Petaluma supports county transportation tax

Petaluma is lending its support to a countywide sales tax extension that could provide millions of dollars in funding to pave the city’s streets, ranked the worst in the Bay Area.

The Petaluma City Council Monday voted 6-1, with Councilman Mike Healy dissenting, to support placing the measure, known as Go Sonoma, on the Nov. 3 ballot. The measure would extend the current 1/4-cent sales tax that voters passed as Measure M in 2004.

Measure M will expire in 2025, and Sonoma County Transportation Authority officials are seeking an early extension. They say the November ballot won’t have many competing measures, and the presidential election will draw a large turnout, which is seen as favorable for passing the sales tax extension.

Opponents said the current coronavirus-induced recession is not a good time to ask voters for money. Some Petaluma residents expressed concerns that funding from the measure could go toward building a controversial project like the Rainier Avenue extension.

The measure is expected to generate $26 million annually and help Sonoma County transportation officials attract millions more in state and federal money for infrastructure projects. The original measure’s funding for Highway 101 widening and SMART train construction have been removed from the extension since those projects have been largely completed.

Revenue in the extension, which requires a 2/3 vote to pass, would be divided into pools for repaving streets, building new projects that move traffic and improve safety, funding public transit and building new bike paths. Petaluma would stand to receive nearly $1 million per year to repave it streets, or about double what it currently receives.

“This is seen by staff as a welcome addition in funding to address the condition of our roads, which are the worst in the Bay Area,” said Jason Beatty, director of the Public Works Department.

To place the measure on the ballot, the Sonoma County Transportation Authority needs approval of a majority of the cities and the county. Polling done last fall showed the extension passing with 73% support. James Cameron, director of projects and planning for the SCTA, said the agency would conduct more polling next month before the agency board decides to place it on the ballot at its July 13 meeting.

Cameron said the measure could generate revenue to provide construction jobs and help stimulate the economic recovery.

“Our economy has taken a hit,” he said. “Infrastructure will bring it back.”

An early draft of talking points about the measure included the planned Rainier Avenue extension, a controversial crosstown connector, as a potential project that could receive funding from the measure. Cameron said the list was based on projects in each city’s General Plan. City’s would be able to decide which projects to put forward to compete for the pool of funds dedicated for new projects.

Healy said he voted against moving forward with the measure because of concerns that some of Petaluma’s controversial project could be used by opponents to campaign against the measure. He suggested that Petaluma opt out of the funding pool for new projects and instead use that money to increase its share of street maintenance funding, a move that Councilman Kevin McDonnell supported.

“My preference would be to do it right rather than do it four years early,” Healy said.

Mayor Teresa Barrett, who ultimately supported the measure, said she was worried about the timing of the measure considering the recession and a potential county sales tax ballot measure for mental health services. Petaluma is also considering its own sales tax measure on the November ballot.

“I am very concerned with its ability to be successful,” Barrett said. “I have a lot of concern about the timing of this.”

(Contact Matt Brown at matt.brown@arguscourier.com.)