Petaluma says potholes not for sale

A flap over whether Petaluma should accept money from the KFC fast-food chain to repair potholes has been put to rest.

The City Council said Monday night that it won’t take the $3,000 promised by the chicken giant and also will reject counter-offers from an animal rights group and a third party.

Councilman Mike Healy said the competing proposals trivialize a serious problem the city is facing with its aged roads that cannot be solved with a few shovels full of asphalt.

“The real issue is reconstructing streets that have failed,” Healy said Tuesday morning. “Pothole patches are really just band-aids.”

Earlier this month, Mayor Pam Torliatt announced that KFC had selected Petaluma to receive the money in a nationwide promotion. Three other cities also were chosen.

The company would pay for repairs in exchange for the right to stencil a logo over the patches.

People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals countered with $6,000 and urged the city to reject KFC, which they said supports cruelty to chickens.

Torliatt initially said she would accept only the KFC money, but the council weighed in Monday night, saying it hadn’t signed off on the agreement.

Councilman David Rabbitt said the notion of taking money from a private company to do public work was “sleazy” while Councilman Mike Harris said the idea was intriguing.

Torliatt agreed to drop it. In a letter to KFC Tuesday that was loaded with chicken puns, she said the controversy had evolved into a “barn yard fight” among councilmembers and must end. She said the council must focus instead on economic development and budget issues.

“So before any additional controversy comes home to roost in this matter, the city of Petaluma will respectfully decline your offer and the others as well,” she said.