K-9 Officer Jimmy Announces Retirement

On June 22, 2021 the Cloverdale Police Department celebrated the retirement of the Department’s Canine Officer “Jimmy”. Canine Jimmy has been with the Cloverdale Police Department since 2013 and has served the city for 8 years. Jimmy was born in Hungary and turned 9 years old on October 1, 2020.

Jimmy has had a distinguished career as a police service dog and together with his handler, Officer John Camara, helped train numerous other service dogs from allied agencies. Officer Camara has agreed to purchase Jimmy as a family pet where he will live out the rest of his years in the comfort of this home.

On behalf of the Cloverdale City Council and the Cloverdale Police Department, we congratulate Jimmy on his well- deserved retirement.

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City's Update on Drought Response

Outlined below are some key actions that have been taken or are in progress in response to the drought and the City Council’s declaration of a Stage 2 Water Shortage Emergency on April 28, 2021:

Planning Updates/Action:

City Council declared a Local Emergency due to Drought Conditions.
City staff is participating (ongoing) in the Sonoma Interagency Drought Task Force led up by Sonoma Water – The City is coordinating with Sonoma Water on identifying programs (Infrastructure and Water Efficiency projects) that can be funded with drought funding that is expected to be allocated by the State of California in the near future. At this time, the State has not allocated funding to support city’s drought relief efforts. The City anticipates seeking funding for water efficiency programs (toilet replacement, washing machine rebate, turf/lawn conversion, and other programs) that support our utility customers reduce water usage. More to come on this in the future!.
City participated in the Drought Drop By Event on June 12^th and handed out approximately 250 water savings drought kits.
City established a Water Emergency Response Team (WERT) consisting of a broad representation from City Departments. First meeting was held on May 6^th and subsequent meetings on 5/20, 6/03 and 6/17. The WERT functions as a Water Efficiency Coordinator based on a “Team” approach.
City joined the Sonoma Marin Water Savings Partnership effective July 1, 2021. A number of drought programs will be available to residents through participation in the Partnership including technical expertise.

City Actions to address on going drought conditions:

Implemented a Hydrant Meter Monitoring Program and pulled some hydrant meters. Staff is monitoring hydrant meters closely.
Parks staff set irrigation controllers to reduce irrigation at all City Parks and facilities by 25% on April 29^th.
Established a Water Waste Notice to notify residents of water waste (see attached picture).
Implemented an Electronic Meter Register replacement program (in progress).
Deployed a firm called Leak Detection Pros to survey and identify leaks in the water system. City staff was deployed quickly to repair identified previously unidentified water leaks.
Increased monitoring by the Police and Parks Department to reduce /eliminate water theft from city water facilities.

Parks Maintenance Update

Parks Staff continues to address service requests, arborist inquiries as well as regular maintenance and water management strategies. This week, Parks and Recreation Staff focused maintenance activities on the Downtown Street corridor in preparation for the first Friday Night Live (FNL) on July 2nd. Park staff performed additional weed abatement, tree pruning and hedging to present the best appearance for kick of of FNL. d.

The signs of the severe drought are starting to be apparent throughout the parks and Open Spaces, with the trees in particular. Parks staff removed a large declining mature Live Oak at the Second Street City Park as well as a second and third tree from Furber Park and Porterfield Creek Preserve. Less moisture in the soil means less water to convert into glucose, which means a shorter growing season for a tree. The heavily stressed trees in drought will enter winter dormancy earlier. But a prolonged drought could create a cycle of longer periods of dormancy and shorter intervening periods to prepare for it, which could have significant effects on the trees long term health.

Water Supply Update

The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) on June 14, 2021 issued an order reducing minimum instream flow requirements in the lower Russian River from 85 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 35 cfs. The Temporary Urgency Change Order (TUCO) also requires that Sonoma Water and its water contractors reduce total diversions from the Russian River by 20% compared to the same period of 2020 from July 1 through October 31. The order, issued at the request of the Sonoma County Water Agency (Sonoma Water), will allow the agency to preserve storage in Lake Sonoma, which is the primary source of drinking water for more than 600,000 people in Sonoma and Marin counties. Read the press release. Read the TUCO.
The State Water Resources Control Board on June 15, 2021 adopted an emergency regulation authorizing the Division of Water Rights to issue curtailment notices to water right holders in the Russian River watershed to safeguard the community’s drinking water availability later this year and next year. Per the regulation, curtailment notices would be issued once water levels fall below storage targets in Lake Mendocino or when flows cannot meet demands in the Lower Russian River. Read the press release. The State Water Resources Control Board has launched a new web page with more information on this and other actions.
The Russian River watershed is in a historic drought. The watershed has experienced extremely dry weather conditions this water year (WY-2021). A water year begins of October 1 and ends on September 30th of the following year. This is the second consecutive dry water year coming on the heels of WY-2020, which was also very dry. View drought monitoring data for Santa Rosa and Ukiah.
The current drought on record is 1976/1977 when Ukiah received just 16.12 inches of rainfall. As of today, Ukiah has recorded only 12.24 inches of rainfall this year, slightly ahead of 1976/1977 when Ukiah measured 11.27” through April 15. On average, Ukiah receives 37 inches a year. In Santa Rosa, only 12.77 inches of rainfall has fallen this water year, just 3.30 inches more than the driest year of record (1976/1977) when Santa Rosa measured 9.47” through April 15. On average, Santa Rosa receives 32.20” inches a year.
Reservoir capacities are lower than they were during the last drought, which was 2013/2014. View more data on this drought.
Residents are encouraged to continue using water wisely and eliminate water wasting activities. Learn more water saving tips at savingwaterpartnership.org.
Water supply projections show that without additional rainfall and without aggressive water saving by our communities, Lake Sonoma and Lake Mendocino water supply levels will reach historically low levels by October 2021.
View more information about the current dry weather conditions.
Read frequently asked questions about the drought.

Make a Splash with the Y at the Cloverdale Veterans Pool

Starting June 16th, the Cloverdale Pool is Open Tuesday-Sunday as follows:

Noon-5pm Rec Swim

5pm-7pm Lap Swim

Pool Guidelines:

Open to children and adults. A recreational swim encouraging family fun.
Children age 6 and under must have an adult in the water with them at all times. Approved swim diapers are required for all children under 3 years old.
Children ages 7-9, who can swim unassisted, must have an adult in the pool area while they are swimming.
Children ages 10-12 must have an adult on the pool deck while they are in the pool.
If the child cannot swim, an adult must be in the pool with the child.
Any flotation device must be Coast Guard approved. Any child wearing a life jacket must be accompanied by an adult regardless of swimming ability or age.

Day Use Fees:

? Family Swim Pass: $10
? Adult Swim Pass: $5
? Youth Swim Pass: $4
? Senior (55+) Swim Pass: $4
? Y Members: Free

Cloverdale Pool Phone # 894-9148

Fore more information, visit: Cloverdale Memorial Pool - Sonoma County Family YMCA (scfymca.org)

Community Development Department Plans for the Future!

The City's Community Development Department is currently working on several planning projects that will shape the future of Cloverdale. Below is a list of all the projects that are currently underway.

Update of the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP)
Update of the General Plan Safety Elemen t
Update of the General Plan Housing Elemen t
Update of the Downtown and Transit Oriented Development Zoning Districts
Completion of a South Cloverdale Infrastructure Assessment

We are seeking community input on these important planning efforts. Click here for more information. If you have any questions about these planning efforts please email Kevin Thompson, Assistant City Manager / Community Development Director at kthompson@ci.cloverdale.ca.us