City of Marina considers a $50 million bond measure to upgrade its facilities.

For years the City of Marina has contemplated a bond measure to upgrade its aging facilities. This includes a new city hall, as well as police and fire stations. 

On July 23, Marina City Council reviewed four options that ranged from $20-$60 million. An estimated $16 million would go toward building a new fire station and providing faster response times. A new fire and police station and community center, plus renovation of the civic center on Hillcrest Avenue, is expected to cost more than $60 million. 

Marina’s City Hall is in double-wide trailers—it was supposed to be temporary, but nearly five decades later is still up and running. City Manager Layne Long has voiced that instead of upgrading old facilities, it would be more cost-effective to build new ones. 

After a lengthy discussion and public comments, the council voted 3-1, with Mayor Bruce Delgado opposing, to direct city staff to draft language for a $50 million bond measure for the November ballot. If approved, a median-income family would pay $272 annually. 

“I hope the public will support this,” Councilmember Kathy Biala said during the July meeting.

However, the measure faces several challenges. According to surveys conducted by the city’s consultant, only 51 percent of voters would be in favor. Currently, the measure needs 67 percent to pass (this, however, would change if statewide voters pass Prop. 5 in November, reducing the threshold from 67 to 55 percent for housing and infrastructure measures). 

“I think that most would agree it’s unrealistic. I wanted to try for something smaller, like a $20 million bond for a fire station,” Delgado says, noting many residents favored a fire station.

John Sanders, who has lived in the city for over four decades, says the city didn’t engage residents in the process nor was enough information provided, such as a breakdown of repairs needed in city hall or the fire department, to make an informed decision. 

Donna White, a retired Marina police commander and Carmel Valley resident, says the city should think about other alternatives. She says Marina’s greatest need is a new fire department and offers that Marina PD could take over the rest of the Hilcrest Avenue (currently fire and police share a facility) building if the city builds a new fire station. “It's about spending money wisely,” White says. 

Additionally, Marina residents are currently paying for two Monterey Peninsula Unified School District bond measures (P and I), and there will be another MPUSD bond for $340 million for facilities updates and staff housing on the November ballot. 

Two years ago, the council voted not to include a similar bond measure on the ballot and opted to postpone it to 2024. 

Councilmember Brian McCarthy says it is important to include the measure in the presidential election and let voters decide. “It would be negligent not to put it on the ballot at this point,” he says, noting the city has spent over two years working on this measure and many residents have shown interest. “They deserve an opportunity to weigh in at the ballot box.” 

The measure requires one more council vote of approval to make the Nov. 5 ballot, with a deadline of Aug. 9. Council is set to meet to vote on the $50 million measure at 5pm on Wednesday, Aug. 7 in the city hall they hope to soon replace.