COMMUNITY NEWS
Capitola Update
Budget Cuts, Mall, Policing
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apitola Mayor Kristen Petersen and City Manager Jamie Goldstein answered questions from residents June 16 in an hour-long session that is recorded on the city website, cityofcapitola.org. Topics included impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, library construction, the Capitola Mall makeover, and racial injustice in policing. Here are the answers edited for brevity. Q. How is the pandemic affecting city operations? etersen: City Hall was closed but it has reopened, and masks are required. The community center closed; in-person rec classes shifted to online classes. The Junior Guard program is smaller. We’ve used a private security firm Kristen Petersen to enforce the beach closure by the county health officer. Q. How many Covid-19 cases are in Capitola? oldstein: On the county health website, Capitola has had 9 (13 as of June 25). Our cases are influenced by what’s going on in our county and northern California. Q. What are the city revenue projections? Will services be cut? etersen: We’ve seen staggering declines in sales taxes and short-term rental taxes, our two primary revenue sources. Shopping has been on hold. It’s unknown how those revenue streams will respond. The $1.5 million shortfall is being covered by city fund balances. oldstein: It depends on how the economy bounces back next fiscal year starting July 1. We cut $4.5 million out of our budget, pretty significant considering our budget is $17 million. We cut everything the city does that isn’t mandated. A lot of the extras won’t happen. We cut personnel costs Jamie Goldstein by 14%. The city has 67 full-time employees and 13% of jobs won’t be filled. The priorities this summer are trash pickup and weed abatement. In the village, we’ll do less of the kind of maintenance we’ve historically done, like extra help for trash pickup.
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Q. What’s the status of the library construction? etersen: Construction continued despite the pandemic and we project an opening date in late 2020. Q. What’s the latest with the Capitola Mall project? etersen: The owner is changing the project. We anticipate they will submit an application this year. oldstein: Their project was predicated on retail shopping, a theater, gyms, outdoor shopping experiences. All those have been affected by the pandemic, so they’re taking another look at what to propose. They are committed to the project, they tell us. Q Is Capitola getting any CARES Act money? etersen: Yes. The first of three rounds of funding is expected in 60 days. The money will be used for food distribution, rental assistance and loans for local business. oldstein: There may be a $12 per capita allocation for smaller cities in the state budget, $120,000 for Capitola for personal protective equipment for city staff, social distancing signs, overtime for beach closure enforcement. It’s not going too close the $4.5 million deficit but it helps. Q Who has the authority to make the rules on Capitola Beach? etersen: Because we’re in a public health crisis, the Santa Cruz County health officer is legally responsible. The city can’t decide to open the beach or have large gatherings until the county says it’s OK for us to do so. (The health officer opened beaches countywide on June 26.) When beaches reopen, it’s very important that visitors maintain social distancing and wear face coverings when in close proximity to others outside their households for extended periods of time. I know it’s not our typical idea of a fun beach day to have face coverings but as we’ve heard so many times, this is a new and different kind of normal. Q. Are Capitola parks closed? oldstein: All parks are open including the wharf but playgrounds are closed. Q. How long will outdoor dining last in the village? Will there be a shuttle into the village? oldstein: The outdoor dining, probably a 4-month trial period.
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“Capitola Q&A� page 24
www.tpgonlinedaily.com Capitola Soquel Times / July 2020 / 19
