Colusa officials said they want to satisfy the needs of the public by setting goals and priorities.
Colusa Mayor Greg Ponciano put the item on the agenda earlier this month to encourage local officials to think forward.
Ponciano said the council each year should “spit out” ideas for possible projects and assignments, beyond their routine committee assignments, for the city to take on over the next 12 to 24 months.
“Hopefully, this will become an annual event,” Ponciano said. “Everyone who has sat behind the dais here has campaigned at some point in time, gone out and knocked on doors, and gone out and talked to people. We hear what the public says and we tell them what we’re going to do. Then you get up behind the dais and you’re drowned by information coming at you and only deal with what’s thrown at you.”
Councilwoman Denise Conrado said she made a list of her priorities, based on what she has heard from her constituents.
“A community center is desired; repair and replace the roads; ADA compliant sidewalks; continue the senior swim, a very popular program; more services and activities for seniors; continue to expand family-oriented events the city has been putting on; a dog park; purchase the theater; improve the stage at Veterans Park; improve the quality of our water; limit the cannabis businesses; the mushroom plant smell; more boutique businesses downtown; and be like Winters,” Conrado said, the last request drawing chuckles from the audience.
Conrado said the public also wants crosswalks at Bridge and Market Streets.
“Street improvements are paramount, obviously,” agreed Councilman Ryan Codorniz. “The street department has been out working on the streets and I will commend them on the potholes they have fixed. It looks a ton better than it used to.”
Codorniz said while some of the streets have been patched, there are a lot of streets that need to be rebuilt and redone completely. He also would like to get a list of needs from the departments, so the council can begin to tackle those problems.
“Every department in the city has been running on a skeleton crew for too long, as well as some of the things they use on a daily basis” he said.
Like Conrado, Codorniz wants more recreation for seniors and wants to see grant information on the city’s website; plans to install bike paths; and complete the Pirelli purchase and get it in use.
Councilwoman Julie Garofalo expanded on water quality issues and wells.
“I get a lot of calls, especially recently about brown water,” she said.
Garofalo said she would like the public to be able to report issues online and see more information about the progress the city has made on the city’s website.
Garofalo also wants to see the city reduce tripping hazards by filling holes where trees have been removed.
Councilman Daniel Vaca said he would like to have the city and community continue to focus on infrastructure jointly, on both short term and long term projects.
“I also want strategic spending, not only with Measure B money – but ARPA,” Vaca said.
Vaca said in order for the city to fix roads and meet the public’s needs, the city needs to pay close attention to the budget.
Ponciano said the council will try to develop a complete list of projects and prioritize them as short or long term.
“I share everyone’s concern about infrastructure…” Ponciano said. “I would like us to be able to take care of it at some point in time.”
Ponciano’s list was much like the other council members’. He said he would like to see a joint meeting of the City Council and Planning Commission, and have the city do a citywide staffing level evaluation, not just of the police, but also City Hall and other departments.
Ponciano also said he wants the city to look at a possible citywide cannabis tax, which requires approval by the voters to implement, but would take the place of their current developer agreements as the city’s source of revenue from the industry.
“I think we should start the discussion and maybe do some fact finding,” he said. ■