Nate Bradley and his dog, Raider, stand outside a store in Capitola. An off-leash dog area could be added to Noble Gulch Park. (Tyler Maldonado — Santa Cruz Local)

CAPITOLA >> The Capitola City Council on Thursday advanced a plan to turn most of Noble Gulch Park into a fenced, off-leash dog area with drinking water stations. The council told city staff to develop a potential site plan and budget. 

The council also discussed changes to dog leash rules, including whether to adopt a 60-day off-leash trial period at either Monterey or Jade Street park. Nearby sports programs, schools and children’s play areas made those places less attractive for temporary or permanent off-leash areas.

Capitola Mayor Kristen Brown said she would have supported a trial off-leash period at Monterey or Jade Street park during certain hours, but she acknowledged the idea was unpopular with the rest of the council. “So I’m going to jump on board with the Noble Gulch idea if we can extend it to the entire park and have it fenced in. I think that that’s going to be a good opportunity for people to continue to have a better space” for off-leash dogs, Brown said. 

It’s not yet clear whether the plans would fence the whole park. Noble Gulch Park is at Bay and Monterey avenues, a few blocks from New Brighton Middle School. 

Councilmember Alexander Pedersen called Noble Gulch Park “an amazing opportunity right down the street.” He said he opposed a trial of off-leash dog areas at Monterey or Jade Street parks because of the proximity to children. 

“I have seen some [dogs] who are aggressive, and I wouldn’t feel comfortable having an off-leash dog park” near children’s play areas, Pedersen said. He added that most dogs are not a concern.

Brown asked Capitola Police Chief Andrew Dally during the meeting whether dog attacks were frequently reported. “I don’t have the exact numbers, but it’s not frequent,” Dally said. “I’m not aware of anything recent like that, but we do get reports of dog-on-dog” attacks, Dally said.  

Residents who spoke at the meeting were mostly in favor of more opportunities for off-leash dog time. 

“Off-leash dog areas build community — they really do,” said John Fox of Capitola. “It’s much different than just walking your dog on a leash because you don’t interact with the dog owners that much,” Fox said.

Others who opposed off-leash dogs mainly focused on the additional urine and feces such policies might bring. 

“Many dog owners feel like their dog’s urine is fairy dust. It belongs everywhere. It enhances the environment, as witnessed by the puddles on the corners of most buildings in the village, and all of the light poles,” said Karen Hanna of Capitola.

Mike Kelly described himself as “an almost daily violator” of the laws that require owners to have dogs on leashes in most of the city. He spoke in favor of the trial period that was initially considered by the council, and asked the council to recognize “the obvious demand for such a thing, otherwise we wouldn’t be scofflawing,” Kelly said. “There wouldn’t be so many of us, all day long, everywhere.”

City staff is expected to return with a plan for the off-leash area at a future city council meeting.

Construction bids are expected this summer for an overhaul of the Capitola Community Center in Jade Street Park. (Tyler Maldonado — Santa Cruz Local)

Capitola Community Center renovation

The Capitola council on Thursday also voted unanimously to approve plans to renovate the Capitola Community Center with help from a $3.2 million state grant. The full project is expected to cost more than $6 million. 

The council authorized the city’s Public Works department to advertise for construction bids. State leaders told city staff in May that the grant would be awarded. As part of this award, the project must go out to bid this summer and start construction in the fall.

Basketball and tennis are popular at Jade Street Park. (Tyler Maldonado — Santa Cruz Local)

New police chief to be recruited from department

Capitola Police Chief Andrew Dally is retiring this year, and the council unanimously approved a recruitment process to find his replacement from within Capitola Police.

Capitola City Manager Jamie Goldstein said this was the first time he made a recommendation for an internal recruitment process. “We’ve got some terrific folks in the leadership in this department,” Goldstein said at the council meeting.

The review process would include:

• Internal review, in which staff and representatives of the police association would meet to define necessary characteristics of a new chief.
• Internal recruitment, in which candidates will be screened based on initial criteria and testing. 
• Two interview panels. One panel would include community members, department heads, and two council members, and another “professional panel” would include current and retired police leaders.  

During Thursday’s meeting, the council added Councilmember Joe Clarke to the professional panel. Clarke is a former Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s sergeant, but he said he wanted to be added to the panel as a city council member. Councilmembers Pedersen and Margaux Morgan were added to the community panel. 

The Capitola City Council meets on July 25. (Tyler Maldonado — Santa Cruz Local)

City council pay holds steady

The Capitola City Council voted 3-2 to take no action on a proposal by the Finance Advisory Committee to raise council stipends to the maximum allowable amount of $950. The proposal followed a recent state law that tried to promote equitable access to more candidates. 

Capitola City Council members now earn a $660 monthly stipend. Council members are expected to spend 40 hours each month in meetings and conducting council business. 

Vice Mayor Yvette Brooks and Councilmembers Clarke and Morgan voted to take no action on the raises. Brown and Pedersen voted to take action.

Brown, who is termed out from the city council this year and would not have received the raise, said the raise would help future council members offset the hidden costs of serving on the council. 

“A lot of times, being in closed session means you have to leave work early, or you need to have child care,” Brown said. Council duties sometimes pull members into meetings at 2 p.m. on weekdays, she said.

“It’s not formally required, but is it expected of you to join different clubs within the community that have dues you have to pay,” Brown added. “We’re asked to present proclamations at events that have tickets that cost upwards of $175,” she said. As council members are not allowed to accept gifts, she said these costs can add up.

Councilmembers Clarke and Morgan and a number of public commenters said a raise would not look good to voters because of a city sales tax hike on the November ballot. 

“We should pass on it until after our [sales tax] measure has passed,” Clarke said. “Once that happens, look at things that are on a more proportionate scale to pay.”

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