While the topics of kindness and civility opened the Aug. 4 Yountville Town Council meeting, public calls for respectful disagreement, transparency and accountability set the tone as residents urged elected officials to improve meeting decorum, questioned a six-figure severance payment to the former town manager, asked for senior housing protection and sought greater oversight of […]
Kimberly Cook
Kimberly Cook is a former long-standing member of the Yountville Zoning and Design Review Board and is now reporting on Yountville Town Council and government issues for the Yountville Sun.
Posted inNews
Trust, transparency and the Commons dominate Yountville Town Manager listening sessions
Ralph Andersen & Associates, the firm hired by the Town of Yountville to recruit the next town manager, held two informal listening sessions at the Yountville Community Center on Monday, July 13, for residents and businesses to learn about, discuss and share their perspectives on the recruitment and hiring process for a new town manager. […]
Posted inNews
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 […]
Posted inNews
Calls for trust, transparency shape town manager search discussion at Yountville Town Council meeting
People filled the chambers for the Yountville Town Council meeting on May 19, while additional residents watched the proceedings on TV from the Locals Lounge next door. Council Member Robin McKee opened the meeting by reading the heartfelt apology she had published in the Yountville Sun last week as a letter to the editor. The […]
Posted inNews
ZDRB tackles Commons repeal and Pancha’s outdoor event expansion in dual decisions
Yountville Commons The first item on the agenda at Tuesday’s Zoning Design Review Board (ZDRB) meeting was consideration of a resolution repealing the zoning ordinance that created the Commons designation and allowed the project to move forward. The zoning change had to be put on hold after enough signatures were gathered for the referendum to […]
Posted inNews
Commons controversy overshadows appointment of Yountville interim town manager
With only one item on the agenda, and none related to the Commons project, council chambers were nonetheless filled to capacity again for the meeting on Tuesday, May 5. Before the public comment period opened, Town Council member Pam Reeves read a lengthy statement that focused primarily on Yountville’s state and county-mandated housing goal of […]
Posted inOpinion
Opinion: Yountville leadership ignored its own warning signs, now faces the fallout
In my opinion, the Yountville Town Council, mayor and town manager brought the turmoil that the leaders of our community are experiencing upon themselves. I have been in the unique position to attend and cover all of the town council meetings over the past eight months. In the role of a reporter, I have reported […]
Posted inNews
Yountville Commons reset: Neutral facilitator could shape next chapter
What would a neutral facilitator mean for the Commons project? Now that the Commons project has been paused to reconsider several of its most controversial elements, the Town Council has directed Town Manager Brad Raulston on the next steps. Among those directions is the selection of a neutral facilitator to assist with the process moving […]
Posted inNews
Packed house, high stakes: Yountville Town Council pivots on Yountville Commons
The April 7 Yountville Town Council meeting drew a standing-room-only crowd, with residents packing the chamber and spilling into overflow seating, underscoring the intensity of community interest in the future of the Yountville Commons project. Dominating the meeting was a discussion of the Town Council’s options following certification of the referendum that suspended the recent […]
Posted inNews
Jabara files records request challenging Yountville Commons costs, process
Gary Jabara, owner of The Estate Yountville, has submitted a California Public Records Act request to Town of Yountville attorney Gary Bell seeking information regarding the Yountville Commons project. Sent on April 1, the request covers all materials related to the project, from vendor agreements to staff reports, resolutions and administrative approvals, including emails, text […]