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Calistoga council adopts every-3-weeks 2025 meeting calendar in 3–2 vote
Summary
After public comment and split council debate over convenience for residents versus staff workload, the Calistoga City Council voted 3–2 to adopt a 2025 calendar meeting every three weeks rather than restoring a twice-monthly schedule.
The Calistoga City Council voted 3–2 on a motion to adopt a 2025 meeting calendar that retains the current every-three-weeks cadence, a schedule council members and staff said improves packet preparation but leaves some residents asking for more frequent meetings.
Council members and members of the public debated two options: a proposed schedule that keeps roughly 17 meetings per year (once every three weeks) and an alternative that would restore approximately 24 meetings per year (twice monthly). Mayor Williams, who moved to adopt the staff-proposed calendar, said the three-week schedule “is more efficient” for staff and helps avoid repeated packet preparation tasks.
Public commenters offered mixed views. Mister Farris told the council keeping the three-week schedule made attendance easier for some residents: “These are hard to get to. They come up very quick, and time is hard to come by.” A member of the Active Transportation Committee urged returning to a twice-monthly cadence to speed decision-making on items such as water rates and transportation matters.
Council members described the tradeoffs. Council member Lisa Giff said some residents felt disconnected under the three-week schedule, noting a preference among constituents for a predictable first-and-third-week pattern. Council member Eisenberg and Council member Cooper emphasized staff efficiencies and the ability to prepare higher-quality meeting materials with the longer cadence.
A staff member outlined operational impacts if the council returned to a biweekly schedule, saying it compresses packet production and reduces staff availability: “I end up with only having a 3 day work week essentially Wednesday, Thursday and Friday,” the staff member said, explaining vacation and packet-preparation constraints.
The motion to adopt the three-week calendar was moved by Mayor Williams and seconded by Council member Cooper. Roll-call votes were recorded as follows: Council member Eisenberg — yes; Council member Cooper — yes; Council member Lisa Giff — no; Vice Mayor Iris Lopez Ortega — no; Mayor Williams — yes. The motion passed 3–2. The approved calendar will be published in the staff report and implemented for 2025.
