Santa Ynez Valley News
April 28, 2010
By Dave Bemis
The Solvang City Council hit a speed bump Monday night in trying to form an official economic-development advisory body, but quickly maneuvered around the obstacle.
The city’s new push to create an economic-development strategy began with a report in February by consultants who interviewed public officials, business people and other community members to assess the city’s situation and public perceptions of it.
The people who were interviewed were also invited to a workshop to discuss the consultants’ findings, and many of them responded to Mayor Jim Richardson’s invitation to form an economic-development committee.
However, on the verge of appointing people and forming an official body Monday night, council members were told that such a committee would be subject to the Brown Act, the state’s open meetings law, and its members required to make financial and other disclosures to the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission.
“At all cost, avoid a Brown Act committee,” said Councilman Ken Palmer. “People in the business community have enough forms to fill out without the Brown Act.”
Councilman Ed Skytt, who still disagrees with a conflict-of-interest judgment against him by the Fair Political Practices Commission last year, said many of the volunteers would probably drop out when faced with the FPPC’s financial disclosure forms.
Saying that a court battle would cost him much more, Skytt agreed to a $4,000 settlement with the FPPC in 2009 over a vote he cast in 2004 regarding a skateboard venue that eventually was built in Hans Christian Andersen Park.
Skytt believes that vote was legal because the location of the proposed skate park was more than 500 feet from a vacant property he owned. However, the commission said he was in violation because the property was within 500 feet of the park boundary.
City Attorney Roy Hanley noted Monday night that an ad hoc committee, not formed by action of the City Council, could contain up to two of the five council members along with other citizens without violating the Brown Act.
The city’s centennial committee is that kind of group, Hanley said.
Skytt suggested that Richardson and Councilman Hans Duus, who have already met with the volunteers, should continue to “bring these people into the discussion and possibly fine-tune exactly what we want this economic committee to become, and see what direction we want this committee to go.”
Other council members agreed but took no official action.
Richardson said he would contact all the volunteers as soon as possible to set up another meeting and discuss the scope of the group’s work.
Copyright 2010 Lee Central Coast Newspapers