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DAILYREPUBLIC.COM | Well said. Well read.

Vallejo homeless project, NorthBay, ag get last of pandemic dollars Todd R. Hansen

THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

of Supervisors on Tuesday approved an updated five-year $288.33 million Capital Facilities Improvement Plan through 2026-27.

Supervisors OK updated Capital Facilities Improvement Plan Todd R. Hansen

THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — The county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved an updated five-year, $288.33 million Capital Facilities Improvement Plan through 2026-27 – with $25.93 million in projects completed since July 1; $7.27 million in projects expected to be completed by June 30; and $99.89 million in projects carried over into 2023-24. Among the highlighted projects completed this fiscal year is the $8.82 million Animal Care administration replacement project at 2510 Clay Bank Road in Fairfield. It took several years and was completed through a number of phases, it was reported. The county also competed the $1.47 million Juvenile Detention

Facility Security System upgrade, and the jewel of the project list, the 36-bed, $14.525 million mental health residence and treatment facility. Expected to be completed by June 30 are the $3.8 million Security Camera Replacement project at the main jail, located at 500 Union Ave. in Fairfield, and a $1.4 million card access project at various county locations. The project that runs through the entire plan is the massive $54 million Energy Conservation and Resiliency project, which also includes three separate projects that were melded into the original package. Seven of the individual pieces have been completed: solar installation at the William J. Carroll Government Center, the Juvenile Detention Facility and the Fair-

field Civic Center Library; LED street lighting at various sites; and at the Health and Social Services campus, a new roof and new heating and air units. The county also is working toward recharging capabilities that will be be needed as the work fleet is transitioned to electric vehicles. “In order to do that, we have to figure out how we are going to charge them,” General Services Director Megan Grieve said. Also in the planning stages is providing transitional housing for juvenile inmates as they transfer back into the community. The primary focus of that are those inmates who are coming back to the county from state facilities. They typically have committed far more serious and often violent crimes See Plan, Page A8

California braces for flooding, snowmelt from a warm new atmospheric river Los Angeles Times LOS ANGELES — Another atmospheric river system has set its sights on California, raising considerable concern about flooding and structural damage as warm rain is expected to fall atop the state’s near-record snowpack this week, forecasters say. “It now appears increasingly likely that a potentially significant and very likely warm atmospheric river event will probably affect some portion of Northern or Central California sometime between about late Thursday and Saturday,” UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain said during a briefing Monday. Last week, the odds of such a system developing were about 20%. By Monday, the chances had increased to “7 or 8 out of 10, if not higher, for a warm atmospheric river event of some magnitude,” Swain said. At least one more storm could

Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Clouds hover behind the downtown Los Angeles skyline late last month after a powerful winter storm caused flooding and power outages in some areas. follow this month. The forecast comes as California is mired in remarkably deep snowpack amid one of its wettest winters on record. A series of nine atmospheric river storms hammered the state in early January, causing levee breaches, widespread flooding and nearly two dozen deaths. In recent weeks, strong winter storms dropped piles of fresh powder across the Sierra

Nevada and other areas, including the mountains of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, where some residents remain trapped behind feet of snow. Officials said the bounty made a dent in the state’s extreme drought conditions and offered some hope for strained water supplies after three bone-dry years. But heavy snowpack can also become a hazard if it meets with warm rain

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that melts it too quickly. “We’re going to see rain on top of snow, and for elevations of say 2,000 feet to about 4,000 feet, a lot of that snow is going to melt,” said Carlos Molina, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Hanford, Calif. “We’re going to basically lose a lot of the snow that fell from the previous storms. We’re looking at potential for flooding.” Indeed, the highest likelihood of flood-related impacts are in lowerelevation areas with unusually deep snowpack, Swain said. Small rivers and streams in those areas will see significant potential for runoff issues, as will some urban areas – particularly in places where storm drains are already clogged by snow. There may also be problems at elevations above 5,000 or 6,000 feet, he said. Though snowpack See River, Page A8

Aaron Rosenblatt/ Daily Republic file

Construction equipment is set up for the Broadway Project in Vallejo, Feb. 7. spent and come back to the county. “I’m absolutely speechless,” said Sheniece Smith, chief administrative officer and chief counsel for NorthBay Health. “I just want you to know it makes a difference.” Smith was one of several people who gave the board a standing ovation after the 5-0 vote, ending the supervisors’ tormented effort to distribute the final $6.38 million in See Dollars, Page A8

Council listening tour morphs into formal meeting dates, but informal agendas Todd R. Hansen THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — The City Council is taking its show on the road. What started as an informal “listening tour” of Mayor Catherine Moy and Vice Mayor Pam Bertani visiting each of the city’s six council districts – with the representative of that district joining in – will now be a series of noticed meetings so all seven council members can attend without violating the state’s open meeting law. Still, the concept behind the “Heart to Heart Listening Tour” remains the same, one of letting the residents speak their minds on any issue they wish. No action by the council is expected at any of the gatherings. Councilman Doug Carr cautioned about letting the meetings become too formal, or they will lose the flexibility of letting the residents dictate the agenda. But Councilwoman K. Patrice Williams would like the top two or three

issues facing the city to be agendized and then also open the sessions up to any other topic. The mayor and vice mayor will work with the district representative to set what kind of gathering is desired. While the idea did create some controversy due to the lack of communication with the council members, Moy and Bertani said it was never intended to exclude anyone. However, Moy said she was conscious of the fact they were never meant to be noticed meetings, so council majorities showing up would be a Ralph M. Brown Act violation. In the end, Councilman Rick Vaccaro said these meetings will allow the council members to stretch beyond their districts, noting that while they represent a specific district, they also represent the city as a whole. The dates, times and locations still need to be determined, though the first meeting is set for Councilwoman Doriss Panduro’s District 5.

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Construction workers install solar panels in the parking lot of the Solano County Health and Social Services building in Fairfield, Tuesday. The Solano County Board

FAIRFIELD — NorthBay Health will get $4.5 million of the $14.2 million it had requested in pandemic relief funding, dollars to help close a nearly $100 million deficit due to providing Covid-19 care. The funding decision by the Solano County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday was part of a compromise that included $1.5 million toward a new navigation center in Vallejo – the project needed $2 million to fill a construction gap – and $383,000 that will go toward grants for small farmers and ranchers affected by the pandemic. The details of the ag program still must be worked out. The board also voted to give up to $1.5 million more to NorthBay Health from funds that have been allocated, but that are not

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