www.montereycountyweekly.com april 13-19, 2023 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 17 The Pacific Grove City Council has taken a stance against fun. Despite a lot of talk about “balance”—balancing the needs of residents and tourists, development and preservation, entertainment and quiet—the balance has fallen yet again in favor of the status quo. Specifically, City Council voted 5-2 on Wednesday, April 5 to stop a skatepark concept from proceeding on any of the prospective parcels in consideration, as staff writer Pam Marino reported. (Council unanimously agreed to remove George Washington Park from the list of prospective sites, amid a chorus of opposition. Only councilmembers Joe Amelio and Chaps Poduri voted to support ongoing discussion about a skatepark concept at one of two sites in consideration, both owned by Pacific Grove Unified School District.) The majority of council voted to take real potential sites out of the running—this stage would still have been just talks with PGUSD—and instead asked the city’s recreational staff to find a smaller site on an already paved location that will not impact nearby homes. As Councilmember Luke Coletti acknowledged, such a site is “mythical.” This is exactly what makes leadership hard: Saying yes to one person’s dream might mean saying no to someone else’s. In this case, it’s saying no to a pretty simple dream shared by hundreds of P.G. residents—including many children—to have a skatepark in town, and saying yes to someone else’s peace and quiet. The idea of a skatepark in P.G. originated with Alex White, a skateboarder and P.G. mom of two sons. In 2022, the City Council approved $158,000 in funds for planning and site selection, which began the process that culminated with the vote on April 5. That night, dozens of people spoke both in support and opposition, including White, who told council: “We must come together to honor this piece of the world so we can honor it for the next generation.” In the year since White first pitched the idea, P.G. city staff looked at multiple potential sites and conducted extensive outreach. Per a report to City Council: “Throughout this process, several sites have been assessed for feasibility. Thousands of community members have voiced their opinion via public meetings, the community survey and emails to the Recreation Board and City Council. This process has revealed that there isn’t a ‘perfect site.’” There isn’t a perfect site if you are unwilling to make somebody unhappy, and any project anywhere will make somebody unhappy. Councilmember Debby Beck acknowledged that while she was for a skatepark before she got elected, that was theoretical only—at that time, there was no specific proposal. It’s easy to say yes to an idea until somebody doesn’t like it. As Marino reported, lots of people don’t like the idea of a skatepark. They don’t like the potential for noise, or putting pavement on grass, or kids gathering, or simply of changing a patch of space they have accepted as part of their environment. That sends a clear signal. As one father said at the meeting: “My biggest concern with Pacific Grove right now is that the priorities seem to be more about the trees and the deer than the actual children of this community. The children are the future of this community and they have a voice and they should be heard.” White’s kids, 8 and 11, are frustrated that they were not heard; she says they both cried themselves to sleep after the vote. White is taking the loss in stride and says what’s next is looking to smaller concepts— instead of a neighborhood park of up to 10,000 square feet, a “skate spot” up to 5,000 square feet. She knows some of the same voices of opposition will emerge even then. “I expect some of the same rhetoric, but we’re not going anywhere,” she tells me. “I will see a skatepark in Pacific Grove one day. The fight’s not over.” Even though I don’t skate, I hope she’s right. But I have my doubts that P.G. City Council will say yes even to a smaller concept, because in the question of “balance,” not everything is weighted equally. Embracing change is hard; supporting the status quo is easy. Leadership is hard. In lots of decisions, there are winners and losers. In this case, where the status quo wins, kids are the losers. Sara Rubin is the Weekly’s editor. Reach her at sara@mcweekly.com. Skateboarding is Not a Crime …but Pacific Grove City Council seems to think it is. By Sara Rubin Battle Lines…Squid comes from a cephalopod-eat-shrimp kind of world, so Squid is used to lots of tentacle-pointing—“take that one, not me!” Of course, any notion of Squid’s that humans were better at getting along was obliterated years ago. But sometimes, Squid is still surprised by humans’ propensity to point fingers at each other. Take the unfolding saga of the Monterey County Central Democratic Committee, which you might expect to be a kumbaya gathering of progressive, politically minded people. Instead, it’s a soap opera. The group spends a disproportionate amount of its meeting time debating who is and is not a member (i.e., did they pay their dues on time?) and arguing about protocols instead of, say, strategizing about how to beat Republicans. Amid the chaos, a former party chair, Vinz Koller, on March 28 introduced a resolution that would have party members vote in April on whether to remove the current chair, Karen Araujo, from her leadership role. Removal requires a two-thirds vote—but Squid’s not sure if this group can even get a headcount. At least some of the math is already complete. Fifteen members signed a letter to U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley, asking him to get involved in the fray—Panetta, like all local Democratic elected officials, is automatically a member of the committee, and appoints an alternate to serve on his behalf. Panetta’s alternate is Koller. “Our ask of you is that you direct Vinz Koller to withdraw the resolution that has become negative fodder relative to our Democrat party in the media,” the letter reads. Panetta didn’t respond to Squid’s request for a comment; it seems he is too busy doing actual work, like trying to secure more federal funding for Pajaro. Value Plan…Luckily, Squid’s lair was spared from damage during the winter storms. While people are still cleaning up, those who discover at least $10,000 in damage are invited to file claims for property tax relief with the Monterey County Assessor’s Office. After the 2020 fires, 55 such claims translated to $11 million in reduced assessed valuation, meaning lower property taxes. This year, despite widespread damage, only 26 such claims have been filed—and in Pajaro, where 330 notices were proactively sent out, zero have so far been returned. “It surprised me that the response wasn’t as high as the fires, because it impacted such a huge area,” County Assessor Marina Camacho says. It surprises Squid too—but at the same time, it doesn’t. For a community that got hammered, and in which many people remain displaced, paperwork is likely pretty low on their list of projects. That said, Squid hopes they get around to it, and that everyone gets the relief they’re entitled to. the local spin SQUID FRY THE MISSION OF MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY IS TO INSPIRE INDEPENDENT THINKING AND CONSCIOUS ACTION, ETC. “The fight’s not over.” Send Squid a tip: squid@mcweekly.com
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