By Jaime Goldstein, City Manager
This column is intended to provide the community with an ongoing series of updates about City of Capitola projects and activities of interest. If you have any suggestions for future topics, or feedback, please let me know at [email protected] or by phone at 475-7300.
Measure F
On November 8 voters in Capitola will be asked to vote on Measure F. If approved, this local revenue measure would extend an existing 0.25% sales tax for 10 years. Although this sales tax extension will be decided by Capitola voters, City sales tax is paid by anyone buying taxable merchandise within the City limits, whether a resident or visitor.
Like the current sales tax, Measure F would be a General Tax, and can be used for any City project or program. However, the current City Council has pledged to use revenue from Measure F revenue to maintain and protect our wharf and beaches from storms and rising sea levels, take care of and improve parks, bike lanes, and sidewalks, and maintain our Police Department at full staffing.
Capitola voters originally approved a 0.25% sales tax in 2004, and then extended that tax in 2008. It is scheduled to expire in 2017. Measure F would extend the existing tax for ten years. Currently this sales tax provides an average of about $1.1 million in revenue annually.
If Measure F is approved, and no other taxes are passed, the sales tax rate in Capitola will remain unchanged at 8.75%. Of that total sales tax rate, the State takes 6.5%, special districts get 0.75%, while the City receives the remaining 1.5%.
A Short History of Capitola Wharf
Capitola wharf was built more than 150 years ago for F. A. Hihn. At that time it was known as Soquel Landing, and was used to ship goods produced in the region, such as lumber, leather, paper, and products from local farms.
Over the next 100 years the wharf was damaged and rebuilt numerous times, including in 1913 when the middle of the wharf was washed away during a storm. Future Capitola Postmaster and Baseball Hall of Famer Harry Hooper helped to rescue a fisherman who was stranded at the end of the structure.
By the 1970s the ownership and operation of the wharf was the subject of litigation and a complicated relationship between the ownership of the underlying property and the structure itself. In 1979 the Capitola City Council accepted the grant deed to the wharf from the County. The City then completed a renovation and opened the wharf to the public in 1981.
Today the wharf serves residents and visitors alike, and includes two businesses that operate under leases with the City, the Capitola Boat and Bait shop and the Wharf House restaurant.
Revenue from the leases generate funding for the City to complete basic maintenance, however a recent report commissioned by the City recommended a number of larger scale projects to better protect the wharf from the impacts of storms and rising sea levels. The cost to complete those projects exceeds the current available funding. If voters approve Capitola’s Measure F, the current City Council has prioritized using those funds to implement these projects to protect the wharf.
Progress on the Capitola Library
Earlier this month the City’s Library Advisory Committee toured four newer libraries in our region to better understand the design and layout options for the new Capitola Library. The Committee visited the Scotts Valley Library, the Santa Clara Northside Library, the San Jose Pearl Ave. Library, and the Los Gatos Library. While each library is different, they all demonstrate how a modern library can be a hub for community learning and engagement.
The next step in the development of our library will be the selection of the architecture team to prepare the design. Look for the City to select an architect in October, with a public design process this winter. If you are interested in participating in that process, look for meeting notices on our website, or contact [email protected] to be added to a mailing list.
Capitola’s Police Department: Responding to a Changing Time
As has been widely reported in the local and national media over the last several years, a number of high profile incidents involving police departments have focused public attention on policing and public policy. The Capitola Police Department prides itself in providing the highest level of service to its community and the public.
In the context of these national conversations, the Capitola Police Department has tried to take a leadership role in our County in implementing the best possible practices to ensure the public that our community policing model is effective, transparent, and accountable.
Last year the City was the first police department in the County to outfit its entire staff with body cameras. The cameras are intended to help provide a level of public transparency regarding police activity, and have been embraced by our staff as a valuable tool. Already the cameras have been used to help resolve complaints, expand our training programs, and provide valuable evidence in connection with criminal cases demonstrating their effectiveness.
Then earlier this year the City hired an outside consultant to examine the Police Department’s “use of force” incidents over the last five years. A “use of force” incident is any time a police officer uses physical force to affect an arrest or overcome resistance of an unwilling suspect.
The City’s goal with the study was to comprehensively review our own data and to provide an opportunity for our community to better understand how public safety service is being delivered in the City of Capitola.
The study found that over the past five years the Department had 32 incidents involving the use of force. During the five-year examination period, we had 88,171 calls for service and 4,801 arrests.
We invite you to go to the City’s web page and click on the Interactive City Information link to learn more about the department, the use of force information, and this summer’s Grand Jury report.
City Construction Project Updates
Fall Road Paving. The City has contracted with Granitrock to complete our fall road-paving project on Monterey, Park, and Kennedy Avenues. Work started in mid-September with the removal and reconstruction of curb ramps. The actual repaving work will begin in mid-October. Work will be intermittent, but delays and inconveniences during construction should be expected, as there will be road closures and detours in place.
Jade Street Tennis Court Reconstruction. Reconstruction of the tennis courts is scheduled to begin on October 3. During construction, which is expected to take five weeks, the courts will be closed to the public.
We will keep you up to date on these and other projects in future articles and on the City’s website www.cityofcapitola.org.
Community Events
The City of Capitola and the Capitola Art and Cultural Commission completed another great summer of free concerts, movies and cultural events. In 2016, the City held 13 Wednesday Twilight Concerts, six Sunday Art and Music and the Beach art shows and concerts, three Movies at the Beach, and a live opera with a symphony orchestra.
During first week of November, artists participating in the Capitola Plein Air event will be painting around the City. The awards ceremony and art sale will take place on Sunday, November 6 from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the New Brighton Performing Arts Center.
The Monte Foundation Fireworks Extravaganza will take place on October 9 at dusk. Come down to Capitola Village and to watch a free fireworks show. Proceeds from the event sponsors will go to support the new Capitola Library.
The November election is coming soon. The Chamber of Commerce is hosting a Capitola Candidates’ Forum on October 5, at 7 p.m. at Capitola City Hall.
The Forum is intended to help voters better understand each the candidates’ position on issues and policies. The forum will also be televised live on Charter Cable Channel 8.