Community Project Funding Requests for FY 2023

Congresswoman Jackie Speier has the opportunity to submit requests to the Appropriations Committee for Community Project Funding that can improve the lives of families in our district, advance infrastructure needs, create jobs, and support the economy.

The following requests were chosen through a competitive application and vetting process to ensure compliance with Appropriations Committee guidelines, community support, benefit to constituents, and valuable use of taxpayer funds. Please note that a request by Congresswoman Speier to the Committee does not guarantee that the project will be funded. Further, Members are required to certify that neither they nor their immediate family have a financial interest in the requests made.

Fencing for Caltrain Right of Way

• Request Amount: $800,000
• Intended Recipient: Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 1250 San Carlos Ave, San Carlos, CA 94070-1306
• Financial Disclosure Letter
• Request Explanation: In a typical year, 10 individuals die by suicide on the Caltrain tracks. This project would implement fencing improvements identified by experts that would prevent access to the railroad tracks and thereby prevent deaths by suicide. Installation of winglets makes it more difficult for individuals to enter the tracks, keeping them out of harm’s way.

New Library for East Palo Alto

• Request Amount: $1,500,000
• Intended Recipient: City of East Palo Alto
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 2415 University Avenue, East Palo Alto, CA 94303
• Financial Disclosure Letter
• Request Explanation: The current library provides critical services, but suffers from high noise levels, inadequate shelving and seating, insufficient space for many competing needs, and non-ADA compliance in certain areas. The new public library would significantly increase equitable access to the many critical services offered at the facility, including a collection of 39,650 volumes, school and summer learning programs, access to healthy meals, access to technology, English learning and adult literacy programs, and community services for all ages. The new site would provide access to larger collections, a study area, a community resource center with meeting spaces and small classrooms, a children’s area with new books and storytelling areas, and would ensure the library continues to offer vital resources to this important community.

Renovate Library in San Mateo

• Request Amount: $1,500,000
• Intended Recipient: City of San Mateo
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient:  330 West 20th Ave., San Mateo, CA 94403
• Financial Disclosure Letter
• Request Explanation: Serving a largely working-class community, the branch is very closely located to LEAD Elementary School, Parkside Elementary School, and Bayside Middle School, and serves these students and their families. Students from all three of these schools would be able to make visits to the library as part of field trips, to work on class projects, or as a place to study and socialize. The library serves as a critical resource to students, adults, and older Americans in the area, and the retrofitting work would ensure that the branch remains open and provides equitable access to this vital community amenity.

New Library in South San Francisco

• Request Amount: $1,500,000
• Intended Recipient: City of South San Francisco
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient:  1010 El Camino Real, South San Francisco, CA 94080
• Financial Disclosure Letter
• Request Explanation: The project would replace existing dilapidated facilities, which do not meet necessary ADA and seismic code requirements. This building would support key library and parks and recreation programs for all, including health and wellness, science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM), learning, critical life-skills, socialization and enrichment for no cost or very low cost to nearby low-income communities of color.

Electronic Health Record Implementation for San Mateo County Medical Center

• Request Amount: $2,000,000
• Intended Recipient: San Mateo County Health
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient:  400 County Center, Redwood City, CA 94063-1662
• Financial Disclosure Letter
• Request Explanation: The project would implement a modern electronic health record system for several thousand care providers and approximately 100,000 low-income and publicly insured residents to replace antiquated information systems, which are no longer supported after 2024. SMCH serves county residents through a broad array of medical, behavioral health, correctional health, public health, family health, and aging and adult services, all of which would be included in the project. The new system would provide an integrated view of all client information and enable providers and staff across services to collaborate effectively to provide more equitable, optimal care outcomes for every patient.

New Childcare Center for Daly City

• Request Amount: $800,000
• Intended Recipient: City of Daly City
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient:  333 90th Street, Daly City, CA
• Financial Disclosure Letter
• Request Explanation: The project would include development of a 4,000 square foot early learning and childcare center for 30 low-income infants and toddlers in Daly City. The proposed center would be comprised of four classrooms, meeting spaces, staff rooms and an outdoor play area. This center would address a tremendous shortage in early learning and childcare facilities in San Mateo County and offer significant economic relief to low-income families who are experiencing pressure from rising housing costs.

Highway 1/Frenchman’s Creek Intersection and Bike/Pedestrian Improvements

• Request Amount: $2,000,000
• Intended Recipient: City of Half Moon Bay
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient:  501 Main St, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
• Financial Disclosure Letter
• Request Explanation: The project would allow for a set of roadway, signalization, and pedestrian features and upgrades designed to increase safety and improve traffic flow along Highway 1. It would also provide improved response times for emergency vehicles and median landscaping for enhanced aesthetics.

Flood Control Project in San Bruno

• Request Amount: $2,400,000
• Intended Recipient: City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient:  555 County Center, Redwood City, CA 94063.
• Financial Disclosure Letter
• Request Explanation: The project would advance construction of a subsurface stormwater retention system to alleviate flooding along 7th Avenue and reuse captured water for irrigation and water supply augmentation, advancing a regional collaborative approach to sustainable stormwater management.

Raise the Foster City Levee

• Request Amount: $1,000,000
• Intended Recipient: City of Foster City
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient:  610 Foster City Boulevard, Foster City, CA 94404
• Financial Disclosure Letter
• Request Explanation: Raising the levee would maintain FEMA accreditation of the levee and protect Foster City homes, schools, businesses, and essential city services and infrastructure during storms and high tides, and from future sea level rise. The improved levee would be more resistant to earthquake damage and would prevent FEMA designation of the city as a flood zone, thus avoiding requirements for homeowners to purchase expensive, permanent flood insurance.

Midpeninsula Open Space District Wildland Fire Resiliency Project

• Request Amount: $750,000
• Intended Recipient: Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient:  330 Distel Circle, Los Altos, CA 94022
• Financial Disclosure Letter
• Request Explanation: There is a growing need for proactive wildland fire management due to California’s longer and more intense fire season. The project would expand capacity to address dense regrowth of historically logged forests, more than a century of fire suppression, an increase in home construction adjacent to or within wildland areas, and a changing climate with increasingly extreme weather patterns and expanded droughts. It would also prevent damage to sensitive habitats and natural resources.

Filoli Wildfire Prevention

• Request Amount: $400,000
• Intended Recipient: Filoli Center within the managed lands of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient:  86 Cañada Road, Woodside, CA 94062
• Financial Disclosure Letter
• Request Explanation: The project would reduce fire risk in a “very high” fire risk zone in one of the most at-risk counties in the state for climate impacts. It would improve air and water quality, land erosion, and flood and water management.

Cities of Belmont and San Bruno Wildfire Prevention

• Request Amount: $500,000
• Intended Recipient: City of Belmont
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient:  1 Twin Pines Lane, Belmont, CA
• Financial Disclosure Letter
• Request Explanation: The project would provide immediate protection through targeted fuels reduction and medium- to long-term protection through ongoing maintenance of treated areas and community participation, education, and outreach.

San Mateo County History Museum Carriage House

• Request Amount: $850,000
• Intended Recipient: San Mateo County Historical Association
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 2200 Broadway, Redwood City, CA 94036
• Financial Disclosure Letter
• Request Explanation: The project would provide a place for permanent display of historic horse-drawn vehicles and a changing exhibit gallery to show automobiles and other vehicles, enhancing the experience for residents, school children, and tourists, increasing annual attendance from 45,000 to 90,000, and drawing customers for downtown business

Burlingame Town Square

• Request Amount: $750,000
• Intended Recipient: City of Burlingame
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 501 Primrose Road, Burlingame, CA 94010
• Financial Disclosure Letter
• Request Explanation: The project would create active open space that would enhance the quality of life of residents and draw visitors with positive impacts on the local and regional economy.

Douglas Avenue Pump Station

• Request Amount: $1,200,000
• Intended Recipient: City of Redwood City
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, CA 94063.
• Financial Disclosure Letter
• Request Explanation: The project would upgrade station control components to provide improved remote monitoring and control capabilities. Much of the stormwater conveyance system was installed decades ago, and new investment in this critical infrastructure is necessary for continued operational reliability. The new pump station would be rebuilt to withstand a 100-year storm event. The station serves one of the most disadvantaged communities in Redwood City, and this investment would protect more vulnerable residents from the consequences of a station failure such as localized flooding, safety concerns, and property damage.