Council all business at special meeting

At its special meeting Monday night, the Sonoma City Council checked off a number of business items. Among those, though it was passed on the consent calendar with not a word spoken about it, was the ordinance establishing salaries and expense accounts for the council members.
That matter had already been decided several meetings earlier; this action was merely the adoption of the enabling legislation. Also on consent, the purview of the Design Review Commission was expanded for properties within the Historic Overlay Zone (generally along Broadway, Napa Street, and north of Napa Street).
The council heard a presentation on the unwanted prescription drug collection program that is being piloted in Sonoma. This effort by the Sonoma County Water Agency is intended to protect our water supply from contamination by synthetic pharmaceuticals that are discarded down sinks and into toilets.
Police Chief Bret Sackett gave the first annual report in his new role as chief, reporting on crime rates locally (steady), DUI arrests (down), and parking tickets (way up). Council member Joann Sanders noted that the cost of the police contract with the County Sheriff, while still among the lowest in the county, was rising faster than in other cities.
The council also presides over the Community Development Agency, which receives annual tax “increments” for spending on capital projects, and in that role approved over $250,000 for additional lighting in the library parking lot and a new HVAC system, which the city is contractually obligated for, plus structural improvements to the library’s lobby that will enable the library to have an automated check in and check out counter, allowing library staff to spend more time helping library users. The Friends of Sonoma Valley Library will match up to $100,000 and the County Library will
provide $78,000.
The council considered a request of $267,000 from Sonoma Valley Hospital to replace a generator transfer switch and fire alarm panel. Before allocating these funds the council will ask County Supervisor Valerie Brown if there is money available from the county before voting to expend the funds in January.
Finally, the council considered the continuing problem of delivery trucks for the Lodge at Sonoma making U-turns in the adjacent residential neighborhood. The city had installed temporary barriers, but those proved ineffective, as well as unpopular with the residents. Spot police enforcement will be tried, though it was twice suggested that civil nuisance suits against the Lodge might be more effective.