Report Prepared by: Stephanie Dietz, Assistant City Manager
Title
SUBJECT: Update to the City Council on the Public Survey Results for the Proposed Public Facilities Bond Measure and Charter Amendment
REPORT IN BRIEF
City Staff will provide an update to the City Council on the results of a recent public option survey conducted to test the viability of a Public Facilities Bond Measure and a Charter Amendment on the March 2020 ballot.
RECOMMENDATION
Provide staff direction on next steps for pursuing items to be placed on the March Public Facilities financing options and a Charter Amendment.
Body
ALTERNATIVES
None.
AUTHORITY
City of Merced Charter, Section 200
CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES
FY 2019/20 City Council Priorities
DISCUSSION
On August 21, 2017, staff provided the Council with an update on the current condition of all City-owned facilities and presented options for construction financing. During this meeting, direction was provided to staff to take the initial step of conducting an opinion survey to determine if the community would support a ballot initiative that would directly fund the construction of a new Police Headquarters Station, two new Fire Stations, an expansion of the Corporation Yard, and the remodeling of ten existing bathrooms within City of Merced parks.
At the Council's direction, staff worked quickly to secure professional services to develop and conduct a public opinion survey. The survey was conducted between October 24th and October 29th and the results were posted on the City's website on December 7, 2017. Based on the findings of the survey, it was recommended to continue education and outreach efforts with a goal of performing a second survey in the Spring 2018.
On January 2, 2018, the Council approved an amendment to the Professional Services Agreement with the Lew Edwards Group to develop ballot language and put together an aggressive outreach strategy to educate the community about the need for enhanced public facil...
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