBr1ej9HQ?si=unmsWFoOKbOYdCoc
In addiƟon, please review this peƟƟon signed by over a hundred of San Bruno residents urging you to protect this vital community asset: hƩps://chng.it/9y6GPk4hhx
The decision to dissolve SBCF would not only ignore the will of the community. It would dismantle a proven vehicle for community empowerment and trust. We ask: What message does this send to the next generaƟon about how we invest in them?
We urge you to stand with your residents. Protect the legacy. Vote NO on dissolving the San Bruno Community FoundaƟon.
Thank you,
Save SBCF
1 Lupita Huerta
From: Nicole Hanhan
Sent: Tuesday, May 27, 2025 7:57 AM
To: City Clerk; Michael Salazar; Tom Hamilton; Marty Medina; Rico Medina; City Manager; Sandy Alvarez
Subject: Public Comment 5/27 - Opposing the Dissolution of the SBCF Dear San Bruno City Council Members,
Though I cannot be there in person tonight due to travel, I’m writing today because I care deeply about this issue and the future of our community.
I urge you: please do not approve the San Bruno Community Foundation’s recommendation to dissolve the foundation in order to fund a single fire station.
What is community to you? Because to me, and to so many others, community means investing in people, opportunities, and a shared future. That is what the Community Foundation has done for years, and that legacy should be protected, not dismantled.
We adore and support our firefighters. But this does not need to be an either- or decision. True leadership
means protecting vital services without stripping away what has uplifted our students, families, and countless residents across San Bruno.
The outpouring of community voices, especially from scholarship recipients who showed up to the Foundation meeting, was powerful. And yet, they were largely dismissed. That is heartbreaking. It signals a disregard for those most impacted by this decision. These funds were meant for the community, not to be redirected at the discretion of a few individuals with no direct stake in the consequences.
Please do not follow the path of short-term solutions at the cost of long-term investment. Use your leadership to find a way forward that honors both our public safety and our community’s growth.
Our message is clear: Preserve the Foundation. Protect its purpose. And continue investing in what makes San Bruno stronger…. its people.
Sincerely,
Nicole Hanhan
1 Lupita Huerta
From: Claudia Quinn >
Sent: Tuesday, May 27, 2025 9:48 AM
To: City Clerk
Subject: Tonight’s Council meeting
Please add this to tonight’s meeting, thank you!
We are requesting that you vote NO on approving the San Bruno Community Foundation’s proposal to spend down remaining funds and build a new fire station.
Where are the public listening sessions to hear your constituents’ needs and desires for this money?
Why has everything been done so privately? By such a small group? Please state publicly why you support this plan. As voters we supported measure Q which stated the funds would go for fire station upgrades.
Why are we now allocating a lot of money for a new station? What happened to the funds from City Net, You Tube, Walmart and Artichoke Joes?
Perhaps a fire station is the correct move but we need you to hear arguments for a new library, improved sports facilities and other projects that would benefit all of San Bruno.
Why are you not listening to us?
(We will never support another bond measure ).
Thank you - Respectfully submitted.
Sean and Claudia Quinn
San Bruno residents 26 years
Sent from my iPhone