Daily Archives: December 10, 2018

Fire is Everyone’s Fight – Holiday Fire Safety

While many of us enjoy decorating for the winter holidays, these decorations can increase the risk of having a home fire. One in every four Christmas tree fires is caused by a heat source too close to the tree. More than one in three home decoration fires are started by candles. The top three days for home candle fires are Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. With the holidays around the corner, our next set of home fire prevention tips is on holiday fire safety:

  • Inspect holiday lights each year before you put them up. Throw away light strands with frayed or pinched wires.
  • Turn off all your holiday lights before going to bed or leaving your home.
  • Water your Christmas tree every day. A dry tree is dangerous because it can catch on fire easily.
  • Keep your tree at least three feet away from heat sources such as fireplaces, radiators, space heaters, candles and heat vents.
  • Consider using battery-operated flameless candles, which can look, smell and feel like real candles.
  • If you do use lit candles, make sure they are in stable holders and place them where they cannot be knocked down easily.
  • Keep candles at least 12 inches away from anything that burns.

Learn more about fire prevention from the U.S. Fire Administration at www.usfa.fema.gov/prevention. 

Ride the Candy Cane Train at Goleta Depot!

The South Coast Railroad Museum will have its 27th Annual Candy Cane Train through December 23, 2018. The Museum is located at 300 N. Los Carneros Road and open Fridays – Sundays, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. The last train ride is at 3:45 p.m. Tickets are $5 for both children and adults, and include a ride on the museum’s festively decorated miniature train and special holiday treats. Santa Claus will be visiting the weekends of December 14 – 16 and 21 – 23. For more information follow the South Coast Railroad Museum on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoletaDepot. 

New Grants for the Goleta Valley Library

The Goleta Valley Library has been hard at work with great programming and working on obtaining grants that serve our community. We are excited to share that with the Student Success Initiative Grant, every child in the Goleta Valley Library service district will get a library card! The library will be working with each school individually to help students get their cards. In other grant news, Goleta Valley Library is one of only ten libraries in California to receive the Libraries Helping Immigrants Grant. This is a one-year grant that helps immigrants find services and work toward achieving citizenship. Services have begun being provided at the Library and out in the community. Lastly, with the Harwood Public Engagement Grant, Library staff will be speaking with different groups throughout the community to find out what they want from the Goleta Valley Library and how to best serve them.

For all the latest updates, follow the Library on Facebook (@GoletaValleyLibrary).

Holiday Traffic Safety Tips

The holiday season has finally arrived!  While this time of year brings together friends and family, it also brings additional hazards and distractions on our roadways.  Whether you are setting out on a road trip to visit family, or just braving the roads for some last minute shopping, the Goleta Police Department encourages everyone to consider the following safety tips:

  • When the roads are wet, slow down and maintain a greater distance from the car in front of you.  Rain can mix with oil on the road to make for a very slippery surface.
  • This is also a good time to inspect your vehicle.  Take a walk around your car and make sure all your lights and windshield wipers are working.  You should also check that your tires are properly inflated and have sufficient tread.
  • Unfortunately, this time of year also brings out opportunistic thieves.  When your vehicle is unattended make sure it is locked and any valuables or gifts are kept out of sight.
  • With the hustle and bustle of the season, it can be all too easy to not get enough rest.  Fatigue can negatively impact your motor skills, slowing down your reaction time while driving.  In fact, studies have shown that the dangers of driving while drowsy are comparable to driving while intoxicated.  Make every effort to get enough sleep and avoid driving if you feel fatigued.
  • Never drink and drive!  Tis the season for family gatherings and holiday parties.  If you think you may be drinking at these gatherings, plan ahead and designate a sober driver or call a taxi.
  • Finally, enjoy the season!  The holidays are a wonderful time to spend with friends, coworkers and family.  A few extra precautions can keep your holidays merry and your new year happy!

Be Water Wise

Santa Barbara County remains in a drought emergency despite Governor Brown lifting the drought State of Emergency in April 2018 for most parts of California. Residents all over the state worked hard to conserve water and it has now become a way of life. Lake Cachuma is below 33%. It is critical we continue conserving water and finding new ways to do so. One way to save water is to transform your landscape to a more water wise garden. It is important to put in plants that do not need a lot of water and are climate appropriate. Santa Barbara County’s water conservation website, www.waterwisesb.org, has a lot of great information. Learn about sustainable landscaping, schedule a free water check-up for your home (or business) and learn more about where your water comes from along with other water facts. You may also be eligible for a Landscape Rebate Program by making your yard or garden more water wise.

New Year’s Resolution: Take CERT Training for Disaster Preparedness

Update: December 21, 2018: The basic CERT training courses in English and Spanish have been cancelled. Future dates will be available at  https://tinyurl.com/GoletaCERT.  The advanced training classes are still happening.

Start off the new year by learning how to be better prepared in a disaster. Sign up for the City’s FREE Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Training Mondays in January and February. The CERT Program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their neighborhood and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help. CERT members also are encouraged to support emergency response agencies by taking a more active role in emergency preparedness projects in their community.

Goleta CERT Training Class:
Mondays, January 7 – February 25, 2019
6:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Goleta Valley Community Center (5679 Hollister Avenue)
*Participants must attend all eight classes.

The CERT training course will also be offered in Spanish on Wednesdays, January 30 – March 20, 2019.

For those who already have CERT training, there will be an Advanced CERT Training course on Psychological First Aid January 10 & 11 from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. The class is also offered in Spanish January 17 & 18.

Information and registration for all CERT classes is available at https://tinyurl.com/GoletaCERT. Questions? Contact Anthony Rodriguez at (805) 961-7571 or arodriguez@cityofgoleta.org.

Be Green This Holiday Season

Did you know that Americans throw 25% more trash away from Thanksgiving to New Year’s than during any other time of the year? While we gather with friends and family to celebrate, let’s keep our City green this holiday season. Here are some tips to keep waste out of our local landfill and reduce our environmental impact:

  1. Decorate your home using LED holiday lights to save energy. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, they use up to 75% less energy, and last 25 times as long. They’re also safer to use in your home, as LEDs don’t get hot to the touch like traditional decorative incandescent lights.
  2. Wrap your holiday gifts in used or recyclable material to reduce your waste. If every American family wrapped just three presents in re-used materials, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields. This year, try gift wrapping with newspaper, a reusable bag, or gift an item that will help someone reduce their long-term waste like a reusable coffee mug or water bottle. Better yet, gift an experience such as a movie pass, meal, or an exercise/creative arts class.
  3. Shop local for holiday meals this year or opt for a meatless feast. The average American meal travels about 1,500 miles from farm to plate. Visit the local Farmers Market for fresh local produce to reduce your food’s environmental impact. On a budget? All local Farmers Markets accept CalFresh EBT and will match a $10 purchase with an additional $10 for fresh fruits and vegetables.
  4. Throwing a party? Provide reusable or compostable dishes and utensils to keep plastic out of our landfills. It can take a plastic fork or plate up to 1,000 years to decompose. This year, try serving on reusable or compostable dishware to keep our oceans cleaner and plastic out of our landfill.
  5. Reduce your paper waste by sending a holiday e-card to friends and family. The 2.65 billion Christmas cards sold each year in the U.S. could fill a football field 10 stories high. If we each sent one less card, we’d save 50,000 cubic yards of paper.
  6. Donate or compost your holiday leftovers to reduce your food waste. Americans waste 150,000 tons of food per day. Did you know that the City of Goleta has paired up with MarBorg Industries to provide up to two free Earth machine compost bins per household? Let’s work together to keep organic waste out of our landfills. Alternatively, you can donate your leftover canned goods and items to the Santa Barbara County Food Bank. Here are some guidelines for donations.

How to Watch City Council Meetings

City Council meetings are held the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 1:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. There are some exceptions and special Council meetings, so please check the City’s Calendar for exact dates and times.

There are a variety of ways to watch City Council meetings. You can watch them in person at Goleta City Hall Council Chambers (130 Cremona Drive, Suite B), or live from the comfort of your own home either on Cox Channel 19 or the City’s website. If you are not available to watch the meeting live, a recording is available anytime at https://tinyurl.com/GoletaMeetings. Agendas are generally posted on our website five days before Council meetings. Sign up here to have the agendas sent to you via email and/or text. You can also sign up to receive agendas for our Boards and Commissions, go to https://tinyurl.com/goletasubscriptions.

Reminder to Sign up for Santa Barbara County Emergency Alerts

All Santa Barbara County residents are urged to sign up for Aware and Prepare alerts from the County at ReadySBC.org by clicking on the red “Register for Alerts” button. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office and the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Services will alert the public any time an urgent action in needed. It is imperative the County has a way to reach you in order to alert you. The ReadySBC.org website also has lots of great resources including maps, storm preparedness and health & safety tips. In addition to signing up for County emergency alerts, the City of Goleta also encourages you to:

November 2018 Election Results

In the November 2018 election, Goleta residents were asked to directly elect a Mayor for the first time, vote for two open City Council seats and decide on two measures: W2018 and Z2018. In case you haven’t heard, we wanted to share the outcome with you.

Goleta residents voted for Paula Perotte to serve as Mayor for a two-year term. Paula has served on the City Council since 2010, and was appointed Mayor by her fellow councilmembers for one-year terms in 2014, 2016 and 2017. She will continue to serve on the City Council alongside Stuart Kasdin and Kyle Richards, who both have two years remaining on their four-year terms. Two councilmember seats were on the ballot, and the two candidates vying for those positions included incumbent Roger Aceves and newcomer James Kyriaco. They were both elected to four-year terms. The new Council will be sworn in at a special Council meeting on December 12.

Goleta residents also voted in favor of Measure W2018, an increase to City Council salaries (64.86% to 35.14%). Current salaries for all five councilmembers, including the Mayor, are $7,020 annually. Beginning later this month, councilmember salaries will increase to an annual amount of $42,134 and the Mayor’s salary to $50,561.

The cannabis business tax, Measure Z2018, also passed. It received an overwhelming amount of support with 81.95% in favor and 18.05% opposed. The passing of this measure puts in place a tax on gross receipts of cannabis businesses. The tax will not exceed 10% and initial rates will range from 1-5% depending on the type of business (ex.: retail, distributor). The cannabis business tax is estimated to raise $334,000 – $1,423,000 for unrestricted general revenue purposes such as street repair, parks and police. Measure Z2018 becomes effective January 2019.