The Watsonville City Council on Sept. 8 unanimously approved a five-year plan for spending roughly $2.8 million in Measure Q funds, but rejected a proposal to spend $40,000 on another study of water quality problems at Pinto Lake.
Instead, council members directed the money toward the ongoing City Plaza Revitalization Project, increasing the city’s Measure Q contribution to that project to about $803,000.
Measure Q, approved by Santa Cruz County voters in November 2024, levies an $87 annual parcel tax expected to generate about $7.3 million annually for water protection, wildfire prevention, habitat preservation, parks and other environmental projects. A portion of the revenue is distributed directly to the county’s four incorporated cities.
Watsonville received $447,312 last fiscal year and expects another $457,000 this year. Over five years, the city expects to receive about $2.82 million.
A major portion of the money will pay for two full-time park maintenance workers and additional seasonal workers, primarily to maintain Ramsay Park when the renovated facility reopens. The five-year plan allocates slightly more than $1 million for park maintenance staffing.
Deputy City Manager and Parks Director Nick Calubaquib said two park positions had been eliminated several years ago as the city worked to balance revenues and expenditures. With Ramsay Park reopening, he said the additional workers are needed.
The council had identified park maintenance staffing as its top priority for new positions during a May budget workshop.
Councilman Jimmy Dutra said he supported restoring the positions.
“This is a nice start to get two extra people,” he said.
The council spent considerably more time debating the proposed $40,000 contribution toward a county-led Pinto Lake water quality study.
Calubaquib said the roughly $180,000 study would develop both short- and long-term approaches to addressing bacteria problems at the lake. The city’s contribution would have joined about $90,000 in Measure Q grant funding and $40,000 from the county.
But several council members questioned whether another study was the best use of the money when funding to carry out a cleanup has not been secured.
“We’ve studied this lake to death,” Dutra said.
Councilwoman Ari Parker agreed, questioning the value of spending additional money without funding available to implement a solution.
“If we don’t have the money to fix it, why are we studying it right now?” she said.
City Manager Tamara Vides cautioned that Watsonville shares responsibility for the lake and would eventually need to participate in efforts to address its water quality.
After the discussion, the council shifted the $40,000 to the Plaza project.
The city also received a separate $275,000 competitive Measure Q grant for the Plaza, bringing Measure Q funding for the project to more than $1 million. City officials say the money will help pay for the second phase of the renovation.
Future Measure Q revenue is also expected to help fund improvements at River Park and the city-owned 70 Airport Boulevard property, as well as an eventual update of Watsonville’s Parks and Recreation Master Plan.
