Well, we’ve seen a bit of rain lately and more is on the way. Perhaps this is the tip of the promised El Nino season. If so, we should all be thinking about being prepared for some really wet weather. (The water will be welcome, but it could also be challenging.)
First, make sure you’re stocked up with canned food and bottled water. If things get really nasty you’re going to want to be able to get through a couple of days on your own. This is good advise anytime, but especially now. Next, expect power fluctuations and outages. It’s been a long time since we had a really strong storm. When that happens things can go blooey. PG&E is always good about locating and repairing damage, but plan for the lights to go out when the rain comes down. After that, you might want to check out your property. After years of dry weather your drainage may not be ready for extra moisture. If you need sand bags you can get them at the following locations:
- American Builders Supply, 1108 Paso Robles St., 239-4317
- Lowe’s, 2445 Golden Hill Road, 602-9051
- Blake’s Hardware, 1701 Riverside Ave., 238-3934
- Orchard Supply (OSH), 2505 Theatre Drive, 226-0604
- Farm Supply, 2450 Ramada Drive, 238-1177
The City has sand available at the City Streets Yard, 1220 Paso Robles Street. Bring a shovel and get what you need.
Here are some numbers you’ll want to have handy:
- Emergencies: Paso Robles Police Department, 911or 237-6464
- Electrical/Power: PG&E, 1-800-743-5002
- Storm/Street/Drainage: Department of Public Works, 237-3861
Finally, for guidance on disaster preparedness, visit the city website.
Also, make sure you are fully insured. Check out these sources from the State of California Department of Insurance.
So much for disaster preparedness, here’s what else is going on in our City.
The City Council has established three critical committees for 2016.
Housing Constraints Advisory Committee: Thirteen people including several City Planning Commissioners and two City Councilmen will look into how we can create new housing stock in the city to accommodate future economic growth while providing infrastructre and protecting quality of life. This group’s meetings will be public and you should be there to add your ideas to the mix. Look for publication of meeting schedules.
Construction Appeals Board: As part of a multi-facted effort to facilitate building permits and planning checking the Council will select representatives from the construction/design community to act as an appeals body. Applications are open now. Interviews will be January 4. Appointments are expected January 5.
Historic Preservation Advisory Committee: The Paso Robles Historic Society will function as this committee for at least six months while the City prepares an outreach effort to identify historic structures, notify owners and educate the public on methods and resources for historic preservation. This program should begin in earnest in the middle of next year. At that time others may be added to the committee.
The City will make an effort to quantify water pumping from private wells within city limits by installing meters at no cost to the property owners. Also, the City is moving forward with plans to install solar arrays in four areas to offset the municipality’s power costs. Energy savings are expected to total more than $9.5-million over 20 years. The equipment will be installed and maintained at no cost to the City by SunEdison LLC.
I am looking forward to many things next year. One is the new Mayor’s History Tour. Each month I will visit a different museum in the area to help publicize our past the magnificent efforts of those who work to preserve and promote. The first one will be the military museum at Camp Roberts. Stay tuned for more information.
I had a great time at the downtown tree-lighting, the Christmas Parade and Vine Street Showcase as well as the Coats for Kids/Toys for Tots activities at the Paso Robles Event Center. This is a wonderful community filled with great people. Thank you all so much for being a part of it. I am proud to by your Mayor and hope you will always be proud of me.
To you and yours, a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Until next we blog, here’s to you Paso Robles!