Coffee with the Mayor

On Thursday, February 10th, the Cloverdale Senior Multipurpose Center hosted Coffee with the Mayor & Friends. Mayor Todd Lands provided an update on the February 9th City Council meeting and welcomed special guest Margaret Sluyk, CEO of Reach for Home.
Reach for Home serves the shelterless and those at risk of becoming shelterless.

The Cloverdale Senior Multipurpose Center hosts Coffee with the Mayor the second Thursday of every month following the City Council meeting. Thank you to Suzi Croft for coordinating the event! For more information about future Coffee with the Mayor events, contact Suzi Croft: suzi@cloverdaleseniorcenter.org

Attached below are Reach for Home's 2021 Highlights.

Planning and Sustainability Subcommittee Meeting - February 15

The Planning and Sustainability Subcommittee is set to meet Tuesday, February 15th at 1:30 pm. The meeting will take take place at the Sonoma County Library Conference Room located at 401 N. Cloverdale Blvd. or you can attend virtually via zoom at the links on the agenda.

Agenda topics include:

Complete streets plan;
Dog park location; and
Housing Element update.

A copy of the Planning and Sustainability Subcommittee agenda is located here.

CITY OF CLOVERDALE
COMPLETE STREETS SAFETY ASSESSMENT (CSSA)

The City of Cloverdale is engaging with SafeTREC and the University of California, Berkeley on a a Complete Streets Safety Assessment (CSSA). CSSAs are comprehensive transportation safety assessments that focus on pedestrian and bicycle safety. They help local agencies identify and implement traffic safety solutions that lead to improved safety for all users of California’s roadways.

A team of safety experts in the fields of traffic engineering and planning will conduct the study with the City. The CSAA will focus on three transportation segments including 1.) Citrus Fair / Cloverdale Blvd Intersection; 2.) Crocker/First Street / Asti Road Intersection; and 3.) Asti Road between Citrus Fair Drive and Crocker Road..

SafeTREC is part of the University of California, Berkeley, affiliated with the School of Public Health and the Institute of Transportation Studies, with additional partnerships with the Department of City and Regional Planning, Public Policy, and Transportation Engineering. The CSSA program is funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Street Story: A Platform for Community Engagement

Street Story(link is external) is a community engagement tool that allows residents, community groups and agencies to collect information about transportation collisions, near-misses, general hazards and safe locations to travel. To promote access to the tool, SafeTREC conducts technical assistance with communities and organizations on using Street Story. Street Story is free to use and publicly accessible.

Street Story features a survey where people can record travel experiences. Once a record has been entered, the information is publicly accessible on the website with maps and tables that can be downloaded.

Community organizations and agencies can use this information as part of qualitative information gathering approaches for local needs assessments, transportation safety planning efforts, safety programs and project proposals. In order to help ensure access to the tool, w work directly with community organizations across California to incorporate the Street Story tool into their existing projects and programs(link is external). The City will consider Street Story as part of its Complete Streets Safety Assessments performed by SafeTRAC.

Give you input on local streets: Street Story - SafeTREC (berkeley.edu)

Sonoma County Transit Paratransit Coordination graphic

Call for Members:
Transit Paratransit Coordinating Committee (TPCC)

The Sonoma County Transportation Authority (SCTA) is recruiting for Transit Paratransit Coordinating Committee (TPCC) members. The TPCC advises the SCTA on transit needs, especially for people with special needs, including elderly, disabled, and those of low income. The TPCC facilitates communications between transit and paratransit users and the operators of such services.

SCTA is looking to fill vacancies for Representative of Latinx Community and Local Service Providers for Disabled, Seniors, or Persons of Limited Means. The TPCC may also consider representatives of each jurisdiction and alternates in each member category. More information and the membership application are available h ere.

City Initiates Biosolids Removal Project at Wastewater Treatment Plant

After an extensive public bidding process, the City entered into an agreement with Synagro for the Biosolids removal project at the City's Wastewater Treatment plant. Biosolids removal consists of all the work required to extract municipal wastewater solids from Aerated/Settling Pond No. 3 and dewater, handle, load, haul offsite, weigh, and dispose of or beneficially reuse the biosolids by an approved method.

The project started on Monday Feb. 7^that the Corp Yard/Wastewater plant. The project is expected take about 4-5 weeks to complete. There will be extra truck /equipment traffic and Synagro personnel at the Corporation Yard. The project is part of the City's Capital Improvement Program to proactively maintain the City's wastewater treatment systems.

Planning Commission Opening

The City is recruiting for an alternate Planning Commission position. The Planning Commission is comprised of five regular members. The Commission is made up of citizens who have been appointed by the City Council, for a four-year term, to review matters related to planning and development. In addition to the five regular members, two resident alternate commissioners serve for a term of two (2) years.

The Commission holds regularly scheduled meetings to consider land use matters including such things as the General Plan, Specific Plans, rezonings, use permits, and subdivisions. Planning Commissioners serve at the pleasure of the City Council; commission membership changes in response to changes in the Council. The commission is the City Council's advisor on matters related to land use planning. On certain matters, including use permits and subdivisions, the Planning Commission can take final action. On other matters, such as General Plan Amendments and rezonings, the Planning Commission makes a recommendation to the City Council.

Please contact Kevin Thompson, Community Development Director at kthompson@ci.cloverdale.ca.us or (707) 894-1723 for more information about filling the vacant position on the Cloverdale Planning Commission.

Volunteers Needed for Point in Time Count

The Point-in-Timecount is a count of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness. the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires that all communities receiving federal funding for homelessness services conduct a Point-in-Time (PIT) Count of people experiencing homelessness. The PIT Count is the primary source of nationwide data on homelessness and identifies people living in unsheltered and sheltered settings

The annual Sonoma County PIT count will take place on February 25^th from approximately 5:00 am-10:00 am.

Reach for Home, a north county non-profit specializing in homeless outreach and services is coordinating this years point in time count. If you are interested in participating please contact Margaret Sluyk at margaret@reachforhome.org for more information.

Local Mask Order Rescinded February 16, 2022

Starting February 16, 2022, the County of Sonoma will rescind its Local Masking Orders and defer to the California Department of Public Health (CDHP) for masking requirements and guidance. Changes taking effect:

Universal masking shall remain required in only specified settings.
Only unvaccinated persons are required to mask in all Indoor Public Settings.

Guidance for Businesses, Venue Operators, or Hosts

In settings where masks are required only for unvaccinated individuals, businesses, venue operators, or hosts may choose to:

Provide information to all patrons, guests, and attendees regarding vaccination requirements and allow vaccinated individuals to self-attest that they are in compliance prior to entry.
Implement vaccine verification to determine whether individuals are required to wear a mask.
Require all patrons to wear masks.

No person can be prevented from wearing a mask as a condition of participation in an activity or entry into a business.

READ FULL CDHP REQUIREMENTS

Vision Zero Pledge

While we don’t know what exactly the future of transportation will look like for Sonoma County, we do know what we must do now to work towards our goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and severe injuries by 2030. The goals and actions laid out in the Sonoma County Vision Zero Action Plan chart a course toward our Vision Zero goal, but it will also take collective action from all of us. By pledging to make safe decisions and look out for one another, we can help to make Sonoma County roads safer for everyone.

Take the pledge at www.scta.ca.gov/vz/pledge

Join the Bike2it! Challenge!

Did your New Year’s Resolutions include more exercise, more time outdoors, losing weight, more time with family? Are you concerned about climate change and looking for ways to decrease your carbon footprint?

Take the Bike2it! Pledge!

The pledge asks local residents to consider biking to destinations within two miles of their residence for fun, health and carbon footprint reduction. The Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition has some great tips and tactics on their website to get you riding! For more information, visit https://www.bikesonoma.org/bike2it/