Rethinking the Veterans Building

The Sonoma Valley Veterans Memorial Hall on First Street East is a gathering place for the Valley – not only for veterans, but for countless community groups that make use of the facility.
However, the local vet’s building is costing Sonoma County some $225,000 a year for maintenance and operations that is not recovered in revenue. The county administers seven similar facilities as well, with costs in 2008 totaling some $2 million just to operate them. Generally, the buildings are old (ranging in age from 33 to 57 years) and some of them suffer from worn-out equipment, inadequate building systems and other deficiencies. County officials have been in talks for over a year about how to remedy the situation, and the tight budget projections up the ante.
“Our hope is that we’ll be able to utilize it in a way that makes more sense. We’re certainly utilizing it, but not in a way that is operationally sustainable,” said Valerie Brown, 1st District Supervisor for the county.
The local vets building is one of the nicest in the county, and it’s also the biggest event facility in the Valley. Sonoma sometimes loses business to other towns because there are few large event facilities. For the recent VinOlivo celebration, the Lodge had to put up tents to accommodate the crowd of over 500. The banquet hall at the vet’s building can hold 700 people or 500 seated.
That said, the county would need to invest more money to attract corporate meetings or conferences. Brown mentioned cosmetic changes or possibly changing the way some rooms are divided to provide more flexibility.
According to Sabrina Spear, public facilities manager for the county, about 29 groups rent the Sonoma building on a regular basis, for weekly or monthly events and meetings, with a smattering of private events like weddings or quinceañeras. The local vets building took in about $80,000 in revenue in 2008, the majority of which was from the regular renters. Fees run from $24 to $69 an hour depending on whether the renter is commercial or non-profit and which space they use.
Cash-strapped community groups can apply to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors for a fee waiver. Brown said the board grants free usage of the buildings amounting to about $100,000 a year. The Sonoma City Council also has 20 free days a year that it can grant to local community groups.
On top of operating costs, the county pays for capital projects – major repairs and replacements of worn out equipment or components, such as replacing the roof or mechanical equipment. These projects are funded through the county’s capital project budget. Between fiscal year 2000 and 2005, the county spent $3,447,788 on capital projects at the veterans/community center buildings. During that time frame, Sonoma’s vet’s building received work totaling $869,635,which included ADA upgrades and a large paving project.
Brown is a member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1947 and Post 489 of the American Legion.  He says that his goal as a city councilmember and veteran is to maintain the building to its current standard.  In his view, increasing its use is paramount, but with due respect to veterans being of the utmost importance.
“Sonoma has one of the best vets buildings in the county in terms of amenities,” said Brown. “Additionally, the location and setting of our vets building is perfect.  We have both the new veterans memorial cemetery and the historical Mountain Cemetery nearby as well as the Overlook Trail and across the street is a $7 million renovated facility of our local police station.  It all says a lot about Sonoma’s sense of preservation.”
Gary Magnani, a commander with the American Legion, said he thinks the veterans would be open to changes and flexible about changing times occasionally or looking at new revenue streams. “We understand the importance of having that building here,” he said. “We’re probably at the forefront of being open-minded about how to bring the funds in there.”
Wendy Peterson, executive director of the Sonoma Valley Visitor’s Bureau, has been in touch with the county about ideas for the facility. “This is a conversation that belongs to our entire community,” she said. “None of the uses we’ve talked about would usurp the fact that the building is for veterans first and foremost.  But this is something all communities in the county are discussing.”
Responsibility for operating the buildings transferred to the regional parks department in 1978 and since then the department has handled all the marketing, booking and collection of rental fees.
The parks department prepared a report in September 2007 that clearly lays out the need to increased usage and revenues.
“We can’t continue to take this amount of money out of the general fund,” said Mary Burns, director of the Sonoma County Regional Parks Department.  “If we don’t do something, we might find that we can’t provide the full range of services for current groups using the buildings.  This is a situation we want to avoid.”
“No matter what, the vet’s use supersedes everything,” said Burns.  “But if we can come to an agreement, then we all win.”