What else happened at the last city council meeting? Lots of stuff!
The council discussed a flag policy, land acknowledgements, animal control, economic gardening and more
You’ve probably heard enough about the Sept. 2 city council meeting by now, but there’s still more to know. That’s what happens when you shoehorn 27 items onto the agenda. This article will cover the council’s decisions on animal control services, economic gardening, flag policy, land acknowledgements, and more.
The next city council meeting is tonight, Sept. 16, at 6 pm, at the Sebastopol Community Cultural Center, 390 Morris St., Sebastopol.
Mayor Stephen Zollman, Vice Mayor Jill McLewis, Councilmember Phill Carter, Councilmember Neysa Hinton, and Councilmember Sandra Maurer were present for the Sept. 2 Sebastopol City Council meeting.
City response to the Grand Jury Report regarding animal control services
City Attorney Alex Mog kicked off the discussion by briefly reviewing the problems the Sonoma County Grand Jury had found with North Bay Animal Services (NBAS), the organization that Sebastopol uses to deal with lost or killed domestic animals found within the city limits. These problems include maintenance issues, inadequate or unqualified staffing, dog-licensing problems and foster pet sterilization delays. The Grand Jury also found that cities using NBAS’s services weren’t providing adequate oversight.
Because the city uses NBAS, it was required to respond to the Grand Jury’s findings within 90 days. Police Chief Sean McDonagh was sent to investigate the situation and file a response report. (See that report here.)
The council approved this response to the Grand Jury and agreed on a plan for the city to maintain a month-to-month contract with North Bay Animal Services while it prepares a Request for Proposals, with the idea of changing providers. Mayor Zollman added that the Chief of Police should conduct further audits of NBAS (which is located in Petaluma) and work with interim city manager Mary Gourley to create detailed reports to give to the city council. The council approved this recommendation 5-0.
Economic Gardening listening session
Councilmember Carter is continuing to move forward with his plans for Economic Gardening, which he introduced at the council meeting on July 15. According to the staff report, “Economic Gardening is a nationally recognized model that supports second-stage and growth-oriented small businesses by providing resources, networks, and strategic insights. Rather than focusing on recruitment [of new businesses], this approach strengthens the local economy from within.”
At their Sept. 2 meeting, the council decided on the date and structure for the first Economic Gardening event. It will be a townhall listening session scheduled for Sept. 30 at 6 pm at the Sebastopol Community Cultural Center, 390 Morris St. The council approved this idea 5-0.
The following flyer was sent out this week. Businesses can RSVP for this event here.
Council to continue using 4Leaf Inc for planning services
At the council meeting, Interim City Manager Gourley announced that the city has “separated” from Community Development Director Emi Theriault. The community development director position combined the roles of planning director and economic development. Ms. Theriault has been on an “extended leave,” starting on June 11.
As a result of this “separation,” Gourley said, “We will be going out for a recruitment for a planning director. While that is in the works, I'm looking to contract with 4Leaf, who has been doing it in July and August, since the former community development director was on leave. They will be picking up four days a week, about six hours a day. We would have two days with John Jay [the city’s former associate planner] and the other two days would be dedicated by Jane Riley, who was our former planning director…This would be through the end of December, because it's going to take me three to four months to do full recruitment for the planning director position.”
The council voted 5-0 to hire 4Leaf Inc. for planning services.
Land acknowledgement statement to be added to agendas and city website
According to the staff report on this item, “A land acknowledgment is a formal statement recognizing the indigenous peoples dispossessed or displaced from their ancestral homelands. It acknowledges that a city, organization, or facility operates on these ancestral lands. Typically, such statements are used to open events, ceremonies, or meetings.
After a long discussion, the council approved the following statements 5 to 0:
The longer version of the Land Acknowledgement will be placed on the website: “The City of Sebastopol acknowledges that we live and work on the unceded ancestral. homelands of the Southern Pomo and the Coast Miwok people, who have been the stewards and caretakers of these lands since time immemorial. We pay our respect to the past, present, and future generations of these peoples, including the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria.”
The shorter version will be placed on city agendas (both for the council meeting and all city committees). At the council meetings, it may be read aloud at the discretion of the Mayor. “The City of Sebastopol acknowledges that we live and work within the unceded ancestral homelands of the Southern Pomo and the Coast Miwok people. We pay our respect to the past, present, and future generations of these peoples, including the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria.”
Letter of Support for St. Vincent de Paul’s application for Measure O funding
The city’s partner in Gravenstein Commons, Saint Vincent de Paul, is applying for $1 million in funding from Measure O for homeless mental health services, and asked the city to write a letter of support.
According to the staff report, “Measure O funding offers a vital opportunity for the County to demonstrate its support and ensure the project’s success. The City’s letter of support will strengthen SVdP’s application to help secure Measure O resources to stabilize this shovel ready project.”
Two councilmembers were not convinced.
Councilmember McLewis said, “I have not supported this [Gravenstein Commons] from day one, and I am not supporting this tonight, which is why I pulled it, because I just wanted to have an opportunity to weigh in on my vote, which would be a no.”
Mayor Zollman, who is the liaison to Sonoma County Homeless Coalition (COC), also voted no. “I have not supported this from day one,” he said. Noting there was only $10 million to divide between all the providers, he seemed to feel this was too big of a bite.
The other three councilmembers disagreed.
“It seems to me like their application for a million dollars could only help with the success of the project,” Councilmember Maurer said.
Councilmember Carter agreed, “If it’s happening, we need to support it to make sure it’s successful,” he said. “We don’t want to set anything up to fail, right?”
“This is an opportunity to get a million dollars to a project that's in our jurisdiction,” Hinton said. “If you don't ask, you don't get.”
The vote passed with a narrow 3 to 2 majority, with Maurer, Hinton, and Carter in favor, and Zollman and McLewis opposed.
Council passes a flag policy
Why does a city need a flag policy? Most cities fly the U.S. flag, the California flag, and their municipal flag. If a city raises commemorative flags, such as the pride flag, it can open the city up to the possibility of a First Amendment challenge. It depends on whether the commemorative flag is considered public or private speech.
Here’s the explanation from the staff report:
“The display of commemorative flags on City-owned facilities can raise First Amendment Free Speech issues, depending on whether the flag is treated as government speech or private speech on public property. If a flagpole was deemed to be a “limited public forum” under the First Amendment, the City could not pick and choose what commemorative flags to fly, except on a content-neutral basis. However, under the government speech doctrine, the City may advance its own speech without requiring viewpoint neutrality when the government itself is the speaker, so long as the City does not show religious preference or encourage a certain vote in an election. The policy is structured to ensure that any commemorative flags flown at City Facilities would be considered City speech.”
In response, the city council unanimously passed a flag policy (which you can read in its entirety here.) It contains a short list of “commemorative” flags, which it considers “city speech” and are thus OK:
Children’s Memorial Day (Fourth Friday in April)
Progressive Pride (Month of June)
Women’s Equality Day (Week of August 26)
Sebastopol World Friends (Week of August 21)
POW/MIA (Month of September)
Formation and appointments of a committee for the Building of the Sebastopol Commons
The council unanimously passed a resolution to delineate the membership of the committee for the Building of the Sebastopol Commons, which is the brainchild of Mayor Zollman.
The membership will include the following:
Two members of the city council (in this case, Mayor Zollman and Councilmember Carter)
A member of the business community (RM Horrell of Copperfields)
City of Sebastopol Library Commissioner Fred Engbarth
Representative from the Measure W Oversight Committee (Sarah Glade Gurney) (Measure W is the most recent Sonoma County Library funding measure passed last year.)
One representative from each of the organizations listed below:
Sebastopol Center for the Arts
Senior Center
Community Center
Gravenstein Health Action Coalition
Sonoma County Library
Sonoma County Library Foundation
Community Foundation
This list is a conglomeration of the Library Ad Hoc Committee and the Sebastopol Nonprofit Collaborative, which Mayor Zollman resuscitated last year. Councilmember Maurer asked why there were so many appointments from the library, and Mayor Zollman said, to paraphrase—that’s where the money is.
Budget amendment for repair of the Calder Creek storm drain in Ives Park
The council unanimously approved a budget amendment for a new Capital Improvement Project to repair the Calder Creek storm drain in Ives Park. The repair will cost $64,400. That money will come from the Building/Facilities/Infrastructure Fund and thus will not affect the General Fund balance.
Council and Staff Committee Assignment amendments
There was quite an extensive re-shuffling of council committees, due in part to the retirement or separation of certain city department heads and in part to shifting city council schedules. Here’s the new list:
You can watch a video of the Sept. 2 City Council meeting here. The next city council meeting is Sept. 16, at 6 pm on Zoom or in person at the Sebastopol Community Cultural Center, 390 Morris St., Sebastopol. You can find the agenda and documentation for the Sept. 16 meeting here.
Laura, thank you for this detailed reporting. I am a new subscriber.