Councilmembers review sample rental application from staff, oppose splitting up one of the conference rooms
Now entering its sixth month of operation in its new location on Dairyland Road, the Buellton Library was the topic of discussion during the Buellton City Council meeting on Thursday, June 26. Or, that is, the conference rooms in the facility.
Both business items on the meeting agenda concerned the two conference rooms in the library building: Meeting Room 1, which is next to the main entrance and being used mostly by the Friends of the Buellton Library as a used-book store, and Meeting Room 2, which is located next to the main section of the library, and looks out on the south lawn and patio.
The first business item dealt with guidelines for potential rental opportunities for the rooms. City staff put together a draft room rental application for review by council. Public Works Director Rose Hess said the sample application was based on the templates from CJPIA, the City’s insurance and risk management agency, as well as applications from other similar publicly owned rental facilities in the area, and staff was seeking input on the rules and regulations, hours of availability, and rental fees contained in the document.
Councilmember Hudson Hornick started off council questions asking about the possible noise coming from the room if the room was rented out for a party. The application banned “amplified music” in the room, but allowed bluetoothspeakers, which Hornick had an issue with, saying that bluetooth speakers are just as loud as regular speakers.
Councilmember John Sanchez inquired about providing trash receptacles for big events, and how they would dispose of it. Hess said any trash could be stored away for eventual weekly pickup from the county.
However, a big sticking point with the entire council was the proposed rental fees for the rooms. The sample application quoted prices of $500 per hour to rent the space for Buellton residents or business ($1,000 for out-of-towners) and a $1,000 cleaning deposit. All the councilmembers thought that as too high, with Mayor David Silva noting that nearby River View Park charges $40 per hour with a $100 deposit. Hess said the prices were based on rental costs in other cities and municipalities, but could be changed.
From there, councilmembers also speculated about what kind of events should be held in the conference rooms. While parties were discussed earlier as possiblities for the space, Silva expressed his desire for the rooms to be used for groups’ community meetings.
“We have River View Park, with space and playgrounds to accomodate those kinds of events,” the mayor said. “I don’tthink a birthday party lends itself for library purposes.”
Vice Mayor Elysia Lewis agreed, saying, “The library I envision more for professional meetings; the park is more designed for kids to go crazy and have fun.”
City Manager Scott Wolfe told county that he and Hess could “tighten up” the application with more specific guidelines reflecting the council’s input, and they could submit a revised application for a future meeting.
The second business item dealt specifically with Meeting Room 1, which has been used by the Friends of the Buellton Library, mostly as a used-book store to raise funds for the organization, and, in turn, the library.
The original plan, as explained by Wolfe, was to devote most of the room space to FOBL, and partition off the other part to create a smaller conference room. However, FOBL has used the remaining part of the room as a children’s “play area” with toys and games, and would like to keep the room open with the entire space belonging to FOBL.
During public comment, Former Buellton Mayor and County Library Advisory Board Member Judith Dale requested that a wall not be put in.
“I’m very against building the wall,” she said. “A wall can structurally interfere with the room, and really limits what can go on.”
Speakers Ashley Sloan and other former Buellton mayor, Holly Sierra, who’s now FOBL president, echoed Dale’sthoughts, with Sierra saying FOBL would be happy to offer the space if someone requested it for a meeting.
The four councilmembers were in agreement opposing a wall in the room, with Silva saying the $15,000 it would cost for installation were better spent elsewhere.
Since it wasn’t an actionable item, Wolfe said he would bring a request to keep the room intact and under the autonomy of the FOBL and put that on a future meeting agenda.
The City Council will meet next on Thursday, July 10, at 6 p.m.
