The vote carried 4 to 1, with councilman Ed Andrisek voting against spending the money.
For months, council members have been mulling the idea of creating a memorial at the park to honor Hick’s extensive work in the community. Mayor Holly Sierra had proposed naming the barbecue area at the park after Hicks, who served the city from 1994 to 2011. Hicks was known for donating his time and talents at many community barbecue events.
In July, vice mayor Dave King broached the idea of renaming the park after the late councilman because he thought doing anything less would diminish Hicks’s other achievements outside of the park.
In August, Matt Hicks, the younger of two sons, said the Hicks family wanted the city to pursue an alternative to renaming the park, because Jake and Jeanette Willemsen had donated several acres to the city for the park on the condition that it would not be named after an individual.
The bench will be installed in the roundabout area in the west area of River View Park or near the barbecue area, with a dedication message written by the family inscribed on the upper part of the bench.
It will read: “Dedicated to the Memory of Russ Hicks: Russ Hicks served on the Buellton City Council from 1994-2011 and served as Mayor six times. He also served on the Buellton Planning Commission from 1993-1994. He devoted countless hours representing the City’s interests on numerous regional and state boards. While on the City Council, Mr. Hicks was instrumental in the Avenue of Flags Beautification Project, the construction of two City parks, securing funding for various road improvements, and the construction of the Buellton Community Recreation Center.”
The council chose the bench option over two other proposals: one to build a $6,000 monument in the roundabout area in the west area of the park. The design would have mirrored the “Welcome to Buellton” sign at Ballard Road and Highway 246 and the City Hall sign. The other option council decided against was placing a $2,000 granite plaque in a stone boulder, which would have been placed in the same area as the proposed monument.
At the latest meeting, Matt Hicks told the council that the memorial must have a sign explaining Hicks contributions to the city. He said he preferred the boulder proposal over the bench idea. “No one can argue that bench isn’t gorgeous,” he said. “But it doesn’t really say when you drive in, ‘This is what this place is.’”
Councilman Dave King said it was important that the memorial explain why it is dedicated to Hicks, because fewer residents over time will recognize his name.
“If you go to places in Los Angeles, you see predominate areas that have plaques that say when they were put up, who they honor,” he said. “I think this is a really good idea. If someone comes to visit 20 to 50 years from now, they’ll actually see why that memorial was put there and what the accomplishment was of that person.”
Councilman Andrisek in July voted against moving forward with a memorial because Hicks had adamantly opposed renaming city property after people. Moreover, the city is still in economic recovery mode and should “exercise some restraint,” Andrisek said.
He noted that John Bull, a family friend of Marine Cpl. Aaron Allen, who died while serving in Iraq, asked the council to fund a memorial “renaming the whole Avenue of Flags after all soldiers who have been lost in battle.
“We pulled back on that,” Andrisek said. “And they went out and raised the money.”
Instead of drawing from city funds, the public should “pony up,” he added. “I’m all for him being recognized. I don’t want to step on anybody’s toes, but I’ve heard a lot of ballyhooing about tax dollars, and this is an expense that I can’t justify to the citizens.”
Mayor Holly Sierra said a bench memorial would not only recognize Hicks’s achievements, but also offer a practical purpose to the community. “While I agree that city funds have to be managed prudently, I do believe there is a total difference between an outside commercial development and honoring a person in the community.”
Councilwoman Judith Dale echoed Andrisek’s concern and suggested starting a fundraiser in the community. “I would be the first person to write a check,” she said.
Although he said the city should welcome donations for the memorial, councilman John Connolly said taking $2,000 from a $500,000 surplus to honor “someone who enhanced the value of the city and made it more of a small-town atmosphere” was well worth the price tag.
“I really don’t think this is something we need to hold back on any longer,” he said before making the motion that the council direct staff to install the bench. “I think if you don’t agree with it, don’t vote on it.”
Dale put her reservations about spending city money on the memorial aside and voted with the majority, but she said the council should look into setting aside a strip of city property that honors the “forefathers of Buellton.”
Also, the council awarded a citywide landscape maintenance service contract to Valley Crest, one of the three companies that responded to the city’s request for proposals.
Given the scope of work and the proposed work force, Valley Crest would offer more experience in several areas, according to the staff report. These include irrigation technology, using third-party consumer evaluations to make any necessary corrections to their operations. It also has experience maintaining golf courses.
The Valley Crest proposal of $88,740 is within the budgeted amount and funding for this contract is from the city’s land maintenance fund. The city has an agreement with Venco Western Inc., which expired on June 30. Venco’s contract cost was $148,526 per year.