Sign up for our newsletter!

If you'd like to get this City Manager's Update sent directly to your email inbox every two weeks, go to our "Notify Me" page to sign up. Thank you.

October 9, 2020

City Council Hires New City Manager

The Healdsburg City Council on Oct. 5 appointed Jeffrey Kay to be the new city manager of the City of Healdsburg. His first day in this new role will be January 1, 2021. Dave Kiff, Healdsburg’s interim city manager, will continue to lead the City until Kay’s arrival. Read the press release: https://ci.healdsburg.ca.us/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=476

Oct. 10: Fire Department Drive-Through Open House

The Healdsburg Fire Department will hold its first Drive-Through Open House tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 10, from 10 AM – 2 PM. Please drive up in your vehicle to the fire house at 601 Grant Street to pick up goodies, including fire safety materials and activities.

Firefighters will be stationed on both sides of the Grant Street so attendees can just roll down their car windows. Event info: https://www.facebook.com/events/332556661369604

Healdsburg Fire Responds to Glass Fire

Healdsburg Fire first responded to the Glass Fire, which ignited on Sept. 27 in western Napa County, by sending Engine 6361 with Captain Mack Montanye, Bennett Leda, Mike Jacobs and Dean De Le Montanya.

Then, as the fire blazed towards Santa Rosa and surrounding areas, an All Call alert asked for additional fire personnel, and Healdsburg fire chiefs Jason Boaz and Linda Collister responded with Engine 6358 with Captain John Sullivan, Brian Crabb, Blake Ratto and Eric Nunn. All told, Healdsburg Fire was on the scene for a week to fight the fire, which is now 74 percent contained at 67,484 acres as of this writing. Some homes were lost, but many were saved.

Oct. 14: Cal Trans Work near Central Healdsburg Exit

Starting at 9 AM on Wednesday, Oct. 14, Cal Trans will perform paving work near the Central Healdsburg off-ramp. All northbound freeway traffic using the Central Healdsburg Ave. exit will be detoured to Exchange Ave. Northbound Healdsburg Ave. will remain open.

Southbound Healdsburg Ave. traffic will also be detoured to Exchange. The road closure, outlined in red in the photo above, will be in place until Cal Trans completes the paving work later that day.

Ballot Box Installed at City Hall

By now, Healdsburg community members have likely received their Vote-by-Mail ballots from the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters. Voters can turn in their completed ballots for the Nov. 3, 2020, Presidential Election at one of the many official, secure ballot boxes in the county — including the ballot box in front of Healdsburg City Hall, 401 Grove Street.

Voters can also pop their ballots into the U.S. mail or submit them at one of the in-person polling locations in the county -- there will be one located at the Villa Chanticleer.

More info on ballot boxes and in-person polling locations: https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/CRA/Registrar-of-Voters/Elections/11-03-2020/Locations/

Measure T Informational Videos

The City has created informational videos on the Measure T ballot measure up for vote in the Nov. 3, 2020, Presidential Election. Measure T extends the Measure V half-cent sales tax that helps to fund vital City services and programs, including public safety and street maintenance and repair.

All of the Measure T videos created so far have been published on the City's social media platforms; they can also be found on the City’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh-6ckyCBDkEsyWyDmh-5_g

For more information on Measure, T, go to: https://www.ci.healdsburg.ca.us/405/Measure-V-Measure-T

Electric Bicycle Rebate Program Approved

The City Council on Oct. 5 approved an electric bicycle rebate program to help spur Healdsburg residents to switch some or all their commuting miles to electric and thereby lower their carbon footprint. The City's Electric Department will give back up to $400 to City electric customers for the purchase of an e-bike (one per household). Income-qualified electric customers can get back up to $700 for an e-bike purchase. 

E-bikes are a great way to get around Healdsburg and there are a variety of models, with some available at Healdsburg’s local bike shops. If you haven’t ridden an e-bike, head to a bike shop to experience them first-hand. Details on how to apply for the e-bike rebate will posted soon on the City’s website.

Power Outages This Week

On Thursday Oct. 8, a power outage affected the areas of Chiquita, Burgundy, Chablis, and Zinfandel roads. This outage impacted roughly 70 customers and required replacement of roughly 6,000 feet of high-voltage cable. To restore power, the City’s five lineman worked 24 hours straight to remove the damaged cable, install new cable, install new splice and connectors, and re-power the neighborhood. We appreciate the patience the residence of this area showed during the power outage.

Early this morning (Oct. 9), the City experienced a brief, citywide power outage due to the loss of the City’s transmission source from PG&E. However, PG&E was able to switch Healdsburg to an alternate transmission source at the Fulton sub-station and restore electricity.

Milestone Reached in Recycled Water Compliance

City Staff must comply with strict regulations issued by the Regional Water Quality Control Board to safely treat the City’s wastewater. One of the more difficult regulations to meet is the prohibition of discharging disinfected tertiary treated recycled water to the Russian River. 

This year, and ahead of schedule, the City avoided discharging this water during the prohibition season for all but three days. This achievement comes after decades of work by City Staff and is a major milestone for the City. Congratulations to all City Staff that had a hand in accomplishing this major achievement.

Community Services Meets with Local Businesses

There are several big holidays coming up, including Halloween, Dia de Los Muertos, Thanksgiving, and Christmas/New Year. So, on Oct. 6, Community Services hosted a virtual meeting with local businesses to discuss the holiday season and how the City can continue to support businesses in the last quarter of 2020. 

Meeting participants discussed holiday decorations and brainstormed ideas to bring more people downtown during this festive time of year. These business-related meetings will continue. For more information and if you'd like to participate, please contact Recreation Manager Dave Jahns, djahns @ ci.healdsburg.ca.us.

You can watch the Oct. 6 meeting via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/mHeg9r3brkWbS8gn_otpbfIgTZ6OZOLsLz_kONsg2cBshwLfO4SwCAIfbqrMhl4G.WoV-HPW2sT0093Pq
Passcode: a^nM+9pi

Soccer Skills and Drills Program Launched

Community Services couldn't offer a traditional soccer program this year due to COVID-19, so it instead launched a soccer “skills and drills” program on Sept. 20. Participation is high: There are 82 children in the program to date, and the department is working to add those on the waiting list, for a total of 100 participants.

Camp HBG 2.0 Program Keeps Growing

Camp HBG 2.0 is a new distance-learning care program that helps students in grades TK-5 to complete their virtual learning in a supervised environment. The program has proven to be very much needed: The Community Services Department is opening the last two rooms for Camp HBG 2.0 at the Community Center to accommodate an additional 20 children for a total enrollment of 103 participants. 

Community Services has also increased Wi-Fi capacity and recruited more staffing to provide an effective and safe learning environment. Many thanks to our partners, including the Healdsburg Unified School District and the Sonoma County Public Health Department.

Parks Crews Hard at Work to
Maintain Parks and Open Spaces

Public use of the City’s parks and open spaces continues to be robust during the coronavirus pandemic. With the loss of a full-time park maintenance employee due to budget cuts, the City's parks crew is busier than ever, working hard every day to make sure the system is safe by maintaining and repairing the system to our high standards.