Attachment 3 - Public Comment Received from 1101 am August 12 to 1100 am August 16ATTACHMENT 3
From: Nariman Riahi
Sent: Thursday, August 12, 2021 10:19 PM
To: Council <Council@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Pinehurst Community garden
Hi LG council
Please allocate $50000 for the Pinehurst Community garden project. This project is going to help our
neighborhood and has support of many Los Gatos services organizations and Boy Scouts.
This project improves people’s lives, teaches people about value of creating and increased community
engagement.
Thanks
Nariman Riahi , Los Gatos resident since 1997. Blossom Hill Rd, Los Gatos, CA 95032
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From: Kevin Arroyo <communitygardenlg@gmail.com> Sent: Sunday, August 15, 2021 8:43 PM To: Marico Sayoc; Rob Rennie; Mary Badame; Matthew Hudes; Maria Ristow Subject: Community Garden Funding Request Hello Town Council,
At Tuesday’s Town Council Meeting, I’ll be requesting a $50,000 allocation to fund utility approvals, site
readiness, and design work for the Pinehurst Community Garden.
Phase 1 (3-6 months) will include:
- $5K Utility Approval Process ($2K PG&E & Valley Water fees, $3K for contingency including
architectural services for utility approval if required)
- $15K Site Water Installation ( $11K Construction Cost, $4K contingency)
Phase 2 will begin once Phase 1 is complete:
- $30K Architectural Services to create concept designs so the expected funding will be ready for the
Town Council to approve in May 2022.
These are the first steps required to move forward a project widely supported within the community.
Over 200 local residents have signed a petition supporting the idea, the Boy Scouts are interested in
using the garden for Eagle Scout projects, and the Lions Club has expressed interest in helping to run
and maintain the garden. Please let me know if there are any questions.
Thank you,
Kevin Arroyo & Heidi Owen
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From: Heidi Owens
Sent: Monday, August 16, 2021 8:33 AM
To: Marico Sayoc <MSayoc@losgatosca.gov>; Rob Rennie <RRennie@losgatosca.gov>; Matthew Hudes
<MHudes@losgatosca.gov>; Mary Badame <MBadame@losgatosca.gov>; Maria Ristow
<MRistow@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Public comment on Item 12: CIP budget, Community Garden Funding Request
Hello Honorable Council Members,
Please consider $50,000 allocation from the CIP budget for the community garden project.
We have been working with local tribes on honoring native people to this area, so the equity score
should have been higher in the rankings.
Also, vacant lots attract vagrants and we heard from Mei Ling, Program Manager for 46 community
gardens in the the City/County of San Francisco that a major benefit is security. Therefore, the security
score on the ranking should have been higher.
Finally, we have engagement with several service clubs for potential and actual fundraising, partnership
with Les on usage of his 501c3 for grant making, and initial engine that with the Boy Scout Eagles to do
fundraising and building. This project has ample community support and a groundswell of participation.
We really only need the approval of the Town to move the project forward. A contribution of $50,000
will indicate Town approval and help cover the costs of utility approvals. We need official approval from
you to move anything forward.
All my best to you,
Heidi Owens
Community Leader
From: Tina Murray
Sent: Monday, August 16, 2021 10:08 AM
To: Council <Council@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Support Pinehurst Community Garden
Hello. I am writing today to express my support for the addition of the Pinehurst Community Garden
(aka Union Community Garden) to the Capital Improvements Budget.
Community Gardens improve property values, increase physical security, build community, provide food
security, decrease greenhouse gas emissions, and beautify neighborhoods.
The organizers have support from the Boy Scouts who have expressed interest utilizing the garden for
Eagle Scout fundraising and leadership development projects.
All of the Los Gatos service organizations have been briefed on the garden and the support has been
resounding. The Lions Club has expressed interest in helping support and maintain garden operations.
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- They don’t need the full $500,000 to get started. They can begin the utility approval process with
Council approval and a smaller $50,000 allocation.
- The garden has massive community support and is one of the few projects on the list located in the
East side of Town, which also should have boosted its equity ranking on the score sheet.
- The CIP (Capital Improvements Project) ranking methodology didn’t take into account the increased
security provided by community gardens as demonstrated in multiple evidence-based surveys.
Please allocate $50,000 to begin the first steps for the Pinehurst Community Garden.
Many Thanks,
Tina Murray
Los Gatos Resident
Shannon Road
Los Gatos, CA 95032
From: Susan Carter Anderson
Sent: Monday, August 16, 2021 10:22 AM
To: Matt Morley
Subject: Blossom Hill crosswalk
Hi Matt,
I am a parent in the Blossom Hill community, live on Blossom Hill, and was on the Home and School Club
board for two years. I attended many of the meetings that you held and I am so thankful for the support
you put towards making our kids crosswalk safer. Now that school is back in session full-time I am
thinking we have more of a visible issue with safety at the Blossom Hill elementary crosswalk. I want to
build momentum so we can get this project on the road to reality.
I was wondering if you could tell me who specifically I might contact at City Hall to get an update on the
grant funding for the improvements? I left a message for the city treasurer, but never got a response. I
also don’t have a lot of time to try to attend committee meetings, I’m just hoping that we can find the
right person who can task someone with applying for grants.
Thank you for any guidance.
Best,
Susan Carter Anderson
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From: Phil Koen
Sent: Monday, August 16, 2021 10:14 AM
Subject: Agenda Item 12 and general plan 2040 comment
Hello Laurel,
I was reviewing agenda item #12 and had a few questions regarding the Staff memo. I was hoping you
could provide some additional insight regarding the following:
1. The Staff memo indicates that there is $41.2m in unfunded infrastructure projects, excluding the
ADA project. In the Measure G ordinance, the Town reported as of 2018 there was $70m in
unmet infrastructure needs. How should the residents be thinking of the $41.2m vs. the $70m?
Are they the same projects, or have the projects changed? Has the unfunded infrastructure
need decreased over the past 3 years? Can you provide any additional information regarding the
specific unfunded projects so there is total visibility to the infrastructure challenge as of today?
2. The list of FY 2021/2022 CIP unfunded projects includes $1.8m for Highway 17 BPOC, with a
notation that the amount is the local match fund. Is this the local match required under existing
grants for the design and engineering consulting phase of the bridge or an estimated local
match for the total cost of construction and design of the bridge? What is the current estimate
for the total cost of the BPOC (construction and design) and what is the best estimate regarding
the required local match in dollars and percentage?
3. The list also contains an estimate of $10m for downtown streetscape. Is this a new project or is
this an update of the existing project which was repurposed for Covid 19 relief? Has the Council
voted to proceed with the $10m funding? Is there a detail project design which explains the
$10m?
I have one last concern/comment that perhaps you could provide additional insight. Over the years you
have repeatedly and correctly stated that the Town does not have a reliable and consistent funding
source for infrastructure projects and the there is a massive amount of deferred capital investment
which must be made. I am guessing that as of today the deferred capital investment is still around
$70m, in today’s dollars. Has the Staff made an estimate of the capital investment required over the
next 20 years to 1) comply with new state or federal mandates and 2) support the 30% growth in
population as outlined in the draft General Plan 2040 regarding and 3) properly maintain/improve our
existing road network (including bridges), bike paths, trails, utility and sewer infrastructure and public
facilities such as police and fire facilities?
I am asking this since I have never seen a capital infrastructure investment plan which details the
magnitude of capital investment required to meet the Town’s needs over the next 20 years. Does such
an investment plan exist? How can the Town reasonably assume there will be funding for these critical
infrastructure projects given your long-standing warnings? If there is no reasonable assurance that
funding would be available for the required infrastructure investment, how does that play into the draft
general plan?
I am concerned that there is an obvious disconnect between the infrastructure needs embedded in the
draft general plan (new public facilities, widening of streets, more bike lanes, increased/improved utility
infrastructure) and the reasonable ability of the Town to fund capital projects on a timely basis. Since
one of the general plan objectives is to provide high quality municipal services while sustaining the
Town’s long term fiscal health, how are residents reasonably to know that this can realistically be
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achieved over the next 20 years given the current lack of infrastructure funding and your repeated
warnings regarding the systemic lack of future funding?
Thank you.
Phil Koen