Despite a state law requiring bond money to be spent only on voter-approved construction projects, a grand jury has found that the San Mateo County Community College District did not abuse public funds when it surprised voters last year with a members-only fitness club at the College of San Mateo.
By law, bond money may be spent only on projects listed in a ballot measure. But no fitness club was listed on Measure A, the college district's $468 million bond approved by voters in 2005, the grand jury acknowledged.
Yet the college district used Measure A money to build the San Mateo Athletic Club, which included 24,500 square feet of equipment, and two pools and exercise rooms. It charges $62 in monthly dues, or $35 for students.
Community members flocked to the club after it opened last spring, but some voters and local fitness center owners were outraged. In a story that appeared in The Chronicle, voters questioned whether their tax money was being spent improperly on a private spa, and gym owners complained about unfair competition costing them business.
The club occupies a third of a new building that cost $42 million in Measure A funds, with an additional $9.4 million in bond money spent on pools and equipment.
A grand jury convened last November. Its newly released report concludes that the expenditures were legitimate because "the project list for Measure A is so broad, it permitted generous interpretation in the purpose of the funds."
So even though no fitness club was listed, the ballot measure did list a "workforce development center." College officials told investigators that the fitness club fits that description because, they said, the club will offer internships to students.
"It was the conclusion of the grand jury that the expenditures of Measure A funds conformed to the project list itemized in the ballot measure," says the report.
Some voters remained unsatisfied Tuesday.
"We didn't know what we were voting for on the bond," said Bob Lingaas of San Mateo. "It's a business they're running there." The grand jury recommended five ways the college district could better inform the public about how it is spending the Measure A money, which also includes capital improvement funds for Skyline College in San Bruno and Cañada College in Redwood City.
District officials rejected the recommendations, saying they already post the information on their website.
To read the full grand jury report, go to links.sfgate.com/ZKZN.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/06/07/BA651JQSJJ.DTL#ixzz1OiWYyNQe
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