Hometown News Since 1916 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CIV, NO. XXXVII
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2020
atascaderonews.com • $1.00 • WEEKLY
MEET THE CANDIDATES
City Council Election 2020 Q&A
BRET HEINEMANN BHEINEMANN123@HOTMAIL.COM
CHARLES BOURBEAU CHARLES4ATASCADERO.COM
T
he City Council is composed of five members, a Mayor and four Council members, elected at large by the citizens of Atascadero. The City Council acts upon all legislative matters concerning the city, approving, and adopting all ordinances, resolutions, contracts, and other matters requiring overall policy decisions and leadership. The Council appoints the City Manager, City Attorney, and various other commissions, boards, and citizen advisory committees, all of which ensure broad-based input into
MARK DARIZ
NICHOLAS MATTSON ATASCADEROSTRONG.COM
the city’s affairs. This year five people are running for two City Council seats. Incumbent Charles Bourbeau is seeking reelection and is challenged by Bret Heinemann, Mark Dariz, Nicholas Mattson, and Tori Keen. Roberta Fonzi is not running for reelection. CITY COUNCIL ELECTION 2020 Q&A The Election Board of The Atascadero News sent out a questionnaire to the City Council Candidates, Heinemann, Bour-
TORI KEEN VOTETORIKEEN.COM
beau, Dariz, Mattson, and Keen about their campaigns and their stance on various issues affecting Atascadero, San Luis Obispo County and the North County in particular. Each candidate had the opportunity to answer the same list of questions in 100 words or less in addition to their Candidate Statements. Over the next month, we will be sharing the questions in the newspaper so you can get to know your candidates. CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
FUNDRAISER
GOVERNMENT
Long Walk Home Coming Close to $40K Goal Annual Event Modified for Safety by ECHO By CONNOR ALLEN connor@atascaderonews.com ATASCADERO — The El Camino Homeless Organization held its 9th Annual Long Walk fundraiser on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 19, but it looked a bit different in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic safety precautions. The popular event is generally kicked off by the Atascadero High School Marching Band Drum Line. It brings together hundreds of community members and volunteers to walk with members of the transient population that ECHO serves to bring people together and bring awareness to the need within the county. The group walks from the ECHO parking lot to the Sunken Gardens, where they take a picture on the steps of the iconic Rotunda steps that blurs all the lines of social classes and represents the community as a whole. “It is usually a kind of festive atmosphere, and the spirit is such a great feeling to be with several hundred people and the people we are serving, and you can’t tell who is who,” ECHO President Wendy Lewis said. “This year, it was a little surreal, just our staff and some of our residents did the walk, but the event
COMPETITION
Council Approves Changes to Del Rio Commercial Area Specific Plan ECHO had its 9th Annual Long Walk Home fundraiser on Sept. 19. The event was modified to comply with COVID-19 guidelines. Photo courtesy of ECHO
went really, really well in spite of being very unusual and different for us.” While only about 20 people in total made the walk this year in 2020 due to the pandemic, the event was still just as successful as the community rallied to support ECHO’s work. Following the walk, ECHO has a barbecue fundraiser. This year, ECHO transitioned to selling drive-up, to-go barbecue orders for $25 a person. They had no trouble selling all 250 meals. “Because the community still really supports our work and supports those who we are serving, we were able to do incredibly well in the fundraising aspect,” Lewis explained. On top of the 250 meals sold, more than 15 local businesses stepped up as
COVID UPDATE
event sponsors and donated to ECHO. The list of sponsors included local media like KSBY and 100.5 The Beach, regional banks, community service organizations like the Atascadero Rotary and Kiwanis clubs, as well as their founding sponsor, Howard Products Inc, who donated $10,000. ECHO’s goal is to raise $40,000 by year’s end for its Atascadero campus and services and were nearing that after the successful Saturday event. “With the sponsorship help, we are getting very close to our $40,000 goal,” Lewis said. “We are still waiting for a few gifts to come in, and hopefully, some of the media spotlighting can help put CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
LOCAL NEWS
By CONNOR ALLEN connor@atascaderonews.com ATASCADERO — It was a long night of city planning for the Atascadero City Council on Tuesday, specifically at the Del Rio and El Camino intersection and surrounding areas. During the meeting, Atascadero Community Development Director Phil Dunsmore addressed the Council asking for an addendum to the Del Rio Commercial Area Specific Plan that would pivot away from retail to a wider variety of land uses. The Area Specific Plan, which was approved in 2012, was created with Walmart expecting to build on the corner. Now with the large retailer no longer coming in, neither will the
TODAY’S SENIOR
proposed roundabouts. “This area is a very significant piece of the City’s potential. It has the opportunity and potential to really enhance our jobs and housing balance, it can really help our economic situation in Atascadero,” Dunsmore said in his presentation. “Tonight, we have some wonderful solutions moving forward that will not only reduce the cost to the City but the cost to the applicants, preserve additional land for development and give us options to really guide land use into the future.” The Council’s agenda packet states the proposed new mitigations result in significant cost reductions for not only the City (approximately $15 million) and private CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
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WEATHER
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