City manager gives overview from special City Council workshop held April 20

ATASCADERO — The Atascadero City Council met for its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, April 23, at 6 p.m. The hybrid meeting was held in the City Council Chambers.

During his Updates from the City Manager, Jim Lewis gave the community an update from the special City Council workshop that took place on Saturday, April 20, at 9 a.m.

“The council and the executive team were working very hard on Saturday at your annual workshop, and I just kind of wanted to recap for the public some of the incredible decisions that you (the council) made. They’re exciting,” stated Lewis.

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At the workshop, the council reviewed its Strategic Priorities and Projects and discussed the following:

  • 2023-2025 Strategic Priorities and Goals (Action Plan) 
  • Public Safety Facilities Project 
  • Zoo Accreditation 
  • Legislative Platform e. Community Engagement Program 
  • Short-term Rentals 
  • Essentialism Evaluation and Employee Culture and Mission Statement Updates 
  • Dial-A-Ride Program 

“On Saturday, they (the council) voted to move forward or directed us to move forward with new plans for Fire Station #1,” Lewis added. “They gave us the green light to move forward with demolition of Fire Station #1 and a rebuild of a roughly 18/19 square foot fire station. It’ll be very modern and will fit at the existing site. We will be renovating station #2 and also renovating the Police Department.”

The council also approved the city to keep moving forward with being an accredited zoo by the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The Charles Paddock Zoo’s application is due in September. The council endorsed the city’s plan for a community engagement program, and asked staff to return with a discusion on short-term rentals and options on how to track, monitor and regulate them. The council will look at what those options might look like at a meeting in the future.

“Just a great Saturday. We were working together for about five hours, and I really appreciated the council’s focus. It was terrific,” concluded Lewis.

At the end of the meeting, during Council Announcements and Committee Reports, Mayor Heather Moreno gave an update on the SLOCOG (San Luis Obispo Council of Governments) proposed potential Countywide Self-Help Measure and Draft Transportation Investment Plan, which will not be moving forward. The potential measure was presented by SLOCOG at the April 9 meeting and can be found at atascaderonews.com/news/city-of-atascadero/slocog-presents-city-council-with-potential-measure-and-transportation-investment-plan.

“I will have SLOCOG and RTA (Regional Transit Authority) next week, and what is on our agenda is that we will not be moving forward with the sales tax measure. So that has been put aside, and we won’t be voting on that,” added Moreno. 

The next Atascadero City Council meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 14, at 6 p.m.