Scotts Valley City Council election
With five candidates vying for three open council seats, the small-town race Nov. 8 was the most volatile in years.
Jack Dilles, a county school board member, defeated three-term incumbent Dene Bustichi and was the big spender in the race, spending more than $23,000 of his own money. With the assistance of Councilman Jim Reed, Bustichi and fellow incumbents Donna Lind and Randy Johnson were supported by a PAC called Neighbors for Keeping Scotts Valley Strong, which raised more than $14,000, most of it coming from local developers.
The Press Banner and Scotts Valley Chamber of Commerce sponsored a candidate forum that would focus on growth issues, small-town integrity and the condition of county roads.
Bustichi lost support when it was revealed that his contractor’s license had been revoked in 2015 and that he failed to pay a subcontractor $112,000.
Ballot measures
Ballot measures were in the headlines in June and again in November.
In June, voters rejected a proposal to raise property taxes to fund $310 million in repairs and upgrades to the Cabrillo College campus, but supported raising taxes to fund $67 million for new libraries, including one in Felton, and the renovation of others, including Boulder Creek and Scotts Valley.
In November, voters in the Boulder Creek and Zayante fire districts approved higher taxes to provide added funds for operations and new fire equipment.
Also in November, voters approved a half-cent sales tax increase for a broad range of transportation improvements.
Measure D, as the transportation measure was called, will provide at least $17 million per year over 30 years for road repairs, emergency lanes on Highway 1, improvements along Highway 17 and Highway 9, new buses, new bike lanes, and money for paratransit and jogging trails.
Statewide voter approval of $9 billion in school bonds all but assured Scotts Valley school officials of $5.7 million to build a new middle school gym.
The flight path debate
A bitter discussion about incoming commercial flight paths over the county was almost as loud as the commercial jets that were causing the havoc.
Residents from Soquel and Capitola squared off with those from San Lorenzo Valley, Santa Cruz and Scotts Valley in several appearances before a committee composed of elected officials from San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz counties.
At issue was a 2015 flight-path move that shifted a route several miles miles south. That flight path carries an average of 183 aircraft per day, or 30 percent of the arriving aircraft into SFO.
After much debate, the committee asked the FAA to return to the previous flight path that SFO arrivals had used for 30 years before last year, at lower altitudes over the San Lorenzo Valley.
Fires: Loma Prieta and the Trout Farm Inn
A blaze on Loma Prieta Road near Morgan Hill in the sweltering Indian Summer heat drew firefighters from Felton, Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz County and CalFire. They risked their lives for six days to help put out the Sept. 26, 4,474-acre wildfire.
A total of 986 fire fighters, 47 engines, 28 crews, three helicopters, eight bulldozers and 15 water tenders battled the blaze at its apex.
Earlier in the year, a kitchen fire destroyed a 69-year-old Zayante Road landmark, the Trout Farm Inn. There were no injuries, and firefighters kept the blaze from damaging the adjacent swimming pool or spreading to trees or nearby houses.
Water rates
A highly successful water conservation effort by Scotts Valley residents trickled down to a 27 percent rate increase so the Scotts Valley Water District would not default on its loans.
The district is in the business of selling water, so when people don’t buy it, revenues fall.
A family that uses 8,000 gallons of water in two months – the district median for a single family – will see its bill rise by about $22.50 in February. Water hogs will feel it in their pocketbook more than “typical” users.
The new water rate plan could nearly double residential water rates in five years, if there is little change in the number of customers or in how they use water.
The water board voted to review rates each year,.
‘The Story’
In what might be the most-disturbing event of the year, a 15-year-old male student at Scotts Valley High School gave a female student a violent, sexually graphic letter threatening to kill and rape her and 20 others, including teachers.
The event, which occurred shortly before school ended in June, caused consternation and disbelief among parents at the school. At angry meetings before the school board, students complained of not feeling safe. Parents charged that the school had soft-pedaled the entire incident by not reaching out to parents and warning them of potential danger.
As the beginning of the new school year approached, it was announced that the boy would not be returning to school.
Brookdale Lodge
It was a topsy-turvy year for the new owner of the Brookdale Lodge, who had high hopes of re-opening the historic complex by year’s end but saw that plan delayed into 2017.
New owner Pravin Patel, who purchased the abandoned hotel in 2014 for $2.75 million, said he plans to invest up to $7 million in the first two phases of his renovation and restoration project.
He began the first phase of reconstructing 46 hotel rooms and retail space in April, with first a September, then a December completion date.
To be known as the Brookdale Inn and Spa when work has been completed, Patel’s next phase won approval in the fall: the restoration and reopening of the historic dining room, formerly known as the Brookdale Lodge, that is split by free-running Clear Creek, to be completed late next year.
Boulder Creek pool
Coming in late 2017: a new public swimming pool in Boulder Creek — available to residents countywide.
The effort was led by the Boulder Creek recreation district and assisted by the county. The large public swimming pool is located at the former Bear Creek Country Club.
The $1.2 million purchase was accomplished with the help of Fifth District Supervisor Bruce McPherson, who channeled $450,000 from the board of supervisors to help fund the recreation district’s purchase in November.
Scotts Valley’s 50th birthday
There was a time when there wasn’t much in Scotts Valley except an airport, a supermarket, a gas station and general store and a one-room school.
In the 1960s that began to change, and the changes would come very fast. That vision of growth, combined with fears of becoming a dumping ground for Santa Cruz, led to the incorporation of Scotts Valley in 1966.
On July 4, the city celebrated its 50th birthday in style with its largest parade ever and a big party at the park that used to be an airport.
Job growth in Scotts Valley
Two projects nearing completion this year promise an uptick in job growth for Scotts Valley.
The University of Santa Cruz is relocating its administrative staff, 370 full-time positions plus more than 100 student and contract positions, to the former Borland Building on Santa’s Village Road.
The move begins next month, but won’t be completed until March, two months later than had first been announced. The university had signed a 20-year lease for 130,000 square feet of office space, moving three departments from Santa Cruz in the Enterprise Technology Center.
About 120 physicians and staff will move into the new Kaiser Permanente site on Scotts Valley Drive.
