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Fairgrounds Road lighting request fails after residents and committee question $432,000 cost increase
Summary
The committee declined to approve a requested $432,000 increase for the Fairgrounds/Airport Road lighting project after committee members and neighbors questioned the rising cost and whether the city should fund a project submitted by the fairgrounds.
Committee members voted down a request for an additional $432,000 to complete the Fairgrounds Road/Airport Road street-lighting project, which staff said ballooned because new steel poles are required and utility lines/equipment prevent using existing poles.
Chelsea Linovska, speaking for neighborhood interests, said she and other association members do not see the ballooning cost as justified: "many feel that the ballooning costs do not make it worth the initial submittal," she said, noting the Monterey County Fairgrounds originally submitted the project and is a state entity which may have other funding avenues. Several committee members echoed concerns about the project consuming a large share of available NCIP funds (one member said it represented roughly 63% of the fund balance).
A motion to fund the project was made and seconded but failed on a roll-call vote. The committee later approved a motion to bring items that did not pass back to a future meeting for a formal defunding discussion so staff and the public can be notified and the committee can consider formally closing or re-prioritizing them.
