At a ceremony held on Wednesday, Dec. 17 during the meeting of the Scotts Valley City Council, Councilman Dene Bustichi was appointed to the post of Scotts Valley’s mayor for 2015.
At the same meeting, Councilwoman Donna Lind was named Vice Mayor and newly re-elected councilmembers Jim Reed and Stephany Aguilar were sworn in to their new terms.
For Bustichi, a member of the city council since his election in 2004, it is his third round as mayor. The mayor is selected annually from the five-person city council, which votes on which of them will serve.
Looking forward to the year ahead, Bustichi said that, even with the economy in far better shape than it was in 2011 — his most recent previous year as mayor — his goal is to continue to promote Scotts Valley as an attractive place for businesses.
“Economic development is always on my mind,” he said. “There’s still work to be done — bring in businesses and help the businesses that we have currently.”
Bustichi said that he looks forward to the continued progress on the long-gestating Town Center project, and said that his goal is to ensure that, not only get the project built, but make sure that it stays true to the original vision of a vibrant downtown and not “just another strip mall.”
“(I want to) continue to move that process along and work with the current developer to get that project underway,” he said, “and make sure that it’s what the people want.”
He also said that, as the city moves forward, he would like to see a meeting between the various committees that advise and administer the city’s various departments to ensure that “everybody has a clear idea of what their goal is in city government.”
Bustichi also noted that, with the improving economic climate, “there’s been a lot more activity in our planning department.”
With that in mind, he said he would like to see the planning process streamlined to make life easier for planning staff, as well as new businesses and developers.
“I think it’s going to be important for the city to make sure that the planning department is able to serve the community the best we can,” Bustichi said.
Finally, he said, he looks forward to continuing the council’s support of the Scotts Valley Police Department, which, with a recent hire, is now fully staffed for the first time in several years.
“We support our police department 110 percent,” Bustichi said.
