Live Updates from the City Council Meeting

We'll be writing live updates from tonight's City Council meeting. Check back to see what's going on.

6:03 Heard from a member of the club that the club expects to disband at the end of the month and switch to a van pool.

6:08: Public Comment. Herb Golenpaul mentions that the railroad museum is in a sorry state. He would like to see it repaired.

6:13 Michael Coates mentions that he's released the lineup for Sonoma Jazz and it's awesome. Nancy Gold speaks representing the Valley of the Moon commute club, to get out the word that the club will be disbanding at the end of February.

6:16 Councilman Steve Barbose mentions the at the high school, particularly the social media seminar.

6:17 Councilman Tom Rouse says he's happy to see Herb at the first Monday meeting.

6:17 Mayor Pro Tem Joanne Sanders would like to dedicate the meeting to Vince Harper, a friend of her son's and family's who recently passed away. She also mentions attending last week's County . There was a panelist from Safeway, who mentioned that rather than issuing incentives the County should issue fees for plastic bag use. Municipalities cannot impose any fees on the use of bags at checkout counters until 2013, said Sanders. 

6:21 The city has openings on several commissions: traffic and safety, the arts commission and the design review commision, says Councilman Ken Brown.

6:23 Mayor Laurie Gallian recounts her speech at the Chamber of Commerce's "State of the Valley" breakfast. Much of the speech focused on redevelopment, and she's asked that her letter to Gov. Jerry Brown be printed in local papers (Ed. Note: not ours, yet!)

6:29 City Manager Linda Kelly mentions that the repairs that Herb Golenpaul mentioned are being made to the Depot Museum.

6:29 Proclamation for the . "As a holiday family event offered...highlighting several important ingredients of the Audubon family tradition." Mayor Gallian read this proclamation to the birders at the Jan. 15 event.

6:35 Proclamation for the Soroptimists organizers of "Road to Reality." Gallian says that, though she couldn't participate in the program this year, she was honored to read the proclamation day-of. , it was pretty great. "It's a big job getting all this together...thank you Laurie for recognizing this project," said event coordinator Maddy Leader.

6:42 Onto the consent calendar. Sanders says that she expected to see more improvements on the Heather Lane project.

6:46 Barbose asks for a show of hands for people here only for the Watmaugh bridge item. About 10 hands go up. "It's not as many as I thought," says Barbose.

6:50 Assistant City Manager Carol Giovanatto gives an update on item 7A, bond proceedings. At the Jan. 19 meeting the council asked the city to prepare a report on the effects of the loss of redevelopment agencies on the city's finances. Basically, once the city allocates money to projects by creating bonds, the money will not be taken by the state. If the city does not go through with the bond, the CDA will be able to complete current projects, but not future ones.

6:54 Steve Barbose gets clarification, the city is looking to fund about $13.9 million, but the $16 million figure is just the limit of how much our finances can withstand.  "If the demise of redevelopment comes to pass are we absolutely certain that the city will not loose the financing for the bonds that we are financing," asks Barbose. Yes, says Giovanatto, but only based on the information we have at present.

6:57 Rouse says that he reads that many areas are issuing bonds to retain redevelopment money. "If every municipality that's able goes and grabs these dollars because they can, what are the long term implications of this on the state...is there any data?" said Rouse. "It just kind of feels like the run on the bank..."

6:58 Giovanatto points out that the state is simply using the money to fuel their deficit, so issuing bonds to retain the money will not take away from their cash flow, merely impede on using the money to fund the deficit.

7:02 Sanders asks about the impartiality of the "Bond Team" that has been assigned to advise, if they get paid to issue bonds. Also asks if property tax revenue is on the decline. Giovanatto says property tax revenue is flat. "So, the idea of going into more debt...and the mechanism for paying back the debt is future property tax revenue, and property taxes are on the decline...then don't we have some more years of declining revenues to pay back this new loan we would be doing," said Sanders.

7:07 Bond Underwriter Lonnie Odom says that the city would have to lose 50 percent of property tax revenue to be unable to pay back the bonds. If the bonds do not go through the city would lose about $3 million per year.

7:09 "In a lot of cases you'll find that projects don't work without redevelopment...the public infrastructure that's paid for by the tax increments is actually city owned," said Odom.

7:10 "I can't help figuring that this experienced Governor of ours has a grand plan in mind...if he doesn't get this money than it's not going to come for some time," said Sanders.

7:12 Sanders wonders how the city decided to fund the particular projects in the plan. "It's my understanding that once we decide to do this we're stuck to the particular projects we decided to fund when we sold the bonds," said Sanders. City Manager Linda Kelly says that the projects are culled from the city's 5-year development plan. "We chose the projects that we felt had a high degree of completion in the next 3 years," said Kelly.

7:14 Sanders is recused from the Council as they move to discuss funding the Community Center's upgrades (her house is within 500 feet of the project area). Councilman Ken Brown protests: "As an elected official I find this really disturbing, it cuts into Mrs. Sanders ability to serve as the public has asked her to...if I were here I would freak out." Laughs.

7:19 The city staff proposes allocating $2 million for upgrades to the Sonoma Community Center, including seismic and structural replacements. The $2 million represents half the funds these upgrades would cost, they expect the Community Center to seek matching funds for the rest.

7:21 Questions as to how much the city is tied to the particular projects listed with the bond measure. Staff suggests they might write language in that some projects will be funded at 100 percent and other less important upgrades might not be funded.

7:23 Public Comment from Community Executive Director Kathy Swett: "The idea that this may be the last opportunity where we really can come to the city redevelopment agency and ask them to help in a substantial way...it stops my breath in my chest, I am speechless--we need this so badly and we hope you will understand how this helps us leverage our fund-raising campaign."

7:29 Public Comment from Community Center Board Vice President Madolyn Agrimonti: "The Community Center--the staff and the board--are stewards for a public building, and we are trying to take on that responsibility for all the people of Sonoma." 

7:30 PC Bill Willars: "There's no better use for the project than the Community Center, it's what redevelopment agencies were designed to do...it is the best way to reinvest in this community."

7:33 PC Herb Golenpaul says that he thinks the overall issuing of bonds should have been voted on before discussing individual items. "I don't see why you have to get $16 million now...I have a feeling that the people in Sacramento--I'm not dispersing how smart you are--but they have a lot of people that are smart enough to get their money, by any means."

7:35 Gallian says Golenpaul will have to reiterate the entire point during the later public comment after Sanders comes back.

7:36 Barbose says that the Community Center's other funding requests, which will be on later council agendas, are independent of the CDA requests.

7:38 Barbose is in favor of setting aside $2 million to the Community Center of the total. "This allows us to do them now and pay them off over time with tax increment dollars that we're going to be getting...if you add up all of our tax dollars this is only going to be 50 percent of the money that's coming in."

7:40 Brown will support the allocation.  "I spent my adult life working at the Community Center...I am aware of the numbers, the Community Center is going to be 100 years old soon. Herb, so are you, and you know what it takes to sustain that."

7:41 Rouse supports as well. "It is a center that truly serves the whole community...it's not for the rich, it's not for the poor, it's for everyone," said Rouse.

7:43 Gallian supports as well. "They've gone ahead and brought more community forward in efforts in which the City does not have dollars to support directly. And the building is the Sonoma Community Center and it is delivering community services."

7:45 Vote carries 4-0.

7:45 Sanders is back. Now the council will discuss passing the overall bond measure. Currently $2 million is reserved for CDA grants for seismic and structural upgrades to local buildings, $142,000 reserved for ADA upgrades for the Sebastiani Theater, and $1.4 million for the Sonoma Highway Affordable Housing project (on the agenda later this evening).

7:52 Public Comment on the general plan. Herb Golenpaul: "Has any of you got a library card?" (All Council-members minus Rouse raise their hands.) "So, why don't you recuse yourselves!"

7:59 Public Comment: Why is the Sebastiani Theater, a private business, being funded? Also, she mentions that 20 percent of redevelopment money is mandated to be set aside for affordable housing and wonders why a proportionate amount of the bond measure is not.

8:02 PC: "I don't want to vote every time we want to repair the road; I don't want to vote every time we repair a building."

8:04 Back to Council. Barbose is confident that housing prices will still allow the city to pay for the bond measure and would like to go ahead.

8:09 Brown asks what the hospital's request for a bond measure means for the CDA bond measure. City staff says that it's not included in recommendation, specifically because of time constraints.

8:13 On Feb. 23 the Council would consider bond documents.

8:15 Sanders will not support the motion: "I respect all the projects and I do understand how the funding works...but I still think that this is going in the wrong direction of the leadership of our state...hurrying up and spending money is not how I run my business and not how I run my state." Sanders also mentions that this money will take away from state funded programs, like the State Parks, that we'd like to keep.  "I ask all of us to do some soul searching, where in our community do we expect to feel the pain or do we think that we are above the pain," says Sanders. 

8:20 Brown says that the city council is prudent and he supports spending money carefully at a local level. Barbose agrees.

8:22 Rouse will be supporting the bond. "I think it's been explained to me, as the newest member of the council, in such a way that I can be supportive."

8:24 Rouse also mentions that he recently heard Jerry Brown speak:  "He's not running for re-election. He's going to go after whatever he can go after to help the situation out...and I'm not sure it should be at the expense of city dollars, this may be our last hurrah, so I hope we enjoy it."

8:24 Gallian: "We're here for the long-haul. For me, if I only have the possibility of for three years delivering this..I hear no conversation of the fact that it would be reduced. I hear elimination, and elimination of something we have at a local level of government has me very upset, because it is something that we protect as our own. Yes, there are going to be cuts, but this is a possibility in which we can act as a local government to send a message straight back that we are here for the people who live in the city of Sonoma."

8:26 Motion to issue a bond with redevelopment money passes,  4-0, with Sanders in abstention.

8:41 Back from break. Now onto the proposed affordable housing project on 19344 Sonoma Highway. The project has already passed through the council and the design and review commission process. Now, the Council will consider entering into the next step which is a Development and Disposition Agreement (DDA) agreement, which will lay out the costs and details of the project.

8:44 Staff recomends the CDA fund a $2.5 million land contribution and a loan of $2.8 million. The project will cost $17.3 million in total, dividing down to $125,000 per unit.

8:47 Rouse wonders about the 9 percent tax financing. "So if we approve this resolution and we are unable to secure 9 percent tax financing, it just doesn't happen?"

8:51 Sanders: "It sounds like if we don't get the 9 percent we're going to be stuck."

8:56 If the Affordable Housing Associates can't live up to the agreements outlined in the  DDA then the deal comes back before Council. Sanders: "At that point how much would we be invested in it, and would we be able to walk away from the whole project."

9:00 Public Comment: Representatives from AHA says that they'll apply in the Spring tax credit round for allocations: "We've been watching carefully the trending and what's needed to really win." If not approved for the 9 percent tax rate, the CDA will be allowed to take back the money issued under the terms of the DDA.

9:05 Gallian says it's the number of environmental measures in the project is impressive. "You've really gone ahead and given us quite a community here that could be developed." She asks if any of this came up in community meetings. The representative says that the water issue came up frequently.

9:09 Public Comment: A neighbor fears that there will not be enough parking spaces. "We just won't have enough room for the overflow." Otherwise, she says, the plan is ok, except that "we'd prefer to not have any neighbors."

9:11 Motion made. Steve Barbose: "Let's do it." Laughs. Motion passes 5-0.

9:12 Sanders wants to make a comment: "I support this because it's very low income, but if it comes back at moderate income...I cannot support subsidized housing for an income that high."

9:12 Onto Montini preserve item.

9:16 Question about whether dogs, bicyclists and horses will be allowed. City Planner David Goodison says that the trail has already been designed without bicyclists and horses in mind. Dogs would be permitted if the trail is privately owned.

9:20 Public Comment: David Cook says that he fully supports the city taking on the Monitini project. "Dogs or no dogs, I go back and forth, but the way the state is, we got to look out for ourselves, but at some point we have to look out for ourselves."

9:22 Sanders asks to make a motion for the City Planner to move forward with the license, contingent upon receiving the grant. Sanders would also like to see bike access. "There are also kids and kids like to ride their bikes in places where there are no cars, and parents like them to ride their bikes in places with no cars...they should be able to enjoy this property in a way that's responsible towards the environment," said Sanders.

9:26 Motion passes 5-0.

9:27 Onto Watmaugh bridge preservation item. Barbose has asked the Council to consider the thoughts of The Citizens For Preservation of Sonoma Historic Bridges, a group of residents wishing to preserve the Watmaugh Bridge.

9:32 Rouse: "So basically we're asking for permission for the Mayor to send a letter, so they can do what they want to do?" Yes.

9:33 Public Comment: Herb Golenpaul says that he hopes they don't tear the bridge down, because it's strange looking, and that he hopes the project will be completed in a timely fashion.

9:33 PC: "I live near the bridge and they posted it for 24,000 tons...you can put 12 cars on that bridge and the county believes that it's safe to do that." Also: "We were told that there was no funding for retrofit, but there was funding for a new bridge...we did more research to discover if there was funding for retrofit and discovered that there was."

9:41 PC: Jim Bundschu mentions that the Watmaugh bridge helps to differentiate Sonoma and attract tourists. He mentions that Healdsburg recently went to great lengths to preserve their bridge. "Wine tourists don't buy that, they want authenticity, they want antiquity."

9:42 PC: "It is truly appalling to me that the county would want to tear down this bridge."

9:44 PC: Joanna Podfrey: "I am one of the citizens who in 1981 got the bridge classified as a historic landmark, never did I think that I would be back here fighting this battle."

9:54 PC: A resident thinks that building a wider bridge will encourage the increased speeds that she's noticed throughout the years. "If they build a bigger bridge it's just going to be a freeway."

9:55 Back to council. Barbose: "This is our capital and our community, and we have to preserve its resources." Sanders: "If that was a motion then I second."

9:56 Motion to send letter passes 5-0.

9:57 Mass exodus. Onto item 7D, the Sonoma International Film Festival's request for CDA funding.

10:02 Barbose wonders if we could issue a CDA loan for some of this funding. Kelly explains that the loan would have to be applied to an improvement.

10:06 Barbose asks if the City Attorney can figure out a way to make it work. Answer: no.

10:12 Herb: "You can't give away the money, you've got to stop giving it away."

10:13 Back to Council. Brown supports the funding: "I agree, the film festival is an extraordinary event that happens in our town and we are far better for it."

10:16 Motion passes 4-0, with Sanders in absence. 

10:18 Council now discussing representatives for commission and committee appointments. Gallian opens the appointments for public comment.Nada.

10:21 Council is unanimous in voting for Sanders for Golden Gate Bridge, Highway & Transportation District. "It would be a long four years if I said no," said Rouse.

10:24 Council supports Susan Gorin for ABAG Executive Board, Mark Landman for ABAG Regional Planning Committee and Carol Russell and Jake Mackenzie for the SMART Comission.

10:26 Done. "Pretty efficient Mayor," said Barbose.

10:27 Public Comment: Herb: "I'd like to know what's happening to that Pueblo de Sonoma Water business grant." Kelly offers to call Herb when she knows more.

10:28 Committee Reports. Brown says that the swimming pool committee met at 7 a.m., with Tom Rouse and Linda Kelly. "I think everyone who was at the meeting this morning has a real dedication to making this fruitful and to envision a child getting their life saved because there's a pool in town where they can learn to swim."

10:32 Sanders mentions the announcement that the 35 toll takers. She says that she's confident that the individuals will be either transitioned to other positions within the district or receive education and retraining for other positions.

10:37 Done!