Lincoln City Council appoints candidates to vacant council seats

The Lincoln City Council approved a resolution to cancel the General Election to fill two council member seats. California Elections Code Section 10229 allows the city to cancel the election due to the number of filed candidates equaling the number of open seats. The elections code also provides the city with the authority to appoint the two qualified candidates to serve on the council as if they were elected. According to the staff report, the two qualified candidates are Mayor Holly Woods-Andreatta for District 1 and Candidate Benjamin Brown for District 2. According to Lincoln City Clerk Gwen Scanlon, the candidate filing period closed on Aug. 12 at 5 p.m. and was not extended as there were no incumbents, as Woods-Andreatta was elected at-large. The staff report confirms no one currently serving on the council resides in District 2. Scanlon confirmed write-in candidacies will not be accepted after the appointment of the council seats and the city is estimated to save $73,000 by not proceeding with the election. Councilmember Dan Karleskint confirmed the decision would cancel ballot entries, not the election. "We're not canceling an election," he said. "We're canceling some ballot entries. … In the future, if we run into this, I think we need to be really, really clear about what the process is." Karleskint also noted that if someone were interested in running for city council, they would have already reached out to confirm the process and qualifications. "The way I see it is if someone was that interested and didn't know about it previously, and I wasn't expending any additional taxpayer dollars to leave that window open, fine," Councilmember Alyssa Silhi added. "But spending 73,000 taxpayer dollars just so that somebody can figure out two months too late they might be interested - there's always four years from now." Woods-Andreatta confirmed she and Silhi did "a lot of outreach on our own to solicit candidates." Karleskint noted he also conducted outreach efforts. "The bottom line is nobody else chose to run," Woods-Andreatta said. "I'm in favor of saving the money. I mean, it's cool to see my name on the ballot, but for $73,000 for no reason, I'm not for that." Councilmember William Lauritsen said there were other areas the city could save money and "just canceling elections, it bothers me." Lauritsen noted write-in candidates would not have the option to be elected if the city decided to not proceed with the election. Mayor Pro Tem Paul Joiner said, "What is the likelihood that someone failed to pull papers to run for one of the districts, as thus far failed to register as a write-in candidate, but will come in very last minute as a write-in candidate and win." Joiner also confirmed this action is not unprecedented for the city and he could not justify spending taxpayers' money with "the odds of a successful write-in campaign are slim and none." The council approved the resolution in a 4-1 vote, which means there will be no ballot items for the city of Lincoln in the General Election this November. Lauritsen submitted the lone naye vote. According to Scanlon, Andreatta and Brown will take the oath of office on Dec. 13. In other news The council unanimously approved designating the Lincoln Downtown Specific Plan area (the downtown area along Lincoln Boulevard and the greater downtown area) as a Green Zone under the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) Green Zone Pilot Program. According to the staff report, the pilot is a multi-year program that aims to lower greenhouse gas emissions in the six-county Sacramento region through accelerated infill development as well as reducing and electrifying vehicle trips, and has eligible future funds that can be used on the Green Means Go program. A Green Zone is an area that has been locally identified for infill development within a center, corridor or established community as identified in SACOG's Metropolitan Transportation Plan/Suitable Communities Strategies. "So basically in order to qualify for Green Means Go funding … you have to identify an area of your community that you're going to call a green zone," Lincoln City Manager Sean Scully said. "And to be really clear, this does not change your land use authority. It does not change the ability for you to be critical and thoughtful on projects that come into that area. It simply unlocks your ability to access that funding for purposes that are in line with the mission of the pilot program." Scully said plans for the funding would include updating the design and zoning guidelines for the Downtown Specific Plan, completing an environmental analysis to facilitate redevelopment and meet housing/job goals, enhancing the infrastructure financing district formation and creating affordable housing. According to Scully, the city is proposing to apply for Category B funding for the planning efforts and Category C funding for an infrastructure project for the downtown area. "This is an opportunity for us to achieve some very expensive projects that we'd otherwise have to scramble to get our general fund dollars to make work, in addition to hopefully setting the course on a new direction for the downtown with professionally developed documents that we can use many decades, hopefully, into the future," Scully said. The council also received a presentation from William Jessup University regarding a partnership opportunity on the Clover Valley Preservation project. According to the staff report, the university is working with property owners and local jurisdictions to acquire an area to conserve natural resources. The 488 acres includes 27,000 oak trees, riparian and grassland habitat and is biologically diverse with plant and animal species. "We are looking at what we think, we describe it as a once in a lifetime opportunity, … to be able to secure some land for public enjoyment, for environmental research, for preservation of historical and cultural purposes …" John Jackson, president of William Jessup University, said. Michael McGrann, chair of the Institute for Biodiversity and the Environment for WIlliam Jessup, said the university is also working with the Western Placer Unified School District to collaborate with its neighboring preserve, which would make the preservation area to roughly 800 acres to engage students and provide hiking, bike trails and other recreational opportunities for the public. Jackson also shared if the area is not preserved, about 230 homes will be built there. "We'd love to challenge the city of Lincoln to be part of this experience and to make a financial commitment," Jackson said. "We think it'll benefit your residents. We also think it'll benefit the larger community." The Lincoln Council directed staff to explore funding options and what the city's commitment could be toward the preserve. "I love the idea of the preserve," Woods-Andreatta said. "I love the idea of maintaining that and using it for all the reasons that you suggested." Scully confirmed staff would have some information for the council at its next meeting.