City Council Meeting Comments - April 20, 2026
Item 4b - 350 Merrydale Interim Shelter Contract for Operational Services The contract amendment extends the FS Global contract through June 30, 2028, which will be fiscal year 2027-2028.
Has the City secured all of the funding for this contract through Fiscal Year 2027-2028? Please provide detailed and specific information on all of the secured sources of funding for this contract through June 30, 2028.
The City-County Grant Agreement budgets annual operational costs for the Interim Shelter at just over $2 million for Year 1 and this current staff report states the annual operations and staffing costs for Fiscal Year 2026-27 are budgeted at $1.56 million.
How has the City reduced operational costs for the Interim Shelter by approximately $0.5 million? Please provide the specific items and amounts of any cost reductions.
Furthermore, the City states that the operational costs will be funded through the remaining portion of the ERF-3 Grant. However, staff has previously provided information that the City has already spent or encumbered $2.6 million of the City's $3.6 million portion the ERF-3 grant, leaving $1 million of the grant remaining for the City to allocate. With operating costs for Year 1 at $1.5 to $2 million, the City will need another $0.5 to $1 million.
Where will this additional $0.5 to $1 million short fall come from and how much funding will the taxpayers of San Rafael and Marin County be providing for the operations of the Interim Shelter? Please provide detailed and specific information on the amount and sources of all funds to make up this short fall.
What other operating cost with there be for the Interim Shelter project? Please be specific and provide actual estimated/budgeted costs.
Ange Cultur
Thank you,
Gregory Andrew
4/20/2026
April 20, 2026
Good evening, Mayor, Council and staff.
Marianne Nannestad, San Rafael Meadows.
I am here to express my concern regarding the second amendment to the FS Global contract for the 350 Merrydale Road Interim Shelter. The current contract lacks specific language that protect the surrounding neighborhood from the unique challenges of a "Housing First" model.
the contract
Under this model, the tacility will house up to /u chronic homeless individuals without sobriety or drug-free requirement. While the contract mentions an Accountability and- - Response Framework aligned with Housing First principles does not explicitly define how staff will manage substance-use-related behaviors that spill into our streets. The community needs assurance that "low-barrier" does not mean "low-accountability" for the neighborhood's safety.
Specifically, I urge the Council to strengthen the contract in three areas:
1. Define Neighborhood Boundaries: The contract requires the operator to conduct neighborhood walks and monitor areas impacted by the program. However, it fails to define the exact geographical radius of this responsibility. Without a clear boundary, enforcement becomes subjective and ineffective. An earlier promise was made for 2,000 it radius.
2. Enforce Visitor and "Associate" Protocols: The contract tasks the operator with bag checks, entry screenings, and visitor approvals. While these protect the site internally, the document is silent on how the City and Program Operator will prevent unauthorized "associates" or drug dealers from loitering in the immediate vicinity of the facility and into the neighborhood.
3. Transparency and Consequences: The "Good Neighbor Policy" is referred to in a few places, one where it states, "as a guide" and another where FC Global "shall implement and monitor" the policy. I ask that the contract be clear and concise and that it prioritizes the safety and cleanliness of the entire neighborhood, and that such language be added in addition to referring to the good neighbor policy as a binding set of rules with measurable outcomes.
Thank you!
FOR THE PUBLIC RECORD - April 20, 2026 Agenda Item 4b.
Good evening, Mayor and Council. Wayne Rayburn, Rafael Meadows. I am here to highlight critical legal and fiscal errors in the FS Global contract for 350 Merrydale that suggests a hurried and poorly reviewed process on both sides. I am a General Contractor used to working with contracts and estimates and as the saying goes, the Devil is in the Details.
First, there is a fundamental legal conflict. The Resolution states the contract ends in 2028, but the actual Amendment document and the Clerk's official tracking box both list the expiration as 2027. (See page 13 of the Agenda item 4b staff report). This is a massive one-year gap in legal authorization.
Second, the Task 1 budget is mathematically broken. The contract sets a $900,000 limit, yet the subtasks provides for a total of $929,892. (Page 12).
Even worse, for Subtask 1.2, the legal text writes out 'Two Hundred Thousand Dollars' while the figure in parentheses is $229,892
Furthermore, this entire amount is labeled in the estimate as 'Equipment and tools' despite the quote and Scope of Work identifying it as installation labor.
Third, FS Global's own estimate labels this as a 2-Year Rental for $700,000, yet the Staff Report mentions a future $1 million purchase option. Is the City paying upfront $700,000 so that FS Global can buy them to rent back to the City and then later we would have to pay another 1 million to own them? It is confusing, it does not make economic sense.
TH, RD
Fourth, there are hidden costs and funding gaps. The contractor's quote includes $40,000 for cameras and ADA platforms (page 24) never mentioned in your resolution or narrative. It also warns that 'helical piles' are not included (page 23), if the site needs them, there is no identified money in the budget to cover it.
Finally, Task 2 is an operational impossibility. It is a 'time and materials' contract capped at $1.55 million. (Page 25) However, the staffing exhibit shows salaries alone consume 100% of that budget. This leaves zero dollars for materials, janitorial supplies, or maintenance.
I urge the Council to pull this item until these exhibits are corrected to protect the public's funds.
Wayn m. Ragh