Council approves temporary COVID-19 testing center, continues parklet discussion
Highlights from Aug. 17 Paso Robles City Council meeting
Highlights from Aug. 17 Paso Robles City Council meeting–Highlights from the City Council meeting, held on Tuesday Aug. 17, 2021, are as follows. The recording is available at www.prcity.com/youtube. There was only one item on the agenda.
Council did the following:
- Received a COVID-19 update from Fire Chief Jonathan Stornetta who reported that the number of active COVID-19 cases in SLO County is now at 1,250 – the highest total since Jan. 31 at 1,628. Active cases have tripled in August and are up 30-fold from 43 on July 1. Additionally, SLO County reported the first death of a young person in the 18-29 age group. Chief Stornetta and Mayor Martin reminded listeners that the majority of new cases are occurring in unvaccinated individuals and that 51.2-percent of residents within the 93446 zip code are currently unvaccinated.
- Approved a short-term lease agreement with the County of San Luis Obispo for a temporary COVID-19 Testing Center at the Train Station at 800 Pine Street.
- Approved a city commitment to match grant funds in the amount of $707,489 for installation of optical fiber cable in underserved areas of the city, should the city receive a grant. On Feb. 20, 2021, the city council held a visioning and goal setting workshop which outlined city council’s goals and strategic priorities over the next several years. A component of these goals and strategic priorities is to “promote Paso Robles as a destination for the ‘Remote Economy,’” and to “pursue funding and opportunities to expand internet access and connectivity.” This EDA application and the underlying intent of the grant meets this strategic priority.
- Received a report on the Downtown Parking Parklet Program from the Downtown Parking Advisory Commission. After much public comment and discussion, the Council asked staff to bring parklets back for discussion at the next City Council meeting to learn more about considerations involved in extending the parklet program or creating a permanent parklet program.
- Appointed Ty Lewis as City Manager. The position of City Manager is currently being filled on an interim basis by Mr. Greg Carpenter, who is a retired annuitant. The hiring of Ty Lewis will terminate the agreement with Mr. Carpenter. The City Council conducted an extensive search and interviewed numerous qualified candidates for the position. Based on this evaluation process, the City Council made a conditional offer of employment to Mr. Lewis, and he has expressed his interest in serving as the City Manager subject to the terms of the proposed employment agreement.
This is a subset of items approved at last night’s meeting. The full agenda can be found here and the meeting can be viewed here.
The next regular City Council meeting is on Tuesday, Sept. 7 at 6:30 p.m., in person and via livestream at www.prcity.com/youtube. Public comment can be made during the meeting by calling 805-865-PASO (7276) or provided prior to the meeting by emailing cityclerk@prcity.com.
Residents and interested parties may attend council meetings in-person or remotely. To participate remotely, residents can listen to the meeting live on the radio at 1230AM or livestream the meeting at www.prcity.com/youtube, and call (805) 865-7276 to provide public comment via phone. The phone line will open just prior to the start of the closed session meeting and again prior to the start of the meeting.
Written public comments can be submitted via email to cityclerk@prcity.com prior to 12 noon on the day of the council meeting to be posted as an addendum to the agenda. If submitting written comments in advance of the meeting, please note the agenda item by number or name. If attending the meeting in person, please submit all speaker cards and correspondence for city council to the city clerk.
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