Sonoma County funnels funds into climate resiliency
Yesterday was a good day! I know youāll be reading this a week or so later, but the joy of the unanimous vote in favor of funding fire services is still immediate for me. After years of advocating for fire services consolidations and funding, Iām thrilled to announce that on July 20th the Board of Supervisors (BOS) unanimously approved $7.9 million in funding for regional fire services plus additional steps to support and stabilize fire districts.
Key to this is up to $2 million in one-time funding for the Bodega Bay Fire Protection District (BBFPD) as they work towards consolidation with the Sonoma County fire district. In addition, the BOS voted for $7.9 million for all consolidation efforts, including $3 million of ongoing funds earmarked for the BBFPD consolidation. Additional agencies listed to receive funds to facilitate fire agency consolidations include: Northern Sonoma County Fire Protection District and CSA 40; Gold Ridge Fire Protection District and CSA 40; Sonoma County Fire District and CSA 40; Sonoma County Fire District and Bodega Bay Fire Protection District; and Kenwood Fire Protection District. While this is an exciting win for our fire and emergency services, more is still needed. The BOS also directed staff to coordinate with the Fire Services Work Group to develop an outreach and funding plan to place a Sonoma County Wildfire Prevention, Emergency Alert, and Response Measure on the June 2022 ballot.
I'm also happy to share that a number of the 5th District budget priorities were passed as part of the 2021-2022 budget passed on June 18th. Highlights include:
ā$350,000 for local chambers and visitor centers to help with economic recovery along with scheduling a fall workshop on sustainable funding for this important economic support network.
ā$2 million in safe parking to address RV and car encampment challenges.
ā$10 million investment in climate resiliency from PG&E settlement funds. We need to not only address the disasters that have resulted from rapid moving climate change, but also to work to reduce our carbon emissions and build a more sustainable Sonoma County to address the long-term, systemic problem creating these threats.
Also included in the 2021-2022 budget is $350,000 for a mapping study and analysis to identify areas of concern within Sonoma County given the new or foreseeable Total Maximum Daily Load Requirements (TMDL), and to look at special districts addressing these needs could be created or modified to allow for the management and support of community wastewater needs, including but not limited to, sewer conveyance and treatment, individual and shared septic systems, and alternative wastewater treatment technologies. The study will include a community engagement component to assess the level of support for and/or concerns expressed by communities and individuals related to the various wastewater management alternatives identified.
We have also been working hard on getting more resources towards vegetation management. There are a number of funding projects addressing vegetation management from community led to residential initiatives.
In June, the Board approved $3.7 million of PG&E funds towards 20 vegetation management projects throughout Sonoma County. Among the applicants, another 7 projects in the Russian River area were conditionally approved pending completion of outstanding project design and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) work. In July, the BOS approved a $300,000 from PG&E settlement funds for Permit Sonoma to work with top-ranked community organizations to resolve California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) vegetation management project issues. In addition, $300,000 was set aside to fund two Extra-Help Senior Environmental Specialists to support vegetation management project CEQA issue resolution. Once that foundational work has been done for these projects, up to $3 million in funds from the next allocation of vegetation management community grants for these top-ranked community organization vegetation management projects will be allocated. These grants will focus on the lower Russian River and Bohemian corridor.
I have also been working with County Staff on finding ways to provide funding for homeowners in hardening defensible space around their homes and overall vegetation management. A pilot project has opened in limited areas called SoCo Adapts. This program provides a free fire inspection, then provides recommendations as to what mitigation measures are needed, and finally provides an application process for FEMA funding to reimburse homeowners for a portion of the cost. In June, the County was awarded a $37 million Federal grant through the Federal Emergency Management Agencyās Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Grant program. The first stage of this funding will go to an 18-month planning stage led by Permit Sonoma to work with tribal, local, state, and federal partners to coordinate agencies working to reduce risks and fight wildfire. After this planning stage the FEMA funds will partially go towards funding an expansion of the SoCoAdapts program. Although that funding is a ways out, I encourage you to get your free inspection and start work on those aspects of vegetation management and home hardening that you can do now. A neighborhood and a district is only safe when all of us do the work to keep us fire safe!