IN THE NEWS...
 On Friday, April 16th, it was my pleasure to join in the official groundbreaking ceremony of the new home for our Community Health Center.
This primary care center provides a full range of services to El Dorado County residents including those with private insurance, Medi-Cal, Medicare, CoveredCA, the under-insured and those without insurance. The mission of the EDCHC is to "improve the health of our community through quality healing and preventive service", and this year especially, we have seen the critical need for this care in our community!
To better serve El Dorado County, this 30,600-square-foot facility will be located on a 12-acre parcel off Missouri Flat Road near Walgreens, and will offer not only primary care services but also integrated medicine, behavioral health, pharmacy and dental services. Additionally, Tele-Health services will be on site linking patients with specialty care.
I appreciate that the design teams took great care (and several major revisions) to ensure that the new facility fits the look and character of our beautiful county, paying particular homage to our mining and agricultural roots. Estimated completion is Spring 2022, and I will look forward to celebrating their Grand Opening.
Best wishes for a successful construction process!
Click here for more information on our El Dorado Community Health Centers
 Senate Bill 1 (SB1) is the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. It's also known as the "Gas Tax" which generates up to $1.5 billion each year that is allocated directly to cities and counties for local road maintenance, safety improvements, complete streets and bike and pedestrian facilities.
This year, El Dorado County is getting an estimated $6,028,266 from SB1 with a local match of $1,375,000 required. Every year, projects are selected in all 5 districts. 80% of the funds go to maintaining roads in fair condition (roads with a Pavement Condition Index of 50-70 out of 100) while 20% goes to repairing bad roads. While initially this might not make sense, it's important to understand that it costs $7 - $9 to do preventative maintenance while it costs between $50 - $55 to reconstruct a failed road. Bottom line, taking care of our good roads allows this pot of money to go farther.
 PROJECTS APPROVED for 21/22 on 4/13 Agenda: All projects include brushing, ditching, grind and pave, surface treatments and either thermoplastic markings or paint markings.
District 1: EL DORADO HILLS BLVD (from Green Valley to Harvard)
District 2: BUCKS BAR ROAD
District 3: VARIOUS ROADS IN DIAMOND SPRINGS (Deer Park, etc.)
District 4: GREENWOOD ROAD
District 5: COLD CREEK SUBDIVISION AREA
To add some context to these projects, El Dorado County has almost 1,100 miles. The $6,028,266 of SB1 funds will fix only about 20 miles...that shows you the magnitude of what we are dealing with! It is also important to remember, that SB1 funds are not our only source of transportation dollars...thank goodness for that!
Link to 4/13/2021 Agenda Item
 Fall will be here before we know it, and planning is underway!
After some initial meetings with the Harvest Traffic Committee which is made up of representatives from the Agricultural Community, we have moved into the next phase of coordination. On April 7th, I convened a virtual meeting with Caltrans, CHP, the El Dorado County Transportation Commission, the Sheriff's Department, El Dorado County Fire, the Harvest Traffic Committee, and the City of Placerville in conjunction with our County's Department of Transportation. All agreed that 2019 was the year to model, and that this year will present additional challenges with the Camino Safety Project in full swing. Moving forward, our Transportation Director and I will be meeting with ranches to coordinate mitigation measures while we continue to develop our plan for the 2021 season. Stay tuned!
 At our Board Meeting on Tuesday, April 13th, we explored joining all the other counties and cities in the Sacramento region (including the City of Placerville) to opt into the Green Means Go program, which is currently seeking funding with the State Legislature. This program drew a lot of confusion, with many folks misunderstanding what it is and what it isn't. While the Board directed staff to bring back this item with additional clarifications, I wanted to offer some insights for when it comes back before us.
- The Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) is seeking $100 million in funding with the Legislature. If approved, funding will be available to cities and counties that have signed onto the program to help with infill development.
- Infill is not a four-letter word. It's about creating new, creative housing opportunities in established communities so we can keep our rural regions rural while reducing urban sprawl.
- This program will be especially helpful in revitalizing outdated commercial corridors. Think about Placerville Drive, Broadway, parts of Missouri Flat Road and Cameron Park. Those areas are dotted with small strip centers that have outlived their commercial life. Bringing housing options or mixed use projects could help bring residents and customers to failing commercial corridors, bringing with them new vitality and economic opportunities.
- Not everyone wants to live (or has the ability to live) in a single-family home on an acre of land. Additionally, the only other option is NOT a large apartment complex. What would you think about a bungalow court? What about cottage patio homes around a central walking path? The problem is, small, creative housing projects often don't pencil out. Green Means Go could provide the kind of supplemental funding to upsize sewer lines, put in sidewalks and other improvements which would enable a person to actually build a smaller-type, creative development. And with the average home sales price last month of $649,000, there are plenty of people that need these other kinds of housing options...maybe even our own kids!
Link to the 4/13/2021 Agenda Item
 Conceptual rendering of a bungalow court project in Shoreline, WA
|
