Albany council debates discretionary-fund policy and Gil Tract Community Farm request; council tables funding request to January

At its Dec. 15 meeting the Albany City Council spent substantial time weighing whether to change how the City Council Discretionary Fund is administered and whether to use the fund to support the Gil Tract Community Farm’s field-trip program.

City staff presented background on the discretionary fund (historically about $20,000; $35,000 in the current year) and sketched options ranging from maintaining the memo-based, council-member-led process to creating a formal grant program or a standing two-member council committee to review applications.

Council Member Preston Jordan introduced a request to use discretionary funds to continue a field-trip program run by the Gil Tract Community Farm, which the council had previously piloted using sugar-sweetened beverage tax funds. Gil Tract representatives said the program had run about 30 field trips last year involving roughly 540 students, is largely volunteer-run with two part-time staff and university support, and leverages school-district and university contributions.

Student testimony underscored local impact: Carter Helmbrecht, president of the Albany High School Agriculture Club, said the field trips inspired student volunteerism and cited pollinator habitat work adjacent to city hall.

Opposition and process concerns centered on two themes: (1) whether discretionary funds should be used to fund school-related field trips when the Albany Unified School District had previously signaled support but did not provide the committed match, and (2) whether the discretionary fund should remain a relatively informal council tool or be converted into a grant program that would demand significant staff time.

Mayor Lopez and other council members said they were reluctant to authorize funding until the district provides a firm commitment and clear memorandum of understanding. Vice Mayor Peggy McQuade and others argued the program is valuable for students and had attracted university partners and matching funds, and urged the council to act or at least preserve the option.

After competing motions — one to deny the request and a replacement motion to table it to January — the council voted to table the Gil Tract funding request to the January meeting so staff and proponents could secure clearer commitments from the school district and identify alternative funding sources.

What happens next: The item will return in January with follow-up documentation on AUSD commitments, fiscal sponsorship details (the farm is fiscally sponsored by a nonprofit/social-good organization), and staff recommendations about how the discretionary fund policy should be structured going forward.

Quotes: "This is what we have… we have half of a year left and we'd really like to do this," said a Gil Tract representative. Mayor Lopez said, "I will not move forward with anything until I get actual commitment from the district that there's money sent to the social good for the Gil Tract Farm."