Main Street

A song of inspiration
The Healdsburg City Council meeting Monday night ran more than four hours, a big chunk of it focused on the discussion of growth management, a lot more about the roundabout, and a few happy items at the beginning.
Chris Bethards was honored with the Marie Sparks Memorial Award for volunteerism, one of the highest honors a Healdsburger can get (look for a story in next week’s paper).
And six young people sang a song. The Young Actors Studio, formerly H-Town Youth Theatre, got a grant from the city and chose to say thank-you in a song. One of the lyrics was from a song by Shakira: “I want to try everything, I want to try even though I could fail.”
Given the long, contentious and challenging work that took place Monday night at City Hall, the song was a fitting way to start.
The City Council, on its consent calendar, also approved half a million dollars in expenditures for sidewalk and accessibility projects, including almost a quarter-mile of sidewalk along South Fitch Mountain Road between Orangewood and Orchard and the construction of 46 new curb ramps that allow pedestrians on foot, in wheelchairs and pushing strollers easier access to get around. Well done.
Big Joe left. The multi-ton, 15-foot tall red-painted metal sculpture by Peter Forakis was a big, bright spot in a dreary parking lot at the west edge of downtown. It was installed 10 year ago by the Voigt Family Sculpture Foundation and has been on loan from Forakis’ estate. Big Joe will be spiffed up and will spend a year at the Paradise Ridge Winery sculpture grove as part of an exhibit organized by the Voigt team, opening this June. By the time the show is over, Joe’s next home might be unknown. The city is negotiating with the rail authority for an easement that will allow more parking along the tracks where Big Joe sat for the past decade.
Downtown gossip: Kendall-Jackson’s Partake closed its Healdsburg Avenue food-and-wine experiment. After an original announcement that a new tasting room would take its place, the rumor mill shut down. After all, the city has an unofficial policy of no more than one tasting room per block and there are already two tasting rooms next door to Partake, which was approved in part because it served food. Any new tasting room proposal will likely have to face the Planning Commission.
Another potential tasting room never materialized after the city turned down Fetzer’s request for a tasting room permit for the corner spot in the Masonic Lodge next to the Flying Goat. Instead, the space has been leased by Les Lunes, a Bay Area clothing company that describes its stuff as: “an eco-luxury collection that pairs Parisian design with American comfort.” Que fancy.
While merchants are preparing to live with a 16-month construction project that includes a roundabout, a creek culvert repair and more, they should also be ready for another 18-month construction project. H3, the next hotel from the Sher family and partners, breaks ground in a few weeks.
Check out the scene at Healdsburg High this Saturday. In addition to a car show, students will show off projects and learning. The car show start at 10, the street fair at 11.
Ray Holley likes a street fair. He can be reached at ra*@so********.com.