Off-leash dog park funds approved, city attorney retires

 

Buellton will move ahead with funding for an off-leash dog park and will re-advertise a vacancy on the city planning commission.

Those decisions were reached June 26 at a regular meeting of the Buellton City Council, which also bade farewell to the city’s long time city attorney.

Due to the resignation of Planning Commissioner Leah Hickey, the city council is being urged by staff to fill the open seat on the five member board.

 

At the council’s June 12 meeting, the members were unwilling to fill the seat with the only applicant, Buellton resident Art Mercado.  Mercado is related to council member Dale Molesworth, who recused himself from the decision, and the remaining four members on the council split two-two on the appointment of Mercado.

The city will be placing advertisements in local media and on the city’s website seeking applicants for the open position.  The item will return to the council at the Aug. 14 meeting.

A proposal from JM Development Inc. and the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara to request a $100,000 contribution from the city allowing the Housing Authority to purchase a group of seven low income housing units, built as part of JM Development’s Valley Station project, was tabled without action after a lengthy discussion.  

Currently the developer is required to maintain and manage the low income units, and has found a buyer of them, the Housing Authority. 

 

J.M. and the Housing Authority have worked out a deal for a purchase of the units for $650,000, of which the Housing Authority has secured a $500,000 loan through a commercial lender and its own contribution of $50,000.  They have asked the city to contribute $100,000. 

Buellton city staff has recommended against a city contribution; there is “no value” received on the city’s behalf, said city Planning Director Marc Bierdzinski.

After two motions on the floor — one to deny the expenditure by Councilmember Diane Whitehair and the other to approve the expenditure by Dale Molesworth — died from lack of seconds, Hicks directed that the item be tabled until staff determined that additional information warranted the discussion be brought before the council a second time.

A non-profit group formed specifically to bring an off-leash dog park to Buellton has received an approval on a $60,900 grant from the city allowing the project to go forward. 

 

PAWS Parks of Santa Ynez Valley Inc. will develop the off-leash park at the corner of La Pita Place and Dawn Drive, also known as Sharon Place Park.  The 3.33 acre park will be fenced to keep animals on the property and also will have separate areas for large and small dogs. 

The city will provide water hook-ups and the group will develop, operate, and maintain the park. A number of audience members cheered when the council approved the expenditure on a 4-0 vote. Councilmember Victoria Pointer was absent.

The city council briefly took up and tabled an annexation request by property owner Mark Connolly. Connolly had requested the continuation of the item to the July 10 meeting of the council, as a related matter, the Urban Growth Initiative, will appear on the agenda at that meeting.  The city is being asked to annex a strip of land adjacent to the city on McMurray Road

Long time City Attorney Don Kircher was presented with a plaque honoring his 15 years of service to the city.  Kircher was the first and only Buellton city attorney. The city was founded in 1992.

 

Replacing Kircher is Ralph Hanson, from the law firm of Burke, Williams & Sorenson.

In a final act of the evening, the city council adopted Buellton’s fiscal 2009 budget on a 4-0 vote.

After the city council portion of the meeting, the board began the Redevelopment Agency meeting.  During council member comments, agency member Ed Andrisek asked that the council find a way to call a special meeting to advance an alternative measure to appear on the November ballot in conjunction with the Urban Growth Initiative that the council will most likely have to approve for inclusion on that ballot. 

 

It was somewhat unusual that Andrisek brought this matter up during the redevelopment agency portion of the meeting.  At that time, the audience already had left for the evening and there was little public scrutiny, other than the members of the media who stayed for that portion of the meeting.

Andrisek found no support for the call for a special meeting.

“I’m not going to call a special meeting,” Hicks said.  Hicks did however direct staff to investigate whether it is possible to still put a measure on the ballot in the November election.