We are delivering!

Cloverdale is further from the County Administration Center, the county seat of Santa Rosa, and many critical services than most communities in northern Sonoma County. The City has been underserved for far too long, so we've been working to remedy that during my tenure by focusing attention, effort, and funding into Cloverdale.

I'm thrilled to announce we've made significant progress on several projects in Cloverdale. Several county departments, the City of Cloverdale, community groups, and volunteers collaborated to help push these projects forward. Below are some of the investments we've made in the Cloverdale community. Additional funds will be allocated for some projects as they continue to develop.*

Earlier this year, my team, staff from the County's Public Infrastructure, Regional Parks, and Emergency Management departments, Cloverdale City Council and staff, and other community leaders toured these sites to share the great progress we've made. This newsletter contains videos and descriptions of many of those and other projects.

Community Emergency Resilience Center

Sonoma County’s Department of Emergency Management (DEM) and Public Infrastructure are working together to secure the property lease of the Cloverdale Station from Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) for 10 years. Jeff Duvall, Director of DEM, joined the tour to share about plans plans of pre-staging emergency supplies at a Community Emergency Resilience Center (CERC) to support Northern Sonoma County in the event of disasters.



The goal of CERCs is to establish a cost-effective, distributed network of dedicated, community-based logistics and operational support facilities and resources that can support dynamic community-level disaster response for the Sonoma Operational Area. The facilities will house immediate-need disaster response supplies/equipment, potentially serve as critical incident management and support sites, and also support community disaster preparedness engagement and readiness. This network of facilities will maximize the ability to support and deploy equipment and supplies currently stored in non-optimal locations and conditions. The CERCs represent an essential first step towards achieving the long-term goal of developing geographically optimal County community service centers.

CERT Emergency Trailers

Geoff Peters, Program Manager of Northern Sonoma County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), presented the organization’s trailers, firetruck, and equipment that can be mobilized during emergency response:



• 8,500-watt solar trailer with backup generator and 140 gal. of diesel to be used to provide area lighting and electric: a) as command center; b) at fairgrounds when operating as an emergency shelter; c) at a disaster site when called for.
• 4,800-watt solar trailer to provide fully electric 15’ x 30’ shelter, 24 portable Li batteries for temporary power for 24 homes and small electrical equipment, 6 large inverters with batteries to provide electric to buildings or shelters.
• 80,000 watt propane or natural gas generator on a trailer to provide emergency power to critical infrastructure building, medical facility, or emergency shelter.
• Mass casualty incident trailer with stretchers, trauma kits, heaters, generators, portable lighting, pop-up tents, triage equipment, and other supplies for a mass casualty incident.
• CERT Trailer with support materials and gear to support CERT IC command post operating with full ICS protocols.
• Pumper Firetruck with 1000 gals. water on board – capable of deploying up to 8 attack hoses and two supply hoses to assist first responders.
• 4” wood chipper on a trailer to loan to citizens for their use while doing their own vegetation management.
• 2000 MREs for immediate food needs wherever needed.

Nuestra Comunidad's focus on Cloverdale services

Alma Bowen, Founder and Executive Director of Nuestra Comunidad joined the tour to discuss the organizations programs, which are focused on building more resilient communities through community-focused disaster preparedness, 9-1-1 awareness, health and wellness, mental health, and youth leadership.

As an organization, NC aims to create a culture of disaster preparedness that is inclusive of the immigrant, Spanish-speaking, and elderly community members who are often most vulnerable to impacts from disasters. This means normalizing disaster preparedness, such that what we call “prep culture” is integrated into people’s habits, planning, and decisions 365 days a year, rather than only in the wake of a crisis.

North County Fire awarded $7.4M grant for vegetation management

The Cloverdale and Northern Sonoma County Fire Protection Districts, operating under a joint power authority as “North County Fire,” are set to receive $7.4 million in grant funding from FEMA and CalOES for fire prevention and vegetation management work in the wider Cloverdale area.

The work will include removing understory vegetation, creating shaded fuel breaks that promote keeping a wildfire from spreading into the tops of trees, and reducing embers in the highest priority areas in the fire district.

Communications & Fire Watch Tower

Initially a project of Northern Sonoma County CERT and Asti-Cloverdale COPE, the communications tower on Schellenger Road east of Cloverdale was also adopted as a partnership of SoCo Public Infrastructure, Fireball Information Technologies, local radio communication leaders, North Bay Area Mesh (NBAM), and Krasisla Pacific Farms.

The tower has a General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) repeater to be used by SoCo Public Infrastructure, local fire officials, and CERT/COPE leadership to communicate with the Graton and Geyserville Fire Stations, Fitch Mountain, and areas of Petaluma, Knights Valley, Hopland, and Ukiah during emergencies. It also hosts other radio repeaters used daily by Cloverdale Fire District, Northern Sonoma County Fire District, Cloverdale Police and Cloverdale Dept of Public Works, Sonoma County Sheriff, and CalFire.

The NBAM mesh is a fail-safe, digital communications network run by licensed amateur radio operators. It is designed expressly to strengthen emergency communications for disaster responders, fire stations, local police, and volunteer amateur radio operators.

The tower has two fire watch cameras are part of a remote wildfire early detection system and overlook Cloverdale, Healdsburg, Windsor, unincorporated areas, and Mendocino County's souther border. The cameras operate day and night in all weather conditions, 180° out of phase with one another, constantly rotating taking photos on a 360° view and a range of 30+ miles. In the event of ignition detection one camera stops to geolocate the fire, while the other camera continues to look for additional ignitions in the entire 360° field of vision. The cameras are connected to artificial intelligence computer that reads thousands of images per hour looking for ignitions. A confirmed ignition leads to an automated call to fire dispatch and transmission of data - including a real time earth map and pictures, burn history showing rate and direction of spread - to an intranet, which responding firefighters can access. Calls will be logged along with 911 calls to become a database of record showing the time saved on initial attack due to earlier warning. A research report will be issued after one year demonstrating the cost-benefit of the fire cameras.

The tower will also host a weather station to measure wind speed and direction as well as other meteorologic conditions and report in real time 24/7/365.

New County Park: Russian River Parkway

The Russian River Parkway is intended to provide safe, clean, and unique river access along a heavily used 2-3 mile stretch of former Highway 101 between the former Preston Bridge at Cloverdale and the Sonoma-Mendocino county line area.

By formalizing high-use, unregulated river access sites Regional Parks can provide the community with accessible safe recreation, reduce trespass and other impacts on neighbors, and improve water quality and habitat.

Project elements include:

• Safe Parking – Designated parking lots with accessible parking; formalize roadside parking on Geysers Rd
• Access Trails – Steep and erosional trails will be replaced with sustainable and accessible routes
• Restrooms – Permanent accessible restrooms to improve water quality and user experience
• Trash & Dumping – Trash and recycling receptacles and service; barriers to prevent dumping; debris removal from river; regular clean-ups
• Signage – Regulatory, navigational, educational, and “Leave No Trace” signage will be provided
• Potential Camping – Limited, supervised camping is being explored to address high demand in the area

Details of the project:

• Acquisition of the 19 acre river park was completed in 2020
• Master Planning is nearly complete, with preferred alternate, special studies, and CEQA document to be published this summer. To date, input has been provided by neighbors, greater community, City of Cloverdale, Cloverdale Pomo, user groups, and other stakeholders. Outreach methods used have included community intercept surveys, online surveys, public presentations, newspaper and media articles, radio spots, project website, mailers, and stakeholder meetings.
• Construction of Phase 1 is scheduled to be completed by Fall 2024 and estimated at approximately $900,000-1,000,000. Debris removal began in 2021.
• Funding sources to date State Resources Agency River Parkways Grant ($1,125,000), Parks for All Measure M ($300,000), Park Mitigation Fees – North County Area ($136,000). Total Project budget is approximately $1,561,000

Expansion of Cloverdale River Park

Cloverdale River Park is being expanded to include the heavily used area surrounding the Crocker Road Bridge to provide accessible safe recreation, reduce fire and trespass and other impacts on neighbors, and improve water quality and habitat.

Project elements include:

• Connected, Safe Trails – Sonoma County Pubic Infrastructure is leading the Crocker Bike & Pedestrian bridge to provide a safe crossing to both sides of the river
• Safe Parking – Designated parking with accessible parking at the east side of the bridge
• Access Trails – Sustainable and accessible routes
• Restrooms – A permanent accessible restrooms to improve water quality and user experience
• Trash & Dumping – Trash and recycling receptacles and service; barriers to prevent dumping; debris removal from river; regular clean-ups
• Signage – Regulatory, navigational, educational, and “Leave No Trace” signage will be provided

Details of the project:

• Acquisition negotiations for fee title or public recreational easements with two private landowners are underway.
• Master Planning will proceed once acquisition is nearly complete. Master planning will include community engagement, biological/vegetation studies, cultural resource studies, traffic studies and other analysis.
• Construction of the Crocker Road Pedestrian & Bicycle bridge is happening currenlty. Phase 1 of the park expansion is dependent upon the acquisition.
• Funding Sources to date include Parks for All Measure M ($125,000), Park Mitigation Fees – North County Area ($10,000), Sonoma County Regional Parks Foundation ($15,000) and pending 4th District Infrastructure Funding ($100,000). Additional fundraising will be needed for development.

Soda Springs Open Space Preserve

In partnership with the City of Cloverdale and the Lyda family, Sonoma County Ag + Open Space has conserved forever the Soda Springs Ranch Open Space Preserve, a 209-acre property directly west of the City of Cloverdale. Ag + Open Space contributed the funds to the City of Cloverdale so they could purchase the property. As part of the deal, Ag + Open Space acquired a conservation easement with a recreational covenant, ensuring that it will we be a natural and recreational resource for generations to come.

Located within the Porterfield Creek watershed, portions of the North Branch of Porterfield Creek and other unnamed tributaries to Cloverdale Creek run across the ranch. Home to mountainous climbs, oak woodlands, grasslands, fir forest, and redwood groves, this land is rich in natural resources that help ensure local communities have access to fresh air and clean water. The ranch also serves as a wildlife corridor, providing open space for habitats and migration. Conserving lands directly around urban centers also helps keep our communities resilient in the case of wildfire, offering critical space to manage vegetation and stage emergency response efforts.

This ranch is just north of Porterfield Creek Trails Open Space Preserve, a park that was conserved and developed with Ag + Open Space support. Ag + Open Space is pleased to once again partner with the City of Cloverdale to conserve land that serves several local goals – protecting natural resources, creating new and dynamic spaces for residents to connect with nature, and preserving the scenic character of our county. Greg Lyda, the landowner integral in making this project a reality, has shared that his family has owned the ranch for four generations, and that this deal is a way to honor his elders by making it available for Sonoma County residents and visitors to enjoy forever.

Asti Permanent Bridge

The permanent Asti Bridge will provide an additional reliable, year-round ingress/egress, particularly during disaster emergencies, which are an increasingly frequent threat. The bridge will enhance safety in the community as well as promote bike, pedestrian, and recreational activities.

On April 18, 2023 the Board of Supervisors authorized the Department of Public Infrastructure to proceed with Phase 2 of the design work for the Asti Bridge Project. Phase 2 includes preparation of environmental documents for the CEQA analysis and acquisition of right-of-way. With the studies on track for completion, we expect the effort to create a Special Financing District to support the project to in coming months.

Crocker Bridge Bike & Pedestrian Passage

The new Crocker Road bike and pedestrian bridge will greatly enhance safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and recreational enthusiasts. This state-of-the-art bridge represents a pivotal milestone in the county's commitment to promoting active transportation and creating a safer community for all. The new pedestrian bridge offers a range of benefits that will positively impact the lives of residents and visitors alike.

The key advantage is increased safety. The pedestrian bridge provides a dedicated pathway, completely separated from vehicular traffic, ensuring the safety of pedestrians and cyclists. This eliminates the risk of accidents and encourages more people to utilize active modes of transportation.



The new bridge not only benefits commuters but also caters to the recreational needs of residents. With its strategic location, it provides access to scenic routes and trail networks, allowing individuals and families to engage in outdoor activities such as walking, jogging, cycling, and more. This fosters a sense of community and promotes a healthy, active lifestyle.

The project is a testament to the City of Cloverdale's and the County’s dedication to enhancing the quality of life for its residents. This project highlights a proactive approach towards safe sustainable transportation and the promotion of physical well-being.

Cloverdale Veterans Memorial Building Upgrades

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors approved funding to purchase a generator for the Cloverdale Veterans Memorial Building. This generator will enable the building to function as a warming and cooling center for residents of Cloverdale during extreme weather events. The veterans have already given so much to our country, and it is our honor to support them in this way. We recognize the importance of having a safe and reliable space for community members to seek shelter during times of need, and we are thrilled to be able to help make that a reality for Cloverdale. The funds will cover the cost of the generator and its installation. We are confident that the Cloverdale veterans will be excellent stewards of this resource and that they will provide much-needed support and comfort to those who seek refuge in the space. We know this project will help Cloverdale veterans continue to make a positive impact in the community.

The Board of Supervisors also approved funding to make upgrades to the swimming pool at the Veterans Memorial Building and for a pool cover.

Alexander Valley Health's New Expansion Facility

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors committed $1 million to support Alexander Valley Healthcare's vision for a new health and wellness center.

Alexander Valley Healthcare, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), offers primary medical care, dental care, behavioral healthcare, enrollment services, and other resources, currently operating out of three leased buildings and two modular units about a mile apart. Many of its patients are the most vulnerable with 89% whose known income under 200% of the federal poverty level. Rural northern Sonoma County does not have enough healthcare professionals and lacks the medical facilities to meet the needs of the population.

AVH purchased 2.8 acres of land in downtown Cloverdale and plans to build a 40,000 sq.ft. health and wellness center, a service hub open to everyone that will expand access to fully integrated, quality healthcare in our region and reduce the need to travel elsewhere. AVH launched a $5M capital campaign to seek community investment and offset the overall project costs.

In addition to doubling its primary medical, dental, and behavioral health service capacity, AVH will be able to better service the community by offering laboratory and pharmacy services, specialty providers, substance abuse treatment, community health education, expanded social services, and FNP training programs, as well as space for community partners. AVH has supported thousands of neighbors and expanded services will improve their health and the health of the Cloverdale community.

Thank you for joining us!