Thanks
for reading our eNews! We're eager to hear from you.
Share your concerns and questions by email or call the office:
Fairfield
Office (9-5, Mon-Fri)
Phone:
(707) 784-3031
Fax: (707)
784-6665
675 Texas Street, Suite
6500
Fairfield, CA 94533-6352
Benicia Open
Office Hours (1st & 3rd Mon., 5-6:30pm)
Benicia
City Hall, Conf.Rm 1
250 East L
Street, Benicia
Email Linda
ljseifert@solanocounty.com
District
Representative
Catherine M.
Ritch
Phone: (707)
784-2974
Hours: Wednesday, 1 to
5pm, Thursday - Friday, 9 to 5pm
cmritch@solanocounty.com
District
Representative
Roger D. Straw
Phone: (707) 784-2974
Hours: Monday - Tuesday, 9 to 5, Wednesday, 9am
to 1pm.
rdstraw@solanocounty.com
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Gree tings from Linda ...
Dear
Constituents and Friends,
As you read this, I expect to be
lounging with my leg over the edge of the boat, toe in the water, a
piece of straw in my mouth, and a fishing pole in one hand and a book in
the other looking up now and then to catch the scenery. [I wish I
were leaving today.] Once the budget is finished, Roddy and I are
off on a much needed respite to Minnesota for a couple of weeks.
The District 2 office will be in Cathy and Roger's very capable hands.
News
of the month is budget.
And the news is not good. We continue to have fewer resources and
less ability to lend funds than in past years. Our reserves are
dwindling and no prospect for replenishment appears on the
horizon. Our structural deficit has not been addressed in its
entirety in the adopted budget which leaves more and more cuts
potentially looming in the near future. While coping with
continually challenging information on the financial front, we are also
working to ensure that services are provided. For instance, public
safety departments are warning that they are unable to provide the full
complement of services that were available in the past but are
satisfied that a reasonable and responsible level of service will
continue to be available. Fortunately some restructuring will
return a few patrol vehicles to the streets. Some road and
building maintenance is being deferred and our departments warn that the
deferrals will be noticeable. Tax refund check remittances will
take more time. The Board has asked for and received regular
reports on the impacts of the budget cuts and is doing what it can to
ensure that service delivery is as seamless as possible under the
circumstances. More
I plan to
put the foregoing aside for a couple of weeks, however, and hit the
ground running on return. I will barely unpack before leaving to
attend a National Association of Counties (NACO) meeting. I
recently participated in the California Counties organization's
legislative session and came away far smarter than when I arrived.
I keep my fingers crossed that the same is true at the national
event. On the home front, and in my role as a First 5
Commissioner, efforts are underway to build partnerships with the
business community [check out the BEST Business Engagement
program on the First 5 Solano website] that will build a better
workforce in the future and position Solano County as a place where
employers want to settle. We have much work to do on that front
and I hope to be around long enough to inspire our small and large
businesses to make investments in our young children because they will
see and recognize the payoff down the road.
In the meantime,
catch a local parade and cheer for all the participants! I will be
doing the same some distance from here. May you all have a very
happy 4th of July. And remember to call if we can be of any help.
Linda
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Maternal Child
Adolescent Health
Cuts threaten
County programs
 Our office recently advocated for our State
Senators to restore funding for California's Maternal Child Adolescent
Health (MCAH) programs. The MCAH Program in California was created
to meet the health needs of women, infants and children. Last
year, the program was decimated. County MCH Grants allocated to
local health jurisdictions lost $2.1 million in State General Funds plus
an additional $2.7 million in matching Federal dollars for a total loss
of 4.8 million. Representing a 50% reduction in services, Solano County
losses were more than $55,000.
In addition, budget cuts to the
Black Infant Health Program in Solano County were $189,632 and $142,176
in matching federal dollars impacting 110 women who went without
services. Our Adolescent Family Life Program lost $235,000 and 200
teens and infants lost case management services.
This funding
cannot be replaced by the counties. These programs will be gone without
the restoration of State General Fund dollars, and the underlying health
needs of women, children and families will not go away. They will
have to be met in other, more costly ways. Without MCAH Programs
and the necessary people to provide these services, people that were
previously served will go elsewhere, which will still result in
increased costs to the state because there will be:
- More
emergency room visits
- More unplanned pregnancies, teen
pregnancies, and birth complications due to late entry into prenatal
care or no prenatal care, and higher hospital costs as a consequence
- Increased
child abuse/neglect and increased domestic and relationship violence
- Increased
alcohol, tobacco and other drug use
- Increase in preterm birth
and low birth weight babies and again higher hospital costs for infants
born with complications
- Higher health care costs for children
with poorly controlled chronic health problems
- Increase in
health disparities for high risk populations of women and child ren
- Higher
ER and hospital costs due to increased childhood injuries
- More
teen parents dropping out of school
Subsequently these
occurrences can be expected to increase state costs to Medi-Cal,
California Children's Services Program, Child Welfare, and education.
It
is my hope that the Conference Committee on the California Budget will
address the differences between the Assembly proposed budget and the
Senate proposals. We strongly encourage them to reinstate funding
for MCAH programs. |
Mare Island / Mothball
Fleet
 According
to Congressman George Miller's office, the National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS) is working with Allied Defense Recycling to responsibly
expedite the approval of the dredging and drydock use for ship scrapping
at Mare Island. NMFS is being as accommodating as possible with
regard to the project evaluation, dredging deadline and environmental
mitigation with the goal of the project starting this year.
Allied
Recycling Defense has worked for years to reopen Mare Island dry docks,
and more recently has hoped to secure new contracts for cleaning and
recycling some of the decrepit vessels that are to be removed from the
Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet, otherwise known as Benicia's "Mothball Fleet."
Mare
Island strait must be dredged first, deep enough to accommodate the
huge old ships. This presents a number of concerns, including
protection of fish in the strait and disposal of the dredged material
once it is removed.
Recent negotiations included representatives
from the offices of various elected officials, the NMFS, the San
Francisco Bay Conservation Development Commission (BCDC), the state
Department of Fish and Game, the federal Fish and Wildlife Service, and
Allied Defense Recycling. We will keep you posted on the progress. |
Benicia's Lower Arsenal
City Planning
Commission update
Photo: Benicia Herald, with permission
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Benicia's Arsenal was founded in
1849, and served until 1964 as a primary West Coast location for storage
and supply of military ordnance. Since then, it has become host
to a commercial port, a refinery and other businesses, and perhaps most
interestingly, a popular live-work district for local artists. A
number of the earliest Arsenal buildings still survive.
Many
concerns have been raised about a proposed Lower Arsenal Mixed Use Specific Plan.
Concerns have been raised about historic preservation, lack of mention
of Benicia's sustainability goals, size of any new buildings and the
number of new structures, and the effects of industrial noise on
proposed new residences. In addition, there is deep concern that
leftover ordnance and military contaminants might remain. Efforts
are underway to secure federal funding and expertise for a cleanup that
would precede any new construction.
In May, the Benicia Planning
Commission concluded that the city's plan to preserve and revitalize the
Lower Arsenal should not be approved. City staff was asked to
return in June with a resolution summarizing its reasons for rejecting
the Lower Arsenal Mixed Use Specific Plan and its environmental impact
report.
But in June, the Commission delayed adopting the
resolution, asking staff to add references to the Historic Preservation Review
Commission's March vote to disapprove the documents. The Benicia Planning Commission meets
on the second Thursday of each month at 7:00 pm in the Council Chambers.
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Clean energy financing
delayed
 In March, Solano County joined Sacramento
County as lead agency in developing a clean energy pilot program based
on AB811. If it gets implemented. the program will help Solano
County property owners install energy upgrades such as solar equipment,
water conservation measures and other energy efficiency improvements.
Homeowners would be able to borrow federal/state funds for the upgrades
and repay through the County over time as part of their property tax
assessment.
In April, we heard that the bonds to finance this
program were "in validation" and that CalFIRST might be ready to take
applications by late summer. We recently received the
disappointing news that financing for the program has been delayed by a
lawsuit. The validation which takes 90 days cannot be filed until this
is ironed out. Additionally, Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac (fed agencies
that underwrite mortgages) have objected to the entire concept of
subordinating liens on the tax bill. More delays..... Although the CalFirst website continues to
suggest a Fall 2010 rollout, new questions surround the program and
could result in the board once again looking at the viability of
proceeding with the program.
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Wood
Creek Subdivision
 The proposed 33 home Woodcreek rural
subdivision near Rockville Hills Park and Suisun Valley Road won
approval from the Solano County Planning Commission 3-2 for the second
time last month and will be coming to Board of Supervisors again on July
27.
The Planning Commission on Feb. 18 endorsed a previous
version, but the county Board of Supervisors on March 23 wanted changes
that would support a commitment to ensuring the rural character of the
surrounding community.
The new Woodcreek would have fewer homes
along Oakbrook Drive to better fit in with the rural residential area on
the other side of the street. It would have only two internal
streetlights and narrower streets but the rear of as many as 12 homes
will back to Rockville Road. Relocation of Oakbrook Road to a more
central location in the project was discussed but no changes are
proposed. More - Planning Commission
reports.
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Green Valley News
SID Rate Increases
The Solano
Irrigation District is proposing a water rate increase to support its
continuing operations, planned capital improvements, maintain reserves
and soften the impact of customers' water rates over time. A
three-year rate plan is being proposed that would increase rates 4
percent per year, beginning with 2010. That plan is based on an
independent Financial Plan Update and Water Rate Study conducted last
year.
If you want to be heard on the issue, a public hearing on
the water rates is set for July 20, 2010 at 7 p.m. in the SID Board Room
located at 508 Elmira Rd., Vacaville.
More information about the proposed
water rate increases.
STA
Water Project
In last month's enews, we reported on a
Solano Transportation Agency's North Connector Project which had been
expanded to relocate the major water lines for most of Green Valley and
Suisun Valley residents. The project, known as the Gordon water
line relocation project, was set to begin this summer and take two to
six months to complete.
Since then, the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation
has filed a law suit against the STA claiming the environmental impact
report is invalid.
Judge Ramona Garrett is overseeing the
lawsuit and has not scheduled any hearing dates for the tribe's
request. View the draft environmental impact
report.
Middle Green
Valley Specific Plan EIR to Board on July 27
On May 20 the
Solano County Planning Commission voted 3 to 2 to recommend to the
Board of Supervisors approval of the "Middle Green Valley Specific Plan"
and certification of the associated Environmental Impact Report.
The
MGV Specific Plan is a development plan with standards for the
approximately 1905 acres located in the central region of Green Valley.
It was written by Hart-Howerton, a San Francisco planning firm selected
and overseen by a Green Valley Citizen's Advisory Committee. This
committee consisted of three GVLA representatives and three MGV
landowner representatives and was funded by Solano County.
The county expects to recover its nearly $1 M investment when the
development is complete.
The Specific Plan requires most of the
new residential development be clustered within three small villages on
about 200 acres total. The plan preserves approximately 1600 acres, or
75 per cent of the project area, as open space and agriculture which
will be committed to agricultural uses in perpetuity and will be guided
by a non-profit agricultural conservancy. "Agri-tourism" opportunities
are also allowed within the plan to include a chapel, inn, farm stand,
and small related retail. Development standards for buildings,
utilities, trails, roads, and landscaping and important environmental
protection requirements are also included.
You can call the
office if you have comments or questions. View the plan online by accessing the
Middle Green Valley Specific Plan. The Board of Supervisors
Public Hearing on the project is also scheduled for Tuesday, July 27 at
the County Administration Center.
Speed limits change on Rockville Road
The Board
voted to change the speed limits along Rockville and Suisun Valley Roads
at its meeting on June 8, 2010. The new limits lower the speed
limit from 35 mph to 25 mph in the Rockville Corner business district
and from 55 mph to 45 mph on Suisun Valley Road near the Rockville
Cemetery. The speed limit along Rockville Road would be lowered to
50 mph near Rockville Hills Park and raises the limit to 45 mph by the
Willotta Oaks community. The purpose of the change is to enhance
safety, to better conform the area to State law criteria, and to
eliminate a known speed trap.
The new speed limits:
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Get to know your Solano
County
 Did you know that
... Solano County residents now have the web-based tool SolanoHelps to assist in exploring
eligiblity for federal, state and local health and social services
programs. "With the economic downturn, many families who never expected
to ask for help are having trouble making ends meet," said Patrick
Duterte, Director of Health & Social Services. "This service allows
them to identify programs that may assist them from the privacy of their
own homes."
And ... the County is working to improve its customer service by seeking
feedback from residents. An online survey How Are We Doing? has been
developed to give residents a convenient way to let the County know how
it is doing. The surveys capture information on the latest
interaction with a department, which can be in person, on the phone, in
writing, or over the Internet.
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Where We've Been, What
We're Doing
A picture is worth a "thousand"
meetings?
(The County Seal was made at our booth by
third graders during Ag Day,
and has been on display in Board Chambers and at the County Fair).
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Factoids...and
Interesting Info
 Odd Stuff we come across in our work ...
- In
2009, more than 80 different farm commodities were grown and sold in
Solano County, worth over $250 million. More TOMATOES were sold
than any other crop, worth over $39 million dollars. TOP TEN:
Tomatoes, Nursery Products, Walnuts, Alfalfa, Cattle, Grapes & Wine,
Sunflower Seeds, Milk, Almonds, and Sheep. More
- 200
million pounds of structural steel will support the East Span of the
Bay Bridge. The expected lifespan of the new bridge is 150 years -
about twice that of the original. More
- About three
quarters of the passenger vehicles in California are 1996 or newer, and
they account for only one-quarter of the pollution from vehicles. More
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