City Administrator Friday Letter
February 9, 2024
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In observance of Lincoln's birthday all City offices, except Public Safety, will be closed Monday, February 12, 2024. |
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Well, that was some storm we had come through our Village on Sunday! We hope that all of you are safe and that your power has been restored.
A big THANK YOU to all of our Ambulance, Fire, Police, Public Works, VIPS and CERT staff who were out responding to hundreds of calls for service - trees, limbs, and wires down. Thank you to our tree contractors who responded after the storm to assist with taking down and clearing all those downed trees and limbs. Thank you to PG&E and their contractors for working to get our power restored as soon as possible.
Take a look at these photos and see what a mess the Village was during the storm.
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Thank you to our CERT Team:
With a relentless atmospheric river battering our community on Sunday, the Carmel Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) jumped into action. We are grateful for the assistance provided by neighboring CERT teams from Monterey and Pacific Grove. With nearly 70 trees down from the hurricane force winds, CERT deployed to manage road closures, provide damage assessment and resident welfare checks Sunday and Monday.
With power outages extending into the start of the week, the weary but confident team were back on the streets of Carmel venturing door to door to engage with residents and visitors to distribute emergency relief informational materials, report and document damage to un-occupied homes. Nearly 75% of the residences were visited.
Wanda Vollmer - Scot Smythe
Carmel CERT Captains
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Thank you to our Library staff who set-up, manned, and provided assistance to our residents who had no power after the storm. Monday morning the City's Temporary Assistance Center (TAC) was opened at the Park Branch Library. Even though the library was powerless, two portable power stations provided more than enough power to charge at least 20 devices at a time for the approximately 200 people who came in throughout the day. Anyone who came to the TAC was treated to snacks (Goldfish, chips, water), games, crafts, and a chance to share storm stories with other residents or just get to know somebody new. |
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Before any storm, we're supposed to prepare. Move any items that could blow away in the wind, clean out the gutters, check the flashlight batteries, make sure to have a full tank of gas, and go to the store and stock up.
So, you stocked the fridge and freezer and the power goes out. Have you wondered how long food can stay safe during a power outage?
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The winter storm season isn't over. Let's take any lessons we learned from this latest storm and be prepared for the next one. |
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Jayce Ogren, Music Director and Conductor
Lara Downes, piano
Concert three, Palo Corona meaning Crown Tree, is a concert about transformation, transcendence, salvation, and overcoming personal setbacks. Weber's Der Freischütz is a story about the redeeming power of love. Jennifer Higdon's Blue Cathedral represents one's travels over a lifetime and toward the afterlife. Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 embodies bacchic, dance qualities. Each of these pieces has more than a passing attention to the connections between the natural and supernatural worlds. This concert also features a world premiere of a Concerto for Piano and Orchestra by Monterey Symphony Composer in Residence John Wineglass with trailblazing pianist Lara Downes.
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Vote in the 2024 Presidential Primary Election |
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The Presidential Primary Election will be held on March 5, 2024. Voters throughout Monterey County will vote to narrow the field of presidential candidates for the general election, select the top two candidates for voter-nominated offices, and elect county officeholders. This election is one of the most complex elections, in that it combines different types of primaries, each with their own rules affecting candidates and voters.
Reminders:
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As of February 5th, all ballots have been mailed to registered voters.
- Once you receive your ballot, you have 3 ways to vote:
- Mail in your ballot via USPS (no postage required)
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Drop off your ballot at a secure drop box. A list of all drop box locations can be found here: https://www.montereycountyelections.us/ballot-drop-off-locations/
- Vote in person – early voting options are available! If you would like to vote in person, there are locations and dates below:
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Not sure if you’re registered to vote? Check your voter information status, including party and address by visiting: https://voterstatus.sos.ca.gov/
- Make sure you’re registered to vote by February 20, 2024
Early Voting and In-person Assistance
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What's Happening at the Library & Community Activities? |
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Farmers' market manager Good Roots, Inc. and Community Activities staff would like to hear your opinion, thoughts, and ideas about the current Thursday market and future markets. Please click the button below to take a short survey. We appreciate your continued support of the market and our vendors. |
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This Week in Public Works |
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February Storm-Related Issues
The City’s Public Works crew has been extremely busy since the February storm began on Sunday, February 4th. As of Friday morning, there have been 109 reported tree incidents within the City of Carmel:
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Facilities Maintenance Storm Recovery
Facilities Maintenance had quite a challenge this week as well. We had a clogged roof drain at a flat roof at Sunset Center, but we didn’t have a ladder tall enough to reach it. Monterey Fire has a 100-foot ladder truck and helped us access and clear the drain. We also added caged roof drains to prevent future clogs. Thank you, Monterey Fire!
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A rusted light pole was also pulled down at Sunset Center during this week’s storms, and will need to be replaced. |
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In addition, sandbags were placed at City Hall to avert flood damage at the lower level. |
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Electronic Waste (E-Waste)
Most electronics (computers, monitors, cellphones, printers, etc) contain hazardous materials such as mercury, lead, cadmium, barium and lithium, that are dangerous to human health. Pictured below is Public Works’ Gilbert Tamayo properly disposing the City’s e-waste with ReGen Monterey. To dispose your e-waste, please call ReGen at (831) 384-5313 or visit their website: https://regenmonterey.org/.
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Mission Trail Nature Preserve Drainage Improvements
The City is advertising for potential contractors to construct the MTNP Drainage Improvements Project. The project is to improve three drainage issues that have been identified along Doolittle Trail and Willow Trail in the south end of the Preserve. The improvements include drainage pipes, swales, catch basins, and an 85 foot long boardwalk. This project has a scheduled bid opening date of March 19th, 2024.
For more information visit https://ci.carmel.ca.us/requests-bids-and-rfps
For any questions or concerns you may contact City’s Project Manager Javier Hernandez at 831-427-7665.
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Flip the Lid
Last Friday, February 2nd, staff from CalRecycle visited Carmel to see how well waste is being sorted when placed in the trash, recycling, and organics containers for collection. Senate Bill 1383 regulations call on residents and businesses to divert edible food and organic material (food scraps, food-soiled paper, untreated wood. and yard trimmings) from the landfill to:
- Create and use beneficial compost/mulch
- Expand landfill capacity by keeping organics out
- Promote food recovery to feed people; and
- Reduce methane, the greenhouse gas byproduct of burying organics in landfills.
CalRecycle and GreenWaste periodically audit random resident and commercial carts by conducting “flip the lid” inspections to see the contents. During inspections, they check the waste, recycling, and compost carts to see whether customers are placing the correct materials into them. If they note any contamination problems, they provide educational information.
The good news is that residents and businesses in the City of Carmel have consistently been ahead of the game in proper waste sorting! In fact, during last Friday’s “flip the lid” inspections, CalRecycle inspected Katy’s Place on Mission between Fifth and Sixth Avenues where they found the waste materials sorted correctly. The State official met with the owner of Katy’s Place (photo below) to thank them for doing an outstanding job!
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If you are one of the households or businesses that does not currently recycle organic waste and/or recyclable materials, please contact GreenWaste (831) 920-6707 to modify your collection service. |
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Climate Committee Meeting Next Week |
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The Climate Committee will be meeting on Thursday, February 15th at 2:30 pm in the City Council Chambers. The meeting will also be available via Zoom. A presentation will be received from the City’s consultants providing the preliminary findings of the Shoreline and Beach Erosion Exposure Modeling and the Coastal Hazard and Sea Level Rise Vulnerabilities. The preliminary findings reveal significant long-term impacts to Carmel Beach without implementing adaptation strategies. Below are photos of this morning’s King Tide at Carmel Beach.
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Even with the sun shining bright this afternoon, it's still worth giving another heartfelt thanks to those involved in responding to last weekend's storm. If you know anyone who pitched in, or see someone on the street this weekend, please be sure to let them know you appreciate their efforts. We are truly fortunate to have such a dedicated group of staff and volunteers that serve of our precious one square mile of paradise!
Enjoy the sunshine, and as always - Take Good Care
-Brandon
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