City Council Meeting - August 10th

The Cloverdale City Council will hold a regularly scheduled meeting:

Wednesday, August 10th 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:

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 Police Department Hosts National Night Out!

On Tuesday, August 2nd, the Cloverdale Police Department hosted National Night Out at City Plaza in Downtown Cloverdale. Cloverdale Police Department served food and drinks and provided over $1,000 in raffle prices including bicycles and skateboards! The event was well attended despite the heat!

National Night Out is an Police Department's annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live!

Water Supply Update - Drought is Still Here. Save Water!

The drought is still here. Water supply levels at Lake Mendocino and Lake Sonoma remain at historic lows.

Sonoma County continues to experience drought conditions Sonoma County is designated as being in Severe Drought by the U.S Drought Monitor. Read about drought condition in Sonoma County.
Visit the California Water Watch website and enter your address to see how much rainfall your local area has received to date.
View Current Water Supply Levels for Lake Pillsbury, Lake Mendocino, and Lake Sonoma Here
Conservation requirements are still in place in the City of Cloverdale. Residents are encouraged to continue using water wisely and eliminate water wasting activities. Learn more water saving tips at savingwaterpartnership.org
The statewide Save Our Water conservation campaign at SaveOurWater.com also provides simple ways to reduce water use in their everyday lives.
The water reservoir storage level (~49,289 ac-ft.) in Lake Mendocino in currently 62.8% of the Target Water Supply Curve (78,443 ac-ft.) for July (see graphic below).

PG&E Flow Variance Request approved by FERC Impacts Water Wupply

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved a request from Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) to reduce flows from the Potter Valley Project into the East Branch of the Russian River that feeds Lake Mendocino.

The new flow regime, approved by FERC authorizes PG&E to divert less water even though there is almost 50% more water in Lake Pillsbury than there was at the same time last year.

Key points contained within the Flow Variance:

East Fork RR flows reduced from 75 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 5 cfs will reduce inflows into Lake Mendocino.
Potter Valley Irrigation District contract deliveries from PG&E will operate on a demand based schedule and no more than 50 cfs
Lake Pillsbury is to maintain at least 30,000 acre feet in storage through September 15.
The Variance was effective immediately upon issue and remains in effect until Lake Pillsbury storage exceeds 36,000 acre-feet following October 1, 2022.
The State Water Board is expected to issue an update on further curtailments and a suspension of the Voluntary Water Sharing Program that was approved by the City until additional water supply is available.

The City of Cloverdale is closely monitoring the next steps that the State Board will take to address the impacts of the flow variance granted by FERC to PG&E on flows within the Russian Rive.r

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BayRen Water Upgrade $ave

January, February, and March were the driest on record in over 100 years.¹

Want to do your part to save water at home? As we continue to deal with the many challenges of the drought you can help by cutting back on your water use.

Join City of Cloverdale’s Water Upgrades Save program to being saving water and money right away!

Follow the steps below:
1.    Visit www.waterupgradessave.com to enroll.
2.    Schedule a free home assessment to learn about your potential water savings.
3.    Choose your upgrades which include high-efficiency toilets, showerheads and aerators.
4.    Schedule your installation with a qualified program contractor.
5.    Begin saving water and money right away.

To get started, visit www.waterupgradessave.org.
¹https://drought.ca.gov/media/2022/07/Weekly-CA-Drought-Update-07182022.pdf

Parks Update

It has been another productive week in the Parks Department. Several projects have been completed across the City parks and L&L districts.

The first focused on L&L district The Vineyards. An entire two-block length of hedges, ornamental shrubs, ground cover and trees were pruned and hedged. This seasonal, two-day job encourages growth before the plants go dormant in the Fall as well as improves appearance. We also make sure to clear around sprinkler heads and irrigation system to prevent run-off and allow for even distribution. We attempt to minimize the most minimal amounts of water loss this time of year.

Next door, at L&L district Sunrise Hills, parks staff performed weed abatement on an open space that backs up to residential housing. All tall and dry vegetation was mowed to reduce fire fuel. Next, 30 yards of mulch was spread. Donated by Economy Tree Services. A block length of landscaping was completed as well. Trees, shrubs and ground cover. Another 12 yards of mulch was broadcast to even out recent plant loss due to drought.

At Vintage Meadows park, a fruitless Mulberry tree was removed. It had been declining for several months. Another unavoidable result of consecutive years of drought. Parks staff plans to replace recent losses with species better suited to the location and climate.

Parks staff began utilizing the 500 gallon water wagon to irrigate parks and landscape area. The water is sourced from the backwash pond at the Water Distribution plant. The water was sampled and tested before being hauled to the individual parks to be used to supplement irrigation of the fields. The use of the water wagon has been an excellent way to mitigate current water restrictions in place and promote safe play during busy sports seasons.

Lastly, City Arborist consulted with an outside Certified Arborist to discuss annual pruning of our individual parks. The focus is concerning the large Oaks in the parks with an outlook toward preventative maintenance. We are scheduling work to begin late Fall. Please stay tuned on the main City of Cloverdale homepage for calendar updates on park maintenance events.

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Sonoma County Partners with National Guard and City of Cloverdale on Infrastructure Improvements at Vets Hall

The County of Sonoma Department of Transportation and Public Works issued a Press Release on August 2nd announcing a strategic partnership with the California Army National Guard and the City of Cloverdale to make infrastructure improvements at the Cloverdale Veterans Memorial Building and along Canyon Road in the unincorporated community of Geyserville. Under the agreement, the county is providing all project oversight and materials while the National Guard is providing the labor as an opportunity to train its members in construction and engineering best practices.

Initial projects of the partnership include the installation of a concrete pathway to access the flagpole area at Cloverdale Veterans Memorial Building, as well as a new concrete pad for the facility’s barbeque area. Concrete finish work for the veterans building projects were performed by Mayor Todd Lands of the City of Cloverdale, with debris hauling also provided by the City of Cloverdale.

For more information about the county’s strategic partnership with the National Guard, please call (707) 565-2231 or email TPW@Sonoma-County.org

SB 1383 Short-Lived Climate Pollutants Policy - Feed People, Not Landfills!

In effect since Jan 1, 2022, Senate Bill 1383 is a comprehensive state law aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions to slow climate change by reducing the amount of organic material that is landfilled.

THE STATE DEFINES ORGANICS AS FOOD, GREEN MATERIALS, LANDSCAPE/ PRUNINGS, NON-HAZARDOUS WOOD SCRAP, AND FOOD-SOILED PAPER HOW TO COMPLY

All residents and commercial entities are required to subscribe to curbside organics collection (green bin) service in addition to recycling and garbage.
All residents and commercial entities must separate food scraps, plant trimmings, food soiled paper and other organic materials from the garbage and place them into the green bin to be sent for composting.
Commercial entities include for profit and nonprofit organizations, public and private schools, government buildings, and multifamily residential dwellings.

For more information about solid waste and SB 1383, download the annual Sonoma County Zero Waste Guide 2022-20223 linked below:

Full-24-Page-Guide-for-Website.pdf (zerowastesonoma.gov)
Spanish-combined-for-website.pdf (zerowastesonoma.gov)

New Climate Resilience Education Resource from NOAA/NWS

The National Weather Service (NWS) shared a new climate resilience education resource as they work to support building a Climate-Ready Nation, as well as a Weather-Ready Nation. The recent NOAA storymap highlighted NOAA's efforts in building a Climate-Ready Nation with science, service, stewardship, and with focus on equity. When we work together to protect our communities from environmental hazards, we are building community resilience. A great place to start is with children!

The NOAA Environmental Literacy Program is excited to announce the publication of a new climate resilience children's activity book co-produced with their grantee and partner, Nurture Nature Center. The activity book was designed for learners in grades 3-8 for use in formal and informal educational settings. Each of the six sections of the book mirrors key concepts from the NOAA Environmental Literacy Program's Theory of Change to help learners identify ways to build resilience to climate change in their own communities. To go along with the activity book, they developed an Educators’ Guide to help educators facilitate the activities.

Also, heat.gov just launched to educate on the science and impacts of a warming climate.

Rotary Club of Healdsburg Presents "Embers of Awakening: From Firestorms to Climate Healing"

Attached is the flyer for a locally made film about the Sonoma County fires and climate crisis entitled, "Embers of Awakening: From Firestorms to Climate Healing"
A film of Sonoma County Nonprofit, Listening for a Change Directed and Produced by Phyllis Rosenfield

A showing of the film, sponsored by the Healdsburg Noon Club, will be screened at the Raven Performing Arts Center. Phylliss Rosenfield made this documentary and has worked for many years with Cloverdale High School students and Teachers on a project called Listening for Change.

DATE: Wednesday, August 17, 2022

TIME: 6:15 PM: Climate and Environment Information Fair

7:00 PM: Film
8:15 PM: Panel Discussion. Panelists: Phyllis Rosenfield, Claudia Luke, Ph.D,
Director of Sustainability at Sonoma State University, John Mihalik, M.D., Climate Activist and Marshall Turbeville, Chief of Northern Sonoma County Fire

LOCATION: Raven Performing Arts Theater. Address: 115 North St., Healdsburg, CA

ADMISSION: $10 per person, tickets are available online at Raven Theater Tickets and at the door. Students are admitted free