Candidate Profile: Buttacavoli running for Marysville City Council

Sep. 29—Editor's note: One in a series.

Leading up to the Nov. 8 general election, the Appeal-Democrat will be running a series of candidate profiles that will allow each person running for a significant contested office in the Yuba-Sutter area the chance to either introduce themselves to the voting public or remind those who they are and where they stand.

The Appeal-Democrat sent five simple questions to candidates. Each candidate who is running has been given the opportunity to respond. Profiles will run in the Appeal in the order in which they are received.

The following are answers provided by Bruce Buttacavoli, who is running for one of two seats up for grabs on the Marysville City Council. Buttacavoli is facing off against Brad Hudson and Stephanie McKenzie.

The three also recently took part in a candidate forum hosted by the Yuba-Sutter Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Appeal-Democrat. The video of that forum is available on both the Yuba-Sutter Chamber of Commerce and Appeal-Democrat Facebook pages.

Q: What is your vision for the future of Marysville?

A: After being on the Marysville Planning Commission for six years and the council now for four years, my vision is to keep the great momentum going that we have established and complete the projects we have in progress. I want to see our city as a destination, not a pass-thru town. I want to give people a reason to stop for more than just fuel. I want to finish the efforts to get Marysville cleaned up, get more of our roads fixed, and continue the efforts to clean Ellis Lake and be a place we all can be proud of.

Q: How have you helped address the homelessness issue in Marysville?

A: During my time on the council our police chief has served on the Homeless Consortium Board. We supported the Life Building Center and 14 Forward bringing the city into compliance with the state. We have hired an additional CSO (Community Service Officer) to concentrate on homeless issues. Homelessness is one of the toughest issues we face due to state regulations. Now with the Life Center the homeless can be moved there for help and services in an attempt to get them off of the streets. One issue is that many reject the services we offer and choose the homeless lifestyle. We will help those who want it.

Q: What can the city do to spur more economic development?

A: We've made huge improvements in this area in the past four years. Our most impactful move was when we brought in a motivated city manager, full time economic development director and an experienced city planner for Marysville.

With tremendous outside interest in our city, our experienced staff are now able to respond in a timely manner and with an "open arms" attitude to put us in the right direction for development. We have continued to keep our permits and fees well below the surrounding communities. We have put all the undeveloped city-owned re-development properties on the market, moving almost every piece so far.

I worked on the committee that put together a plan to develop the B Street property, which has been stagnant for over 20 years. It drew in five qualified developers, each with a proposed project. We are now in negotiations with the finalist and the sale/contract should be awarded in October. I started and led the Rec Development Committee, which re-evaluates all the city's recreation facilities and gets them in sound and attractive condition to enhance the desirability of the city. Possibly one of the most important parts of the plan to spur on Marysville is approving the funding and developing a city-wide General Plan which will give us a road map to the future of Marysville. Our existing plan was over 30+ years old.

Q: How have you helped address the lack of affordable housing and/or housing in general for Marysville?

A: The General Plan may be the single most important part for housing development, along with fulfilling our required housing requirements set by the state. This step is one of significant importance to obtain funding from the state for housing developments including infrastructure.

We did this with the development of 71 affordable units currently being built on Ramirez Street. This one project will allow the city to go after millions of dollars in grant funds. With the infill and redevelopment properties being available, we have had multiple projects come in for upper-level housing. Because Marysville is surrounded by levees, our development must come from infill and building vertical.

Q: Why should voters choose you for the city council?

A: My experience of six years on the Planning Commission, along with four years on the council and 45 years of business experience, uniquely qualifies me as a candidate for re-election. I have been on the bonding/finance/auditing committees. I was on the committee for the re-bonding of the unfunded pension liabilities and the B Street property (along with removing the encumbrances from the property to be able to develop it), saving the city upwards of $12 million over the life of the bonds.

I also developed the Rec Development Committee to vastly Improve Bryant Field and all our recreation facilities making them functional, and revenue driven. I helped bring the city's cash reserves from approximately 13% to upwards of 50% bringing Marysville closer to the financial certainty we want.

I have served on the Regional Waste Management Authority Board, the Yuba Sutter Transit Board and Yuba County Liaison Committee. I voted to allow the Bok Kai and Veterans Day parade to be grandfathered and to continue with no fees. I voted to control cannabis with city ordinances and to limit the number of licensees to be available for the entire local cannabis industry and I have worked closely to try and bring Marysville Police Department, Fire Department and Public Works into a competitive salary range to help avoid costly turnovers. I ask for the community's continued support and vote to be able to complete the projects at hand, and to keep the tremendous momentum that has been created since my time on the council.