Menke Park's Next Act: Parking Lot or Something More? Commissioners Want Answers

At Menke Park, newly installed fencing that keeps kids from darting into the street drew praise from Parks and Recreation commissioners — but the bigger question of what the park will actually be used for went unanswered. With the summer music series wrapped up and no ongoing programming penciled in, one commissioner asked bluntly whether the park would simply become extra parking, arguing that wouldn't help surrounding businesses or draw foot traffic.

“For the record, per the Brown Act, you've started discussing and brainstorming something not on today's agenda.”— a commissioner, flagging a procedural concern mid-discussion

The conversation drifted into brainstorming before another commissioner flagged a procedural problem mid-discussion, pointing out the group had strayed into a topic not on that day's agenda.

No formal action was taken. Staff indicated a fuller discussion likely won't happen until after the park's reopening this fall, possibly with input from the Corte Madera Community Foundation, which helped fund the recent renovation.

As Best Western Site Eyes Memory-Care Conversion, Commissioners Fret Over Lost Sales Tax

Plans to convert the Best Western Hotel site into an Alzheimer's/memory-care facility surfaced as a budget worry for Parks and Recreation commissioners, who tied it directly to the town's sagging sales-tax base. One commissioner noted sales tax makes up roughly a third of Corte Madera's revenue and warned that losing the hotel's transient visitor traffic — lodging, dining, shopping — would cut into that pipeline just as the town absorbs losses elsewhere.

The worry arrived alongside a Sales Tax Oversight Committee report showing 2025-26 sales tax revenue projected $961,000 below budget, about $1.7 million under original projections, driven largely by the closures of Macy's and Rite Aid and an 8-11% drop in general fund sales tax revenue. Parks and Recreation's own budget absorbed $834,000 in adjustments, including $285,000 for a new multi-generational center coordinator and a $90,000 boost to scholarship funding.

Staff didn't dispute the risk but said it's already being tracked closely by the town's Community Development Director. The Parks Commission took no action — land-use approval isn't its purview — but the exchange reflects broader unease at Town Hall over the disappearance of once-reliable sales-tax generators.