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January 15, 2021

A Message from City Manager Jeff Kay

As I reach the end of my second week as City Manager (and the end of one month as a resident), I’d like to thank the community, the City Council, and our staff for a warm welcome. Even in a short amount of time, it’s become clear to me that Healdsburg is blessed with highly engaged residents and a large number of exciting projects on the horizon. I have also been highly impressed with the abilities and dedication of our talented staff. We have a great team.
 
Although the long-term prospects for Healdsburg are overwhelmingly positive, I am also mindful of the difficulties resulting from the ongoing pandemic. Our number one focus as an organization is keeping the community as safe as possible and helping neighbors and businesses recover from the associated economic impacts. This work may cause some delays to other projects, but it needs to be our top priority for the time being. As evidenced by the updates below, we will do our best to share accurate and timely updates on public safety, testing and vaccine availability in the days and weeks to come.
 
Again, thank you for the welcome. I look forward to getting to know as many members of the community as possible – hopefully in-person in the not-too-distant future.
 
With gratitude,

Jeff Kay
City Manager

COVID-19 Vaccine Web Resource for Sonoma County

Are you wondering when you can get your COVID-19 vaccine? Do you know what phase and tier you fall under, or how many people in Sonoma County have been vaccinated so far? The County of Sonoma has created a one-stop online resource at socoemergency.org/vaccine with information on:

• the county's vaccine distribution plan and timeline
• the number of immunizations by date
• the benefits of getting the vaccine
•  key facts about the vaccine
• vaccine myths and misconceptions
• allergic reactions
• vaccine safety

This online resource is updated as more information comes in, so please bookmark the link and check back regularly.

Stay-Home Order Extended

Last week, the State of California extended the Stay-Home Order for the Bay Area region – which includes Sonoma County -- because the availability, or capacity, of intensive-care unit (ICU) beds is far below the minimum of 15 percent. Once the four-week regionwide projection for ICU capacity reaches or exceeds 15 percent, the Stay-Home order will be lifted immediately. This happened for the Sacramento area earlier this week.

After the Stay-Home Order has been lifted, Sonoma County would remain in the purple tier -- the most restrictive tier -- within California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy (https://covid19.ca.gov/safer-economy/) given these factors. Please note that these figures were current as of Jan. 13:

• Rate of new daily cases/100,000 population: 40.6 (must be less than 7 to move to the next less protective tier.)
• Testing positivity rate: 9.1 percent (must be less than 8.0 percent to move to the next less protective tier.)
• Equity metric testing positivity rate is 14.6 percent (must be less than 8.0 percent to move to the next less protective tier).

For more information, please go to: https://socoemergency.org/emergency/novel-coronavirus/ and https://covid19.ca.gov/

Jan. 19: City Council Meeting

The next City Council meeting will be held online on Tuesday, Jan. 19, at 6 PM because of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday on Jan. 18. Here's the meeting agenda: https://healdsburgca.iqm2.com/Citizens/detail_meeting.aspx?ID=2000
 
Agenda items include public hearings on the Montage Healdsburg development and a development-impact fee study on traffic and storm drain facilities. To learn more about this fee study, you can watch a public Zoom meeting from Dec. 15, 2020: https://youtu.be/TZNbSG_-6Rs
 
You can watch the City Council meeting in two ways:

• City website: A few minutes before the meeting begins, go to http://healdsburgca.iqm2.com/Citizens/default.aspx. Click the video/audio link for the Jan. 19 meeting and another browser will pop up with the live video feed.
• Facebook Live: When the meeting starts, go to the City’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/cityofhealdsburg to watch.

If you'd like to provide a public comment in the meeting, you must join the Zoom meeting:
 
By computer, tablet, or mobile device:
1. Go to https://zoom.us/join and type in the Webinar ID: 844 1186 2353 or follow this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84411862353 (Pre-registration for the meeting is not required.)
2. Fill in your full name, verify you are not a robot (if required), and click “Join."
3. If the meeting host has started the Webinar, you should join automatically. If the meeting has not started, please wait -- it will shortly.
 
By phone:
1. Dial 669-900-9128 or 253-215-8782 or 346-248-7799.
2. Enter the meeting ID: 844 1186 2353 and press # #.
3. If the meeting host has started the meeting, you should join automatically. If the meeting host has not started the meeting, please wait; it will start shortly.
 
Submitting Public Comment:
By computer, tablet, or mobile device:
1. In the bottom center of the screen is a hand icon; click “Raise Hand." Doing so will place you in line to speak.
2. When it’s your turn, the meeting moderator will call on you to comment. State your first and last name, address, and comment.
3. When you're finished, please remember to lower hand.
 
By phone:
1. Press *9 to raise your hand.
2. At your turn, the meeting moderator will call the last four digits of your phone number. Press *6 to speak. State your first and last name, address, and comment. You will have three minutes to speak.
3. After you're done, or when three minutes are up, the meeting host will mute you.

Art Initiative: Light Up, Healdsburg

Our weather has been very dry recently: We’ve recorded only 33 percent of typical rainfall to date, and water storage in Lake Mendocino is at 44 percent of its targeted goal. So, we're asking everyone to use water more wisely. 
 
Here are some easy steps you can take to cut water waste: 

• Repair leaky toilets, faucets, and irrigation control valves.
• Don’t hose down walkways and driveways, which can waste 50 gallons of water in just a few minutes. Instead, use a broom to tidy your driveway and walkways.
• Run your washing machine and dishwasher at full capacity.
• Talk to your North Bay friends and family about how less rain means less water.

We lost one of our valued heritage trees, a valley oak located on the 3 North Street site, in the early-morning hours of Friday, Jan. 8. This majestic beauty provided shade for the Farmers’ Market and passersby for many years.
 
We started to see the tree's health declining in 2014, likely due to years of vehicles parking on its root system. To minimize further damage, we restricted parking around the root structure and began an enhanced monitoring and management program that included selective structural pruning to cut the weight of the tree canopy. Ultimately, our efforts were not successful.

We are analyzing how this heritage oak can be repurposed in the upcoming 3 North Street development project. Stay tuned for updates.

Starting Jan. 16: Tennis Skills Classes

We are pleased to announce that Community Services is offering tennis-skills classes for kids and adults starting Jan. 16 at Giorgi Park. Community Services staff have been working closely with our tennis instructor over the past few months to create a safe and enjoyable tennis program, which includes beginner’s classes.
 
The program will follow health and safety protocols issued by the California Department of Public Health and comply with the regional health order. Each class has a limited number of spaces available. For more information and to reserve your space, please visit http://bit.ly/TennisClasses2021 or call (707) 431-3301. See you on the courts!

Update on Gauntlett Reservoir Roof Replacement

The city contractor working on the Gauntlett Reservoir Roof Replacement Project has erected 10 of the 56 interlocking metal arch segments that will form the new roof. The new roof will replace the 63-year old timber frame structure that had reached the end of its useful life.
 
The Gauntlett Reservoir stores raw water prior to treatment and the roof over the reservoir helps prevent debris from entering the City’s drinking water and prevents sunlight from inducing algae growth. This project is expected to be completed in mid-April.