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August 13, 2021

Draft 2020 Urban Water Management Plan Available

Healdsburg's draft 2020 Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) is now available. The UWMP is a planning document that details forecasted water supply and demands over the next 25 years. This plan will be reviewed and discussed at a City Council workshop on Monday, Aug 23 at 6pm – so folks have some time to get familiar with the material. The working UWMP draft can be found here: https://bit.ly/2UbL1ZV

August 21: Get Your Free Drought Toolkit

We are teaming up with the Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership again on a “Drought Drop By” event on Saturday, Aug 21, from 8 AM – 12 PM, at the Healdsburg Community Center, 1557 Healdsburg Ave. The aim: to give you tools to use water more wisely

Here’s what’s in the toolkit:

Bucket to catch water for reuse
5-minute shower timer
WaterSense-labeled, low-flow showerhead
WaterSense-labeled, low-flow faucet aerator
Toilet dye-test tablets
Self-closing garden hose nozzle

These free toolkits will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis, while supplies last. Limit one toolkit per household.

Oath of Office - Police Chief Jenkins

On Wednesday, August 11, Police Chief Matt Jenkins took his Oath of Office for the position of Police Chief on the steps of City Hall. He was joined by his family, the Police Department, Mayor Mitchell, Councilmember Hagele and numerous other co-workers. Chief Jenkin's wife pinned his badge, following the Oath of Office. The City is excited to have Chief Jenkins continue to serve the community he calls home.

Sonoma County Transits All Electric Bus

A group of people standing in front of an all electric bus

On Monday morning, Sonoma County Transit brought their 100% all Electric Zero Emission Bus to the Safeway bus stop for a demonstration. This electric vehicle is currently serving as the Route 67 bus through Healdsburg and can be seen daily on our local streets.

Healdsburg Fire Department: Dixie Fire Strike Team

Healdsburg Firefighters resting at the Dixie Fire

Healdsburg Fire Department Engine 6361 has been assigned to the Dixie Fire with a crew of 4; Captain Williams, Engineer Potter, Firefighter Ratto and Firefighter Boettger. This is the second crew of four to staff the assignment. The engine was originally sent to the Tamarack Fire and was reassigned to the Dixie Fire. They have been on the front lines for almost 28 days and are assisting with structure defense, line construction and firing operations. As of August 12, the Dixie fire is at 510,227 acres with 30% containment, the largest fire in California history.

Goat Grazing Continues Fire Fuel Reduction

The City continues to partner with Chasin Goat Grazing as part of the $414,000 Grant received from the Coastal Conservancy. Fire fuel reduction has begun on the Callahan Open Space Easement to create defensible space from the homes that back up to the Open Space.

Celebrating Camp HBG

A group of kids with paint on their hands

Our 2021 Camp HBG program concludes on August 14 with the end of our summer session. This date will mark 59 weeks of providing full-day childcare and distance learning care for our community’s working families, starting on June 1, 2020 at the early onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Attendance throughout the 59 weeks ranged from between 90 and 120 participants per day, and during this time there were no cases of COVID-19 transmission attributed to the program. Our sincere thanks to the over 60 dedicated part-time staff who served as mentors, care givers, and friends to participants in the program; to Healdsburg Unified School District and Corazón Healdsburg for their roles in supporting the program; and to our community for their financial support. We wish our participants and their families the best of luck in their return to in-person learning next week!

Swim Center to Remain Open Through Labor Day

The Swim Center was originally scheduled to close for the season on August 13 but will remain open for the community on a modified schedule through September 6. Lap Swim will be available Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturday mornings and Recreation Swim will be available each Saturday and special holiday hours on September 6. For the full schedule, please visit https://www.ci.healdsburg.ca.us/254/Aquatics-Programs. We look forward to seeing you out at the pool!

Shakespeare in the Park Returns

An advertisement for Shakespeare in the Park

The Raven Performing Arts Theater, in partnership with the Community Services Department, present Shakespeare in the Park 2021. This series of outdoor performances will feature three performers, covering 37 plays, over the span of 90 minutes in an abridged version of Shakespeare’s full catalog of work. Shakespeare in the Park will take place each Thursday – Sunday, August 12 -29. All performances are free and begin at 7:30pm in West Plaza Park. For more information, please visit https://www.raventheater.org/index.php?p=6

City Council to Review Arts and Culture Master Plan on August 16

An image of the Arts and Culture Master Plan

On Monday, Community Services staff and consultants from the Cultural Planning Group will present a final draft of a community arts and culture master plan to City Council. The proposed plan will serve as a guide for our community to enhance arts, culture, and creativity in Healdsburg for years to come. The draft plan is a result of a collaborative community effort that took place over the span of two years and was led by a resident-based Creative Leadership Team consisting of artists, business owners, non-profit organization representatives, educators, and all-around creative individuals. A copy of the draft plan can be found here: https://www.ci.healdsburg.ca.us/1025/Community-Arts-and-Culture-Draft-Plan. Monday’s meeting takes place via Zoom and will begin at 6pm. To download the agenda for the meeting, please follow this link: http://healdsburgca.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_Meeting.aspx?ID=2025

City Council to Consider Design for Foley Family Community Pavilion on August 16

An image of the schematic design for the Foley Family Community Pavilion

In March 2020, City Council voted to move forward with the $7 million pledge from the Foley Family to redevelop the 3 North Street site as a community event facility and home of the Healdsburg Farmers’ Market. In their approval, City Council asked that the design team study options for extending the roof structure across the entire building so it is better suited for year round use. City Council will consider the proposed design at their Monday meeting. Download the meeting information and the revised schematic design drawings at http://healdsburgca.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_Meeting.aspx?ID=2025

Tuesdays in the Plaza Continues Through August 31

A group of people listening to music in the Healdsburg Plaza

We are pleased to announce the remaining line-up for the Tuesdays in the Plaza concert Series. Leroy from the North (Southern Rock/Americana) takes the Plaza stage on August 17, followed by Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers (Jazz Vocals) on August 24, with the series finale taking place on August 31 with a performance by Space Orchestra (Joe Cocker Tribute Band). For more information on the series, please visit https://www.ci.healdsburg.ca.us/335/Tuesdays-in-the-Plaza

Badger Substation Reconstruction Project

Next week the City’s contractor will start a roughly eight month long project to reconstruct portions of the Badger substation on Heron Drive. This work is necessary to replace equipment that has been in service since the 1970’s and is now beyond it’s useful life. The new equipment will improve the reliability of the City’s electric system and improve worker safety. Over the course of the work there will be an increased amount of traffic and activity around and inside of the substation.

August 7, 2021 Power Outage

Early on Saturday August 7 at approximately 12:41am a section of high-voltage underground cable failed near the corner of University and March Ave. City electric crews were able sectionalize the bad cable and restore most customers within a couple of hours and had all customers restored by 10:00am the same day. To help prevent further power outages, a cable and transformer replacement project is planned for the area of March, Fieldcrest, and University.

Healdsburg Avenue Improvements Almost Complete

The Mill District and City staff are working out final details and will likely schedule overnight paving operations on August 27th and 28th. Additional pavement repairs, outside of Mill District’s requirements, will be made to increase the life of this section of Healdsburg Avenue significantly. We apologize for the extended construction duration and appreciate our community’s patience.

Assuming the work proceeds as scheduled, you should expect the following:

The evening of the 27th, we will have two-way traffic control from 10PM to 6AM, with intermittent interruptions.
The evening of the 28th, we will close northbound traffic on Healdsburg Avenue at 10PM, with a full closure at midnight. All lanes will reopen at 6AM. Detours will be in place as well as advanced warning signs on Highway 101.

Mill District and their contractor will contact all of the nearby businesses and residents individually to minimize impacts and to accommodate specific needs.

Permanent road striping will be placed during daylight hours the following week. Again, we appreciate your patience and look forward to getting traffic back to normal on Healdsburg Avenue.