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Residents press NCIP committee for library, Colton Hall preservation and public-safety projects as committee runs neighborhood rankings
Summary
During a long public-comment period, library advocates, historians, firefighters and neighborhood representatives urged the Monterey NCIP committee to prioritize library archival and accessibility upgrades, Colton Hall drainage and historic repairs, fire station renovations, and fuel-reduction programs; the committee then conducted neighborhood-by-neighborhood ranked voting via online forms, encountering technical problems during the roll call.
Monterey community members and organizational representatives pressed the Neighborhood Capital Improvement Program committee to prioritize funding for libraries, historic preservation, public-safety facility upgrades and forest fuel-reduction as staff presented 54 nominated projects for the coming NCIP cycle.
Multiple speakers urged the committee to support Monterey Public Library upgrades, including archival storage, generator backup and accessibility work. Shannon Connor, president of the Monterey Public Library Friends and Foundation, said the library needed upgrades to serve as a reliable community resource and emergency resilience center and asked the committee for support for the proposal’s accessibility and archival elements.
Historic-preservation advocates also asked the committee to fund drainage and repointing work at Colton Hall; Bob Evans, speaking for the Museums and Cultural Arts Commission and as a private citizen, described Colton Hall as critical historic infrastructure and urged prioritization of weatherproofing and drainage work.
Public-safety speakers emphasized station conditions and staffing impacts. Ross Pounds, president of the Monterey Firefighters Association, told the committee he represented firefighters who rely on stations as living and working spaces and voiced support for funding MN03 (analysis of alternatives for the public-safety building) and MN16 (additional funding for Fire Station 13 renovations). Assistant Chief Pat Moore requested funding for a study of alternatives for the public-safety building and interim improvements at the existing facility.
Speakers also urged action on public-safety railings and trail barriers at Hartnell Gulch and Lighthouse Curve, Wharf #2 repair matching funds, and two competing fuel-reduction proposals (one proponent requested $2 million, another sought $1 million for continuation). Many neighborhood representatives later said their priorities favored shovel-ready safety and infrastructure projects and recommended larger investments where funds would serve more residents.
After the public-comment period, the committee moved to neighborhood-by-neighborhood ranked voting using Microsoft Forms. Staff segmented the ballot to manage conflicts of interest and to allow recusal where required; members encountered connectivity issues, form-refresh problems, and occasional device incompatibility, which led staff to accept some verbal tallies while the forms were processed. Parker, the staff meeting host, guided members through the segmented ballots as staff collected votes.
Why it matters: The projects urged by residents — library upgrades, Colton Hall repairs, fire-station improvements, trail safety and fuel-reduction — reflect a mix of heritage preservation, emergency readiness and public-safety concerns that would affect many Monterey neighborhoods if funded. The committee’s ranked results will go to City Council for final appropriation.
Next step: Staff said it will post the complete voting tallies and project rankings after the meeting; the committee scheduled its next meeting for Jan. 14, 2026.
