Maria Orozco is expected to be sworn in as Watsonville’s mayor on Dec. 10. (Marcello Hutchinson-Trujillo — Santa Cruz Local file)
Watsonville City Council meeting
- 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 10
- 275 Main St., top floor, Watsonville
- Comment ahead of the meeting by email at [email protected].
WATSONVILLE >> New bike lanes on Green Valley Road and a leadership shuffle are on tap for the Watsonville City Council meeting Tuesday.
Watsonville City Councilmember Maria Orozco is set to become mayor and Councilmember Kristal Salcido is expected to become mayor pro tempore. The positions of mayor and mayor pro tempore rotate each year per the city charter.
Councilmembers Eduardo Montesino and Jimmy Dutra are expected to renew their oaths of office after winning reelection in November.
Mayor Vanessa Quiroz-Carter also won reelection to the city council, but she is unable to attend Tuesday’s meeting and is expected to be sworn in later, city staff said. Quiroz-Carter and Montesino ran unopposed.
Final election results were certified by the Santa Cruz County Clerk on Dec. 3. Watsonville voters also approved Measure V, which aims to make several minor improvements to the city charter and Measure W, which will allow non citizen residents to serve on city boards and commissions.
Green Valley bike lanes
In other city council news, city staff plan to hire a contractor to repair 0.4 miles of Green Valley Road from Carey Avenue to the city’s boundary at Corralitos Creek. The five-month, $2.5 million project is expected to start in the spring if weather permits, said Watsonville Public Works Engineer Patrice Theriot.
Bike lanes are also on tap for most of Green Valley Road between Freedom Boulevard and Corralitos Creek, along with about 100 feet of “sharrows,” Theriot said.
Wastewater grant
Separately, the council will also consider applying for a $37 million loan from the state for major repairs at the city’s wastewater treatment facility.
Some major structures were built prior to updated earthquake safety rules, according to a city staff report.
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Nik Altenberg is a copy editor and fact checker at Santa Cruz Local. Altenberg grew up in Santa Cruz and holds a bachelor’s degree in Latin American and Latinx Studies from UC Santa Cruz.
