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Trustees sketch CIP priorities: housing, community center, facilities, connectivity and emergency preparedness
Summary
After the finance primer, trustees and Town Administrator Patty Garcia discussed capital-improvement priorities — affordable housing, a community center anchored by connectivity, public works and town facilities, economic development and emergency preparedness — and asked staff to turn those priorities into feasible CIP candidates for FY2027–FY2028.
Town Administrator Patty Garcia presented staff priorities and said the draft emergency preparedness plan will be presented to the board; she also reported on Prop 123 reporting requirements and said the town met early targets for housing units (stated with a caveat).
Trustees spent the bulk of the discussion identifying and ranking capital-improvement priorities. Several trustees urged using existing infrastructure projects—retention ponds, utility and roadway projects—to create connective amenities such as trails and parks that can support affordable housing and strengthen grant applications. One trustee framed the approach as maximizing what the town already has: “We don't necessarily need to spend more dollars, but we could maximize what we're already doing.”
Trustees debated whether a community center should be the priority anchor project or whether investments in connectivity, parks and trails should come first to create demand for a center. Several trustees also emphasized operational needs: inadequate public works facilities, storage and meeting space, and aging garages that limit staff efficiency. A trustee noted the need to keep the library’s growth and programming in the planning conversation.
Other recurring themes included economic development as a revenue driver (franchise agreements, development agreements and potential DDAs), the need for updated development code to support attainable housing and consideration of annexation options to support growth. Garcia and staff committed to assembling the trustees’ priorities, feeding them into the CIP and returning proposals (including feasibility and potential funding strategies) at upcoming meetings; staff also noted work on a five-year revenue projection to inform those recommendations.
Next steps: staff will consolidate the board’s priorities, circulate drafts and report back with more detailed cost, timing and funding options for discussion during the FY2027 budget process.
