The Healdsburg City Council met two weeks in a row, a change from its usual twice a month pattern.
At a special meeting held on Feb. 26, the council discussed how to spend almost $2 million in tax revenue from Measure V, a half-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2012. The council’s intent was to provide direction to staff in anticipation of budget hearings in April and May.
For the most part, the council followed the staff recommendations. They were:
Allocate $1,178,555 (59 percent of the total) to streets and road repairs. That would be added to $734,200 unspent from last year and spent primarily on pavement resurfacing projects on city streets, with $500,000 set aside for sidewalk repairs.
Public safety will receive $492,700 (25 percent) of this year’s Measure V allocation, which will allow the Healdsburg Fire Department to hire another firefighter, as well as cover the salaries of another firefighter, a police officer and a police dispatcher. $100,000 is proposed to be spent to upgrade police radios, which are more than a decade old.
Another $217,500 (11 percent) is to be allocated to economic development, divided between support for the Healdsburg Chamber of Commerce, utility discounts for low income residents and $70,000 for automated license plate reading equipment to aid in parking enforcement.
City facilities received a $100,000 (5 percent) allocation, which will be used for a new keyless entry system for city buildings.
An unexpected request from the Healdsburg Jazz Festival for a $25,000 grant from Measure V funds brought a mixed reaction from the council. City councilmembers David Hagele and Leah Gold thought the request was worthy, but not a good use of sales tax funds. The other councilmembers, Shaun McCaffery, Joe Naujokas and Brigette Mansell supported the Jazz Festival request.
Healdsburg City Manager David Mickaelian told the council that, “The direction you’ve given us today will be embedded in the budget.”
The city council met again Monday, March 5, for its regular meeting. The meeting began with a series of celebrations. Raina Allan was sworn in as deputy city clerk, Robert Morris and Alex Miller were sworn in as reserve fire engineers and Mike Jacobs was honored as the Firefighter of the Year for 2017.
In other actions, the council approved a land use change to allow agricultural employee housing on Grove Street and in mixed use zones. The change was triggered by a request from Seghesio Family Vineyards to convert a home on its Grove Street property to a residence for up to 11 agricultural workers.
The council reviewed the city’s greenhouse gas emission reduction goals and adopted a resolution affirming the city’s commitment to reduce emissions.
The longest discussion Monday night was whether to allow a new pedicab service in Healdsburg. Jessica Bangs and Chris Pilling are proposing a seven-day-a-week service that would utilize a 15-person rolling wagon. Riders would sit and pedal on each side and they tour the city.
Councilmembers were unanimous in their disapproval of a plan to allow drinking alcohol and amplified music on the pedicab and divided along whether to allow it at all. Councilmember Leah Gold said it would hurt the tourism industry by making Healdsburg look like “a wine country theme park” and Mayor Brigette Mansell called the 17-foot long pedicab a “party bike” and “a bar on wheels.”
Concerns were also raised about the pedicab’s impact on traffic in the downtown and on historic streets.
Bangs and Pilling were thanked for wanting to try something new and encouraged to meet with city staff and decide if their business plan was still workable without alcohol and music.
Lastly, the council voted to allocate $512,127.54 for a significant upgrade to the city’s computer network, which includes 10 years of technical support.
