Despite several unknowns, the city of Los Altos may go before the voters as soon as November to fund a new police station.
Los Altos City Council members last week approved up to $200,000 to prepare a ballot measure. They passed a resolution at their March 8 meeting that would employ a municipal adviser, a ballot measure consultant and a polling company to give the city the best shot at passing the measure. The city would need to complete the process by July 12 to qualify for the ballot.
The council voted 4-0 in favor of the resolution, with Councilmember Lynette Lee Eng abstaining.
The move comes amid repeated calls to replace the current aging police station in the civic center. First opened in 1968, the station has numerous maintenance problems, has been cited as too small and is prone to flooding in the basement, where 911 communications equipment is located.
Councilmember Jonathan Weinberg, who with Vice Mayor Sally Meadows comprised a council subcommittee researching the police station effort, said action needed to move forward “yesterday” on the ballot initiative with the specter of rising interest rates and increased construction costs on the horizon.
“I don’t think there is any dispute that the police station is in desperate need of replacement,” he said. “We’re rapidly getting to the point where the building itself is a danger.”
Specifics remain unclear
The particulars remain fuzzy. Not discussed was the proposed size, cost or location of the new station. The lack of any architectural rendering precluded city pursuit of a property-tax measure this year. That left a general tax option for 2022 – likely a utility user tax – which would require a simple majority vote to pass. A special tax would need two-thirds voter approval. Pushing the measure to 2023 would limit the council’s options to a special tax only.
Last week’s resolution allows the city to hire expert help to determine the best path forward, including whether pursuing a 2022 election is a viable alternative.
Weinberg said the $200,000 allocation, from the city’s general fund, will not be “lost” if there is no police station initiative this year.
“This is money that will be used to build a foundation of whatever type of measure that the council decides to move forward with,” he said.
John Kim of Stifel financial advisers said consultants would address questions such as poll questions asked, the amount of money requested and the mechanism used to collect taxes. While acknowledging that having more time would be beneficial, he noted the “urgency” of pursuing an initiative this year, based on feedback from the council and the public.
The council moved forward, even as some residents implored focus solely on the police station, citing a previous bond measure for the civic center that lost handily in 2015. A general tax allows the council to include more items, such as fire station or library needs.
“Avoid mission creep,” urged Pat Marriott, a resident who supports a new station. “Do not add a library, city hall upgrades or any other building maintenance to this plan or you will surely doom it.”
According to a preliminary city timeline, next steps include developing the polling survey, public outreach, collecting polling results and analyzing those results before considering a resolution to place a measure on the ballot by July 12 for the November election. The ballot submission deadline is Aug. 12. If the police station measure passes in November, construction could begin as early as summer 2023.
