To: HONORABLE MAYOR AND                                    From:   Sara L. Hensley

CITY COUNCIL

 

   Subject:   See Below                                                 Date:   12-09-03

 

Council District:  7

SNI Area:  Tully-Senter

 

SUBJECT:  Murray-Hayden Urban Parks and Youth Service Program Grant Application relative to Tully-Senter School Hub Project

 

 

REASON FOR ADDENDUM

 

Applications for this one-time competitive grant program must be postmarked on or before December 15, 2003.  Each application submitted to the Murray-Hayden Urban Parks and Youth Service Program must contain a resolution from the City Council authorizing its submittal. 

 

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

Adoption of a resolution authorizing the City Manager to submit a grant application to the Murray-Hayden Urban Parks and Youth Service Program in the amount of $2.5 million for the Tully-Senter School Hub Project, to accept the grant if awarded, and execute all related documents.

 

 

BACKGROUND

 

The number one priority of the Tully-Senter Strong Neighborhood Initiative Area is to construct a community facility that will provide space for multiple service providers at Fair Junior High School or Santee Elementary School.  Community workshops identified a range of services and programs that are important unmet needs in the Tully-Senter area.  These include after school programs, day care, teen centers, gang mediation, immigrant services, employment training and a senior centers. 

 

The community concluded that a creative concept was necessary to solve the problem because the potential to obtain the necessary funding for building or acquiring new facilities to house these services seemed difficult to attain.  The community devised a new service delivery concept they call “school hubs,” which provides for the co-location of recreation, social and community service facilities on school grounds as the basis for fund development strategy.

 

 

ANALYSIS

 

Council District 7 is the most park and recreation facility deficient district in the City.  It has the least amount of City-developed neighborhood/community serving parklands.  The Tully-Senter Neighborhood Advisory Council has made the development of a community joint -facility incorporating after-school programs, day care, a teen center, gang-mediation center and a senior center as its top priority.  The facility was envisioned to be located on a school campus as school campuses already function as important focal point or “hub” for community services.  Such a center is estimated to cost up to $8 million to construct. 

 

The Murray-Hayden Urban Parks and Youth Service Grant Program is a one-time $47 million program under Proposition 40 – the 2002 State Resources Bond.  This is a competitive grant program and funds are awarded to projects statewide based upon the criteria set out in the program.  Applications can be received by the State from heavily urbanized counties, heavily urbanized cities, regional park districts, recreation and park districts, and non-profit organizations within heavily urbanized cities and counties.  This competitive grant program is distinct from the Proposition 40 discretionary grant programs that provide funding to the City on a per-capita basis.

 

This program can fund acquisition and development, development and rehabilitation of parks, park facilities, environmental enhancement projects, youth centers, or environmental youth service centers that are within immediate proximity of a neighborhood that has critical lack of park or open space lands or deteriorated park facilities that are in an area of significant poverty and unemployment and has a shortage of youth services.  Based in part on census information and by studies completed by San Jose State University, Department of Urban Planning, the Tully-Senter School Hub Project was selected because it is believed to optimize all project award criteria established within the program. 

 

The proposed grant is necessary to offset a portion of the estimated $8.0 million in costs associated with the constructing of a 20,000-square-foot center envisioned by the Tully-Senter Neighborhood Advisory Council.  The Fair Middle School site is a logical location for such a facility.  

 

Currently $500,000 is budgeted in the San Jose Redevelopment Agency budget for the project.  An additional $600,000 proposed for the project is contained in the project listing for the recently authorized Redevelopment Agency bond issue.  An application for $2.5 million in Community Development Block Grant Funds has been submitted for consideration.  The Franklin-McKinley School District is preparing an application for $1.5 in State school joint-use facilities grant funding and the Franklin-McKinley School Foundation is seeking additional funding from private grant sources.  An additional $2.5 million in funding from the Murray-Hayden Urban Parks and Youth Service Grant Program would fill the gap in the current funding strategy necessary to construct the facility.

 

This project was selected as the subject for the application because it uniquely responds to several key award criteria including:

·        Critical lack of park and open space land in the immediate service area (10 points)

·        Immediate proximity to and access by dense urban populations  (10 points total)

·        Community collaboration that indicates project concepts, ideas and input that were identified and are supported by the residents in the neighborhood service area (20 points total)

·        Organizational expertise, experience, or capabilities that demonstrate ability to successfully complete similar projects and the readiness of the project as demonstrated by the level of organizational commitment and project development completed at the time of the application (15 points total)

·        Project benefit related activities that will enhance the social, cultural, and natural conditions of various residents (25 points total)

 

 

PUBLIC OUTREACH

 

As the development of the Tully-Senter SNI Plan, many community workshops were held.  This Plan identified a range of services and programs that are important unmet needs in the Tully-Senter area and that the development of such a center is the community’s number one priority.  The SNI process included approximately 450 participants.  The SJSU needs assessment reached 187 potential users, and 46 local service providers.  The Outreach included a large community meeting (translation offered in Spanish and Vietnamese), focus groups with youth and seniors, and in-person surveys with parents and low-income seniors at a housing complex.

 

 

COORDINATION

 

This memorandum has been coordinated with the City Attorney’s Office and the San Jose Redevelopment Agency.

 

COST IMPLICATIONS

 

It is estimated that such a center could cost $6 to $8 million to construct.  The City will be requesting $2.5 million, the maximum amount allowed under the program for the Center. 

 

 

CEQA

 

Exempt, File No. PP03-12-370. 

 

 

SARA L. HENsLEY

Director of Parks, Recreation

and Neighborhood Services