Author: Lea Boyd

The Santa Barbara County Registrar of Voters office is seeking volunteers to serve as poll workers for the Sept. 14 California Gubernatorial Recall Election. Community participation is always essential to staffing the precincts and polling places for the election. With this election taking place on such a short schedule, the Elections Office has less time than usual to recruit poll workers. With just a little over a month before poll worker training begins, the Elections Office still needs to recruit an additional 200 poll workers. Poll workers who work at a polling place receive a stipend of $180 to $240 for Election Day and to attend training. To learn more about the poll worker program and training process, visit countyofsb.org/care/elections/officers/information.sbc.

Local representatives from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office will host a National Night Out gathering on Tuesday, Aug. 3 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Seal Fountain on the 800 block of Linden Avenue. National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live. It provides a great opportunity to bring police and neighbors together under positive circumstances. Millions of neighbors take part in National Night Out across thousands of communities in the US. The Tuesday night event is free and open to all members of the public.

This repost from Santa Barbara County Public Health Department shows a concerning rise in local COVID-19 cases due to unvaccinated people falling ill and spreading it to others. Protect your people by getting vaccinated! Find a vaccination site at publichealthsbc.org/vaccine/ or by texting your zip code to GETVAX (438829) or VACUNA (822862).

As progress continues on the Highway 101: Carpinteria to Santa Barbara project, which will add a new carpool lane in each direction, Caltrans and SBCAG continue to provide updates to residents. The following are closures announced in the most recent email update. To learn more about the project or sign up to receive updates, visit www.SBROADS.com, call (805) 845-5112, or email info@sbroads.com.

Northbound Highway 101

• Sunday nights, 9 p.m. – 5 a.m., 1 lane: Bailard Ave. to Sheffield Dr., on- and off-ramps at N Padaro and Santa Claus Ln
• Monday – Thursday nights, 8:00 pm – 5:00 am, 1 lane:  Bailard Ave to Sheffield Dr, on- and off-ramps at N Padaro and Santa Claus Ln
• Monday – Thursday days: 9:00 am – 3:00 pm, on-ramp at Santa Monica Rd closed for utility work

* Please note that consecutive ramps in the same direction will not be closed at the same time.

Southbound Highway 101

• Sunday nights, 10 p.m. – 7 a.m., 1 lane:  Sheffield Dr to Bailard Ave, on- and off-ramps at N Padaro and Santa Claus Ln
• Monday – Thursday nights, 8 p.m. – 7:30 a.m., 1 lane:  Sheffield Dr to Bailard Ave, on- and off-ramps at N Padaro and Santa Claus Ln
• On-ramp at Wallace Ave., closed for up to 4 months, anticipated reopening Nov. 1, drivers can use the detour on Evans Ave, Lillie Ave, and the southbound on-ramp at N Padaro Ln
• On-ramp at Sheffield Dr, closed for the duration of the project, anticipated reopening 2023, drivers can use the southbound on-ramp at N Padaro Ln
• Off-ramp at Sheffield Dr, closed for up to 16 months, anticipated reopening end of 2021, drivers can use the southbound off-ramp at San Ysidro Rd

Santa Claus Lane Undercrossing

• Week of August 1, Sunday – Thursday nights, 9 p.m. – 6 a.m., S. Padaro Lane closed under Hwy 101 for demolition of part of the bridges behind safety barrier, drivers can use the Carpinteria Ave. off-ramp and Via Real to the south or Via Real and N. Padaro Lane to the north as detours

CITY COUNCIL TO MEET JULY 26

The Carpinteria City Council will hold its next regular meeting on Monday, July 26 at 5:30 p.m. In accordance with State guidance, the City will provide both in-person and virtual attendance and participation options for the meeting.

Members of the public may attend the meeting at City Hall, 5775 Carpinteria Ave. Masks are strongly recommended for everyone who attends in person, and required for unvaccinated individuals. Members of the public may also view the meeting live at www.carpinteria.ca.us, on Government Access Television Channel 21 or by logging into the Zoom webinar through the link in the agenda below.

The following topics are highlights of the agenda. Additional details and numerous ways for the public to provide comments can be found at https://bit.ly/3xYJEwz.

• Southern California Edison presentation on reliability report
• Annual review of the Fire Protection Mitigation Fee Program and approval of an adjustment in the fee amount.
• Consideration of the recommendations of the City Council District Elections Ad hoc Committee as follows: 1) Direct that maps be prepared for Council consideration with five City Council Districts; 2) Determine the order in which districts will come up for election by relying on the related provisions of Elections Code section 10010 (b) and 3) Direct that drafting of maps by the public be facilitated through multiple means including the DistrictR software platform and paper maps, through online and manual resources, web based and in-person instruction.
• Review of home sales prices and adjusting the in-lieu affordable housing fee and, if desired, adopt a resolution to adjust the affordable housing in-lieu fees for condominiums and single-family dwellings.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) will assist the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department with mobile, pop-up and on-site vaccinations throughout the County. Effective Aug. 1, the state’s program will be able to supplement the efforts of the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department with on-site vaccinations to schools, employers, community-based organizations, and faith-based organizations. Any organization interested in organizing a mobile or pop-up clinic can complete the intake form by going to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/mobilevaccination or send inquiries to: mobilevaccinesites@cdph.ca.gov.

The County of Santa Barbara recommends masking indoors for everyone, as a precaution against increased circulation of COVID-19. As of July 16, Santa Barbara County’s reported daily case rate is now 3.6 per 100,000 and rising. With cases of COVID-19 rising locally and increased circulation of the highly transmissible Delta variant, the County of Santa Barbara recommends that everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks indoors in public places as an extra precautionary measure for those who are fully vaccinated, and to ensure easy verification that all unvaccinated people are masked in those settings. Read the full County press release in English at https://bit.ly/3eB7VB4 and in Spanish at https://bit.ly/3zdFwIZ.

A final fundraising push of $300,000 is all that stands between the Carpinteria community and a world class skate park. Years of volunteer work by the Carpinteria Skate Foundation has produced City-approved plans by renowned skate park designers as well as $1.2 million in funds raised toward the $1.5 million cost.

The park will be located on the east side of Carpinteria City Hall, at 5775 Carpinteria Ave. Plans include lighting for night skating and events, a skatable stage that will allow the park to double as an event venue, numerous skating features designed to serve all levels of skaters, new bathrooms and new parking. If fundraising goals are met soon, a construction contract could be authorized in October.

There are many ways to donate toward the new park. The Food Liaison will dedicate the proceeds of its annual Christmas in July fundraiser toward building the park. The Skate Foundation is selling engraved fundraising bricks that will be installed at the park and can be ordered through the park’s website at carpskatepark.org. The Foundation also offers opportunities for direct donations and stock donations. To arrange for a donation, visit the website or call Julia at (805) 403-9911.

The Carpinteria City Council will consider a Lease Disposition and Development Agreement for the Surfliner Inn at a special meeting on Monday, July 19 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, 5775 Carpinteria Ave. The agreement under consideration is between the City of Carpinteria and 499 Linden Managers, LLC., and it concerns a ground lease and development of a hotel at 499 Linden Avenue, at the southwest corner of Linden and Fifth Street. If the DDA is approved, the developer, 499 Linden Managers, is expected to file a project application that the City would subsequently consider at public meetings through its regular development review process. The meeting agenda with additional details and instructions for public participation is available at https://carpinteriaca.gov/city-hall/agendas-meetings/.

A project to resurface State Route 192 in both directions from Linden Avenue to State Route 150 will begin today, July 15, and is expected to be completed in August. Drivers will encounter one-way reversing traffic control Sunday night through Friday morning during the overnight hours from 11:55 p.m. to 6 a.m. Roadwork and traffic control will also take place Monday through Friday from 8 p.m. until 11:55 p.m.

Construction will also take place during the daytime hours Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. and from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Fridays. Delays should not exceed five minutes.

Caltrans reminds motorists to move over and slow down when driving through highway work zones. For information on traffic updates on other Caltrans projects in Santa Barbara County, residents may call the District 5 Public Affairs Office at (805) 549-3237 or visit the District 5 website at https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-5.