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February 26, 2021

Vaccine & COVID-19 Data Update

On Monday, Sonoma County opened vaccinations to residents 65 and older as well as restaurant and grocery store workers. The move makes everyone in Phase 1b Tier 1 eligible for the vaccine. Please note that while the county can now administer more than 5,000 doses daily, it continues to be limited by the supply it receives from the state.

Sonoma County’s vaccine allocation this week is 7,610 doses. As of Wednesday, Sonoma County has administered a total of 128,284 doses.

• Residents with first dose: 66,866
• Residents fully vaccinated with two doses: 30,709
• Residents with at least one dose of vaccine: 97,575, which is equal to more than 23 percent of the county’s adult (16+) population.

The County’s vaccine distribution website, SoCoEmergency.org/vaccine is continually updated, with detailed information about the vaccination roll-out. The county recognizes that most vaccine appointments are booked at many sites. If you’ve made multiple  appointments, please cancel those you don't plan to use so others can get vaccinated.

Get tested for COVID-19

We are not out of the woods. Please continue to follow safety protocols and get tested if you may have been exposed to COVID-19. Knowing your status helps protect yourself and others, reduce transmission, and move Sonoma County closer to getting people back to work and school. Although our numbers are down significantly in recent weeks, we still have widespread community transmission and remain in the purple tier – the most-restrictive tier -- within California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy.
 
Sonoma County remains in the purple tier given the following factors:
? As of Feb. 23, adjusted rate of new daily cases/100,000 population: 14 (must be less than 7 to move to the red tier.)
? Testing positivity rate: 4.6 percent (must be less than 8 percent to move to the red tier.)
? Equity metric testing positivity rate is 7.7 percent. (must be less than 8 percent to move to the red tier.)
 
Before moving to the red tier, Sonoma County needs to stay below 8 percent for the positivity rate and get below 7 for the daily case rate for two consecutive weeks. Check out our chart to see how the county has progressed since last month. The County’s vaccine distribution website, SoCoEmergency.org/vaccine is continually updated, so please check this resource daily.

View Virtual Celebration of Floating Solar Project

If you missed Wednesday’s livestreamed celebration on Facebook of Healdsburg’s 4.78 megawatt floating solar array, check it out here: http://bit.ly/3dMUVsj

At the event, City Councilmembers highlighted the project’s benefits to the community, which includes supplying 8 percent of Healdsburg’s annual electricity needs as well as providing an example to other cities and counties that want to move to renewable energy resources and be more environmentally sustainable. Vice Mayor Jimenez also provided a Spanish-language presentation of the project.

Utility Director Terry Crowley gave a brief tour of the solar array, which now floats on two of the City’s recycled water ponds at the Wastewater Reclamation Facility; the developer side was represented by Jon Wank of Noria (formerly Dissigno) and Michael Kremer from White Pine Renewables.

If you'd like to learn more about our floating solar-array project, please check out our fact sheet: https://bit.ly/3pesSUP

Water Treatment Plant of the Year Awarded to Healdsburg  

The Redwood Empire section of the California Water Environment Association has recognized the City’s Wastewater Reclamation Facility with the 2020 Small Plant of the Year Award. The facility, a wastewater treatment/water recycling plant located a few miles south of town, treats the City’s wastewater for beneficial reuses such as vineyard irrigation and construction. 

The City’s water-treatment plant was selected by the association’s board members after review of a very comprehensive nomination application. The application, submitted by Wastewater Operations Foreman David Hambly, detailed the plant’s history, operations, staffing, and many of the associated programs such as public outreach, water conservation, and the largest floating solar array in the United States.

Senior Center Staff Helps with Local Vaccine Roll-out

The Healdsburg Senior Center is working with Alliance Medical Center to provide vaccines to Healdsburg’s older adults. Community Services Staff helps to identify seniors in need and secure appointments for those who met eligibility criteria and experienced challenges making an appointment.

DASH volunteer-drivers also give rides to seniors to and from their appointments, in some instances, as far as Rohnert Park. If you know a Healdsburg older adult who needs a ride to his/her vaccine appointment, or if you want to learn about enrolling in the DASH volunteer-driver program, email senior@cityofhealdsburg.org or call (707) 431-3324.

Healdsburg Alliance Medical Center began its local vaccine clinics on Feb. 6 and has provided a first vaccine dose to more than 3,300 people – 1,150 of whom are over 65 years old. For more information on Alliance Medical Center’s vaccination progress, please visit https://alliancemed.org/

Arts and Culture Master Plan Community Engagement

As part of the arts and culture master-planning process, Community Services Staff and the Creative Leadership Team invite everyone in our community to a series of virtual community conversations to help shape the future of arts and culture in Healdsburg. The conversations will be part of an arts initiative taking place March 8-12:

• March 8, 6 PM: History and Trends in Public Art
• March 9, 4 PM: Community Conversation #1
• March 9, 6 PM: Conversación Comunitaria #2 (facilitated by Corazón Healdsburg)
• March 10, 4 PM: Youth and Student Panel Discussion
• March 11, 6 PM: Community Conversation #3

All discussions will be held on Zoom and live-streamed on Facebook. Stay tuned for detailed information on how to participate. Learn more about the arts and culture master planning process here: https://www.ci.healdsburg.ca.us/891/Arts-and-Culture-Master-Plan

Work Extending Foss Creek Pathway to Start in April

Construction for the extension of the Foss Creek Pathway to the intersection of Grove Street and Healdsburg Avenue will begin in early April. The construction will extend the pathway another mile or so, starting from the flood control detention by the skate park.

Once this project is complete, there will be a dedicated pedestrian and cyclist connection from the northern area of the City near Dry Creek Road to the southern area, beyond downtown. The pathway will include lighting and a prefabricated steel truss bridge where the path will cross over Foss Creek. At Dry Creek Road, a signalized pedestrian crossing will be installed so cyclists and pedestrians can activate a signal to stop traffic. 

Construction is expected to take about eight months, depending on weather conditions. During construction, driving on portions of Dry Creek Road and Grove Street may be impacted. Construction hours will be 7:30 AM to 6 PM, Monday to Friday. Work is not anticipated on weekends or holidays.  

Camp HBG Receives Matching Grant

Community Services, in partnership with Corazon Healdsburg, received a commitment from Healdsburg Forever to match every dollar given to support the distance-learning care program this spring up to $20,000. This generous gift moves us closer to reaching our fundraising goal and ensuring Camp HBG 2.0 continues for working families in our community through the academic year. 

For more information on how to donate online, go to www.corazonhealdsburg.org/donate or contact Dave Jahns at (707) 431-3152 or djahns @ cityofhealdsburg.org. For more information about Camp HBG 2.0 please visit www.cityofhealdsburg.org/camphbg.

Thank you to Healdsburg Forever and our community for supporting this critical program!

Affordable Housing Developer for Saggio Hills

The City approved an exclusive negotiation agreement with Freebird Development Company for the design and development of affordable housing at the Saggio Hills site, which is part of the Montage Healdsburg resort.

This agreement will set the terms and conditions for the future development of up to 100 units of affordable housing. Community meetings to gather public input on the future affordable housing site will start in late spring to early summer. Stay tuned.

Please Conserve Water Due to Drought Conditions 

Sonoma County is getting very little rain and therefore has low water-storage levels in Lake Mendocino. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration places Sonoma County in a moderate to severe drought category.

To preserve our drinking-water supply, the City is calling on residents to implement water-conservation practices and avoid water waste. Irrigation is a big draw on the water supply, and is the easiest place to cut usage. Please turn off irrigation systems while temperatures are still mild; plants don’t need much water in the winter.

For more water-saving tips, visit: http://www.savingwaterpartnership.org/

Managing Fire Fuels: Fitch Mountain Villas Open Space

If you’re interested in building an accessory-dwelling unit (ADU, also known as an “in-law" or “granny unit) in Healdsburg, tune into a two-part webinar on March 4 and 18, from 6-7:30 PM. Staff from the City’s Planning & Building Department will provide information on Healdsburg's rules on ADUs as well as the planning, permitting and building process.

In the second webinar, local housing professionals and homeowners will discuss their real-world experiences in building accessory-dwelling units in Healdsburg. Register for the free webinar here: https://napasonomaadu.org/aduevents 
 
The webinar is organized by the Napa Sonoma ADU Center, a nonprofit organization fiscally sponsored by the Napa Valley Community Foundation with support from Community Foundation Sonoma County. In addition, the webinar is presented in collaboration with Healdsburg 2040, a local community group.