Santa Clara’s $400 million infrastructure bond looks to be passing, giving the city a much needed cash infusion to tackle infrastructure repairs.
As of 5 p.m. on Monday, Santa Clara’s Measure I had 69.1% approval, squeaking past the 66.7% needed to pass. The 30-year bond will levy $19 per $100,000 of assessed property value. Officials said this bond will fund some of the most critical needs, such as fire station repairs and updates. But the bond is still shy of the overall need, with an estimated $624 million infrastructure deficit.
One of the fire stations near Councilmember Karen Hardy’s home is so old that its newer model fire trucks don’t fit into the garage — and the driveway isn’t oriented toward the main road, which can delay dispatch times. She also said the firefighters’ living quarters aren’t properly built into the station.
“You don’t want to wait until your infrastructure fails before you do something. We can’t wait that long,” Hardy told San José Spotlight.
There are a litany of crucial projects the city has identified, from updating sewer lines to fixing the George F. Haines International Swim Center. The Santa Clara City Council in July voted 6-1, with Councilmember Kevin Park dissenting, to put the bond on the ballot and approved an overarching expenditure plan detailing how the money will be spent.
More than $142 million will go toward fire stations and emergency response services, with $27 million allocated toward replacing Fire Stations 5 and 7 each.
The bond’s expenditure plan also allocates $45 million toward city-owned pools, including the swim center, which has been closed since January due to safety concerns.
Expenses using bond money will be overseen by a nine-person oversight committee, selected through a lottery process. Santa Clara spokesperson Janine De la Vega said the city expects to start recruiting for the committee early next year.
“Once established, the primary function of the citizens oversight committee will be to ensure that bond proceeds are expended only for the purposes described in Measure I,” De la Vega told San José Spotlight.
Hardy said the city has to budget for infrastructure improvements and repairs going forward, so it won’t have to put another bond on the ballot in the future.
Councilmember Suds Jain said it’s possible the city might go out for another bond again, but that wouldn’t be for years, maybe decades. He added it took a lot of campaigning to get it passed.
To help push it through, Jain pointed to independent support from the Santa Clara Firefighters Union and South Bay Labor Council.
“I’m really glad that Santa Clara residents had the faith in the council and the city manager to pass this bond,” Jain told San José Spotlight.
Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at [email protected] or @SakuCannestra on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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