Community members who have driven around Cotati may have seen the West Side Project starting to take place on Myrtle Avenue. This project is the result of months long debates amongst the council. With the project finally passing, the city is seeing the culmination.
Tuesday’s council meeting covered a wide range of topics from climate change to the city manager’s report. The meeting started off with public comment. This is where a couple community members brought up the issue of climate change and tried to make the council aware of the issue. Vice Mayor Mark Landman said there may be things about climate change on upcoming agendas.
The juicy part of the meeting had to do with presentations on Marijuana Dispensary and the SAFE program.
Steve Monahan has been presenting in front of the council since 2018. This presentation was to request for approval of a resolution granting 240 acres extension of the previously approved commercial cannabis retail permit renewal. The project is taking place outside the retail cannabis sales facility at 8145 Gravenstein Highway.
Since Monahan has been presenting to the council since 2018, he’s been updating the council on his progress. Vice Mayor Landman was very pleased with what he was seeing from the company. He said the resolution should be granted since the applicant is showing progress.
The next presentation, done by City Manager Damien O’Bid, was on SAFE (Crisis Assistance Helping out on the Streets). It is a two-person community police team consisting of a medic (a nurse, paramedic or EMT) and a crisis worker who has substantial training and experience in the mental health field.
O’Bid talked about how this program is in conjunction with the City of Cotati, Rohnert Park and extends to Petaluma and other surrounding areas. Funding for this program is 1 million dollars over the next four years. O’Bid went in depth on what the project was and what the point was behind it.
Finally, the meeting wrapped up with O’Bid’s report. He brought up news about the Covid testing site at St Joseph’s on Tuesday and Wednesday. On October 23, there’s a prescription drug take back day. He went on to say that the Cotati Music Festival was a success, and that the city is again doing a Candy Lane in the downtown area on October 31. So far 20 businesses have signed up to help with the event which is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
