This is not the time to break down, this is a time to build up, as wise man King Solomon observed 3,000 years ago. Although it seems hard to imagine what Healdsburg will be like after the current crisis fades away, it seems prudent to assume that it will take a long time to revive our town’s success story of the past 10 years.
For now, the Community Service Department (CSD) is hands-down helping locals get through the COVID-19 crisis. In so doing, it is evident that the CSD is about far more than parks, recreation and concerts in the Plaza; the department supports vulnerable segments of our population and fosters community.
In response to the pandemic, CSD staff have stepped-up care calls with our seniors and others in need to determine general status, nutrition and medical needs, reduce isolation, establish emergency contact information and anything else significant — and city staff are providing the DASH rideshare service to get people to medical appointments and deliver food and supplies. The CSD team is also focusing on nutrition and has partnered with Redwood Food Bank, Corazón, Reach for Home and Council on Aging to coordinate food services for over 1,400 people per week, over 10% of our population.
All of this amazing work is being done despite severe budget cuts and with the regrettable furloughing of all 50 part-time staff. The Community Services Department depends almost entirely on the Transit Occupancy Tax as a source of revenue, and this has virtually disappeared for the foreseeable future. The city council must consider other sources to support community services work going forward.
Meanwhile, let’s not waste the crisis. Let’s tap into the vast resources of the community to create a strong diverse economic, cultural and social foundation for the next 20 years and beyond. After recent discussions with city officials, council members and candidates for the council, the group Healdsburg 2040 believes the inherent capacity of our community could be called upon to fill in many gaps. It’s a way that was leveraged successfully in the past, for instance to create parks, the Plaza and the gazebo within. It’s a way that makes Healdsburg unique and strong.
We have the opportunity to build a system of mutual support between the city, community-based organizations, businesses and citizen volunteers. Such partnerships could be a testing ground for creative and novel ideas such as closing street lanes for cars to give families on bicycles and pedestrians more space. Another project would help restaurants, coffee shops and tasting rooms serve as many customers as possible when the lockdown is lifted. They must be allowed to move tables and chairs outside and use two or three parking spaces to serve more customers, while complying with social-distancing rules. Such parklets became popular in cities such as San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Sebastopol and Eureka. The Plaza and some nearby streets could become European-style attractions for citizens and tourists alike.
Another very important project looks toward the new school year. Community services is considering how schools, teachers and parents will handle the challenges of partial schooldays and partial learning at home. A group of volunteers could provide a big relief for them. They could help with teaching at home and make sure that the children are safe. Healdsburg is in a fortunate position, because early on in the COVID-19 crisis our schools and our CSD began to collaborate.
The goal is to have a supplemental learning program in place if virtual education becomes our new reality. Other school districts in California struggle with this challenge, but the partnership between the Healdsburg School Board and the CSD has survived through past natural disasters, and their cooperative approach is now serving as a role model for the California Department of Education.
Thank you and congratulations to the Healdsburg Community Services Department for its leadership and stellar response to a difficult situation. Please continue to engage citizens to help the city master the challenges going forward. This will strengthen our social fabric and build an unbreakable foundation for Healdsburg’s future.
Healdsburg 2040 is a group of interested citizens advising the city on the implementation of the SDAT report.
