1 week Ago By Annalise Freimarck
For avid Campbell skateboarders, a long overdue facelift of the city skate park is happening earlier than planned, along with greater security at the community center, thanks to some leftover federal cash in city coffers. The Campbell City Council unanimously voted last month to allocate about $535,000 — its remaining American Rescue Plan Act ( ARPA ) funds — for community projects. Its top priorities include $100,000 for skate park renovations and $200,000 for community center security cameras and gun detection systems.
The city must allocate the federal funds, which were dispensed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, before the end of December and spend them by December 2026. Rei Gonzalez, 31, said they’ve been using the skate park since 2010 and saw the city add a fresh coat of paint once. Gonzalez said it’s long overdue because they’ve seen kids take hard falls on the ramps, which aren’t level anymore.
The renovations were originally scheduled for 2026, but will now be moved up. “I think it’s fantastic,” Gonzalez told San José Spotlight. “This park definitely needs a facelift.
It’s definitely seen better days.” Natasha Bissell, recreation and community services director, said the installation of security cameras at the community center will make it safer. The police will have access to the live feed due to recent grant funding.
Bissell said the community center doesn’t have security cameras, and throughout the last year the Campbell Police Department received 298 calls for service at that location, according to police data. The community center at Campbell Avenue and Winchester Boulevard is an open campus with various entrances and exits. It’s home to multiple private schools, a banquet hall, recreational activities and the Heritage Theater.
Bissell said the cameras will give a sense of security for residents, students and parents and swimmers getting in a few laps after dark. “I think (this) gives our residents an assurance that they feel safe coming to our campus no matter the time or day or event that’s taking place,” Bissell told San José Spotlight. Related Stories The council didn’t approve all of the funding recommendations.
Councilmembers voted 3-2 to cut proposed funding in half — from $225,000 to $112,000 — for a pilot program that would have provided at least 50 homeless residents and residents at risk of homelessness up to 30 nights in a hotel for two years, citing a need for more information on the funding’s specifics before allocating a large sum of money. Vice Mayor Sergio Lopez and Councilmember Anne Bybee voted no. Instead the council wants to slim down the program to offer two-week stays at hotels for at least 50 people, including during inclement weather .
The program also needs to find a service provider. The proposal is expected to return to the council before the end of December. Lopez said he voted no not because he doesn’t support the services, but because he wants the city to go bigger.
The city is investing in a $100,000 homeless shelter feasibility study with ARPA money to explore options in a region with few resources for unhoused residents. “My no vote was just really to stand up for the need to take strong action on the housing crisis and the unhoused,” Lopez told San José Spotlight. Campbell faced a roughly $5 million deficit for fiscal year 2024-25 largely due to increasing costs outside of city control, according to officials.
The city managed to balance the budget using some of its ARPA funding. With the recent funding, some postponed projects like sidewalk maintenance and accessibility can now be completed. Campbell is set to see a new revenue stream that could help stabilize future deficits.
Measure K, which voters overwhelmingly passed by about 71.7%, adds an additional 1/2-cent sales tax . It will increase from 9.
375% to 9.875%, generating an estimated $7 million in revenue annually. City Manager Brian Loventhal said Campbell would have had to keep putting projects off without a financial boost.
He said the city has spent frugally over the past few years to avoid shortfalls. “We were trying to be really conservative and not spending this (funding) all at the beginning, knowing that we would need some rain day funds in the coming years,” he told San José Spotlight. “(That) proved to be, I think, wise.
” Contact Annalise Freimarck at [email protected] or follow @annalise_ellen on X, formerly known as Twitter..
