Buellton Celebrates 15 Years
February 1, 2007 marked the fifteenth anniversary of incorporation for the City of Buellton and to celebrate City officials held a birthday reception and public open house. Complete with birthday cake and party favors (complimentary Buellton coffee mugs signed by City council members), the event served to remind guests of the great strides that Buellton has made since its first uncertain steps into city hood.
Of the promises made at incorporation— attracting full service grocery and drug stores, establishing city parks, and redeveloping the Avenue of Flags—all have been fulfilled or are in the process of completion. No one knows what the next fifteen years will bring, but if the next generation of City leaders can aspire to the same integrity and commitment to good government as past stewards, it seems that Buellton will have a very bright future indeed.
2006: A Banner Year for Buellton
February 14 was about more than just flowers and candy hearts for Buelltonians this year; that’s because it happened to be the date of the annual “State of the City” address. Every year, City officials give a public presentation on the milestones of the previous 12 months and a look ahead to projects and events in the coming year. For the 2006 retrospective, City Manager Steve Thompson gave a “tongue in cheek” performance for the capacity crowd at the Pea Soup Andersen’s Buffet Bar. Among his list of “laments” were record breaking sales tax receipts, burgeoning transient occupancy tax revenue (due to an increase in hotel visitors), and a slew of successful City public works projects. Notable projects over the last year include:
• Completion of River View
Park
• Construction of a Park and
Ride Facility
• Construction of the Sculpture
Median on Avenue of Flags
• Commitment of over $1.6
million towards City/School District
Joint Use Gymnasium & Community
Recreation Center
• Partnership with the Santa Ynez
Valley Botanic Garden Foundation to
develop a Botanic Garden at River
View Park
• Commitment of $226,000 in
Chumash Tribe grants for additional
traffic enforcement and fire services
In addition to the City’s achievements, Thompson also touched upon several private developments such as the Vintage Walk construction taking shape on the Avenue of Flags and the Valley Station mixed-use project on West Highway 246 which will continue to diversify Buellton’s stock of commercial and housing resources. By the end of the presentation, one thing was clear—Buellton had a banner year and the City is looking forward to an even greater 2007.