Prepare for a long lead-in.
That’s because the time is now for that annual ritual when Merced City Council leaders appear to take a collective breath and open up the public speaking podium to local residents so they can, essentially, speak their minds and be heard a few weeks before the leaders meet again, and face off with city department heads, to hash out goals and priorities for the upcoming budget year.
The tradition in recent years has been molded into three Town Hall style meetings, in north, central and south Merced.
The first was held Tuesday night at the Civic Center, downtown. The second will be held on Thursday, Jan. 30, in the Merced High School Cafeteria, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The third will be on Thursday, Feb. 6, at Stowell Elementary, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
On Tuesday night, each resident who wanted to speak was given three minutes to do so.
So without further ado, here’s a few examples of who got up and what was said:
‘Change the zoning’
Curtis, a south Merced resident, said he is very concerned about the way the city is growing.
“Urban sprawl is the enemy of this city, and is the enemy of almost every single one of the city’s goals,” he started out. “The city has a goal to remain solvent, but as we sprawl out, and have lower revenues per acre (and these are acres the city has to provide services for, rebuilding roads, maintaining infrastructure, hiring policemen and firemen) that goal is threatened.
“The city has a goal for it to have smooth and enjoyable traffic flows, but the sprawl that forces more and more people to drive threatens that goal. We can’t always add more lanes, and more lanes isn’t a fix.
“The city wants to provide affordable housing, and that goal can never be satisfied with exclusively single-family homes. The city wants to have a strong sense of community here but it’s really hard to build a sense of community in a suburban desert with no cultural centers.
“The most affordable and actionable way the city can address these concerns is by changing the zoning code. The overwhelming majority of the city is zoned R-1 which is nearly the lowest density zone that there is, and permits precious little. Some changes that come to mind are that we could for a trial period of 18 months, eliminate the parking minimum citywide. A lot of times these minimums are not based on fact, and they would allow for really excellent infill. We can up-zone many of our zones and permit more mixed use and higher density development. We can allow single room occupancy in more zones, right now it’s only allowed in two commercial districts. We need to allow more urban village zoning. We need transit-oriented zoning to support our future public transit needs, and we also need to allow micro businesses in residential zones.”
‘Feral cats are invasive’
Ron Cook, a Merced resident known for volunteering in community cleanups, said he feared he might be taking an unpopular position on cats, but he had to speak up for the sake of the Bear Creek Restoration Project.
“One of the goals of the renovation project is to remove non-native invasive species, and I think that we need to recognize that … feral cats are No. 1 on the list as far as the damage they’re doing to the ecosystem of the creek. I have no problem whatsoever if the community as a whole wants to make Bear Creek into a habitat for feral cats. But I think we need to go into this decision with eyes wide open, and realize the effect that it’s having on the other native animals, birds and mammals on the creek. [According to Wikipedia] Feral cats are devastating to wildlife, and conservation biologists consider them to be one of the world’s most invasive species on Earth.”
‘Traffic is too fast’
Gloria Conlon of the Downtown Neighborhood Association wanted to speak about something “very personal” to her.
“I have lived on 21st Street for over 50 years. We really need a reduced speed limit on 21st through town. I know it was at one time Highway 140. But 35 mph from the courthouse to G Street. It’s a nightmare. I mean hardly a week goes by that a pet isn’t killed or somebody hits a parked car. It’s just too fast. It’s a neighborhood, and I talked to someone about this years ago, and they said, ‘Well, you know, it’s business.’ Well, it’s business where the church is, and a block of attorney offices, but those are not a shopping center. Some of us have driveways on 21st Street, and believe me, you take your life in your own hands to get in or out of the driveway when people are barreling down the road at 40, 50 mph. Nobody adheres to the speed limit unless it’s gridlock. I just think that for a street like that, 35 mph is just too fast. That’s the same speed as G Street. Well, G Street has stoplights and four lanes, and a lot of other things that we don’t have.
“[Another thing] People can park right up to the stop sign in a residential area. When you’re trying to cross an intersection, you can’t make it. You can’t see. I totaled my car when I had stopped at 18th and H, and there was a big pickup parked there. I couldn’t see around. I had seen three cars previously. I waited for those to go by. I waited about three counts. There was nothing there. I pulled out and got broadsided.
“And she didn’t have a stop sign. I did, but I couldn’t see beyond the corner. Now I thought the state of California was bringing in some red zones on corners for visibility. I would like to talk to somebody about that.”
‘21st and Glen is awful’
Another woman who didn’t state her name said the subject of residential traffic inspired her to speak up.
“East 21st is horrible. 21st and Glen is awful. We had another serious accident there, or two. You tell us to drive 35 mph on there. You drive 35, they pass you on both sides, or they stop in front of your house, pull in your driveway and cuss you out for 20 minutes. I’m not joking. That actually happened to me. There are several areas on that stretch from G to Glen where you can very easily justify putting four-way stop signs up. Closer to the elementary school, where the kids cross, you need a four-way stop. Closer down to G Street, put a four-way stop there. That’ll slow ’em down. Or you’ll get more tickets. More revenue. It needs to be done.”
Encampments on creek
An unidentified member of the Merced County Human Services Agency — someone the mayor appeared to know as Jermaine — spoke about efforts pertaining to cleanups and the unhoused community.
“It’s tough. We have a lot of questions going to our law enforcement. But we have to get out there. … A good time to get out there is during a time when we have a cleanup, and there’s an opportunity to speak with the unhoused population. A lot of times I can see the reason why some of the trash had to be removed. Two weeks ago, I was down in Bear Creek, cleaning up, and I literally saw stories of unhoused encampments. They had one level, two levels, three levels down the bank. They had an anchoring system with a rope. They had clotheslines. And there comes a point when it gets too terrific. It gets to be too much, and things do have to be taken away. You have to get out there and have boots on the ground for this to be fully understood.
“Unfortunately I think as a city, we can’t build these affordable homes as fast as we need for the people who should be in those homes. But I think we are doing a really good job going from the unhoused on the streets, to our shelters, and then to a more long-term situation.”
Final word
There were several other public speakers, and of course, members of the City Council and some department heads, such as the chief of police, offered responses to the questions posed by residents.
Mayor Matthew Serratto had the last words on Tuesday night.
“Everybody here cares a lot about our city, as do we. We dedicate so much of our lives to try and make it better, and improve it for everybody and bring people together, and build community.
“The need is great. And the need is always greater than our resources. But we are going to keep working as creatively as possible to address all those needs. … Traffic, homelessness, roads, parks, public safety, animal control, trees, infrastructure, lighting planning, development, housing — all those things are core issues that I think we’ve heard over and over again tonight. And we will continue to keep working on it.”
The City Council’s strategic planning session for the upcoming fiscal budget will be held at the Civic Center on Feb. 15. Stay tuned for more details on that. Final budget talks will happen at the end of May and the month of June.