January finds the city working full swing on a variety of projects.
Here’s an update on a couple of them, as well as information on how to watch city council and planning commissions meetings on your computer, digital tablet, or mobile phone.
Measure V survey: Measure V is a half-cent sales tax that generates more than $1 million annually and helps to fund vital city services and programs. In fact, all 100 percent of the revenue is spent locally to benefit Healdsburg residents. That’s why at the start of every year, we ask you how the City should apportion Measure V funds according to these four priorities: public safety, street maintenance and repair, economic development and maintenance of city facilities.
If you live in Healdsburg, you should have already received a postcard in the mail that tells you about Measure V. Later this month, we will mail out the one-page Measure V survey. The survey will also be available online.
We’ll share the link to the online version of the Measure V survey on the city website (www.cityofhealdsburg.org) as well as on social media: www.facebook.com/cityofhealdsburg/ and http://bit.ly/HbgNxtDoor. You will have until Feb. 7to submit your responses. For more information about Measure V, go to: http://bit.ly/MeasureV.
What has Measure V accomplished so far? Well, for example, road maintenance and repair is an ongoing and expensive task. Thanks to Measure V funding, we’ve been able to repair asphalt and enhance sidewalks to 38.4 lane miles on sections of 92 streets throughout the city, as well as add 110 new parking spaces in the downtown area.
Public safety is also a main priority, and Measure V has paid for additional firefighters and police officers as well as new equipment like two-way radios and the Automated License Plate Reader. In addition, Measure V has provided utility discounts for low-income residents and funded improvements to the police station and community center.
Affordable Housing: I invite you to attend the Feb. 11 ribbon-cutting ceremony of the 25-unit Healdsburg Glen apartments. The ceremony, which will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. at 1201 Grove St., will celebrate the completion of the city’s latest affordable-housing project. The mayor and I will give brief comments, as will other project partners, and you will have the opportunity to tour one of the units. Light refreshments will be served. Please note that parking is very limited; I suggest that you park on Grove Street or in the skatepark parking lot, which is only a five-minute walk to the ceremony.
Healdsburg Glen opened in November 2018 and is now fully occupied. The apartment complex features a mix of one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom units and accepts households that earn between 30 percent and 60 percent of area-median income in Sonoma County – that’s $29,450 to $58,920 for a family of four. Other recent affordable-housing projects that have been completed include the 37-unit Citrine Apartments (1260 Grove Street) and an 8-unit complex at 721-723 Center Street.
Looking ahead, the city will embark later this year on a master plan for affordable housing. As we evaluate what type of housing will developed on the Montage Healdsburg site (formally referred to as Saggio Hills), we will also evaluate what type of housing could be developed on other City-owned properties.
To learn more about upcoming projects in Healdsburg, I invite you to come to our city council and commission meetings. The city council meets at 6 p.m. at city hall (401 Grove Street) on the first and third Mondays of the month and the various commissions meet throughout the year.
If you can’t attend in person, you can watch the city council and planning commission meetings on your computer, tablet or mobile phone. Here’s how: Go to the “Agendas and Minutes” page at http://www.ci.healdsburg.ca.us/543/Agendas-Minutes. Then, on that page, click the link to city council or the planning commission. You’ll see a list of upcoming and past meetings. On the right side of each meeting date will be a “video/audio” link. Click that link to watch a meeting.
You can also watch the city council and planning commission meetings live online: Go to the “Agendas and Minutes” page a few minutes before a meeting is scheduled to start. Next to the date of the latest meeting, you’ll see a link that will take you to a live digital video feed.
