And then there were none, or very few.
Today’s Council meeting, which I viewed on YouTube, started with 19 viewers and ended with five viewers, two hours and fifty minutes later. Was anything accomplished? Still trying to figure that one out.
Agenda item 7 a. and 8 a., both about the Senior Mobile Home Park Overlay, were pulled from the agenda and moved to the October 5 Town Council meeting. What should have been a simple Yountville Zoning Map amendment created confusion and misunderstanding for the exact people the Town intended to protect. An ordinance was passed in 2010, Ordinance 383-10, to create the Senior Mobile Home Park Overlay and ultimately protect the two mobile home parks in Yountville. As a Recital in the original ordinance states, “… is intended to preserve affordable housing opportunities for seniors by implementing zoning that protects senior affordable housing.” The current ordinance that the Council was to discuss and act upon was bringing that overlay “onto” the current Yountville Zoning Map. Based on Public Comments and posts online, there was some confusion and possible misinformation spread around our current mobile homeowners. As a result, the Town felt it was best to move the Council discussion and action to October 5, with the opportunity for further outreach and some rewriting of Ordinance 21-502 (the current ordinance for the map amendment).
Yes, I forgot, there was one action item that accomplished something this evening. (It is easy to blur the night given the round and round of discussions that lead nowhere through the evening.) On a 5-0 vote, the Town purchased a deed-restricted affordable house at 6631 Oak Leaf Court. The great thing to come out of this purchase, which was funded through Measure S funding (1% TOT fee on our visitors staying overnight) is that the Town will be able to offer this location as a rental for the low or very low rental category. The Town will partner with Napa Valley Housing Authority for the management of the rental.
That is where the “real work” ended. Lots of talk. Lots of repeating. Lots of questions that were obviously asked in private and then reiterated at the public meeting for the benefit of the few of us still watching. I think that is mainly done so the Councilmembers can tell us “they are really watching out for us.” From this side of the screen, it looks like an exercise in self-promotion. “I ask the most questions because I care”, seems to be the current standard operating procedure when in fact it’s only for the Council members to extoll their need for attention.
So that leads us to the long discussion for the opportunity for additional public comments at Town Council Meetings. The interesting aspect of this agenda item is what happened in Sacramento since the item was originally placed on the agenda. As Gary Bell, Town Attorney explained, new legislation just signed by the Governor states that there must be the opportunity for “live public comment” at Zoom meetings. Lots of back and forth between Town staff and Council of the staffing and equipment needs to make this happen. Also, this would need to take place by October 5, the next Town Council meeting. If the meeting is in the Council Chambers then this point is moot. Or so you would think. The Current Council has an uncanny knack of getting so deep that once again, one Council member admitted to being confused by the choices. The consensus was finally stated that the Zoom option, as opposed to a phone-in option would be the best choice. The Staff Report to allow phone-in public comments during Town Council meetings and review of current staffing allocation is a helpful guide. Great, then we can move on to the next agenda item, NOT SO FAST!
The Vice Mayor wants this Zoom option to be in play for in Chamber meetings as well, mainly because of the decision to have the Council meetings at 3 pm. As the Mayor, John Dunbar, stated, “What is the problem we are trying to fix here?” Councilmember Eric Knight said, “I always support how we get the public involved,” and “We have to find a way to encourage more involvement.” Who can say no to that? Once you take a deeper look into staffing and listen to the very well-researched and explained presentation from Town Clerk, Michelle Dahme you begin to question the financial resources and staffing needed to make it happen. Will one person call in from their work office to make a public comment? God knows. Can they continue to make a public comments via email and online? Definitely! In the typical Yountville Town Council style, The Council requested more direction and analysis from the staff to further determine the course of action. October 5 will be via Zoom, FYI.
What was listed as an Update on the COVID-19 situation in Napa County became a discussion on whether participants for the Town’s Golden Ticket Program should be required to have proof of vaccination. This question is a tough one. The Vice Mayor advocated for it and stated, “I think this is a real chance for us to be a real leader to protect our community,” while her example of this being the same as the leaf blower ban was an overreach. Councilmember Margie Mohler reminded us that there are so many different kinds of situations, and would we require testing as well? The Council took no action. More staff work.
One of the most critical presentations of the evening came from the Director of Public Works, John Ferons, on our lack of water conservation. The Veterans Home, which controls our water source, has determined that we will have to use 400 Acre-Feet of water (or less) from Rector Reservoir. For perspective, there are 325,851 gallons of water in one Acre-Foot acre-foot. Therefore, the amount we need to conserve, 100 Acre-Feet, is 32,585,100 gallons (35 ó million gallons). By way of comparison, a 20 ft wide x 40 ft long by 6 ft deep swimming pool holds +/- 32,500 gallons, so we need to conserve +/- 1,000 swimming pools worth of water in one year. For August FY 21/22, the Town used 50.88 Acre-feet from Rector Reservoir. This is only a 13.1% reduction from August FY 20/21, which was 58.55 Acre-Feet which is 6.9% short of the goal of 20%. The Town specifically reached their water use by 37%! Here’s the Staff Report for Water Conservation for August 2021.
Mr. Ferons then taught us a lot about sliplining and the program and materials used to improve and maintain our lines flowing into our sanitary sewer collection system. Interesting to see our Town dollars and Town staff in action.
Then, just when you think a motion will be made to adjourn, nope. Councilmember Knight and Vice Mayor Dorman asked for Council consideration for future agenda items. Knight proposed an Ad Hoc Committee for the Vet’s Home, which brought on a discussion about attempted previous work between the Town and Home. The Vice Mayor wants approval from the Council to explore a community economic development committee. Hmmm, interesting. Both of these Councilmembers are seated on the Parking Standing Committee that has yet to have a meeting, or feedback, or action taken. As for an economic committee, the Town has an Economic Recovery Plan that no action has been taken even with several agenda items being presented in the very recent past. The Vice Mayor has even commented that this Economic Recovery Plan is a “pilot program”! But the answer is yet another Ad Hoc? The focus should be on the programs at hand instead of creating another opportunity for meetings and death by committee with no reportable action.
Below are the links to the agenda and to watch the meeting on YouTube.