The council heard a public presentation and comments on a proposed 99-year ground lease that would allow Sienna Francis House Inc. to apply for an EPA brownfield grant to remediate contaminated property adjacent to its existing campus.

David Levy, representing Sienna Francis, told the council that the city’s conveyance by long-term lease is needed because the EPA brownfield application requires legal ownership or control; the lease would be sufficient for Sienna Francis to apply for and, if successful, undertake an environmental cleanup. Levy estimated cleanup costs at about $3,000,000 and said Sienna Francis would apply for the EPA grant at least twice as required under the lease. If the EPA grant is obtained and remediation completed, Sienna Francis would take fee title; if the grant is not successful after the required application attempts, the lease could be terminated and the city would keep ownership.

Supporters from the community and organizational representatives said the transfer could enable beneficial reuse of the land. Opponents raised concerns about property upkeep and safety related to existing clientele; Luis Jimenez said he supported Sienna Francis’s mission but questioned current maintenance of the property and asked the organization to do better in the surrounding area.

Council members asked clarifying questions about timing. Levy said the grant application is due in January and that remediation could begin as early as next fall if the application and grant process proceed perfectly; otherwise the grant cycle is annual and would delay remediation. The council record in the transcript does not include a roll-call vote on the lease during the excerpted discussion (no recorded vote in the provided segments).