While the board is empty, here is exactly what a finished idea looks like — a local need, a workable plan, and the four things every plan needs before it can reach the ballot: an itemized budget, milestones, upkeep, and community coverage. Every plan has one funded total: build cost + upkeep reserve. Leftover = pool − funded total. These are examples, not real submissions, and the dollar figures are illustrative, not real bids.
Example · not a real submission
Four new parks, one in each part of the city
Problem: Kids on the north and east sides have no safe playground within walking distance, and the two existing parks are packed every weekend.
Plan: Build four modest parks — one per quadrant — with playgrounds, shade trees, and water fountains, using one crew and shared materials to keep costs down.
Finished plan · itemized budget ✓
- Site prep & grading, 4 sites — $160,000
- Playground equipment & safety surfacing — $340,000
- Trees, sod & landscaping — $100,000
- Lighting — $80,000
- Benches, tables, fountains, trash cans — $60,000
- Signs — $20,000
- Contingency (10%) — $76,000
- Build total — $836,000
- 3-year upkeep reserve (part of the funded total) — $180,000
- Funded total — $1,016,000
Milestones ✓
- Community picks the four sites (months 1–2)
- Permits & contractor bids (months 2–3)
- Build parks 1 & 2 (months 4–7)
- Build parks 3 & 4 (months 7–10)
- Inspection & grand opening (month 11)
Upkeep ✓
City parks crew mows and empties trash weekly — about $60,000 a year across all four parks. A 3-year upkeep reserve of $180,000 is part of the funded total, set aside up front.
Community coverage ✓
Serves the whole city: one park in each quadrant — north, south, east, west — open to everyone, within walking distance for most families. Not one neighborhood's park — the city's parks.
Example · not a real submission
Free meal trucks — breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Problem: Too many neighbors skip meals. The food bank covers groceries, but a hot meal is hard to find outside downtown lunch hours.
Plan: Three trucks running daily city-wide routes in breakfast, lunch, and dinner shifts, serving free hot meals at posted stops.
Finished plan · itemized budget ✓
- 3 refurbished trucks, outfitted for food service — $225,000
- Commissary kitchen, year 1 — $36,000
- Food & supplies, year 1 — $180,000
- Fuel, insurance & permits, year 1 — $48,000
- Wages, 6 crew, year 1 — $240,000
- Contingency (10%) — $72,900
- Build total — $801,900
- 6-month operating reserve (part of the funded total) — $250,000
- Funded total — $1,051,900
Milestones ✓
- Buy & outfit the three trucks (months 1–3)
- Hire & train the crew (months 2–4)
- Publish routes with community input (month 3)
- Launch the breakfast route (month 4)
- Add lunch & dinner routes (months 5–6)
Upkeep ✓
This is an ongoing program: about $500,000 a year to keep the trucks running. A 6-month operating reserve of $250,000 is part of the funded total, set aside up front. Future years are funded by future votes.
Community coverage ✓
Three daily routes covering all quadrants of the city, morning to night — with priority stops in neighborhoods far from any grocery store. Anyone eats free, no questions asked.
Example · not a real submission
100 small homes for neighbors getting back on their feet
Problem: Dozens of people in our city sleep outside or in cars every night. Shelters fill up fast, and curfews don't fit work schedules.
Plan: Build 100 small, simple homes on two sites — a private room with a lock and a bed — plus on-site support connecting residents to jobs and services until they're on their feet.
Finished plan · itemized budget ✓
- Land, 10 acres — $300,000
- 100 small homes at $45,000 each — $4,500,000
- Utility hookups (water, sewer, electric) — $500,000
- Roads, paths & lighting — $250,000
- Community building (laundry, meetings, services) — $200,000
- Contingency (10%) — $575,000
- Build total — $6,325,000
- 3-year upkeep reserve (part of the funded total) — $450,000
- Funded total — $6,775,000
Milestones ✓
- Buy land & clear zoning (months 1–4)
- Roads & utilities (months 4–8)
- First 25 homes (months 8–12)
- All 100 homes (months 12–20)
- Move-in with shelter partners (months 18–24)
Upkeep ✓
On-site manager plus maintenance runs about $150,000 a year; the homes stay community-owned. A 3-year upkeep reserve of $450,000 is part of the funded total, set aside up front.
Community coverage ✓
100 homes across two sites — north and south — open to any city resident experiencing homelessness, with intake through shelters in every district. Built for city-wide impact, not five houses on one block.
