City council faces full agenda for last meeting of 2008

Wednesday night’s Sonoma City Council meeting will mark the last for 2008 – a tumultuous year for many in the Valley. Agenda items for the final meeting begin with the routine – including streamlining future meetings – and will stretch into the night with appointments, commissions and other items of particular importance to Sonoma.
Newly seated in November, Councilmember Laurie Gallian is expected to be present, as are the other four council members: Mayor Ken Brown, Mayor Pro Tem Steve Barbose, Joanne Sanders and Aug Sebastiani.
One agenda item of note will be the review and discussion of the report by the Sonoma County Grand Jury on the cancellation of Sonoma’s November election. Many will recall that on Aug. 20, the Sonoma City Council voted to cancel the municipal election that the City of Sonoma had called for Nov. 4, 2008. The tie-breaking vote was cast by then-mayor Sanders, who arguably had a personal interest in the decision, as she was running for re-election. According to the grand jury, “The city council’s action to cut short the democratic process in such circumstances was incompatible with its obligation to protect important rights of its citizens and to promote confidence that its decisions are being made solely in the public interest.”
Another agenda item of particular interest to Sonoma residents will be the recommendation to study and bring back suggestions regarding directions for potential cost reduction and revenue enhancement for the city’s cemeteries. An ad hoc committee recently voted against privatizing the cemeteries, which was being considered in an effort to stem an annual deficit of $80,000 to $90,000 incurred to maintain the three city-owned cemeteries: the 4-acre Valley Cemetery, deeded to the city in 1835 by General Vallejo; the 60-acre Mountain Cemetery, founded in 1841 on land deeded to the city by General Vallejo; and the 1.6-acre Veteran’s Memorial Cemetery, acquired in 1996 and developed in 2002.
“As a committee member, I am happy and proud that we’ve brought our recommendation to not sell the cemetery in so early,” said Sebastiani. “And while there is no way to know how the council will react, I don’t know why they wouldn’t accept the recommendation. It will be nice to see what happens.”
Also on the agenda is an item that refers to the options around medical marijuana dispensaries within the City. Sebastiani stands firm on his previous oppositions to this issue. “Given the size of our community, I believe it would be hard to find a location for a dispensary that is an acceptable distance from a school, church or park,” said Sebastiani. “I might be enlightened by comments from another council member but until that time, I will continue to oppose this operation within city limits.”
Perhaps the greatest opportunity for contention at Wednesday night’s meeting is the consideration of Raymond Gallian’s service on the Planning Commission. Given the recent appointment of his wife, Laurie Gallian, to Sonoma City Council, those in opposition – Councilmembers and/or the community at large – may sense a potential conflict of interest.
“Due to the Brown Act, councilmembers have been unable to discuss this issue,” said Sanders. “I put it on the agenda so we could talk in public about how this might affect decision making as we move forward.”
Sanders went on to state that having Stanley Cohen vacate his position has left some very big shoes to fill. “Stanley had a lot of time to give and he held a lot of committee assignments,” said Sanders. “We have to find a councilmember who has the ability to step up take on some of his responsibilities.”
This and all meetings of the Sonoma City Council are carried live on SVTV Comcast Channel 27.