Foster City and Gilead Sciences are open to discussions about financial opportunities to help improve city buildings, like the proposed new recreation center, following its renewed partnership announcement.
Richa Awasthi
Both sides have said opportunities to upgrade city facilities, like the current rebuilding project for the William E. Walker Recreation Center, are part of a broader strategy to achieve shared goals to better the city. The recreation center’s age, emergency shelter, readiness and water intrusion issues have made replacing the structure a city priority. The council wants a “build-to-budget” option of no more than $55 million, with $36 million from the sale of property funding and $19 million from General Fund reserves. Foster City Mayor Richa Awasthi said more discussion about any financing help from Gilead would occur after the city finishes its preliminary staffing, budget analysis and design process.
“Once we have a little more information on all that, then we can have more tangible conversations,” Awasthi said.
Joydeep Ganguly, senior vice president of corporate operations with Gilead Sciences, noted the company remains deeply committed to Foster City, with the partnership set to evolve in the coming years. Ganguly said the company does not want to overreach with its financial help and instead wants to offer the city its voice and resources, whether to help with the recreation center, more events, or sustainability efforts.
“There are legal laws that determine what we can and can’t do, but we’ve always been open,” Ganguly said about financing opportunities.
Foster City and Gilead both want their private-public partnership in the next year to include more sustainability initiatives, examining opportunities to improve city buildings, and celebrating the new Gilead Park and Wellbeing Center on its campus at a ribbon-cutting ceremony in June. Other areas include promoting women and under-represented communities in STEM and providing more access and resources. Gilead is also interested in hosting events on its campus to help residents see what it’s like to be a scientist. Gilead is one of the largest biopharmaceutical companies globally, with Foster City home to the company’s worldwide corporate headquarters. The two organizations reconfirmed their partnership to work on shared goals on April 4.
While specifics are undecided, both want to make an impact around sustainability, like the Foster City levee project and infrastructure projects. Ganguly said help could occur in various ways, like having its engineering team be involved in city project designs. He emphasized that the Gilead Foundation, the nonprofit organization endowed by Gilead Sciences, has worked extensively with Foster City and the surrounding areas for years to provide philanthropic financial help. The latest offers are a continuation of its already significant social and financial commitment.
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“There are things beyond just property taxes and business license taxes that we can do, and we are absolutely open to that,” Ganguly said.
Awasthi said the council wants strategic alliances with large employers in Foster City like Gilead, Visa and Illumina, with city staff pursuing outreach and partnerships with the city’s large companies. Awasthi said her meetings with Gilead have been productive, with both interested in taking the partnership to the next level.
“The change will be a more formalized public-private partnership that people will see in the short- and long-term future. So that will serve as a framework for future councils, and future staff members can continue to work on,” Awasthi said.
Awasthi said the city would continue outreach to everyone in the business community on ways to help Foster City reach its shared mission and values.
“One of the things I’ve heard from the large biotech employers in Foster City and several smaller biotech companies is an interest in being more ingrained in the community fabric,” Awasthi said.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
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PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
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