City of Santa Rosa Cultural Heritage Board Resigned in Mass Over Increased Permit Fees - Was it Political Theater?
On July 17, 2024, the City of Santa Rosa Cultural Heritage Board resigned in mass due to increased permit fees.
Per KSRO:
“The volunteer chairman of Santa Rosa’s Cultural Heritage Board resigned due to concerns over sharply increased fees for work in historic districts. Four other board members also stepped down in solidarity. The fee increases, some up to one-thousand-percent, alarmed board members, hindering preservation efforts. A previous fee for a major renovation would have been about $2,100, but the new fee schedule would increase that to about $20-thousand. However, city officials claim the fees haven’t been fully implemented and are working to address the issue. City of Santa Rosa Council member Chris Rogers acknowledged the miscommunication and assured the public that it’s being fixed.”
Cultural Heritage Board Member Laura Fennell posted a recap of the full sequence of events on Nextdoor.
On July 1, 2024, City of Santa Rosa Senior Planner Lisa Kranz emailed the Cultural Heritage Board Chair Brian Meuser the July 2024 Fee Schedule Update. The email did not appear to include the other Board Members.
Oddly, Cultural Heritage Board Chair Brian Meuser appears to share a mortgage with Ms. Lisa Kranz Meuser, Senior Planner for the City of Santa Rosa.
Mr. Meuser listed his Brown St. address as a source of real property on his 2024 statement of economic interest (Form 700). This address appears to be located in the iconic Luther Burbank Historic District.
Ms. Kranz submitted a grant application to the Santa Rosa Community Advisory Board for Friends of Prince Memorial Greenway to be approved at the July 24, 2024 Board Meeting. The grant application echoed the same address listed for Mr. Meuser’s real property on his Form 700.
I expressed to the Community Advisory Board that this was a conflict of interest. The Board informed me that they were not aware Ms. Kranz was an active City employee, and did not see a conflict of interest present. After I brought this information forward, she changed the dates on her LinkedIn page to reflect a resignation from the City as of July 2024.
I could not find a record of filings for Friends of Prince Memorial Greenway on record with the CA Secretary of State, Office of the Attorney General charity registry, nor the IRS. The bulk of the Community Advisory Board was irritated that I questioned the tax filing status. Staff & the Board claimed that these grants are offered to new groups who do not need to be legally registered to request charitable funds.
As a former government employee, I have never witnessed grant disbursements from taxpayer monies without a W-9 to verify the EIN.
Despite my concerns, the Board was eager to award Ms. Kranz with a grant.
The Friends of Prince Memorial Greenway was a group organized in what appears to have been the summer of 2023 to address litter, maintenance, and infrastructure needs along the greenway.
On May 6, 2024, the Art in Public Places Committee approved an art proposal for a community improvement project along the Prince Memorial Greenway presented by Ms. Lisa Kranz. There did not appear to be any mention of the fact that Ms. Kranz was also actively employed as the Senior Planner for the City.
On June 29, 2024, The Press Democrat claimed that Ms. Lisa Kranz was a former Planner for the City of Santa Rosa. This appeared to be a false statement as confirmed from her LinkedIn profile.
According to her LinkedIn, Ms. Kranz had not been employed since 2021. Why did she only work at the City of Santa Rosa as a Senior Planner for the months of January - July 2024 while the new fee schedule was being developed? Is the City being honest with their constituents, or are staff double dipping into taxpayer monies?
Proverbs 22:1
”A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, loving favor rather than silver and gold.”