Brown Bag with the City Manager

I am happy to inform everyone that I'll be having a little impromptu "brown bag lunch" this Friday, February 1st from Noon to 1 p.m. in the Fire Station training room at 630 Second Street West. I will be available to meet and speak with anyone who wishes to stop by. BYO lunch!

Eagle Scout Project

Milenka Bates, our Acting Public Works Administrator, recently informed me that congratulations and thanks were in order to Massimo Smaldino who recently completed an Eagle Scout project with the goal of educating people about the importance of not polluting our storm drains. The Eagle project entailed leading the placement of round white and blue plastic signage onto the cement above storm drains in designated residential areas of Sonoma. Printed in both English and Spanish, these markers read, “Drains to Creek (Desague Al Arroya) No Dumping (No Contamine).” The markers were permanently affixed using glue. The materials were provided by the City of Sonoma Public Works Department. This project fulfills the storm water best management practice guidelines for the City of Sonoma and we were very fortunate to have Massimo’s assistance!

Here's a photo of Massimo at work and another photo showing the drain marker.

Next Council Meeting

Our next regular Council meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 6th at our new start time of 6:00 p.m. in the newly renovated Community Meeting Room and Council Chambers at 177 First Street West.

"Turning Point: The Next Generation"

A public lecture and conversation with Dr. Daniel Garvey, President of Prescott College, will be held on Feb. 20th at 7 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Building, 126 First Street West, to address the questions: "What challenges face the next generation?" and "What is the responsibility of those who have come before?"

The talk is part of The 2007-08 Imagine: Sustainable Futures Dialogue, a public service of Prescott College. For more information, see www.prescott.edu/imagine.

State of the City

Mayor Joanne Sanders delivered the "State of the City" address at the annual State of the Valley Breakfast Forum this morning, held at the Sonoma Golf Club. These images are the 3-page handout she provided at the breakfast, detailing some facts about Sonoma. Special thanks to Carol Giovanatto, Assistant City Manager, for her help in putting together this document.

(Note that these pages may not view in the correct order on your web browser due to the limitations of Blogger.)

How can we encourage community engagement in government?

I recently read a study by the Case Foundation regarding civic engagement and how to get more people involved in community decision-making. The 25-page report called "Citizens at the Center: A New Approach to Civic Engagement" can be found as a link from this page http://www.casefoundation.org/spotlight/civic_engagement

A very basic summary is this: How can we move beyond volunteering and voting as means to participate in civic society? Americans feel more socially isolated and powerless today with respect to civic issues than at any time in recent history. The need is to promote efforts to allow ordinary citizens with opportunities to connect with others and work collectively toward defining common issues and ways to address them. Efforts need to be citizen-driven and inclusive of young people. A study showed that we need to start giving young people opportunities to experience connectedness to their government at younger ages, not just civic lessons in high school; the age of 12 was cited as an ideal age to start some form of community participation that makes an impression on the child to want to stay involved. Some of the "most robust forms of local participation" are found at the city government level. With the rise in technology and trust of the internet as a forum for idea exchange, the role of formal organizations "shifts from being agenda-setting leaders to supporters or diffusers of information and resources across wider networks."

If you take a look at this report, I would be interested in your comments. Feel free to email me at lkelly@sonomacity.org or call me at 933-2215.

To report flooding this weekend

If you are in need of reporting flooding to the City this weekend, please call the Sonoma Police Department at 565-2121. During business hours (Mon-Fri, 8-5), call City Hall at 938-3681.

The National Weather service as of 5:40 p.m. this evening reports an urban and small stream flood advisory in effect for portions of Sonoma County. Rain rates of greater than 1/2 inch per hour are being reported. The main storm is to taper off Saturday around Noon, then redevelop later in the day with heavy rain Saturday into Sunday. Possible drying trend by Monday.

Some flood safety tips can be found by clicking on the attached image, shared from the Ross Valley Flood Protection and Watershed Program.

Be safe and avoid walking, biking or driving in or around floodwaters.

Storm watch

The National Weather Service predicts a storm coming in tonight (Thursday) with three to seven inches of rain in some areas of the Bay Area through Sunday. Our Public Works crew has two members on call tonight in case any problems develop locally. The National Weather Service forecast discussion is located at http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/total_forecast/getprod.php?wfo=mtr&sid=mtr&pil=afd.

Community Bike Forum Tonight, Jan. 24th at 7 p.m.

Please click the image to read the announcement about the bike forum this evening.

First day

Today was a great first day! I want to thank all of the City employees for their patience and assistance as I learn the organization and our processes for doing business.

Mayor Joanne Sanders has announced that the City will host a reception on Monday, February 4th from 4-5 p.m. at the newly renovated Council Chambers and Police Department, as an open house for members of the community to view the refurbished building and also as an opportunity for me to meet the residents. I hope to see you there!

Hello Sonoma!

Thank you for taking the time to read this and please let me introduce myself. I am Linda Kelly and I will begin employment as the City Manager of Sonoma on January 22, 2008.

Some readers may be aware that I maintained a web log (blog) of town information and activities at my last position with the Town of Fairfax. With the encouragement of your Mayor and City Council, I have launched a new blog, The Manager’s Journal, at its own web domain http://www.sonomamanager.com/, specifically to inform the residents of the City of Sonoma, the greater valley community, as well as anyone with an interest in the workings of this great town.

I strongly believe that by providing updated information in an open and accessible manner, community members can become more readily informed about the processes and decisions that affect them and may choose to use that information to become more engaged in their local government. I intend to keep this as a virtual journal of our journey together as Sonoma residents.

At the outset, my biggest task will be to listen and learn from the residents, the Council and the staff and meet as many people as I can in order to learn as much as I can about the issues facing the City government and the greater community.

I want you to know that I come to the City with a strong customer service philosophy. We the staff are on the same team as those we serve – and I seek ways that we can work together to achieve success. This is your local government, the form of democracy closest to the people and accountable to you. I consider it a privilege to be chosen to serve in this role, and I look forward to the input, comments and suggestions of community members. Our ability to achieve greatness together far surpasses anyone’s ability to achieve it alone.

As of January 22nd, you can reach me via email at lkelly@sonomacity.org or at City Hall at 707-933-2215. I look forward to our conversations.