Anonymous
By an edhat reader
Week of March 21-25: SB city council and committee meetings
Here’s the weekly listing of meetings of the Santa Barbara city council and various city commissions. All now are by webinar/Zoom. A long-time Edhat subscriber, concerned about government transparency, thought it would be helpful and interesting for the community to have accessible a weekly listing of selected meetings, those of possible Santa Barbara city-wide interest. We agreed. Please tell us what you think, good idea, waste of time, suggestions for improvement? There were requests for coverage of Carpinteria and Goleta; volunteers to do that and/or County meetings, please contact info@edhat.com.
Santa Barbara City has a calendar of meetings; here’s the calendar for March: https://www.santabarbaraca.gov/cals/. In addition, City TV covers many of the meetings and has reruns; https://www.santabarbaraca.gov/gov/depts/cityadmin/programming.asp
Ahead is a very quiet week, with a scheduled break for the City Council on Tuesday, and no commission meetings on Thursday or Friday. To ease withdrawal symptoms: City TV, has a full schedule of past meetings, and there are videos of the various commissions accessible on their webpages. As always, if we’ve missed a meeting or an address, please note in the Comments section.
Monday, 3/21
Architectural Board of Review, 3 pm; Agenda: 421 S. Milpas, Final Approval; 36 E. Montecito St, concept review. Consent calendar cancelled.
State Street Advisory Committee, 4 pm; Agenda: 3 items: status update on the RFP/RFQ; presentation on tourism, its future and tourist economy in Downtown SB by Kathy Janega-Dykes of Visit Santa Barbara; “A Day in the Life on State Street”, including cleaning and maintenance.
Tuesday, 3/22
Sign Committee, 9 am; Agenda, 2 items in EPV (El Pueblo Viejo), 700 State Street, 225 State Street. (The Sign Committee meets regularly every two weeks.)
City Council regular 2 pm meeting, canceled.
Wednesday, 3/23
Staff Hearing Officer, 9 am; Agenda.
Parks & Recreation Commission, regular meeting, 4 pm, Agenda, including Street Tree Advisory recommendations; Administrative and staff reports, including a presentation on the “Request for Proposal process for entering into a License Agreement with the purpose of conducting year-round structured recreational activities, programs, camps, classes, and community performances for all ages, in Plaza Vera Cruz.”
Community Formation Commission, 5:30; Agenda, including The SBPD will present their feedback on the draft recommendations with commission discussion.
Thursday, 3/24
Fire and police commission, 4 pm, canceled.
We need to spot the use of consultants in these manners. Not only is it a waste of money, but even worse it’s a veil behind which our council, commissions, and management hide rather than speaking frankly and taking ownership.
We have a State Street Master Planner (or someone with a similar title). We have a director of Public Works. We have a City Administrator. We have multiple managers and assistant mangers. If they can’t build a proposal to present, consider and adjust, then we should replace them with people who can and want to work for their salaries.
What a brilliant concept! Save money by making uninformed decisions! Sounds like the policy of the previous federal administration.
Ask for the CVs of our leadership. You’ll see plenty of bona fides. Do you think there’s a consultancy that specializes in Main Street Pedestrian Conversions?
No, the role of this use of consultancies is to enable cowardice and indirection in decision making. Maybe your part of the what needs to be shielded, but let our team get on it. I believe in them, without wiping out a cool million here and there and everywhere a tough decision pops up.