City Council Meeting - April 13

The Cloverdale City Council will hold a regularly scheduled meeting on:
Wednesday, March 23rd at 6:00 pm

The Council meeting will be held at the Cloverdale Performing Arts Center. A zoom link is available on the agenda for virtual attendance and participation.

Major items on the City Council agenda include:

Proclamations - National Mental Health Awareness Month and Dispatchers Week
A Resolution Authorizing Remote Teleconference Meetings of the City in compliance with Assembly Bill 361
Resolution authorizing the Destruction of Records as incorporated as
Exhibit "A" of the Resolution which is Authorized by the City's Official Records Retention
Funding Agreement with the Sonoma County Redwood Empire Food Bank
General Fund Reserves Balances as of June 30, 2021
Resolution for Roadway Improvement Project list for fiscal year
2022/2023 funded by SB-1: The Road Repair Accountability Act of 2017
Ordinance of the City of Cloverdale amending Chapters 1.10 and 1.14 of the Cloverdale Municipal Code and adding Chapter 1.18 and 1.20 to the Cloverdale Municipal Code regarding Code Enforcement

For a copy of the City Council agenda, click here.
To participate in the meeting or comment on an item virtually via Zoom, copy and paste the following link in your web browser:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88648416804?wd=QjFHTkt1TGIwMVN4V1lQR0FLRmw1UT09
Meeting ID: 886 4841 6804
Passcode: 551890
Dial 1-(669) 900-6833 and enter the meeting ID.

Cloverdale Homelessness Community Advisory Group - April 12

The Cloverdale Homelessness Community Advisory Group is meeting on Tuesday, April 12th at 5:00 pm. The Meeting will be held at the Cloverdale Branch Library Meeting room.

Agenda Discussion Items:
a. Update on Local Homelessness Activities

Alexander Valley Health
Wallace House
Reach for Home

b. Update from Police Chief Ferguson on Police Department Response to Homelessness
c. Update on Vegetation Management Program at Cloverdale River Park - Mayor Lands
d. Update on Sonoma County Continuum of Care Board

To participate in the meeting virtually via zoom, please click on the link below : https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89617409616
Dial: 1-669-900-6833
Webinar ID: 896 1740 9616

California Drought Continues for 3rd Year as ‘driest on record’

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, California faces a “prolonged, persistent drought” that will “elevate the risk of wildfire across the West.” This comes as no surprise to Sonoma County residents who have seen little rain during a traditionally wet season. Water conservation will be critical going into summer and the wildfire season that has become the new normal in the North Bay.

Read drought condition updates here.
Visit the California Water Watch website and enter your address to see how much rainfall your local area has received to date.
Conservation requirements are still in place in the City of Cloverdale. Please do your part to save water now.

For more information, please see the Press Democrat’s article on the NOAA findings.

Water Supply Curtailment Update

As California heads into a third consecutive dry year, the State Water Resources Control Board is considering revision and readoption of emergency regulation to curtail unauthorized water diversions in the Russian River watershed. Exceptionally low precipitation since the beginning of the year has led to continuing drought conditions in the watershed.

The Division of Water Rights has posted a draft of the revised emergency regulation and is seeking feedback on the proposed revisions. The Division will hold a public workshop on April 14 to discuss the emergency regulation, answer questions, and receive comments. The public comment deadline on the draft regulation is April 18. State Water Board staff expects that the proposed readoption will be considered by the State Water Board at their May 10 meeting. For copies of the draft emergency regulation and changes from the 2021 regulation, curtailment status, and more, visit the State Water Board’s Russian River Drought Website.

Th emergency regulations look very similar to the existing curtailment order in effect in the Upper Russian River Watershed. The new draft emergency regulations, include proposed changes that according to the State Board, clarify requirements, refine analysis and address stakeholder feedback. Changes include:

1. Refined water availability method

2. Protection of water for fish habitat in the lower Russian River tributaries

3. Voluntary conservation programs

4. Administrative improvements

The City of Cloverdale is evaluating the emergency regulations, will have legal staff attending the public workshop and submitting comments on the draft regulations regarding the City's water rights.

Parks Update

Park staff accomplished several critical park maintenance projects throughout our local parks and L&L Districts this week

Due to the recent vandalism at Furber Park, parks staff moved quickly to order all necessary parts to perform repairs to the damaged irrigation valve. The damaged caused a large break further down on the 3” water main supply line that provides water to the entire park. The repairs were completed as soon as possible. This sort of unanticipated time-consuming event diverts staff time away from regular maintenance and schedule projects. We encourage residents to report any suspicious park activities to the police department at the very soonest opportunity when they are spotted.

Weed abatement was performed at the County River Park around picnic tables and BBQ grills as well encroaching vegetation cut back along walking trails. String weed eating was performed at the Cottages Landscape and Lighting (L&L) District near the existing winery building and main trail. Additionally , 15 yards of redwood mulch were installed near the Yorty Creek Recreation Area sign in the Cottages L&L District.

Water Saving Outdoor Irrigation Tips from City Arborist

Parks staff is taking a proactive approach to this current drought!

Drought is Here Save Water signs have been placed throughout parks and landscape areas. This effort is to spread word throughout our community to start looking into the ways to save water during this 3rd consecutive dry year. (See Images below)

Spring season irrigation Tips from City Arborist Hector Galvan

This time a year, plants and trees need little to no water depending on species and soils condition.

Irrigation Tips for Saving Water

Perform a complete inventory of your garden and remove dead plants that did not endure winter conditions or last years drought
Turned off irrigation to plants mentioned in first bullet point
Turn down irrigation times to trees and large drought tolerant shrubbery
Reduce all irrigation systems to shorter watering cycles to avoid run off
Make sure the irrigation controller is set to the local mandatory stage 4- 35% water reduction ordinance

City Arborist Hector Galvan can provide additional information about how to utilized water efficiently within your landscapes areas. Hector can be reached at (707) 894-1707 or by e-mail at hgalavan@ci.clvoerdale.ca.us

For additional outdoor irrigation tips, vist the Sonoma Marin Water Savings Partnership website:
Water Saving Tips - Sonoma- Marin Saving Water Partnership

Code Enforcement Update

With the recent approval of a contract with Robert Smith, a seasoned attorney and code enforcement officer, the City has transitioned to a proactive code enforcement program. Mr. Smith is an attorney who specializes in Code Enforcement helped to develop an updated code enforcement Ordinance. The
City Council the draft Ordinance at the April 13th city Council meeting

City staff is actively monitoring and tracking code enforcement cases. Currently, over ten active cases are currently being pursued.

For more information about the City's code Enforcement program, click here.

Asti Permanent Bridge Community Update

Sonoma County Transportation & Public Works (TPW) will be hosting both an in-person and Zoom webinar to update the community on the efforts to build a permanent bridge to replace the seasonal crossing. Please join TPW for a community update on the Asti Permanent Bridge.

Date: April 15, 2022
Time:11:00 AM Pacific Time

Webinar Registration:
https://sonomacounty.zoom.us/.../WN_lPma8R4KTC2dWY35n7N9ZQ

According to TPW, a Permanent Asti Bridge will provide an additional, reliable, year-round egress, particularly during disaster emergencies, which are an increasingly frequent threat. The total estimated project cost is $20 million, and the County proposes to fund $16 million. Property owners may be required to fund up to $4 million of project costs, dependent on any grant moneys that may be available.

For more information, please visit the following Website Link:
https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/.../pro.../permanent-asti-bridge

National Travel & Tourism Week - Sonoma County Tourism Pinot Purple Opportunity

Sonoma County Tourism is searching for businesses in the county to participate in the “Sonoma County Pinot Purple” project. This effort corresponds with National Travel and Tourism Week which commemorates the hospitality industry, taking place May 1-7^th, 2022. As a symbol of unity and pride, destinations across the country light up their buildings and landmarks in the official color of the hospitality industry: purple.

Sonoma County Tourism encourages businesses in the community to participate and will be supporting this effort. If your site has existing outdoor lighting that cannot be changed to purple, we can supply purple gel covers that can be temporarily applied to your LED lights. We will also be sending out a photographer to capture the pinot purple shine, with the effort to showcase the businesses that participate. We thank our partners who participated in the previous year, and hope that Sonoma County shines bright in pinot purple in 2022.

If you would like to join Sonoma County in casting a purple light the week of May 1-7^th, 2022, please fill out this form which will help us determine how we can best support you.

Please contact Kira Butz: kbutz@sonomacounty.com with any questions or concerns.

Norther Sonoma Air District News!

District Incentive Programs Now Available !
The Air District’s woodstove replacement program (Burn Clean!) and its public EV charger program (Go Green!) have recently re-opened.

Burn Clean! offers incentives to replace a non-EPA certified wood burning device with an EPA certified wood ($1K), pellet or gas ($2K), or electric heat pump ($3K) device. Qualifying low income applicants can receive an additional $2K of assistance and Russian River residents can receive an additional $1K. This incentive includes installation and the old woodstove must be destroyed.

Go Green! offers incentives for the installation and operation of publicly accessible EV chargers. The incentives: for Level 1 ($1K per plug); Level 2 ($2K per plug); and DC Fast Charge ($5K per plug); plus up to an additional $15K for installation. For this program chargers have to be accessible to the public 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

For details and applications please visit our website incentives page at: https://nosocoair.org/incentives/