Aliso Viejo staff reports $7 million in pending grant requests, modest cost savings in quarterly goals update

City Manager Mitsy presented the city council with a quarterly status update on the strategic plan adopted earlier in the year, saying staff has submitted roughly $7,000,000 in grant applications and has identified near-term cost-saving measures.

"We do have some grant applications, submitted and pending that total approximately $7,000,000," Mitsy said, listing a $4,400,000 street rehabilitation project, a $2,400,000 arterial slurry seal and bike-lane improvement project, and a $78,000 PLHA allocation among the pending requests. She also told the council the city is pursuing a cybersecurity grant that could award up to $200,000 and a HCD Regional Early Action Planning grant for about $150,000 to support housing element code amendments and consultant services.

Mitsy described six priorities tied to the three primary goals: fiscal stability, capital asset maintenance, and developing Aliso Viejo Ranch as a community asset. She said staff created a grant database, engaged a no-cost consultant review arrangement for grant opportunities, and issued an RFP to update the master fee schedule and explore development impact fees.

On cost savings, staff reported measures taken so far that reduced spending and lowered anticipated operating costs. "Cost savings to date total about $140,000," Mitsy said, citing purchases of lower-cost budget software, in-house handling of consulting tasks, reductions in unused phone services, renegotiated software licensing, and competitive procurement for surveillance and equipment replacement. Later in the presentation staff also cited additional savings tied to Ranch advertising and staffing adjustments that increased the total cited savings to about $148,000 when grouped with other items.

The report highlighted asset- and maintenance-related work: Public Works identified two underused vehicles for disposal and IT presented a plan for server and camera replacement integrated into the budget process. On Aliso Viejo Ranch, staff said they reduced annual recreation brochure advertising costs by about $24,000 and froze one full-time recreation specialist position, replacing some duties with part-time staffing to save roughly $98,000 annually. Staff also described a sponsorship program that has yielded approximately $11,000 in sponsorships or in-kind services.

Councilmembers asked for more detail about the master fee schedule RFP, how park use would be measured to support any development-impact fees, and the cadence of future status updates. Council member Dwyer requested that park supply-and-demand be studied as part of the fee evaluation so usage data can inform any proposed impact fees; Mitsy said staff would check existing AFCA quarterly reporting and bring back details. Several members expressed support for an annual strategic planning rhythm with quarterly updates and asked staff to return with a clearer schedule and measurable metrics.

Mitsy closed by listing next steps: review of master fee schedule proposals, evaluation of Aliso Viejo Ranch fees for improved cost recovery, and continued pursuit of the grants described.

The council did not take a formal action on the report; the item proceeded as an informational update with questions and direction to staff on follow-up analysis.