Measure Q committee gives positive annual report to council

Del Mar’s Measure Q Oversight Committee said the city has been appropriately using and managing the fund during an annual report on its revenues and expenditures on April 3.

The committee reviewed things such as city staff’s processes for approving payments and making sure Measure Q funds were spent on approved projects.

“We didn’t conclude that these were any actual errors that occurred, it’s just that these are the ones that we were most concerned about,” said K. Alan Lonbom, chair of the city’s Measure Q Citizen Oversight Committee.

Measure Q was approved by Del Mar voters in 2016 to charge a 1% sales tax, with revenue going toward infrastructure projects. The ballot measure also established the citizen oversight committee that provides annual reports evaluating the city’s Measure Q fund usage.

“All of our detailed selections for both revenues and expenditures agree to the supporting records provided to us by the staff with no exceptions,” Lonbom said. “We also concluded that the city staff’s process for review and approval of Measure Q appears appropriate, and that the methods utilized to apply internal costs to Measure Q projects was appropriate and reasonable.”

Del Mar City Councilwoman Terry Gaasterland asked if the committee had evaluated the level of Measure Q funding that would be available

Lonbom said, “We concluded that that was really outside of our scope.”

Del Mar City Manager Ashley Jones said that those projections, including what will be needed for planned work on Shores Park, will be evaluated. The city could also start earmarking funds for Shores Park from Measure Q funds.

“That is one of the work plan items, to start looking at some forecasting for the streetscape undergrounding project and to start looking at what the needs will be over time,” Jones said. “And at this time, Shores Park is on hold, so we don’t have a good sense of what funding will be for that project over time.”