The Buellton City Council’s fifth seat will remain vacant until after the election.
Following Councilman Ed Andrisek’s July 8 resignation because of health reasons, the four remaining members were divided about how to fill the slot.
On Thursday night, council members voted 4-0 to keep the slot empty until after the Nov. 8 election, with the winner of a two-person race set to take office in December.
Earlier this month, a proposal to appoint Art Mercado, a Buellton Planning Commission member, failed because of a tie vote. Councilmen Dave King and John Sanchez favored the motions while Mayor Holly Sierra and Councilwoman Elysia Lewis voted against it.
Likewise, last month’s motion to keep the seat vacant until the election failed on a 2-2 vote.
Some of Sierra’s and Lewis’ objections about appointing Mercado stemmed from the fact that he is running for a seat on the City Council, although not the one vacated by Andrisek.
In thinking more about the issue, Sanchez said Thursday that appointing Mercado would leave the Planning Commission minus a member as it faces several key issues.
He made the motion to leave the seat empty with Lewis providing the second for the motion.
“That’s a smart observation,” Sierra said. “There’s a lot of planning (projects) coming up. I think that’s smart.”
For the first time, Buellton voters in certain areas will choose council members to represent them, with the map showing the districts available by clicking here.
Two council seats, Andrisek’s and King’s, will be on the ballot along with the mayor’s job. Voters from across the city will pick the mayor, choosing between two people now serving on the panel — King and Lewis.
For District 1, the candidates are Hudson Hornick and Tom Widroe, while District 4 candidates are Mercado and David Silva.
The council also saluted Andrisek, who was in attendance. It included a presentation from Buellton plus recognition from the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors. Andrisek had served Buellton and the wider Santa Ynez Valley for decades, including 16 years on the Buellton City Council.
“Your knowledge was just overwhelming. … You were the historian of the group,” Sierra said.
In another matter, the City Council directed staff to process the application for SYV Open Streets to occur on Avenue of the Flags on Oct. 30. The event, designed to promote healthy living, clears streets and allows people to bicycle, skateboard, roller skate and otherwise use the streets.
“It’s going to be fun,” Sierra said.
The event website with more information can be found by clicking here or via the Facebook page.
COVID-19 delayed the first Open Streets for two years.
Future Open Street events would rotate among the Santa Ynez Valley’s other communities, including Solvang, Santa Ynez and Los Olivos. Similar Open Streets occurred in Santa Barbara, Santa Maria and other communities.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.