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Mountain View’s guaranteed basic income pilot program ends
The city of Mountain View’s guaranteed basic income pilot program ended this month, after serving 166 extremely low-income residents for the past two years.
Dubbed Elevate MV, the program distributed $500 per month to each participant, who could use the money in whatever way they saw fit. To be eligible, participants had to earn no more than 30% of the area median income, live in Mountain View and be the caregiver to at least one child under the age of 18.
Participants spent roughly 43% of the money received on retail sales and services, with another 39% going to food and groceries, according to a data dashboard about Mountain View’s program.
The Mountain View City Council approved the pilot program in February 2022 and contracted with the nonprofit Community Services Agency to administer it. The pilot was also part of a national research study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania Center for Guaranteed Income Research. That group will provide a comprehensive report to the city of its findings in spring 2026, the city said in a newsletter.
Community Services Agency Executive Director Tom Myers recently told the Voice that his nonprofit plans to offer financial education to help participants as they adjust to no longer receiving the money each month.
New Rengstorff pool complex to open early next year
Mountain View’s new Rengstorff Park Aquatics Center is now scheduled to open early next year, according to the city.
The pool facility was originally expected to open this past summer, but ran into delays. There were “technical challenges” with the all-electric pool heating system, the city said in a newsletter.
The $29 million project includes a 25-meter by 25-yard lap pool with diving boards, as well as a recreation pool with a water slide. There are also locker and shower facilities, plus a multi-purpose room.
The city did not specify a particular date for the opening.
El Camino Healthcare District awards $1.25M grant
Every year, the El Camino Healthcare District gives out community benefit grants to organizations that serve the needs of residents in its district boundaries. This year, it awarded $1.25 million to the Ravenswood Family Health Network, which operates the MayView Community Health Center Clinics in Mountain View and Sunnyvale.
“We are supporting Ravenswood’s clinics with one of our largest community benefit grants for its critical role in providing medical care for those with inadequate or no insurance,” said George Ting, chair of the El Camino Healthcare District Board of Directors, in a Dec. 11 press release.
Ravenswood is a major health care safety net provider with about 70% of its patients who live in the district considered low-income. The grant will help cover the cost of a 10-person medical team at the MayView clinics, making it possible for health care professionals to serve 2,200 district residents a year, according to the press release.
The El Camino Healthcare District awarded nearly $8 million in community benefit grants this year, the press release said.
