NEWS FROM DISTRICT 3

Happy Spring - it has been a rainy one! - and welcome to my March newsletter. Below, you'll find info about an emergency preparedness event for upvalley communities, a profile of the Napa County Office of Emergency Services, a couple of ways to volunteer in the community, and more. Please reach out to me or my District Aide Leah Doyle-Stevens with any County-related issue or concern.

Thank you for reading!

Anne

ON THE CALENDAR

Napa County Health and Human Services Public Health Division is celebrating National Public Health Week by hosting a FREE Community Health Fair on Sunday, April 7, 2024, from 1-3:30pm. Community members will have opportunities to take a Zumba class, win raffle prizes, participate in art activities, learn how to administer hands-only CPR, engage with community partners, receive a COVID-19 vaccine or booster and more. 

Click here to learn more!

IN THE COMMUNITY

Thanks to the Town of Yountville for hosting a Community Cookout with Fire Station 12, where members from our Napa County Fire Department gave lessons in hands-only CPR and proper usage of fire extinguishers.

ON THE TRAIL

On Lake Berryessa's Smittle Creek Trail, I learned more about the lake's fire history, checked out the new bridges, and talked about future lakeside plans with Jennifer, the Bureau of Reclamation's Park Manager for the lake. And it was a great day for a hike!

ON THE (Training) TABLE

Thank you to Napa Firewise, Napa Valley Grapegrowers, Napa Valley Vintners and Napa County Fire/CAL Fire LNU for hosting the third annual Fire Resources Fair. The event was a hit! It was great to see so many residents and community partners come together to learn and share ways to make our homes and communities more fire-safe and resilient.

ON THE (land)LINE

Value your landline? There's still time to speak up!

Thanks to residents who have continued to express their concern about AT&T's effort to stop serving as a "Carrier of Last Resort" for landline telephone service, impacting several areas in rural Napa County. My Board colleagues and I submitted a letter to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) voicing our strong opposition; you can read the letter here. We understand that landlines can be critical tools for communication, especially in times of emergency.

The CPUC is still gathering public input ahead of an April application hearing date. I encourage you to participate by making your voice heard; you can submit your comments to the CPUC here and reference Application 22-03-003.

ON THE GROUND

A Dashboard for Fuels Reduction Projects

Did you know that the Napa Firewise now has a fuels reduction project dashboard? It allows users to locate projects and learn their progress in real time. You can visit the dashboard here and learn more about it in the video below.

ON THE HORIZON

Community Readiness event for the Deer Park/Angwin/Pope Valley - May 7th

I am excited to partner with the Angwin and Pope Valley Firesafe Councils, and several other community and County partners, to bring a Spring information event to the Angwin, North Berryessa, and Pope Valley communities. For now, please save the evening of May 7 on your calendar and be on the look-out for more information in the coming weeks.

What can you do to prepare in advance of the May 7 community meeting? Check out these organizations in our community; they offer helpful tips and resources for being prepared for emergencies:

NCFF - Napa Communities Firewise Foundation

COAD - (Napa Valley) Community Organizations Active in Disaster

CERT - Community Emergency Response Team

NCART - Napa Community Animal Response Team

Save another date - May 30th!

Have questions about the climate, and how to improve climate resiliency at home and in the community? Please join me and Drew Isaacs, scientist and lecturer on Climate Change and Business, for the first session of the District 3 Community Climate Education Series. This series is an opportunity for members of the community to learn and ask questions, and hear about practical solutions. Stay tuned for a flyer and more details soon.

May 30, 2024 | 6-7:30pm

Yountville Community Center

IN THE BOARD ROOM

Celebrating Agriculture Month

My colleagues and I on the Board proudly proclaimed March 2024 as Agriculture Month in Napa County. Recognized each March, Agriculture Month acknowledges the vital role that agriculture plays in our local communities and across the nation, and celebrates the contributions of our dedicated farmers, ranchers, farmworkers, local ag industries, and the entirety of our agricultural workforce. Napa County has more than 1,800 farms, cultivating more than 46,000 acres of farmland.

Learn about the Napa County Ag Commissioners office here.

IN THE VOLUNTEER SPIRIT - TIMES TWO!

Volunteer opportunity #1: Want to help preserve and rejuvenate part of our community and agricultural heritage?

The Tucker Farm Center Board of Directors is looking for hands-on volunteers and Board Members to help with creative planning and project management for a full-scale renovation to the historic building in the coming year. The Center has been a staple in the upvalley community for over 100 years! Learn more about the Center here.

Volunteer opportunity #2: Want to help animal owners in your community during an emergency?

The video above provides an overview of Napa Community Animal Response Team (Napa CART) which provides training and disaster response support for animal owners in the county.

During a disaster, their volunteers work with other first responders, and play a critical role in improving safety outcomes for all. Learn about Napa CART volunteer opportunities here.

SNAPSHOT ON COUNTY SERVICES

This month’s Department Spotlight focuses on the Napa County Office of Emergency Services (OES).

Housed in the Sheriff’s Department, the Napa County OES team works on all aspects of disaster: Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery.

In the area of Mitigation, or reducing the risk or severity of a disaster: The OES team manages the county’s Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan. That plan lays out strategies and specific projects that can increase our community’s resilience to events like wildfire, flood, earthquake, and more. The team also assists with grants that help fund the mitigation work.

In the Preparedness area, OES staffers attend outreach events in the county throughout the year. Their goal is to share information and resources with the public so that residents feel more prepared in the event of a disaster.

- they oversee Napa County’s emergency notification system, ALERT Napa County - ReadyNapaCounty.org

- they prepare, manage, and update a range of plans, including the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP). Plans like the EOP provide a framework so the county can have an organized, carefully crafted approach that is ready before a disaster event.

- they run trainings throughout the county to practice implementing the plans. (Training and practice are so important to an effective response! It’s a good reminder that we should all practice for emergencies in our own homes and workplaces, right? Do we know where our go-bag is?)

In the area of Response, the OES team manages the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), and maintains a “ready state” there so it can be activated immediately when needed. In managing overall response, OES staffers also work closely with several of the organizations mentioned earlier in this newsletter:

- Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)

- Napa Community Animal Response Team (NapaCART)

- Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD)

- Center for Volunteer and Non-Profit Leadership (CVNL)

Finally, in the Recovery area, the OES team collaborates with any other jurisdiction (for example, a city or town or neighboring county) that has also been impacted by a disaster. OES is also able to activate a Local Assistance Center (LAC) to provide help at a location very close to an affected community. The LAC can help residents and local businesses access any FEMA support that may be available after a disaster.

As you can see, the work of the Office of Emergency Services is far-reaching (and is rife with acronyms!). We in Napa County are lucky to have a dedicated team at OES. Through planning and outreach and training, the OES team works every day to help our communities prepare, so that we can face disasters with strength and resilience.

That's it for this edition - thank you for reading! If you have a question or a topic you'd like to read about here, please email me at anne.cottrell@countyofnapa.org . You can also get in touch by emailing Leah, my District Aide, at leah.doyle-stevens@countyofnapa.org.

To see my weekly updates, please follow my Supervisor Anne Cottrell Facebook page and @supervisorannecottrell on Instagram. The County’s website and Facebook page are also good sources of information.

Thanks again. I look forward to serving and collaborating with you!

Anne Cottrell