Our County by Lynda Hopkins - 5th District Supervisor - December 2018
Year In Review: 2018
2018 has been a year of recovery, resiliency and readiness. Our county continues to work tirelessly to recover from last year’s devastating fires, and we’re also forging ahead to make Sonoma County more resilient and ready for what we now call the “new abnormal.”
The new abnormal, which is a condition of increased potential for extreme catastrophes fueled by climate change, affects more than just our forests and their vulnerability to fire. Sea rise is also an important consideration for future planning, along with severe future flooding of the lower Russian River. Increased potential for catastrophe affects the way we support our fire and emergency service personnel and departments. And it affects how we think about water health, especially that of the Russian River.
But beyond this new reality brought on by climate change, Sonoma County’s fires drove home the urgent need to bring more housing into the county. It highlighted the struggle of many of our families face as they try to pay for necessities, like rent, childcare and food.
And with tighter budgets to work with at the County, the new abnormal makes infrastructure investments more necessary, and more difficult to achieve than ever.
In the Fifth District, where we were thankfully spared from the destruction of last year’s fire, we’re working to make West County more resilient and and resistant to “new abnormal.” From improving roads and enhancing bicycle and pedestrian safety to providing more support and services to our homeless community members and giving our coastal and river communities stronger voices in county government, I think West County is better off going into 2019 than it was in 2018.
We continue to advocate for road work and infrastructure improvements in the Fifth District, and are starting to see major results. Spending on West County roads projects has dramatically increased since I took office… below, you can see the results for yourself.
While I’m proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish together, there’s still a lot of work to be done. There are many miles of roads still in need of repair and many residents who still need secure housing. I believe 2019 will already busier than the 2018, and I’m looking forward to the challenge.
In the following list, you’ll find some of the projects I’ve worked on during the past two years. The list is not comprehensive, but I’m highlighting the larger projects that involved significant investments of staff time and funding. And of course, none of this work was accomplished alone! Achieving goals requires teamwork. I want to thank my wonderful Fifth District staff — Susan Upchurch, Amie Windsor, and Irene Hays — who have played crucial roles in these efforts. Thanks also go to all of our fantastic County departmental staff, and passionate community members who stepped forward to advocate on behalf of West County.
Without further ado, here’s what we’ve been up to!
West County
And if you’re curious what money or work has flowed into your specific community, see below...
Bodega Bay & Bodega
Monte Rio
Guerneville & Environs
Forestville
Occidental
Freestone
● Engaged community process to address zoning to comply with general plan.
● Worked with Department of Public Works to revive plans for rural undergrounding of power lines in the Historic District.
Graton
Sebastopol
North Coast
Roseland
Moorland
Cazadero
Countywide
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Roads resurfaced or reconstructed 2017-18 seasons -
2017
2018
2019 scheduled roads (so far)
