Plan for outside operator at Sonoma vets hall causes stir among veterans

A proposal by Sonoma County to privatize management of the Sonoma Veterans Memorial Hall is drawing fire from some veterans groups, who fear an outside operator at the meeting place for generations of soldiers could make them an afterthought.

The Board of Supervisors has signed off on a plan to solicit an independent contractor that could assume management and maintenance of the 63-year-old building by early 2016.

The move, prompted by escalating maintenance costs and dwindling revenue due to lack of facility rentals, is expected to help modernize the building and spur more interest in renting it out for social events and group activities, county officials said.

But some veterans say they are worried their groups could lose out in the process.

“We’re fine with the county leasing the building to a third-party operator, but we’re concerned it could interfere with the use by veterans,” said Bob Piazza, a retired Navy officer who served during the Vietnam War. “We agree there’s a need to offset some of these costs, but the purpose of these buildings is to honor and memorialize veterans, and give them a place to tell their war stories. We want to make sure everyone knows that we have first dibs on using the space.”

The county made a similar shift to private operators for five of its seven vet halls and community buildings in 2012. Veterans expressed some concerns about that move at the time, but most of those worries have died down.

Sonoma’s building was dropped from the earlier transfer after community members voiced strong opposition to the move. Cloverdale’s building was not included in the transfer because the county was exploring a sale of the building to the city, something that did not come to pass.

Three years later, supervisors have revived the independent management proposal for Sonoma’s hall while also lending support for a deal to hand over operations of the Cloverdale Veterans Memorial Building to a local American Legion post. County officials say the moves represent the best way to combat rising costs, including deferred maintenance, now estimated at more than $28 million for all of the buildings, which range from 54 to 67 years old.

The Petaluma-based nonprofit United Camps, Conferences and Retreats runs the veterans halls in Santa Rosa, Cotati and Petaluma. The Sebastopol Center for the Arts has taken over the Sebastopol building.

“We’re talking with veterans groups to figure out how to best maintain the buildings and make them more viable,” said Tawny Tesconi, the county’s General Services director. “There are so many great organizations in Sonoma, so if one is already connected to the building, we could offer them free office space and that would also support a great community good.”

The Guerneville Veterans Building is still run by the county. The nonprofit that took over in 2012 dropped the contract after just a little more than a year, citing the high cost of operating the facility.

With a solicitation for bids now out for the Sonoma building, the county could finalize a management contract as soon as March 2016.

Piazza said he and other veterans active in the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion are deeply concerned that they could be bumped from the space if another organization takes over.

“We’re worried, in particular, about the one in Sonoma,” Piazza said. “We want to make darn sure that anyone bidding knows what the restrictions are, and that they’ll have to work with veterans groups if they want the building.”

Taxpayer costs tied to the seven buildings - which the county still owns - now amount to roughly $1.2 million per year, down about a third since the 2012 transfer of most of the buildings, Tesconi said.

Supervisor Shirlee Zane floated the idea of using that money to pay down some of the county’s deferred maintenance costs when the Board of Supervisors took up the matter June 23.

“We made a commitment to veterans. .?.?. We want the savings to go back into the buildings for repairs,” Zane said. “We need to make sure they are preserved for our veterans and for our community groups.”

Veterans at the board meeting also said they have significant concerns that the county has not adequately funded maintenance for the buildings.

John Uniack called on supervisors to set aside money in their annual budget to pay for ongoing operations and long-term maintenance.

“You’ve done it with the roads; now it’s time to step up and do it for the vets buildings,” Uniack told supervisors. “I would like to see the board put dedicated money into these buildings. .??.?. We still have troops in at least two wars, and they’re going to need places in the future.”

Supervisors David Rabbitt and Efren Carrillo voiced support for the idea.

“It’s unfortunate we haven’t done that,” Rabbitt said. “We need to invest dollars into these buildings to make sure we don’t have two sets of standards for (county-owned) buildings.”

Piazza pressed further, telling the board that they had a responsibility for upkeep. He pointed to the California Military and Veterans Code, which stipulates that the county can’t simply abandon the structures.

“In the past three or four years, there has been as little funding set aside as possible,” Piazza said in an interview. “We want a dedicated funding source.”

Supervisors directed Tesconi to come back to the board with a specific budget to bring each building into good shape. Repairs, including fixing leaky plumbing and roofing and renovating the interior of the buildings, could generate more income, officials said.

“We want them to be more competitive, so people will want to rent them out for events more often,” Tesconi said.

The county is also exploring a proposal to lower hourly rental rates to increase their use. Tesconi said she expects the board to take up the issue later this year.

“We want more flexibility so they can compete with places like the Wells Fargo (Center for the Arts) and the Finley Center,” she said.

You can reach Staff Writer Angela Hart at 526-8503 or angela.hart?@pressdemocrat.com.