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REPORT <br />To the Honorable Mayor and City Council <br />From the City Manager <br /> <br />March 14, 2016 <br /> <br />SUBJECT <br />Agreement to Share Master Planning Expenses with the County of San Mateo for <br />Middlefield Junction <br /> <br />RECOMMENDATION <br />By motion, approve and authorize the City Manager to execute an Agreement between <br />the City of Redwood City and the San Mateo County Department of Housing to share <br />master planning expenses for Middlefield Junction, which could offer a community <br />center, library, human services agency, health center, affordable housing, and park <br />space <br /> <br /> BACKGROUND <br />The Fair Oaks Community Center (“Fair Oaks”) is an aging facility that provides a <br />number of services such as information and referral programs, housing, food, <br />employment, legal, and other service support. Additionally, it houses the Fair Oaks <br />Adult Activity Center, serves as the local neighborhood community center for a variety <br />of activities programs, and is part of the County’s Core Service Agency Network. <br />For 40 years, the County and the City have partnered extensively on the development, <br />sharing, and operational support of the Center. Additionally, the Fair Oaks Library is <br />housed within the County-owned Human Services Agency (HSA) building immediately <br />adjacent to the Fair Oaks Community Center. The Fair Oaks Library serves a <br />significant number of community members of all ages, especially providing critical <br />literacy services and youth programming for the North Fair Oaks neighborhood. This <br />branch library is extremely small for the population served, and even though there is a <br />short term expansion project about to take place, a larger facility would be necessary to <br />meet all of the community’s needs for library and literacy services for all ages. <br />Staff saw an opportunity to work together to create a Master Plan for this site and <br />envisioned a new joint use community center and library. The City Council allocated <br />$100,000 in the Fiscal Year 2015-2016 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) towards <br />this effort. Late last summer, the County approached the City about the possibility of <br />developing a Master Plan for not only the current sites where the County Human <br />Services Agency (2500 Middlefield Road), Fair Oaks Library (2510 Middlefield Road) <br />and Fair Oaks Community Center (2600 Middlefield Road) are located, but also the <br />non-contiguous, site nearby that includes a large, vacant County-owned parcel at 2700 <br />Middlefield Road and the new Fair Oaks Health Center at 2710 Middlefield. <br />ANALYSIS <br />Collectively these parcels are being referred to as Middlefield Junction for planning <br />purposes. In addition to the current uses of Community Center, Library, Human <br />6.1.E. - Page 1