City of Benicia This Week
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In this edition: Regional Stay at Home Order, Grants for Benicia Residents, Candy Cane Seeds and Holiday Fun, Pick 5 Personal Reading Recommendations, Evacuation Route Mailer, Shop Benicia Buy One-Get One

Message from the Interim City Manager
December 7, 2020

Hello Everyone,
Today’s City of Benicia This Week showcases very well this community’s City staff hard at work, looking for ways to serve this community with heart, dedication, and ingenuity. As has been previously mentioned, we want to thank our Council and Mayor (as well as the former Mayor) for their support of the Phase 2 COVID-19 Community Assistance Program. This program is designed to help those community members who have been seriously impacted by COVID-19 to stay housed and have access to support for other critical needs such as food and utilities. As has been mentioned, this program, managed through the Police Department’s Family Resource Center was so successful we were asked to manage a grant of $350,000 focused on keeping seniors housed and healthy through COVID-19. We will now be able to showcase our compassion for community and for helping those in need throughout two counties.

Staff in the Library and Parks & Community Services staff continue to look for innovative ways to serve the community while balancing the health and safety of staff and the community. I’m very proud of their constant commitment to the community as demonstrated by their constant, thoughtful innovation.
 
I encourage everyone to take advantage of the Shop Benicia eGift cards and shop local! Also, let’s push hard these last few months, before the vaccine begins to roll out, to keep our local restaurants going. Try to commit to grabbing takeout from a local restaurant at least one a week. Not only can it be a culinary delight, it can also be a way of directly impacting the community and those who work and own businesses here in a positive way.
 
As I’ve said, these are some difficult times, but there is light ahead. Let’s power through this with compassion and care for those around us, and in doing so, show the true community spirit that is Benicia.

Thank you for your interest in the City of Benicia This Week!

Erik Upson
Interim City Manager
City News
Regional Stay at Home Order
Last Thursday, Governor Newsom announced another stay at home order, called the Regional Stay Home Order, that will go into effect within 48 hours in regions with less than 15% ICU capacity. The order will remain in effect for at least 3 weeks and, after that period, will be lifted when a region’s projected ICU capacity meets or exceeds 15%. This will be assessed on a weekly basis after the initial 3 week period.

Solano County belongs in the Bay Area region. The Bay Area region’s ICU capacity has not fallen below 15% at this time, so is not yet under the stay at home order. More information about the Regional Stay Home Order is available at https://covid19.ca.gov/stay-home-except-for-essential-needs/#regional.

The full video of the Governor’s press conference and announcement is available here: https://fb.watch/29bKRUiFPT/.

The Governor has also provided additional information about vaccines, where a tiered approach will be implemented to distribute 327,000 vaccines to various regions. Link to state website here: https://covid19.ca.gov/vaccines/. Solano County will be updating their vaccine page regularly using this link: https://solanocounty.com/depts/ph/coronavirus_links/covid_19_vaccines.asp.

Additional information will be shared as it develops.
Grants for Benicia Residents
Benicia Police Department's Family Resource Center (FRC) announces the launch today of the Napa/Solano Area Agency on Aging Senior Citizen Emergency Assistance Program, as well as the City's COVID-19 Citizen Assistance Program-Phase 2.

The FRC will administer both programs. The county program is open to all Solano and Napa County residents and awards one-time financial aid for seniors and disabled persons, focusing primarily on housing issues. $300,000 is allocated for Solano County residents (approx. 7% of which is for Benicia) and $50,000 for Napa. The City's COVID-19 Citizen Assistance program focuses on financial impacts for all Benicia residents. The City's program allocates $150,000 at this time.

City of Benicia COVID-19 Citizen Assistance Program - Phase 2
COVID-19 continues to create a challenging time for our community. The City of Benicia understands the financial impact this has had on our citizens and the Benicia City Council wants to help those most vulnerable by authorizing Phase 2 of the COVID-19 Citizen Assistance Program.

Phase 2 of the program consists of a one-time financial assistance for citizen’s who have been impacted by COVID-19. This financial assistance will help with basic needs for primarily rent/mortgage and utilities. Families and individuals may apply. Applications are available online.

Qualifications:
  • Proof of Benicia residency
  • Proof of economic impact
  • Complete application
  • Proof you have applied for or receiving unemployment
  • Copy of bill you are seeking assistance for

If you qualify for assistance, the City will issue check directly to landlords, property management companies or utilities. 

Napa/Solano Area Agency on Aging Senior Citizen Emergency Assistance Program
Details on the program are available in the flyer below.

For information on either program or to apply for either grant, contact Kendall Lara at klara@ci.benicia.ca.us or 707.746.4352.
Candy Cane Seeds and Holiday Fun
Benicia Parks & Community Services' elves have been busy planning a lot of holiday fun for our community. They want to spread holiday fun and kindness. Click here daily for great ideas: PCS Holiday Cheer Webpage
 
To kick off the month, they suggest:
  • Candy Cane Seeds that grow when sprinkled with kindness. Kits are available at the Benicia Community Center front desk, 370 East K Street
  • Santa Countdown Calendar
 
Coming this month: Holiday craft ideas, family games & activities and ideas for random acts of kindness during the holiday season!!

Parks & Community Services elves are standing by to answer questions at pcs@ci.benicia.ca.us or 707.746.4285.
Pick 5 Personal Reading Recommendations
Looking for something to read? Benicia Public Library offers personal reading recommendations.

“Wow! Thanks! Like having a personal shopper for books!” This was the reaction of a happy library patron this week when she received her list of suggested books from the Benicia Public Library.

Library staff, hoping to find more ways to get books and other materials into the hands of readers despite having to restrict service to curbside / front door service, has begun to offer personalized reading suggestions though its “Pick 5” service. Simply visit the website, fill out a form, and your list of suggested books or videos will be sent back within four days: https://www.benicialibrary.org/pick5-form
“Librarians love to recommend books, and this is a logical step for us to take in order to promote the collection,” points out Library Director David Dodd.
Evacuation Route Mailer
The Evacuation Annex project has been completed Mailers containing a letter from Interim Chief Greene, an evacuation resource guide, and a vinyl information cling have been mailed Benicia addresses.

Benicia Police volunteers stepped up and helped make this possible over the last two weeks. Police volunteers Doris Laux, Allison Khroustalev, Keith Baughn, Art Schipper, and Patti Woodside along with Community Services Officers (CSO) Lauren Teel, Laura Williams and Gabby Lopez stuffed over 12,500 envelopes to be mailed to every residence and business in our city!

Every community member should take the time to:
  • Know their zone
  • Make a plan
  • Pack a go-bag
  • Stay informed through Alert Solano

We encourage everyone to "Be Prepared and Stay Prepared." If you didn't receive your mailer, contact CSO Lauren Teel by calling 707.746.4242.
Shop Benicia Buy One-Get One
Buy Shop Benicia eGift Cards and you could get up to $500 in Shop Benicia Bonus eGift Cards from a grant of $10,000 from the City of Benicia. In the first week the cards were available, nearly $14,000 in gift cards were purchased. Those redeemed cards, plus bonus cards will pump much needed dollars into our local economy and support our small businesses. Find more details and purchase cards at www.VisitBenicia.org/ShopBenicia.
Press Releases


Recent City of Benicia Press Releases are available on the City of Benicia website under Main/Announcements.
Save the Date
  • Dec 7 - Open Government Commission meeting, 7 p.m. via livestream. See the Full Agenda for more information.
  • Dec 8 - Board of Library Trustees meeting, 6:30 p.m. via livestream. See the Full Agenda for more information.
  • Dec 10 - Arts & Culture Commission meeting, 6:30 p.m. via livestream. See the Full Agenda for more information.
  • Dec 11 - City Offices closed for Alternate Friday.
Modified service due to COVID-19
City Hall is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you require entrance to City Hall offices outside of these hours, please make arrangements with staff from the department that you will be visiting.

All visitors shall be required to enter City Hall from East L street through the door located on the left (East) side of the building closest to the Post Office. Please check in with the staff person at the designated Welcome Window.

You will be required to wear a face covering over both your nose and mouth for the duration of your visit to City Hall. Please maintain 6 feet of social distancing between other visitors and staff. Do not visit City Hall if you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19. Appointments can always be rescheduled.
City of Benicia This Week is published each Monday morning. Previous editions are available here. We also communicate on Nextdoor.com and AlertSolano.com. Sign up now!
City of Benicia This Week is published each Monday morning. Previous editions are available here. We also communicate on Nextdoor.com and AlertSolano.com. Sign up now!