City of Benicia This Week
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In this edition: Benicia Featured in Visit California, Two Parks Get Improvements, Mills Act Meeting Set, Housing Element Community Workshop March 2, 2021 Eco Award goes to Valley Fine Foods, Benicia Again Named a Tree City USA, Volunteer Opportunities Available, PG&E/MCE Time of Use Begins Tuesday, City Employee Spotlight, COVID-19 Vaccine Availability, COVID Assistance
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Message from the City Manager |
February 28, 2022
Hello Everyone,
With the recent lifting of the face covering mandate, I wanted to take a moment to encourage those who are not yet vaccinated to get vaccinated. While the City is no longer hosting vaccine clinics (due to the wide availability of the vaccines and boosters) we still want to do our best to protect our community, especially our most vulnerable. I have included a flyer listing local vaccination options, along with links and phone numbers. We have also included a phone number and contact in the City for anyone who needs assistance getting to their vaccination…we want to remove any barriers our community members may have to getting vaccinated.
In our ongoing efforts to tackle long-standing issues at the foundation of our community, many of which have lain fallow for decades, we have been focusing hard on our City’s roads. Council made this a priority task for us last year, and subsequently funded the largest road works project in decades. This multi-million-dollar project came in on time and under budget. The savings will be rolled over to next year’s road projects. Unfortunately, for years the roads were not funded at a level that could have kept them in ‘good’ condition. As I’ve stated before, our ‘Pavement Condition Index’ or PCI, the number that is the standard measure of roads conditions, dropped to a low point several years ago of around 55 (2016). Since then, Council’s focus on this issue has helped stabilize the roads from decreasing further. That said, the majority of the funds put into the roads in the last two years to reverse this trend were from one-time monies. We continue to face a difficult, uphill battle to return our roads to good condition without additional funding. I encourage you to read the staff report and supporting roads study and to tune in to the Council meeting this Tuesday, March 1 at 6 p.m. to see the presentation and discussion about possible solutions.
In closing, I would like to thank our Economic Development Division (EDD) for all of their work helping to publicize the fantastic progress of Benicia and just what an amazing destination it has become, especially for those looking for a wonderful day trip in the Bay Area. You’ll see below, we’ve been highlighted in Visit California, which is very good for the city. This on top of our recent Crown Communities Award! A big thank you to Teri Davena for all of her work promoting Benicia. I’m also attaching a link to our recent presentation to Council regarding the work of the EDD and our friends at Creative Digital Agency.
Thank you for your interest in the City of Benicia This Week!
Erik Upson
City Manager
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Benicia Featured by Visit California |
The City of Benicia Office of Economic Development shares news highlighting what an incredible, beautiful, rich and interesting town we all live and work in. Benicia is featured in the 2022 Visit California Visitor’s Guide publication in the San Francisco Bay Area section, 5 Towns You Should Know. (Click photo at right to read.)
This is a direct result of frequent pitching to Visit California by Economic Development staff and Visit Benicia's contract PR firm. Many pitches don't come to fruition, but this is promising since it wasn't long ago when Benicia wasn't featured by the statewide tourism agency.
If you’d like to find out more about Benicia’s history, arts, shopping, dining, events and how Benicia is being marketed to visitors, go to VisitBenicia.org.
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Two Parks Get Improvements |
On June 5, 2018, California voters passed Prop 68: The Parks, Environment, and Water Bond Act of 2018. Through the Prop 68 Per Capita Program, the City of Benicia was allocated grant funding to rehabilitate existing park structures.
The Parks and Community Services Department has invested a portion of the funds into updating the Phenix Dog Park with synthetic Pet Turf in the large dog area, and replacing the worn picnic tables and service tables in the group picnic area at Benicia Community Park. The large dog park reopened for use in November of 2021, and renovations of the picnic tables in the group picnic area have been completed just in time for the picnic rental season.
Two additional projects will be completed with the remaining funding later this year: installation of decomposed granite around the new Pet Turf to address the muddy areas of the large dog park, and refurbishment of the BBQs in the group picnic area at Benicia Community Park.
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The Mills Act program is administered by the City of Benicia and works to preserve historic buildings in exchange for decreased property taxes. The Mills Act program currently includes 40 active contracts for properties located in both the Downtown and Arsenal Historic Districts.
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Housing Element Community Workshop March 2
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Help plan for Benicia’s future housing needs! The City of Benicia is planning for the housing needs of the community as part of the City’s State-mandated 2015-23 Housing Element. The City is currently evaluating potential sites for future housing needs and invites interested residents and stakeholders to attend upcoming Community Workshops.
Please join us to learn more and share your ideas on improving housing at our next Virtual Community Workshop on Wednesday, March 2, 6 - 8 p.m.* To register for the workshop and see other upcoming meetings, visit the Housing Element project webpage: www.ci.benicia.ca.us/housingelement.
Not able to attend? The meeting will be recorded and available online for future viewing via the project webpage.
*A previous announcement incorrectly stated the workshop date as March 3. We regret the error and apologize for any inconvenience.
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2021 Eco Award goes to Valley Fine Foods |
Valley Fine Foods is a family-owned manufacturer of innovative and high quality, packaged foods and has been in business in Benicia for 30 years. They began producing filled pastas and sauces with their Pasta Prima™ and ARTISOLA™ brands. Then they refocused their energy on the Three Bridges™ product lines starting with Three Bridges Egg Bites, which can be found in retail stores right here in Benicia.
Valley Fine Foods has always taken extraordinary measures to recycle. In 2021, Simon Woods, Director of Manufacturing, increased diversion by working with his team to rinse out all single-use plastics to ensure they were accepted by the recycling sites. This increased recycling 15 percent per week. Another great success has been channeling food waste through Republic Services. Approximately 234 cubic yards will be diverted from the landfill each year and will become compost. To top it off, they also covered their roof with solar panels to create their own energy.
Woods said, “Training has been the most important aspect of seeing these improvements through. What I am most proud of has been my team’s willingness to live through these changes and to react accordingly when an adjustment was needed.”
Woods hopes his fellow businesses will take a few moments to step back and evaluate what waste they have and their overall impact on the planet, noting “Every little bit counts!”
About the Eco Awards
These awards are an important component of implementing the “Mandatory Commercial Recycling” program as required by Assembly Bill 341 (AB 341), and the Commercial Organics Recycling program as required by Assembly Bill 1826 (AB 1826) and Assembly Bill 939 (AB 939). The overarching goal of both AB 341 and AB 1826 is to divert more materials from the landfill, and AB 939 focusses on reducing greenhouse gases. Recognition such as the Eco Awards program helps encourage those goals.
The awards are part of Republic Services’ agreement with the City of Benicia. CalRecycle, the State agency that monitors the effectiveness of local recycling programs, fully supports these types of recognition programs throughout California. To qualify, multiple audits are done, and Republic Services’ staff check with driver’s notes to confirm that accounts are in good standing. They also look for how the nominee affects the community.
Photo (l-r): Valley Fine Foods Waste Handling Team - Simon Woods, Jose Burgos, Oscar Tejada, Maria Barragan, Adontae Dotson, Bartolo Rodrigues, Efrain Solis, Jose Corral and Brandon Lloyd.
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Benicia Again Named a Tree City USA |
In order to become a Tree City USA, cities must have a tree ordinance, tree committee/board, spend at least $2 per capita on trees, and have an annual Arbor Day observance and proclamation. Benicia typically celebrates Arbor Day in October with a tree planting event to take advantage of the fall/winter rains to help establish the trees and minimize the need for supplemental manual watering.
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Volunteer Opportunities Available |
The Parks and Community Services Department (PCS) is looking to expand volunteer opportunities and will post new opportunities on the HelperHelper website.
Current opportunities include:
- Parent Greeters for the after-school program
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Senior Center Clean Up Team (Patti Woodside pictured.)
- Musicians at the Senior Center
PCS is thrilled with the response by the community. The background music at the Senior Center has seniors smiling from ear to ear. The Senior Center clean up team has done an amazing job and seniors love the way the entries look when they arrive. Parent greeters have done a great job welcoming parents and being the cheerful face students see when they leave for the day.
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PG&E/MCE Time of Use Begins Tuesday |
PG&E shares the following information for Benicia power customers:
Beginning Tuesday, March 1, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and MCE (the two power providers in Benicia) will start transitioning residential electric customers in Contra Costa, Marin, Napa and Solano Counties to the Time-of-Use (Peak Pricing 4 - 9 p.m. Every Day) rate plan which features lower prices for electricity for 19 hours a day and higher prices from 4 - 9 p.m., seven days a week. The prices are lower when demand is lower and renewable energy is more readily available. Customers on this Time-of-Use rate plan are encouraged to shift and reduce usage during the peak demand time between 4 - 9 p.m. each day. Learn more about the transition to Time-of-Use at pge.com/toutransition.
As part of a multi-year, statewide effort to create a cleaner energy future for California, PG&E will transition approximately 2.5 million eligible residential electric customers to a Time-of-Use rate plan between April 2021 and early 2022. The State of California is requiring all investor-owned utilities to automatically transition eligible customers to the Time-of-Use rate plan. The plan supports the use of cleaner energy sources and reflects California’s focus on combating climate change. It encourages customers to shift electricity usage to off-peak hours of the day when demand is lower and renewable energy sources, like wind and solar, are more plentiful. Please visit pge.com/TOUeveryday to learn more about this rate plan.
Customers Can Choose Another Rate Plan at Any Time
Customers can choose to try out a Time-of-Use or choose another rate plan, including their current Tiered rate plan, at any time. Customers who automatically transition to this Time-of-Use rate plan will automatically receive risk-free Bill Protection for the first 12 months. To view a customized rate plan comparison, customers can visit their account online at pge.com/TOUchoice.
When Eligible Customers Will Transition
The transition to this Time-of-Use rate plan will occur by geographical region between April 2021 and early 2022. Eligible customers will receive a series of notifications by mail and email starting four months in advance of the automatic transition in their county. These include tips on how to manage their energy usage on the Time-of-Use rate plan as well as a personalized rate plan comparison to help customers select the best rate plan for their needs.
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Sarah Grebe started her career with the City of Benicia as the Executive Assistant to the City Manager in May of 2020 at the beginning stages of the pandemic. Thrilled to support such a dynamic office during a pivotal time, she rolled up her sleeves and got to work learning about City operations. From meeting planning to supporting boards and commissions, Sarah wears many “hats” in the City Manager’s Office. Sarah said one of her favorite parts of her job includes speaking to residents and learning about what is meaningful and important to them in this community. "Listening to what people have to say and what their concerns are informs my role as an executive assistant,” she said.
Prior to joining the City, Sarah worked as a Sales Support Specialist at Anthem, as part of the Large Group Strategic Accounts team, which served over a million Californians. Sarah brings over 20 years of administrative experience, with expertise in office management, editing, customer service, medical benefits administration, and providing executive level support. She graduated cum laude from San Francisco State University with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, and a minor in Technical and Professional Writing.
Sarah is a native Californian who grew up on the Peninsula and has many fond memories of attending Stanford football games as a tailgater. She lived in Clayton for 20 years and moved to Benicia 5 years ago.
Fun fact: Sarah and her sisters have a creative streak, with one sister who exhibits her art in Europe and another who dabbles in jewelry design. Sarah loves to relax on the weekends by painting with oils and acrylics on canvas and exploring mixed media. She also enjoys experimenting with new recipes on the weekends. You may also find her exploring Benicia’s stunning open space with Precious, her goofy sidekick and Chihuahua.
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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!
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