Bike plan passes
The long-held dream of a bicycle-friendly Sonoma is a little closer to reality after the Sonoma City Council unanimously approved nearly a dozen bike-related traffic improvements.
Specifically, the Sonoma Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvement Plan – part of the countywide plan approved in May by the Sonoma County Transportation Authority, and prioritized in June by the city’s Community Services and Environment Commission (CSEC) – calls for bike route signs along Third Street West and Second Street East; striped lanes along West MacArthur Street, Napa Road and the southern part of Fifth Street West; a bike/walk bridge over Fryer Creek; and a Highway 12 crosswalk at the Maxwell Village Shopping Center. (The entire 44-page plan is available from the city’s Web site, http://www.sonomacity.org/uploads/Planning/Draft_Bike_Plan.pdf.)
The council approved the plan in full at its Sept. 3 meeting, save for two CSEC-set priority items – a bike lane along the north side of West Spain Street and bike racks at Sonoma Plaza. The former faces objections from neighbors over the proposed removal of 91 street-parking spaces, and the latter requires further study as to exactly where to place them.
Overall, the total cost for improvements is estimated at $278,000, which would be paid for through Sonoma community redevelopment funds. Approval of the plan also opens up the possibility of grant funding through state and federal sources. Individual projects are subject to council review before implementation.
Family Day proclaimed
In connection with a nationwide anti-substance abuse effort – and a personal request from the mayor of Healdsburg – Sonoma Mayor Joanne Sanders has proclaimed Sept. 22 as “Family Day – A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children.”
The Sept. 3 proclamation cites 13 years of surveys by Columbia University’s National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse which purport that “frequent family dining is associated with lower rates of teen smoking, drinking, illegal drug use and prescription drug abuse” and that eating together has long been “a substantial pillar of family life in America.”
Sanders recalled her own childhood, where a 4:30 p.m. family dinner was the daily norm, and acknowledged that it can be particularly difficult for young families to eat together. But she expressed the hope that Family Day’s dinner-in exercise “would set the stage for many more.”
Water bids rejected
It’s back to the drawing board – or rather, the bidder’s block – for the city’s plan to replace water lines near the western end of Andrieux Street.
Councilmembers voted 5—0 Sept. 3 to reject the 10 received bids and re-start the process after city staff found a discrepancy which would reduce the lowest bid, $345,640 by Sebastopol-based Pipeline Excavators, by $43,200. In a letter to the city, Pipeline rejected the discrepancy and asked that their bid be accepted at its original amount.
A similar request was made by the second-lowest bidder, Dan McLean of Napa-based Atlas Peak Construction, whose offer totaled approximately $352,000. McLean asked that the item be pulled from the council’s consent calendar for reconsideration. “With the economy the way it is, we’re all out here struggling for work,” he said. “… If this project goes out again, I guarantee it won’t be as low.”
Asked about the city’s legal standing in such a circumstance, City Attorney Tom Curry said there was less risk to the city to re-advertise for bids than to award the contract to another bidder.
The project includes water line replacement along Andrieux Street, Heather Lane, White Briar Drive and Ivy Court, and will be revised to include driveway repairs along Andrieux Street that are designed to improve rainwater drainage. Work is expected to begin this fall.
Commissioners appointed
A trio of Sonomans was appointed to two city panels Sept. 3 – including one whose new position means a resignation from a third civic agency.
Robert Felder, who has served as secretary to the Sonoma Valley Citizens Advisory Commission since 2006, will be taking a two-year alternate seat on the Sonoma Planning Commission. Felder brings to the post a background in structural engineering as well as a three-year stint on the Vintage Festival board of directors.
Pamela Personette and Lorna Sheridan will also serve two-year terms on Sonoma’s Cultural and Fine Arts Commission. Personette, an eight-year Sonoma resident, works as an educator and consultant; Sheridan is both a volunteer and teacher at Presentation School.
Grass program revised
Sonoma home- and business-owners have a greater incentive to rip out their lawns than simply saving water, thanks to a recent expansion of the city’s “Cash for Grass” rebate program.
Councilmembers voted unanimously on Sept. 3 to raise the payback from 50 to 75 cents per square foot, and increase the total rebate cap to $1,000 for residential customers and $3,000 for commercial. In her report to the council, Sonoma Public Works Director Milenka Bates said the program – now in its second year – is resulting in an annual water savings of 33 gallons per square foot.
Bates added that the city will also be starting a rain-sensor giveaway this fall, with the aim of preventing automatic sprinklers from operating in the rain.
