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WATER RATES, WASTEWATER INCREASES PROPOSED FOR UTILITY CUSTOMERS
March 28, 2024
Healdsburg, California Healdsburg, California
Date, Date, 20202020
REDUCED USAGE, HIGHER COST OF DELIVERY AND DEFERRED MAINTENANCE ALL ADD UP Staff Report
Photo by Rick Tang
He a l d s b u r g r e s i d e n t s learned late last week that they will pay more for water delivery and wastewater services over the next three years and beyond, with increases of 18% expected in Fiscal Year 202425 alone, beginning with the July utility bill. Inflation, lower-thanprojected water sales (or usage; much of the decline is based on revised water use habits in the wake of the extended drought), n e w w at e r t r e at m e n t requirements and the need to replace centuriesold water pipelines are all driving these increases, according to Terry Crowley, the city’s utilities director. “One of the many challenges facing the city’s water and wastewater departments is the amount of aging infrastructure serving our community,” Crowley said. “There are roughly 120 miles of water and wastewater pipes buried underneath the city; enough pipe to reach the Golden Gate Bridge and travel back to Healdsburg. “Many of these pipes, over a third, are more than 50 years old with some dating as far back as 1910. Adequate funding for the replacement of these pipes has not existed for many years, creating a backlog of deferred maintenance,” he added. The city attempted to soften the blow to consumers by calling the rate spikes “revenue adjustments,” rather than “rate increases,” but it adds up to the same thing.
POPULAR BOOTH Carrie Brown, formerly of the Jimtown Store, manages a lemonade and cookies farmstand at Climate Fest 2023
while her colleague Cindy Daniels (of SHED, not shown) takes a break.
Healdsburg’s Spring Celebrations FROM CLIMATE FEST TO JAZZ FESTIVAL, THE CITY GETS IN PARTY MODE By Christian Kallen
With the onset of spring last week—despite the cold and rain—Healdsburg is beginning to wake up from its sleepy winter months and get back in gear as the food/wine/music destination city it has become. No fewer than five significant annual celebrations are booked into venues in the coming three months.
Earth Day Climate Fest (April 21)
Climate Action Healdsburg claimed such success with last year’s Climate Fest that it’s bringing it back again, with city
collaboration, at the Healdsburg Plaza on Sunday, April 21. Also called Festival del Clima!, last year’s afternoon event drew more than 2,000 people to the Plaza to explore 50 booths, expanding information and awareness about climate solutions. More attendees are expected this year. In actuality, the Sunday festival gets into gear early with a Move! Healdsburg bike ride on Friday evening, April 19, from 5-6:30pm. These monthly events from Move! Healdsburg, a work group of Climate Action Healdsburg, have become increasingly popular community gatherings “to get people moving by foot and bike for a better quality of life.” The Climate Fest itself will hit the ground running on Sunday morning with a 5k run/walk, with Mayor
David Hagele taking part as a guest DJ. Booths will be available at the Plaza from noon to 4pm, with Plaza Street serving as a “transit fair” with various alternative means of transportation features including e-bike information from Get-Away Adventures plus 12 bikes available for test rides. Center Street will be filled with booths focused on eco-friendly food and plant starts, including free “Earth Cookies,” again to be provided by many of the same bakeries that donated last year. As the booths close, popular Latina performer Rocio La Dama de La Cumbia will return to Healdsburg to provide lively entertainment from 4:30-6pm. More information available at www.climateactionhealdsburg.org.
AVFest (April 26 - May 5)
Just one week later, the annual AVFest—formerly the Alexander Valley Film Festival—gets underway with an opening night screening, April 26, at the Cloverdale Performing Arts Center. That will kick off a 10-day immersion in cinematic arts in the town where it all began, at the now-shuttered Clover Theater. Other screenings will follow in Geyser ville, Windsor, Santa Rosa and Healdsburg, with many again taking place at Longboard Vineyards’ production room at the corner of Fitch and Hudson. The organizers say the festival “features cuttingedge indie films and selections of diverse works from and about underrepresented artists and communities.” AVFest
will also include Sonoma County student works in the annual Student Film Competition. One of the highlights, especially for Healdsburg residents, will be the AVFest Block Party on May 3, on North Street, from 6-9:30pm, featuring food vendors, live music and festivities based around film and media arts. The complete AVFest schedule will be released on March 31. Updated information at avfilmpresents.org / film-festival.
Healdsburg Wine & Food Experience (May 16 – 19)
The Healdsburg Wine & Food Experience has announced its schedule for the 2024 version, its third multi-day immersion in ➝ Spring Celebrations, 4
➝ Water Rates, 7
ROGERS WINS A PLACE ON THE BALLOT SANTA ROSA POLITICIAN BEATS STATE PARTY CHAIR FOR RIGHT TO RUN IN NOVEMBER By Christian Kallen
Photo by Christian Kallen
CANDIDATE ROGERS At an early January outreach
meeting at Black Oak Coffee, Chris Rogers introduced himself to Healdsburg voters.
Chris Rogers, the youthful Santa Rosa City Council member who challenged California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks for the Assembly District 2 seat, has been keeping a cautiously optimistic eye on the final results of the March 5 primary election. But the latest figures show that it now looks like a sure thing that he will get second-place in the primary—good enough to make
the general election ballot in November. Rogers, 36, maintained a narrow lead throughout the post-election day tabulations. “We were feeling pretty good that it was headed that direction for a couple of weeks, as we saw the returns come in,” he said. Rogers’ current total (as of March 25) shows him holding a 1,500-vote lead over Hicks, a narrow margin that should be enough to claim the right to represent the Democratic Party on the Nov. 5 ballot. Even with a handful of outstanding ballots yet to be counted in all counties in the district (Del Norte, Trinity, Humboldt, Mendocino and Sonoma counties), there don’t appear to be enough to change the results as they stand today. The election results must be officially certified by April 12, if not before. First place in the
primary went to Republican Mike Greer (27.4%), but Democrats hold a significant vote registration advantage over Republicans in the district which makes Rogers the favored candidate to replace retiring Jim Wood. However, said Greer, “I certainly think I have a chance because people are tired of what’s happening in education and political mandates that are making life difficult for everyone. My campaign is not one of Republican-Democrat but [the] quality of life you want and the opportunity to achieve it.” It wasn’t until Friday, March 22, that Hicks (with 18.4% of the vote total) conceded the race to Rogers (19.5%) by phone, following up with a press release. “Today, I congratulated Councilmember Chris Rogers and wished him all the best. ➝ Rogers Wins, 7