City of Monterey facing a critical infrastructure problem

MONTEREY, Calif. (KION) — The City of Monterey is facing a critical infrastructure crisis.

This year, the city reports that there are zero general fund dollars available for infrastructure maintenance, impacting the condition of city buildings, forcing local leaders to search for alternative funding strategies.

"We don't have, this year, any general funds to invest in some of our facilities," Andrea Renny said.

While street repairs continue under Measure S, the lack of general fund money means nothing is available for fixing or upgrading city-owned buildings, many of which are decades old.

"We've invested in new facilities. I think the City of Monterey was probably in a different place where if we did have a failure, we would have the funding to fix it. In addition to the conference center and sports center, we also have 97 facilities as a whole," Renny said.

Among the biggest needs is the city’s public safety building.

"All of these projects that we're looking at that are future projects, such as the public safety facility building that facility is from 1959," Renny said.

For now, much of the focus remains on keeping the roads in good condition thanks to the help of Measures P and S.

"We've done a lot of work. So a lot of the work that still needs to be done is some of the more expensive work, which is our concrete streets. You can tell around town that we've also done a lot of Americans with Disabilities Act improvements to our curb ramps and some of our signals," Renny said.

Public Works says it's critical to maintain roads before they deteriorate, something residents are seeing firsthand.

"The way that roads just deteriorate I think it's always going to be an issue. Once one road gets repaved, another road's gonna need to be repaved. So it's an ongoing issue just over time," Nicole Johnson said.

But the future of those road projects is uncertain. Measure S is set to expire in March 2027, and without renewal, Monterey may fall behind once again.

"When Measure S runs out, if it doesn't get renewed, then we do run a risk of getting to the same point where we were before. In order to keep the streets with a pavement condition index of 75 or better, which is a better condition for our streets, we need to invest about 5 to 6 million dollars a year in our streets," Renny said.

Even with repairs underway, some areas still need more attention. Franklin Street, a busy route used by many locals, is one example.

Nicole Johnson said, "The road itself really seems to have a lot of issues. Kind of in rough shape. I know the drainage isn't great on that street as well."

Monterey’s Finance Director is expected to present new funding strategies to the City Council Tuesday night.