Council Drags out Rispin Discussion, Approves Lifeguard Contract

The Capitola City Council meeting rolled out at its usual leisurely pace on Thursday evening, ten minutes after 7 p.m., and without councilmember Dennis Norton.

The sparsely populated room was no indication of a few juicy items on the agenda, however, which included , before placing it right back on the shelf where it has been for almost three decades. 

Capitola residents trickled into the council chambers to join in on the discussion of this issue as well as other matters. Here is an outline of the meeting’s highlights: 

1. The council voted 4-0 to restrict commercial traffic on Reposa Avenue, after a traffic analysis resulting from residents complaining of high commercial traffic and speeding on the street. Reposa Avenue links 38th Avenue with 41st Avenue, and is used by as a short cut. Residents voiced their concerns that the potential ban on commercial traffic would create a problem for those who live on the street and drive commercial trucks. Mayor Mike Termini ensured that residents of the street could be excluded from the ban on commercial traffic. 

“So keep on trucking,” said Mayor Termini. 

2. The council voted unanimously in favor of a one-year trial contract between the Police Department Lifeguard Services and the City of Santa Cruz.

The $67,000 contract will not affect the junior lifeguard program, and all Capitola guards who wish to be back on Capitola Beach this summer will have the opportunity to do so; the re-certification process will not change drastically. Coverage hours will also stay the same.

Other benefits to the contract presented at the meeting include a budget savings of approximately $23,000 which could help bring back a full-time Community Service Officer to the beach. A new watercraft will also be made available to Capitola lifeguards.

3. What to do with the ? 

Acquired by the city for $1.35 million in 1983, then sold to the Redevelopement Agency for the same amount in 2003, and then transferred back to the city last year after the RDA fizzled out, the fate of the Ripsin mansion has been tossed around for decades and it’s finally time to make some decisions.

Mayor Termini explained in his blog that the city is "faced with the successor agency either paying the note to the city or just giving us the property back. If we take the money, the property will be sold."

Councilmember Kirby Nicol suggested that the city take the $1.35 million and let the property be sold on the open market, ending the three-decade discussion once and for all. Stephanie Harlan agreed that the city could use the money, but said that the citizens she talked to this week said they would like to keep the property and figure out a way to use it.

“My first request is that we keep it, but only if we come up with a plan to open it so that people can enjoy it. If we had the money to do it tomorrow that’s what they’d want us to do,” said Harlan.

Mayor Termini will inform the oversight committee that the city would like to keep the property, but it is ultimately up to the state.

“I truly believe the Rispin is cursed," Councilmember Sam Storey said. "I can’t believe since the time I’ve been on the council we’ve been working on this piece of property.. and then now all of a sudden, we’re faced with we might not even own this property anymore.” 

It’s a stark realization, he said, after putting over three decades of work and money into the property.

“To give that up for $1.3 million, to me that’s giving it away," Storey said. "It’s worth much more than that. Maybe not on the open market, but for the community, and for our ability to eventually be able to control and do something with it."

For now, the property sits entombed until further notice.

What do you think of the indecision on the Rispin Mansion? And the contact with the lifeguards? Tell us in the comments!