June Board Meeting Summary
The Board of Directors of the San Bruno Community Foundation held its regular monthly meeting on June 5, 2024, at the San Bruno Senior Center. In addition to honoring the 2024 Crestmoor Scholars, the Board handled a number of other agenda items, including:
Report on the San Bruno Recreation and Aquatic Center Project and Creation of the Ad Hoc Committee on Recreation and Aquatic Center Startup Activities: Representing the City of San Bruno, Community Services Director Travis Karlen reported to the Board on recent progress on the Recreation and Aquatic Center Project (RAC), which SBCF is supporting with up to $51.5 million in grant funding, and plans to open the facility this summer. With construction nearing completion, he noted that the City is expected to receive the Temporary Certificate of Occupancy by the end of June, followed by delivery of furniture and the installation of fitness equipment. The facility will see a "soft opening" in mid-July, with abbreviated hours and a gradual rollout of programs, with a grand opening ceremony planned for late August. At that time, the City will offer a full slate of programming and expand hours of operation at the facility. Director Karlen reviewed the membership plans that will be offered and planned marketing and outreach activities.
Supported by City Manager Alex McIntyre, Chief Financial Officer Nick Pegueros, and Mayor Rico Medina, Director Karlen gave an overview of the operations budget for the RAC, with annual expenditures to run the facility expected to be around $4.3 million and revenues projected at $2 million. He emphasized that there would be a ramp-up period, as community members begin to sign up for memberships, other programs, and facility rentals. He previewed ideas the City has for promoting access to the new facility, including subsidized programming, transportation for seniors, fee waiver events, and programs for at-risk youth. To ensure that the RAC has a successful launch in a sound financial position, the City currently anticipates that it would benefit from some level of seed funding to support its initial programming and operations, and the City team requested a total of $2.25 million in grant funding over the first three years of operation to underwrite programs that promote access, marketing and outreach, and the ramp-up of operations.
Following its regular process for evaluating strategic grant opportunities, the Board approved a resolution creating a new Ad Hoc Committee on Recreation and Aquatic Center Startup Activities to explore opportunities for the Foundation to support the ramp-up of programming at the new RAC. The advisory committee is charged with researching and considering ways in which the Foundation could support start-up activities at the new RAC and, as appropriate, returning to the Board with possible strategic grantmaking proposals to support such efforts through the next three fiscal years.
Report on Other Programs: Executive Director Leslie Hatamiya gave a brief update on the Foundation's other programs. She announced that the 2024-2025 cycle of the Community Grants Fund will launch in early July and follow the same timeline as last year: online application available at the beginning of July, grant workshops held over the summer, an application deadline of September 18, and Board consideration of a review panel's recommendations in December.
Regarding the Centennial Plaza Improvement Project, which SBCF is supporting with $500,000 in grant funding, she noted that most of the Board attended the City’s ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony on Friday, April 19, and that since then, construction on the project has been proceeding on schedule and the City expects construction of the new plaza to be completed this fall.
With regard to the Downtown Beautification Initiative grant, Ms. Hatamiya reported that the Foundation and the City recently executed the grant agreement. She noted that the project is part of the City’s Capital Improvement Plan, so the City Council will formally consider approval in June, and in the meantime, the City is working on developing the scope of work for the different project components. The City’s goal is to have the beautification projects completed by the end of the year, to coincide with the Centennial Plaza and Posy Park improvements that are currently in progress and, ideally, in time for the Christmas tree lighting in early December.
Finally, Ms. Hatamiya reported that the Ad Hoc Committee on SBPSD Strategic Initiatives will be reviewing a request from San Bruno Park School District Superintendent Matt Duffy for grant funding to help fund immediate improvements to the athletic fields at John Muir and Belle Air elementary schools and Parkside Intermediate School. With the impending closure of the soccer fields at the former Crestmoor High School site, the local youth soccer organizations are depending on use of fields at the various SBPSD school sites starting in the fall. The district’s highest priority is field improvements at John Muir Elementary School, where the fields are currently in such disrepair that it is not safe for the school’s students, much less community soccer teams, to play on them, followed by the grass field between the two baseball diamonds at Belle Air Elementary School. Under its charge, the Committee will evaluate the district's request and, if appropriate, make a grant funding recommendation to the full Board.
Report from the Investment Committee: Investment Committee Chair Pak Lin reported on the Committee's latest quarterly meeting on May 15, 2024. She gave highlights of the report from Sand Hill Global Advisors, the Foundation's investment adviser, which included the firm's investment outlook and a review of the performance of the Foundation's three investment accounts (Quasi-Endowment, Strategic Pool, and Liquidity Pool). Ms. Lin reported that the Sand Hill team said that the economy has continued to exhibit strength as unemployment has remained low, corporate earnings growth is projected to normalize, inflation is approaching the Federal Reserve’s target, and the manufacturing industry is returning to normal after several years of pandemic distortions. She also noted that the Committee discussed the Foundation's cash flow needs related to the Recreation and Aquatic Center project.
Chair Lin reported that the Committee decided to follow the practice of recommending to the Board a Quasi-Endowment payout rate that would result in an amount sufficient to meet the cash flow needs for the Crestmoor Scholarship and the Community Grants Fund for the upcoming fiscal year and recommended that the fiscal year 2024-2025 Quasi-Endowment payout rate be set at 1.64%.
Chair Lin also reported that the Committee conducted its annual review of the Foundation's Investment Policy Statement and its Investment Operating Plan with Sand Hill, declining to recommend any amendments to either document.
Moreover, Chair Lin noted that two community members attended the May 15 Investment Committee meeting and requested that the Foundation consider altering its investment policy to follow a “values-based” or “socially responsible” investment strategy. In light of this request, she reported that she and Executive Director Hatamiya have asked the Foundation’s team at Sand Hill to give the Board a presentation on values-based investing at its regular September meeting. The Sand Hill team makes an annual presentation to the Board on the firm’s investment outlook and the performance of the Foundation’s investment portfolio, and this year, the presentation will include a primer on values-based investing, including what it is, what are the reasons for and challenges of pursuing such a strategy, and what it might look like for a community foundation like SBCF.
In addition, during the Consent Calendar, the Board reappointed community members Tony Clifford, Mark Hayes, and Tim Ross, as well as Board Member Belinda Wong, to new two-year terms on the Investment Committee that begin on July 1, 2024.
Approval of SBCF FY2024-2025 Budget: Executive Director Hatamiya gave a thorough presentation of the Foundation's proposed budget for fiscal year 2024-2025, which the Board approved. She noted the overall financial health of the organization, with assets of $31.2 million as of April 30, 2024. The budget includes total expenses of $3,444,339, with $2,975,000 in direct program expenses, including $2.5 million reserved for possible strategic grants. Following the Investment Committee's recommendations, the budget includes transfers of $352,218 from the Foundation's Quasi-Endowment and $3,030,152 from the Strategic Pool account to fund the Foundation's cash needs in 2024-2025. The approved budget resolution grants the Executive Director the discretion to divide the transfers into smaller increments, set the timing of the transfer of those increments, and transfer less than the approved amount, based on the Foundation’s cash flow needs. The resolution also directs the Executive Director to submit the budget to the San Bruno City Council for approval, per the Foundation's Bylaws, and she presented the budget to the City Council at its June 11 regular meeting. The Council will consider approval of the budget on June 25.
