City Council Meeting - October 12

The Cloverdale City Council will hold a regularly scheduled meeting: 

Wednesday, October 12 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: 

1. Proclamation - Proclaiming October 13, 2022 as Children's Environmental Health Day in Cloverdale.
2. Resolution Authorizing Remote Teleconference Meetings of the City of Cloverdale of the City in Compliance with Assembly Bill 361.
3. Resolution adopting the City of Cloverdale’s current salary schedule effective July 1, 2022.
4. Resolution approving a budget amendment to the FY 2022-23 budget in the amount of $325,455 for salary and employee benefits expenses associated with the approval of memorandum of understandings
5. Resolution approving a new Annual Maintenance Services Agreement with Miksis Services, Inc. to provide sewer maintenance/rehabilitation in an amount not to exceed $185,662.00.
6. Resolution Approving a Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA) with Cloverdale Unified School District, a California School District for a 0.23 acre portion of Lot “C” (Sonoma County Assessor’s Parcel number 001-440-049) on the Thyme Square Final Map.
7.  Resolution Designating the City of Cloverdale’s Priority Project and authorizing submittal of an application to the Sonoma County Community Development Commission for fiscal year 2022-2023 Community Development Block Grant (“CDBG”) funding for the 1st Street Sidewalk ADA Project.
8. Consider adopting an ordinance amending Title 9 of the Cloverdale Municipal Code to repeal Chapter 9.34, “Human Habitation of Vehicles and Campers”, and add Chapter 9.35, “Protection of Critical Infrastructure and Wildfire Risk Areas”.

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.

Vegetation Management Phase 3 Project Started at Porterfield Creek Open Space

Phase 3 of the Porterfield Creek Open Space Vegetation Management program began this week. The project is a continuation of the past efforts to reduce fire threats to our community by reducing fire fuels through the reduction and removal of fire prone vegetation and ladder fuels.

The Project details for the Phase 3 project are as follows:

• Length of work: 10 days, beginning on Wednesday, October 5th ending on October 14th
• Hours of work: 7:30am-3:00pm daily
• Proposed Prescriptive Burning: Mid-December

Portions of the Main Preserve Trail at Porterfiedl Creek Open Space will be closed to the public while the vegetation management work is performed. The staging and work area will be closed and will be inaccessible to the public during the work to ensure the safety of the Fuels Crew and public. Closure signage will be visible at the Welcome Bridge with arrows diverting hikers left, up the Tank Trail. 

A closure sign is posted on the bridge at the intersection of the Main Preserve Trail and the 3 Bridges Trail, with arrows also providing alternate routes. Burn dates are TBD and will be dictated by fire personnel and weather conditions. Prior notification to the public will be made when dates have been determined for prescriptive burning.  

Water Supply Availability in the Russian River Watershed in 2022

Update regarding CURTAILMENTS from the State Water Board 9/29/22:
 
The Division of Water Rights has posted an updated Curtailment Status List on the Russian River Drought Response webpage that takes effect on October 1, 2022. Based on current conditions and available forecasts, there are water right curtailments in place and certain right holders must cease or reduce their diversions as directed by the list. Right holders must continue to monitor the Curtailment Status List for the latest curtailment statuses.
 
With this update, there is a reduction in the number of affected water rights and claims. 328 appropriative water rights remain curtailed, all along the mainstem of the upper portion of the Russian River. 194 unique water right owners must cease or reduce their diversions as directed by the list. With this update, there are no affected diverters in the lower Russian River Watershed.
 
Division staff will post a revised Curtailment Status List for the month should supply conditions change, either through additional precipitation or changes in water releases from the Potter Valley Project.
 
Update on Voluntary SHARING PROGRAM on 9/30:
Exceptions to curtailment under the Russian River Voluntary Water Sharing Agreement (VSA) remain temporarily suspended for October. According to the Satee Water Board, there continues to be insufficient supply available for sharing within the range of minimum and maximum forbearance thresholds identified by the agreement. Given the insufficient supplies available for sharing, the Division of Water Rights has determined that resumed diversions under the VSA would threaten to adversely affect the availability of water for non-participants.     

The Division will continue to monitor conditions and assess whether curtailment exceptions for VSA participants could resume. Additional discussion on this and other topics will take place when Division staff host the next monthly VSA virtual meeting on November 7, 2022, 3:30-4:30PM. Meeting information will be shared by email and will also be posted on the VSA webpage. 

Sonoma County Library -
Cloverdale Commissioner Vacancy

Are you passionate about the library and its services? Can you represent the needs and interests of the community and of the library, and have strong interpersonal and communication skills?

he City of Cloverdale invites people who are committed to working for the betterment of the Sonoma County Library system to serve as Cloverdale’s representative on the Sonoma County Library Commission. The commission provides governance to the Sonoma County Library, which includes establishing policy, approving the county wide library system budget, overseeing the Library Director, and more. For additional information, contact City Clerk Mike Maloney at mmaloney@ci.cloverdale.ca.us or 707-894-1712.

Planning Commission Openings

Mayor Lands and the Cloverdale City Council is seeking to fill a vacant position on the Cloverdale Planning Commission. The Mayor may appoint a regular member or appoint an existing alternate member to a regular member. 

The Commission is comprised of five regular members 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 typically holds regularly scheduled meetings on the first Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m., to consider land use matters including such things as the General Plan, Specific Plans, rezoning, use permits, and subdivisions. 

APPLICATION PROCESS: Applications for committee/commission vacancies may be obtained online at:
https://www.cloverdale.net/DocumentCenter/View/5319/Application-for-Commission-or-Committee-for-City-of-Cloverdale-as-of-09-2022 

Applications received by the deadline will be reviewed and considered at a regular City Council meeting. Please remit applications to the City Clerk 124 N. Cloverdale Blvd., Cloverdale, CA 95425 or by email to kthompson@ci.cloverdale.ca.us.

County to Begin Mailing Voter Information Guides and Ballots for November General Election

The Sonoma County Registrar of Voters announced that county voter information guides and official ballots for the Nov. 8, General Election will begin going out in the mail to voters no later than Monday, Oct. 10.
 
Also beginning on Monday, any voter who cannot or prefers not to wait to receive their ballot in the mail may pick one up at the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters Office. A voter may also authorize somebody else to pick up their vote-by-mail ballot on their behalf with a signed note. 
 
The delivery of the 275,000-plus guides and more than 300,000 ballots can take a week or more. Voters who have not received their guide and/or ballot by Oct. 20 should contact the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters Office to ensure their current mailing address is on file and, if necessary, be sent a replacement.
 
The county voter information guide can also be viewed online by going to the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters homepage and clicking on the County Voter Information Guide link under the “November 8, 2022, General Election” heading. Voters who have opted out of receiving a paper copy of the guide should have already been sent an email informing them that it is available online. A compilation of all local candidate statements and local measure information (not just those that will appear on a voter’s own particular ballot) is also available at the Nov. 8 General Election page.
 
Note that the county voter information guide only contains information about local candidates and measures. Information about statewide candidates and propositions is contained in the state voter information guide, which is mailed separately by the Secretary of State’s Office and may be viewed online at the Official Voter Information Guide webpage.
 
Voters who do not want to vote the ballot mailed to them will be able to vote in person at one of seven vote centers open daily from Oct. 29 until Election Day. An additional 24 vote centers will be open daily from Nov. 5 until Election Day. For vote center locations and times, visit the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters homepage and click on the list of Official Ballot Drop Boxes and Vote Centers and/or interactive map links under the “November 8, 2022, General Election” heading.
 
The Nov. 8 General Election will be the second countywide election in Sonoma County to be conducted under the Voter’s Choice Act election model. Named after the law on which it is based, the objective of this model is to give voters more flexibility regarding when, where and how they cast their ballots. For example, polling places are replaced by vote centers, which offer two major benefits:

1. Vote centers are open multiple days, whereas polling places were only open on Election Day itself.
2. A voter can obtain the correct ballot type and cast their vote at any vote center in the county; they do not have to go to a specific location.

For more information about the Voter’s Choice Act, visit the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters homepage and click on the Voter’s Choice Act option near the bottom of the menu on the left. For further details about the upcoming November election, visit the Nov. 8 General Election page. Or, visit the Registrar of Voters Office in person at 435 Fiscal Drive, Santa Rosa, CA 95403, call (707) 565-6800, or email rov-info@sonoma-county.org.

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