July | 2 of 10
Monday, July 10, 2023
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-Zack Cinek
City gov’t
Commercial Street planning process advances
City Hall has council support to pursue a master plan for improving life on the East Commercial Street Corridor.
Turn out for the vote was low with Councilwoman Madge Strong absent and Saprina Rodriguez who abstained due to running multiple businesses on the street.
City Hall won its support to continue planning efforts on a 2-1 vote. Councilman Larry Stranske voted “no.”
The city contracted with Ashland, Oregon-based Terrain Landscape Architecture for the project.
General Manager Brian Bender explained the project’s history in a written report last month.
BRIAN BENDER: The origins of this project date from September 1, 2021, special City Council session when the members discussed various elements of the City’s Water Program including the Park Well. From that discussion, staff presented to the Council at their September 29th meeting, a policy outlining guidelines for the Park Well’s utilization including the establishment of a new revenue fund supported by the sale of bulk water. The Council accepted the policy including a proposal to make improvements at the sports complex. Subsequently, staff realized the discussed improvements required additional planning and sought the necessary design expertise. From the initial limited scope of reconfiguring a parking area, the project gained momentum resulting in a more comprehensive perspective to include the entire corridor to ensure planning connectivity.
As of the last meeting, the consulting firm had billed the city for $11,040; the city’s agreement for a master plan is for an estimated $20,000, the report stated.
A master plan would map the future of civic development on East Commercial.
Bender said earlier that “we want to make sure we are getting those results. We want to see the results being implemented and moving the community forward.”
The city also held a public meeting in June to gather more community input.
Comments from that meeting are published in the report.
ADDITIONAL INFO: Read it for yourself, it begins on page 45.
The project takes in an area from the empty lot at Commercial and Main Street to the ball fields and skate park on the eastern end of Commercial Street.
Public comments included calls for:
More park benches
Removal of an old tree near the Skunk Depot
Install a community garden where John’s Place used to be.
NOTE: There is a mixed-use project in the works for apartments and more at the same property, but a community garden would be a nice centerpiece somewhere else.
No more liquor stores
More shade trees
Slow traffic down, people drive too fast
That is some of what the public had to say.
The report itself, similar to an earlier draft NEWSBOY covered last month, looked at ways to add signage and increase access to all of the street's amenities be it a private business or a public facility.
One public comment included in the report suggested doing something with the old Carnegie Library building at the corner of Humboldt and Commercial, like using it for housing if nothing else.
Which brings to mind that maybe the city-owned old library building could be a warming shelter during the cold months.
The report acknowledged city manager Bender, LACO engineer Rod Wilburn, Mendocino County Museum Administrator Karen Mattson, and Mendocino County Museum Curator Lindsey Dick.
Around town
Noyo Theater, Willits, on the 4th of July. Commercial Street had a pulse that evening. At that moment, the Noyo’s concession counter was staffed and a ramen noodle shop to the right was busy closing down for the day. For those who don’t know Willits all that well, the theater sits near the western terminus of the East Commercial Street Corridor.