Brief Yountville Town Council meeting brings big news: Tagliaboschi to run for mayor
It was less than an hour on Tuesday, July 7, possibly the shortest Yountville Town Council meeting in years, beginning with several interesting comments and announcements made during the public comment section of the agenda.
Town resident and former director of public works Joe Tagliaboschi said that while it is good a lot of people have been attending meetings recently, he is “concerned about the tone and tenor of the council members. You ran on better communication, but I have not noticed that. I had hoped for better from all of you.”
“The Declaration of Independence had only 56 signatures,” he noted, pointing out that it does not necessarily take a majority to express the concerns or direction of a community.
Tagliaboschi voiced his concern about the lack of transparency on the part of the council, despite the list of vendors and expenses related to the Commons project. “It creates more questions than it answers,” he said.
In a surprise announcement, he said he will be running for mayor of Yountville to be able to “discuss differences and get this community back together.”
Town resident Stephen Becker asked the council why they “remain mute and sphinx like? The previous speaker raised valid concerns and yet the council has not commented. What do you think this conveys?”
Yountville Mayor Marjorie Mohler asked Town Attorney Gary Bell to explain the rules regarding public comments.
Bell answered, “Anyone can speak for five minutes about items not on the meeting agenda, anything related to the town, anything within the council’s jurisdiction.” Council members, however, cannot fully discuss or take action on items that are not on the agenda, he added, because others interested in the topic might not have known that the topic would be discussed. Bell did say that the council members are allowed to respond briefly to public comments or refer items to staff for future consideration.
Mohler said, “All of us are open to phone calls or emails if you need to discuss something with us.”
Resident Rick Oken asked that the town “create an executive summary which would ask three questions: What have you done? What have been the bad things that happened? What are the plans going forward?” He asked that it be clear and concise — one or two pages — in response to the “tremendous amount of uncertainty” about what is going on in town.
Other announcements at the meeting included:
- The Community Action of Napa Valley Food Bank barrel in the Community Center in Yountville is asking for donations of either dried or canned beans to help bolster their shelves in July.
- An outdoor Picnic with the Vets is coming up on Aug. 5 at 11 a.m. Residents interested in participating and sharing lunch with a veteran can contact Iren Jenny at [email protected].
- The Town Council meeting on July 21 will cover housing and the housing requirements for the town in an informational presentation to clarify and establish the goals and requirements for the town.
- The community listening sessions set for Monday, July 13, were announced as an opportunity for town residents to discuss the selection of a new town manager. A short survey is available online at Town Manager Survey.
