I am really happy to see the county taking action to address period poverty in our local area. I have commented at city council meetings several times asking to have the city provide period products in all municipal bathrooms after being inspired by a story I read in summer of 2019 about a town near where I grew up in Massachusetts doing so (Web Link

A back of the envelope cost estimation shows that providing period products in all municipal bathrooms is completely within the ability of the city to pay. There are about three times as many municipal bathrooms in Mountain View compared with Brookline, MA. Therefore, multiplying estimated costs to Brookline by a factor of three gives a reasonable estimate of costs to Mountain View. Doing so gives a cost total of $120,000 in one-time installation fees with ongoing supply costs of $22,500. In other words, providing free period products in all municipal bathrooms would be an order of magnitude less expensive than implementation of Measure C. Regardless of one's personal feelings about Measure C, the cost comparison shows that addressing period poverty within our city is possible. I hope that Mountain View will follow in the footsteps of Scotland, which recently became the first country to make period products free, and be a leader in the local area. (Web Link