The Healdsburg City Council has a big agenda on tap for its next meeting on Feb. 7. The council will consider approving recommended allocations for Community Response Grants and will receive a presentation from the Acosta Latino Learning Partnership, the recommended diversity, equity and inclusion city consultant.
The council will also provide direction to staff regarding the transition of the existing city Reach Code for the 2022 building code cycle and discuss the potential development of a Healdsburg park naming policy, which Mayor Ozzy Jimenez asked to agendize back in September.
The meeting will be held virtually via Zoom and will start at 6 p.m.
Announcements and presentations
Healdsburg City Manager Jeff Kay will provide a COVID-19 and a drought and water supply update. Kay will also briefly discuss the Grove Street neighborhood plan survey and the commercial cannabis survey.
The city is seeking feedback on ways to improve transportation on Grove Street between Grant Street and Dry Creek Road for pedestrians and for those driving or taking public transportation. A Grove Street neighborhood plan was adopted by the city in 2000, but the project was never implemented. The project, as proposed, will construct continuous curbs, gutters and sidewalks for safe pedestrian access.
As part of the community engagement process, the city will be launching a survey and a virtual bilingual community workshop is planned for Feb. 16 at 6 p.m.
The city is also seeking feedback regarding possible changes to the city’s commercial cannabis regulations. The survey is available in both English and Spanish here.
Old business – Approval of Community Response Grants
On Sept. 7, 2021, the Healdsburg City Council approved several budget amendments primarily related to the city’s receipt of $2,833,576 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and Measure T local sales and use tax. One of these budget amendments was to set aside $200,000 for a one-time grant program that could support local nonprofits with an emphasis on pandemic recovery.
At the Nov. 1 council meeting, Healdsburg Forever and the Healdsburg Health Foundation recommended an invitation based approach for garnering applicants for the grant program. The foundation and Healdsburg Forever team also decided to use the ARPA funding guidelines in order to narrow down grant recipients.
Based on the ARPA guidelines, the team is proposing to focus the grant funds on the following areas:
•Support urgent COVID-19 response efforts to decrease the spread of the virus and bring the pandemic under control;
•Support immediate economic stabilizations for households (and businesses);
•Address systemic public health and economic challenges that have contributed to the unequal impact of the pandemic on certain populations, serving the hardest-hit communities and families.
Priority will also be given to nonprofits serving those with the most need, nonprofits with the biggest economic multiplier and nonprofits that allow for rapid and efficient implementation.
The recommended grantees and grant amounts for the grant program include:
• Redwood Empire Food Bank / $50,000: Support food insecurity
• Early Childhood Education / $30,000: Reserve funding to provide scholarships for low-income families participating in the upcoming preschool program at the Healdsburg Community Center
• Community Childcare Council (4 C’s) / $20,000: Stipends for daycare operators to stabilize care for up to 72 children
• Corazón / $50,000: Direct financial assistance and case management for families struggling with the impact of the pandemic
• Side by Side / $50,000: Address mental health impacts of the pandemic through a 16-week program of workshops for youth and parents/family, drop-in support groups, and family counseling sessions
New business – Acosta Latino Learning Partnership
The council will receive a presentation — and provide direction — on Acosta Latino Learning Partnership’s (ALLP) proposed plan for working with the city on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
“A primary part of ALLP’s proposed work plan envisions targeted as well as broad community engagement and outreach across the diversity of Healdsburg, later leading to further public processes that include and expand upon how DEI intersects with City and community activities,” the agenda report states.
The DEI consultant would also help with a variety of needs and programs identified by the city council Ad Hoc Committee on Equity, which is composed of Mayor Ozzy Jimenez and Councilmember Skylaer Palacios.
Some of the needs and programs identified include: Community town halls on equity-based discussions, a community assessment to assess perspectives and experiences, remove barriers to community dialogue, and develop a three to five-year DEI action plan, among others.
The Ad Hoc Committee selected ALLP as the city’s potential DEI consultant after the committee set a budget of $75,000 and sent out a request for proposals for consultants.
While seven qualified firms responded to the request, the committee agreed, after a lengthy interview process, that ALLP would be the best consultant choice based on the group’s solid understanding of the project needs and a focus on Healdsburg’s Latinx community and on their competent interview answers.
Should the council wish to move forward with ALLP, city staff would return with a consent calendar item that would include a Scope of Work based on the ALLP presentation and a proposed professional services agreement for approval within the allotted budget.
The Acosta group is the same organization that’s been working with the Healdsburg Unified School District regarding staff unconscious bias training and the development of an ethnic studies curriculum.
City Reach Code
The City of Healdsburg’s existing Reach Code — city building standards that impose additional efficiency or climate standards in addition to California building standards — will expire at the end of 2022.
In order to continue to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with new buildings, the city will need to re-adopt the current Reach Code, adopt a revised code, or consider an alternate policy.
Alternatively, other Sonoma County cities have implemented mandates or natural-gas bans in order to effect building electrification.
“A notable example is the City of Petaluma and the implementation of an ‘all-electric construction in newly constructed buildings’ ordinance. Petaluma’s All-Electric ordinance prohibits the use of any natural-gas or propane in all new buildings or substantially remodeled buildings. Petaluma’s All-Electric ordinance does allow for technical exemptions where technology gaps exist, but does not include a predetermined list of exempt appliances such as Healdsburg’s current exemptions for gas-fireplaces and cook-tops,” according to the agenda report.
The benefit of taking an approach like this is that the ordinance would not expire with the building cycle.
To read the council agenda in its entirety, click here.
