City Council also approves funds for local art, music programs
The Buellton City Council was in a giving mood during its regular meeting on Thursday, Oct. 23, as it granted funds to two arts programs in Buellton, and also pledged its share of money toward a new aquatic center on the Santa Ynez High School campus.
In fact, the council upped the ante by passing a motion to increase its pledge on the condition that the City of Solvang matches it. The aquatic center is a joint undertaking involving the cities of Buellton and Solvang, the Santa Ynez Valley Aquatics Foundation, a local nonprofit organization, the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District (SYVUHSD), and the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.
The item on the aquatic center was heard without Vice Mayor Elysia Lewis, who was recused due to her management position with SYVUHSD.
In introducing the item, City Manager Scott Wolfe explained that the proposed aquatic center would consist of a second pool, to be used as a recreation facility, to add to the current pool, which is used for competition but is currently not up to standards. A stainless steel pool structure was purchased by the Aquatics Foundation several years ago and is currently in storage awaiting a location to be constructed. Fundraising efforts are underway to raise in excess of $13 million needed to make the necessary improvements to the SYHS campus to install the new pool and renovate the existing pool.
The Aquatics Foundation has asked that Buellton and Solvang make pledge for funds at $450,000 to, as Wolfe put it out, “have some skin in the game.” Solvang had approved their $450,000, which would be paid upon the future groundbreaking of the facility, at a council meeting earlier this year.
The proposed facility, and Buellton contribution to it, were universally endorsed by public speakers and councilmembers, citing the benefits of a proper competition pool for local athletes, a place for people to take a dip and cool off on a warm day, and a nearby location where kids could learn to swim.
“When I grew up there was no pool, nothing,” said former Buellton Mayor Judith Dale in public comment. “Growing up, raising kids here, if I wasn’t working at UCSB, my kids wouldn’t have had a place to learn to swim. Please accept this pool.”
Solvang City Manager Randy Murphy was also present, speaking as a member of the fundraising committee for the pool. “We accepted the amount to encourage the Chumash and private entities to make donations. We had given $450,000 to the Solvang Senior Center, and I thought aquatic complex was worth that, too.”
During the discussion, Councilmember John Sanchez was the first to suggest that Buellton raise the amount of their pledge from the suggested $450,000 to $550,000
“It’s big value to have our skin in the game,” Sanchez said. “I would consider going to $550,000 so we would have more than Solvang. It’s a nice message to donors to show if they’re not messing around.”
Mayor David Silva said he would agree to that if Solvang also would, saying that both cities should pledge the same amount. After discussion among Silva, Wolfe, and Murphy, it was agreed that Buellton would pledge $500,000 toward the project to make it an even $1 million between the cities. Murphy said he would bring the increase to the Solvang City Council at a future meeting of theirs.
The motion by Silva to pledge the $500 million, with a provision suggested by Councilmember Carla Mead that Buellton be involved with the management and programming of the aquatic center, passed by a 4-0 vote, with Lewis recused.
Earlier in the meeting, the council passed a motion awarding funds to two Buellton arts programs.
Alison Firey of Buellton Parks and Rec introduced both programs, the first being the Buellton String Project, where local kids signed up to learn the violin or cello through instruction at the Buellton Recreation Center. With the presentation, the council and audience even got to see a brief concert as program instructor Mary Woodruff and 6-year-old Coco, whom Woodruff identified as the “youngest, and best” student in the class, played what Woodruff called the “Pepperoni Pizza version” of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”
While staff recommend a grant of $15,000 for the program, the City Council decided that was too low.
“This is the exact intent of the Arts and Culture Committee,” said Councilmember Hudson Hornick. “I think we should fund their full ask, more than staff recommends.”
With that Lewis moved to award $20,000, the amount request by Firey, and the motion passed 5-0
In the same item, Firey introduced the Buellton Mosaics Project brought by Veronica Medina and Stacy Curry, owners of Community Clayworks.
Medina and Curry, whose mosaic work on the wall of the Buellton Post Office is visible to motorists traveling into the city on Highway 246, proposed the creation of two new large-scale public mosaics celebrating native California wildflowers, continuing their mission to enhance the visual landscape of Buellton with vibrant and meaningful public art. The two requested $30,940, an increase over the $22,060 they received in 2024. One reason the pair gave for the increased amount of the request was that they felt they “lowballed” the worth of their work the previous year, an opinion Silva agreed with.
“We should be thoughtful about paying business a fair amount,” the mayor said. “We would like [the staff] to do the numbers, so we’re paying a business accurately.”
Silva moved to award the $30,940 request with staff directed to work with the applicants for a separate business item to discuss further disparity between the project as funded and the actual cost. The motion passed 5-0.
The City Council will next meet on Thursday, Nov. 13, at 6 p.m.
