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April 9, 2021

Start Outdoor Water Conservation Now

Did you know that a whopping 20 percent of Healdsburg’s water use goes to residential landscaping?

As the City prepares for mandatory water conservation due to moderate to severe drought conditions, please help us conserve water by limiting outdoor water use. Doing so gives us the best chance to ensure that we have enough water. 

Here are easy tips to help protect Healdsburg’s water supply:  

• Water between 8 PM - 6 AM to reduce water loss from evaporation and wind.
• Apply at least 3 inches of mulch and/or compost to improve water retention.
• Inspect and tune up your irrigation regularly.
• Remove lawns, install drought-tolerant plants
• Use a broom — not a hose — to clean your driveway, deck or patio.
• Cover pools and hot tubs to reduce evaporation.
• Do not install a new pool this year - wait until the drought is over.

If you see excessive water use and want us to check it out, please send information and photos to conservation@ci.healdsburg.ca.us

Update: Summer Programs & Events

We know you have questions about the summer programs and special events that help make Healdsburg such a great place to live, work, and play. We do too, so we’ve been closely monitoring the changes in the state and county health orders and guidance.

Above is our latest planning update based on what we know now. This plan is subject to change if and when the health orders and guidance change. Go here to view a larger version of the image. And, for the latest information, please check out our Summer 2021 Programs and Events page at www.cityofhealdsburg.org/summer2021.

Community Services Staffer to the Rescue!

On Wednesday, Community Services staff member Nicole Diamantini was supervising a Senior Center exercise class at Recreation Park when she smelled smoke. She rushed to see where it was coming from and saw flames about 1.5 ft. tall in the grass and oak leaf debris behind the FFA building.

She asked a senior to call 911, ran to her car, and retrieved the fire-extinguisher that she always keeps in her vehicle (Nicole’s dad is a former Healdsburg firefighter and taught her emergency preparedness). She put out the flames and waited for the Fire Department to arrive. However, due to dry conditions, there was another fire on the opposite end of the park, and that’s where the fire department was. Two small brush fires at the same time, in roughly the same area!

With the help of volunteer DASH driver Brian Geagan, who saw the fire truck at the other fire, and Senior Center Director Anna Grant, who explained the situation to REDCOM, the Fire Department arrived on the scene moments later and completely doused the still-smoldering area. All seniors and passersby were safe. Kudos to everyone involved.

April 13: Public Workshop on North Village

The developer CCS Healdsburg (formerly Comstock Healdsburg) will present its proposed design plans for the North Village hotel and mixed-use retail and residential development at 16977 Healdsburg Avenue at a virtual Planning Commission workshop on Tuesday, April 13, at 6 PM.

The Planning Commission will review plans for the proposed development, which includes a 108-room hotel, 45 apartments, five live-work spaces and 12,000 sq. ft of retail space. The public is welcome to see the plans by participating in the meeting via Web-Ex: https://cityofhealdsburgmeetings.webex.com/. The event number is 187 330 1887. The meeting can also be viewed by going to the City's website here and scrolling down to the Planning Commission section.

Emergency Rental Assistance Program

Eligible Healdsburg residents may participate in Sonoma County’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), which helps renters and landlords financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Funds can be used for rent as well as past-due utility bills and home service bills.

Applications for ERAP funding will start to be accepted on April 19 and can be completed online or sent via mail. Any community member can apply for assistance regardless of immigration status. If you need help applying online, call 2-1-1. Spanish-speaking assistance is also available. Please go here for more information about the program.

We held our first Coffee with the City (CWC) of 2021 earlier this week on Zoom. City Manager Jeff Kay, the department directors and other City staff highlighted some of the projects and programs their departments are working on; their presentations were followed by a robust Q&A session.

Stay tuned for the next Coffee with the City event, which will be held several months from now. This was our first virtual CWC as well as our first online meeting translated simultaneously into Spanish. The Spanish-language video can be found here. You can also watch the English-language video of the event on the City's Facebook page here.

Update: Sewer & Water Replacement Project

A contractor for the City of Healdsburg has completed the paving portions of the College Street sewer and water replacement project and will be wrapping it up over the next couple of weeks. If you have any questions about the project, please email Senior Engineer Clay Thistle at chistle @ ci.healdsburg.ca.us or call (707) 431-3391.