NCIP committee accepts revised schedule and hears roughly $1.48 million in additional funding requests for eight projects

The Neighborhood and Community Improvement Program committee on June 10 accepted a revised meeting and project calendar and heard staff presentations on eight projects seeking approximately $1.48 million in additional funding.

Staff said the city council is scheduled to act on a budget matter on June 16 that would reallocate $3.5 million; if approved, about $2.5 million would remain for NCIP project recommendations. As of April 21 and the figures presented at the meeting, staff reported roughly $689,398 available in contingency funds for the program.

Why it matters: Several of the projects are large or complex (fire-station rehabilitation, roadway and lighting work) and committee members pressed staff on scope changes, permitting and whether elements such as aging stairs could be scoped separately to control cost and schedule.

Project summaries and funding requests Staff presented eight projects for which additional funds were requested (staff did not ask the committee to vote on funding at the meeting): the Harrison Street (Veterans Drive) walkway/path improvements (construction estimate cited at about $480,000); Kasanova Oak Park improvements (an additional $20,000 for a food prep table and umbrella to finish the park amenities); a Fairgrounds Road/Airport Road solar street-lighting project (staff cited an additional request of about $432,000 to install 21 solar lights); Bruce Areas Way wired lighting upgrade (additional $71,000); Moonris Avenue and Via Arbolus curb-ramp work (additional $76,000 to add the opposite-side ramp); Fire Station 12 rehabilitation (staff discussed substantial added costs for temporary housing and site work during renovation and cited multiple figures in the presentation; see clarity note below); ball-field lighting (staff said a roughly $50,000 overrun tied to deteriorated electrical panels and wiring); and a Delmani Beach walkway cable replacement that ran $2,840.89 over budget and was paid with maintenance overtime.

Public comment and committee concerns Resident Suzanne Grimes urged prioritizing the Harrison Street stairs, saying the neighborhood has waited more than a decade for repairs: “we've been waiting over 10 years to get those stairs fixed,” she told the committee. Resident Chelsea Lenovka, representing Kasanova Oak, asked whether an upcoming partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of Monterey County (to be presented to city council) might help cover some park costs.

Committee members repeatedly asked whether elements of the Harrison Street work could be separated (for example, a narrower ‘‘stairs-only’’ fix versus a full ADA sidewalk upgrade) to reduce scope and cost. Staff said it would return with a stair-only cost estimate and clarified that bringing the existing path fully to sidewalk/ADA standards could multiply costs substantially.

Budget process and next steps Committee members discussed phasing large projects (design first, construction later), the effect of inflation on long-running projects and the need for clearer, consolidated budget information from finance staff to make informed allocation decisions. Staff said they would return with refined proposals, including a stairs-only cost option, and the committee set a tentative next meeting for July 29, 2026. The city council’s June 16 budget action will determine how much funding the committee can recommend for FY27 projects.

Quotes “I will say it's my fault,” said Reggie, the city staff presenter, acknowledging an omission in the original project budget estimates related to relocation costs for Fire Station 12. "I never considered that we would have to relocate the fire department and I did not consider a budget to relocate the fire department."

“We've been waiting over 10 years to get those stairs fixed,” said resident Suzanne Grimes during public comment.

Context and limitations The presentation contained one point of numeric ambiguity: staff cited multiple figures for the Fire Station 12 project during the discussion (an earlier approved amount stated in the slide, a requested larger sum in design, and a separate smaller figure described as relocation funds). The transcript presents those numbers inconsistently; the committee asked staff to clarify and provide exact, line-item estimates at the next meeting. Where transcript figures were unclear, this article notes that staff will provide clarified figures rather than inventing them.

What’s next Staff will return with narrower cost estimates (including the stairs-only option) and documentation that ties original project submittals to the current scope. The committee’s guidance to city council and council’s June 16 budget action will determine available funds for FY27 NCIP projects.