Year in Review: 2021

Greetings, District 1 and welcome to the new year. I hope you’ve recovered from the disruptions caused by the heavy snowstorm and are finding ways to tackle any needed repairs and green waste cleanup on your property. In this newsletter, I offer a look back at 2021 and some thoughts on what we can expect to see in 2022.

Snowpocalypse 2021

Most prominently in all our minds is the major snow event and subsequent damage – including downed trees and powerlines – that hit Nevada County in late December.

My heart goes out to everyone who endured an extended outage, damage to your property, an extended wait for a propane refill, or restricted access to/from your property. I experienced all of those things and it was challenging. I have raised my concerns about how long power restoration took, propane delivery issues, and the need to proactively check on rural neighborhoods to ensure residents’ safety after an event like this, and will continue to press for solutions that prevent such extended impacts in the future. At the same time, I want to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts of those who sought to identify and address critical community needs, including our county’s Emergency Services and Disaster Service Workers, Public Works, and Sheriff’s Office, CAL FIRE, PG&E linemen and contractors, and volunteers from the community.

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Order and Decorum at Public Meetings

You may be aware that there is a set of order and decorum rules for public meetings held by elected officials. The rules are there to make it safe and equitable for everyone who wants to provide public comments. We know it is complicated to figure out exactly where and when to make public comment so we have created a guide for you to use when providing comment, whether in-person, by phone, or in written form. In addition, we strive to model and respect the public health mandates requiring distancing and masking when in the board chamber, as required in other public and private spaces. Please comply with these rules or plan to make your comments via phone or in writing. The health of County residents is in your hands.

Broadband

Large infrastructure projects, like expanding internet service, never move as quickly as we’d like. Even so, we made notable progress expanding high-speed internet (i.e., “broadband”) in Nevada County in 2021. The County distributed $500,000 in grant funding to four different internet service providers in a second round of its last-mile grant program. Once completed, those projects will offer high-speed internet service to 440 households. In July, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a $6 billion broadband expansion package, in a ground-breaking move that will build a state-owned, open access “middle-mile” network.

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Cannabis

In 2021, County cannabis staff focused on delivering core services and getting cannabis businesses permitted. The Community Development Agency approved 75 new cultivation permits in 2021, which was their most successful year yet. Additionally, the County applied for both the Department of Cannabis Control Local Jurisdiction Grant and the State’s Cannabis Equity Grant to support the local industry and cultivators.

Homelessness

In the last quarter of the year, Nevada County partnered with the Local Continuum of Care to target and reduce homelessness among veterans. The campaign began in July of 2021 and, by November 11, 2021 (Veterans Day), the effort had housed 14 veterans and reduced veteran homelessness by 34%. And throughout 2021, Nevada County worked closely with two housing development partners, AMI Housing and Regional Housing Authority, to bring 62 units of new extremely low-income, supportive housing directly targeted at people experiencing homelessness. These units will be completed in the first quarter of 2022.

Housing

In early December, we celebrated the opening of the renovated group home, Odyssey House. The building has been under renovation to provide additional living space for clients in need of intensive mental health while preparing to transition to independent living. The program promotes vocational and job-acquisition skills and provides on-site case management, group therapy, and counseling services. Staff actively assist clients in the completion of chores, daily activities, and medication adherence. When I was first elected to represent District 1, I was given a tour of all County facilities. After visiting the former incarnation of the Odyssey House, I found myself personally impacted. It simply wasn’t up to the standards this county holds itself to and that the House’s residents deserved. It took about four years, but the reborn Odyssey House is complete and is such a crowning achievement for this community.

Racial Equity and Social Justice

At our 2022 Board Workshop planning meeting, we agreed to bring forth the following additional statement to our vision and mission, in recognition of the importance of social and racial justice goals. Supervisor Bullock and I worked with representatives from the Grass Valley and Nevada City Councils, and the Town of Truckee, to come up with this joint statement and, as of this newsletter, Nevada City and Truckee have adopted it. We expect to adopt it as part of our board’s updated vision and mission statement in February. I am proud of this first step being taken by our county.

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Outdoor Recreation and Trails

One of the most exciting developments in 2021 was the additional step forward that we took toward the development of the Pines to Mines trail – a (proposed) multi-use trail that will connect Nevada City to Truckee. This recreational amenity would be a world-class addition to our county. In November, we passed a resolution approving a contract for the preparation of the proposed trail’s environmental review.

Public Health / COVID

In 2021 – year two of the pandemic – we finally saw the release of a vaccine, including – as of November 3, 2021 – for children five years old and up. By the end of the year, 71% of the eligible residents in the 95959 zip code had been vaccinated. However, we also reached 121 total deaths in Nevada County caused by COVID-19 (71 of which occurred in 2021). Statewide, there were 77,532 deaths from COVID-19 in 2021. The average annual deaths statewide caused by influenza/pneumonia between 2014 and 2017 was 6,120. Clearly, COVID-19 is not a “mild flu.” By late December, the Omicron variant’s arrival in the county had been confirmed, and a surge in case numbers was becoming apparent. As a gentle reminder, unvaccinated people are 4 times more likely to get COVID-19 and 21 times more likely to die from the virus. Vaccinations continue to be our best line of defense.

Looking Ahead

om January 19 through 21, the board engaged in its annual workshop to review progress on its prior year objectives and establish objectives for the new year. So many great things came out of the workshop, so I’ll just highlight a few:

Recreation has been added as a board priority for the first time ever.
County staff has identified several potential improvements to the cannabis ordinance and enforcement.
We had a productive conversation around abatement timelines for code enforcement, and how we might be able to shorten them.
We will be exploring an interesting option for reducing electricity bills for county residents.
County staff will be looking at developing separate septic guidelines for accessory dwelling units.