A project by Laura Melahn, Candidate for Menlo Park District 4 City Council
Streets and Sidewalks
Funded FY27–31

High Voltage Streetlight Conversion

Project CPS013 · Public Works

Cost & funding
Five-year planned cost
$2,000,000
Where the money comes from
  • Capital Project Funds$2,000,000
Specifically
  • General Capital Improvements Fund$2,000,000

    General Fund money that has been transferred over for capital projects. Once here, it is used for capital work — not General Fund operating expenses.

    What is this fund?

Source: FY 2026–27 CIP, Fund 501 appropriation.

Funding pathway
Restricted local revenueMechanism in place

Streetlight conversion. Largely complete; remaining gap is small ($85K). Funded through capital improvement fund with utility rebates.

What is General Capital Improvements Fund?
Category
Capital Improvement Plan
Department
Public Works
Spent FY 2023–25
$759,563
Estimated lifetime cost
$2,000,000
Budget labels for this project

Sources: City of Menlo Park OpenGov CIP detail, project code CPS013; resident-facing name shown here is “High Voltage Streetlight Conversion”.

$85K
Funding gap
Estimated lifetime cost $2,000,000
Estimated lifetime cost
$2,000,000
Secured (awarded, received, allocated)
$1,914,604
Committed, not yet executed
$0
Pending application
$0
Anticipated (not yet applied for)
$0
Funding gap (not yet covered)
$85,396
Show source

The lifetime cost estimate is $2,000,000, from 5-year CIP allocation + June 2025 construction contract for Phase 2 (June 24, 2025). Source: https://www.menlopark.gov/files/sharedassets/public/v/1/agendas-and-minutes/city-council/2025-meetings/20250624/e2-20250624-cc-high-voltage-streetlight-conversion-agree.pdf. The funding gap is the estimated lifetime cost minus all funding that has not been lost, added up from the funding sources listed below. Year-by-year figures come from the City's adopted five-year capital plan.

Who is paying

Funding sources

Each source carries its own status and citation. Expand a row to see the conditions, dates, and source document. “Ongoing” sources are recurring formula funds; sources still being pursued show no dollar amount.

General Capital Fund (Fund 501) base allocationAllocated
$1,710,000
City of Menlo Park (city) · construction

Conditions: Pre-existing program allocation.

General Fund unassigned balance appropriation (FY 2024-25)Allocated
$204,604
City of Menlo Park (city) · construction

Conditions: Additional appropriation authorized at June 24, 2025 Council meeting to close bid-vs-budget gap.

Awarded June 24, 2025
Source document
Spending

Spending by year

Past years are recorded actuals from the City's general ledger. FY 2026 is the adopted current-year budget. FY 2027 through FY 2031 is what the five-year Capital Improvement Plan proposes to spend.

FY 23$406,269
FY 24$113
FY 25$353,181
FY 28$2,000,000
Spent Current year (adopted) Planned
Where the money went, line by line
YearFundCategoryAmount
FY 23Capital Project FundsFixed Assets & Capital Outlay$360,628
FY 23Capital Project FundsServices$35,885
FY 23Capital Project FundsSalaries and Wages$6,464
FY 23Capital Project FundsFringe Benefits$3,293
FY 24Capital Project FundsSalaries and Wages$79
FY 24Capital Project FundsFringe Benefits$34
FY 25Capital Project FundsFixed Assets & Capital Outlay$307,281
FY 25Capital Project FundsServices$34,644
FY 25Capital Project FundsSalaries and Wages$8,257
FY 25Capital Project FundsFringe Benefits$2,656
FY 25Capital Project FundsOperating Expenses$342
Show source

Past years are summed from gl_transactions for this project. FY 2026 is the adopted current-year budget for the project. FY 2027 through FY 2031 is what the City's adopted five-year CIP proposes to spend, taken from cip_projects.

How decisions were made

Council actions

  1. authorize

    Council awarded $1,512,604 NACC Construction contract for High Voltage Streetlight Conversion Phase 2 + $204,604 appropriation

    Details

    Council awarded $1,512,604 construction contract (base + bid alternate A) to NACC Construction LLC and appropriated an additional $204,604 from the General Fund unassigned balance to close the bid-vs-budget gap. Approved 10% contingency ($152,000) held by the City. 4 bidders received; NACC was low bid. Phase 2 of 3 (West Menlo Park).

    Staff recommendation: Award NACC contract; appropriate $204,604