To prove that the city is reconsidering its very controversial annexation proposal, Ukiah City Council member Mari Rodin this week suggested that the map showing the city essentially tripling in size be removed from its website.
“I think just to show the community that we are really seriously looking at a new map, that perhaps we could take the current proposed map off of the (city’s) website?” said Rodin, who serves on the city’s annexation ad-hoc committee with Mayor Doug Crane, and reported that the two council members recently met with the county ad-hoc committee, made up of 1st District Supervisor Madeline Cline and 4th District Supervisor Bernie Norvell.
“I just think we should take (the map down) and say that ‘new boundaries are under consideration,'” she suggested to Ukiah City Manager Sage Sangiacomo during the council’s July 2 meeting, to which Sangiacomo replied: “We’re happy to do that.”
“We, the city people, reiterated (at the ad-hoc meeting) that we are reducing the scope of our initial proposed annexation area, (and that) we want to give more time to engage with community members, and we also discussed the finances, how revenues from sales and property taxes are distributed between city and county entities,” said Rodin of the discussion with Cline and Norvell.
“And we also just touched on, but need to get further into, how we are looking to deliver services to our constituents, which is really, in the end, what this is all about,” said Rodin, noting that city representatives also said they would “soon bring back a new, proposed map.”
The July 2 City Council meeting was the first held after Rodin, Sangiacomo and Crane told the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors at their June 24 meeting that the city was reevaluating its ambitious Ukiah Valley Reorganization plan, which included a proposed map.
“When I saw the map, I was basically horrified,” Crane told the board, describing the proposed annexation map as being based on the consolidation of Ukiah Valley water agencies who then requested to be annexed by the city, “and that map came forward based on the idea of doing that re-organization annexation. In hindsight, that was a big f–k up. Just to put it frankly.”
“Big decisions require input and engagement, and we’re clearly engaged,” Sangiacomo told the board. “And where we are today, is a commitment from the city of Ukiah to engage with the community, engage with stakeholders and engage with the county.”
“Are you suggesting that the city is in a position to withdraw the current plan and come back with a new proposal?” 5th District Supervisor Ted Williams asked Sangiacomo, who responded that the city had not yet submitted a plan, only a pre-application for annexation, and that the City Council had not approved a plan or even a map, describing the unpopular map in the draft proposal as “starting this discussion, in a very awkward way. We all recognize that, (but) sometimes starting these discussions is not easy to do.”
“The problem I have is, people are calling me, irate,” Williams said. “I would have expected the city to pull back and say, ‘We’re not doing that plan. We hear the public, we will do something different.’ If you could make that statement, I think that would de-escalate the situation. Because now, people feel they have no voice. They’re going to city meetings, and they hear a presentation, but they don’t feel that there is an opportunity to be part of the discussion and actually steer it.”
Sangiacomo said that city officials had already announced their intent to “go through a meaningful, collaborative process to collect public input and to work with stakeholders… to define whether or not we even have a proposal to move forward with. At this point, there is not a proposal to withdraw, because we don’t have one yet to submit. But from this point moving forward, the map will change.”
The discussion ended with Williams suggesting that the board’s ad-hoc committee, made up of Norvell and Cline, meet with city representatives and gather more information regarding the annexation proposal and how it will affect the county’s finances, but stressed that he wanted to keep the public updated on the process.
“I’m comfortable saying that the ad-hoc will provide regular updates, and I think even once a month is more than acceptable,” Cline said.
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