City Hall prepares for renovation
Those wishing to fight City Hall – or simply pay their water bill – will have to march a block south for the next couple of months while the nearly century-old building undergoes renovations.
Telephone numbers and e-mail addresses will remain the same, but city offices – including the city manager, city clerk and departments of finance, personnel, building and planning – will be doing business at the old Sonoma firehouse at 32 Patten Street, just off Broadway. Offices will be closed at City Hall Friday and open on Patten Street at 1 p.m. Monday. Regular business hours (8 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed noon to 1 p.m.) will resume Tuesday, July 1.
Built of basalt quarried from the hills behind Mountain Cemetery, the structure was dedicated September 9, 1908 and is being spiffed up for a centennial celebration later this year by extensive cleaning, internal and external painting, and refinishing or remaking some interior spaces for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
As of press time, the City Council was slated for a special meeting to award the $275,000 renovation contract to the sole bidder, Bay West Construction of Santa Rosa. Project costs including design, temporary relocation of communications systems and minor firehouse remodeling are expected to total $395,000, with an expected completion date of Sept. 2.
Sonoma seatbelt use rises
Slightly more than half as many Sonoma drivers were cited this year than last for seatbelt violation during the state’s annual “Click-It-Or-Ticket” campaign – and a follow up survey showed local compliance is above the state average.
“The overall goal is to increase awareness of seatbelt violations – and it works,” Sonoma police Sgt. Clint Shubel said Friday.
The two-week effort during the latter half of May resulted in 53 citations within the city limits, Shubel said. Last year’s campaign resulted in 105 citations, of which four were passengers. A pre-campaign survey of 100 drivers at the First Street West / West Napa Street intersection showed 91 drivers wearing seatbelts, whereas a survey at the same location afterward showed 96 percent compliance.
State law requires drivers and passengers to wear seatbelts at all times, with a hefty fine for non-compliance: $80 to $91 for adults and $330 to $401 for children under age 16. California currently has the nation’s fourth-highest seatbelt use rate at 94.6 percent for 2007. While that’s climbed in recent years, the current rate among California teens is 88.9 percent.
‘Hands-free’ cell phone law begins July 1
If the phone rings while you’re driving Tuesday, don’t answer it – unless you’re over 18 and wearing a headset.
That’s the message police are leaving for California drivers before July 1, when two laws go into effect governing cell phone use by motorists.
The first law, passed two years ago, prohibits anyone from using a hand-held cell phone while operating a vehicle on California roadways. The second prohibits anyone under the age of 18 from using any type of cell phone while driving.
“The main objective is to make everyone safer,” Sonoma police Sgt. Clint Shubel said Friday, adding that while answering the phone is a natural reflex, doing so while driving is “a good habit to get out of.”
Violations carry a minimum base fine of $20 for the first offense and $50 for subsequent offenses, but court costs and other fees can double or even triple the amount of the base fine.
Cell phones can continue to be used by those 18 and older if they have either a wireless or hard-wired headset in one ear. In addition, no penalty is attached for emergency calls to police, fire agencies or medical providers, or for making calls while the vehicle is stopped.
According to CHP statistics, 1,091 crashes in 2007 were blamed on drivers using hand-held cell phones resulting in a total of 447 injuries.
