Exhibit CC 05-17-2016 Item No. 12 Open Space Area Agreement between the City and the Cupertino Union School District - Six Month Extension1
Lauren Sapudar
From:Carrie Oleary
Sent:Tuesday, May 17, 2016 1:40 PM
To:City Council
Cc:City Clerk; Cupertino City Manager's Office
Subject:Cupertino Union School District Maintenance and Water Costs - May 17, 2016 Council Meeting
Agenda Item 12
Members of the City Council of Cupertino,
Please include my letter as part of the public record for the agenda for the May 17, 2016 meeting, item 12, "Open Space Area Agreement
between the City and the School District - Six Month Extension".
While it appears the May 17, 2016 City Council decision for agenda item 12 involves a temporary extension of an existing agreement between
the City of Cupertino and the Cupertino Union School District (CUSD) with little to no changes to the original amended agreement, the decision
is a predecessor step for a planned future agreement that will have the CUSD paying the City $200,000 per year to offset maintenance costs
and the full water cost for the maintenance of recreational fields at 11 CUSD school sites. School sites included in the agreement are available
for use during non-school hours by City residents and others for recreational purposes, essentially extending the availability of valued and scarce
park land in Cupertino by "borrowing" CUSD land for community use during weekday afternoons, weekends, and school breaks.
When the time comes to consider the staff proposal described in the staff report dated May 17, 2016, entitled "Open Space Area Agreement
between the City and the Cupertino Union School District – Six Month Extension" that would charge CUSD the full water cost associated with
maintaining those 11 recreational fields ($200,000), I urge the City Council to waive the water fee provision recommended by staff in an
important goodwill commitment to the community and local school district.
Consider that the City will benefit from increased tax revenue when the Apple II Campus comes online in ~2017, whereas CUSD and the
Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD) will receive little to no benefit from this major employment campus, as most of it is located inside
the Santa Clara Unified School District boundary.
The community values and and benefits from the shared use agreement of the recreational fields at the 11 school sites (nine current and two
proposed). Likely the City is in a better position than the "revenue limit" funded CUSD to cover the water cost for the shared recreation fields
located on CUSD school sites.
Thank you,
Carrie O'Leary