FROM: Councilmember Cohen
Vice Mayor Foley
Councilmember Kamei
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND
CITY COUNCIL
SUBJECT: SEE BELOW
DATE: June 10, 2025
Approved:
Date: 6/6/2025
COUNCIL AGENDA: 6/10/2025
FILE: 25-648
ITEM: 3.8
SUBJECT: Mayor's June Budget Message for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Reallocate General Fund Resources:
a. Direct staff to redirect $90,000 in one-time funds proposed to be allocated to eucalyptus tree removal at Alum Rock Park in order to continue drop-in programs at the Alviso and Berryessa Youth Centers during the RFQ process that is underway to find providers to continue the programs.
2. Pursue Alternative Funding for Tree Mitigation:
a. Direct the Capital Parks Team to explore and identify alternative funding sources to support eucalyptus tree mitigation efforts at Alum Rock Park. Potential sources include partnerships with local service organizations, state and forestry and fire service grants, Proposition 4 funding and other applicable environmental stewardship programs.
3. Utilize District 4 Capital Funds if Needed
a. If a funding shortfall remains after external funding efforts, utilize District 4 Park Trust Fund and C&C Fund to ensure eucalyptus tree removal can proceed in Alum Rock Park.
BACKGROUND
In the face of a constrained citywide budget, it is more important than ever to make thoughtful, strategic decisions that protect both community services and environmental assets. Two longstanding youth programs at the Alviso and Berryessa Community Centers have served as safe, active, and engaging outlets for local young people for years. Up to a hundred teenagers per week drop in to play basketball. These programs are more than just recreational, they foster mentorship, provide structure, and contribute to the social and emotional well-being of the youth in our communities.
At the same time, we acknowledge the vital importance of maintaining Alum Rock Park, one of San José’s most treasured open spaces. Eucalyptus tree mitigation is an important environmental and public safety priority, particularly as we continue to face increased wildfire risk. This budget year presents difficult choices. In response, we are recommending a series of actions that seek to preserve both community and environmental priorities.
This proposed course of action reflects a commitment to problem-solving and creativity in a difficult fiscal year. It underscores the importance of both youth engagement and environmental preservation, and it charts a path that maintains momentum on both fronts without sacrificing one for the other. We hope this approach sets a precedent for how we can adapt and innovate in response to financial pressures while keeping our communities and parks strong.
The signers of this memorandum have not had, and will not have, any private conversation with any other member of the City Council, or that member’s staff, concerning any action discussed in the memorandum, and that each signer’s staff members have not had, and have been instructed not to have, any such conversation with any other member of the City Council or that member's staff.
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
June 10, 2025
Subject: Mayor’s June Budget Message for Fiscal Year 2025-2026