Marina’s buildings are in bad shape. It will likely take a bond measure to change that.

The City of Marina needs a new city hall. It also needs a new fire station and ladder truck. And a new police station. But given that the cost to do all of that is an estimated $52 million, the City cannot afford to build them.

On Tuesday, Sept. 12, the Marina City Council was set to discuss a matter to address that: directing city staff in an effort to initiate a ballot measure – a bond paid for by Marina residents, essentially a tax of $29 per month for every household – that would pay for it. Central to the discussion was how to sell it to the public.

Locke Paddon Park, which is owned by the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District, was identified as an optimal civic center location in a city report. There was pushback from councilmebers who thought a more central location would be better, but City Manager Layne Long said that identifying a location wasn’t necessary for a ballot measure to secure funding.

The City has hired a consulting firm to research the feasibility of floating a bond measure to pay for it all, as well how to communicate it to the public. A ballot measure would require a two-thirds vote to pass.

Per a city report from 2022, the estimated cost to build a new city hall is $20 million. An adjacent police headquarters is estimated to cost $12 million and a new fire station in the north of the city near Vince Dimaggio Park is in the $10 million to $15 million range.

The aim is not for bells and whistles: Marina’s current city hall is built in portable buildings that were not intended to be used long-term, but that are over 45 years old and are not ADA-compliant.

The proposed new fire department in the north of the city is needed for adequate response times for the Marina Station development.

There was no vote taken on Sept. 12. Long told Mayor Bruce Delgado he had adequate direction from the council to proceed, after some councilmembers made cutting comments about the state of city facilities.