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Santa Barbara County First District Supervisor Das Williams — Save The Date: Montecito Flood Control Master Plan Town Hall on April 24

by Community Contributor • April 9, 2024 • Comments Off

Save The Date: Montecito Flood Control Master Plan Town Hall

County Flood Control recently reported that we have already reached 143% of normal rainfall levels this year. On March 31-April 1 we got 2-4 inches on the South Coast and even more in the mountains and in Montecito.

At last week’s Board of Supervisors meeting, we approved three projects that are significant to improving the flood control system.

First, we approved an easement for the site of what will be the newest County Debris Basin, the Buena Vista Debris Basin.
Second, we approved the Cold Springs Debris Basin improvement project, which will enhance its ability to capture large debris.
Third, we approved funds to improve the efficiency of the Santa Monica Debris Basin in Carpinteria.

I invite you to join me later this month the public will have the opportunity to learn more about Flood Control’s planning efforts that will guide the design, and construction of improvements to mitigate flooding impacts to the community.

Public Open House on the Montecito Flood Control Mitigation Master Plan

Cold Spring School, 2243 Sycamore Canyon Rd.

Wednesday, April 24th 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm

Learn More

Tunnel Road Sewage Extension

Last Friday we celebrated the completion of the Tunnel Road Sewage Extension Project in Mission Canyon. This project could help accommodate 90 properties to help them get off septic. In this age, we understand the drawbacks of old septic systems. They can impact water quality, and that’s especially problematic when it’s close to creeks. But it’s also problematic when it’s close to your home. I want to thank Public Works for responding to the neighborhood need, the study that was done to highlight this need, and then the executing, and being creative about how to fund the project.

Addressing the Helath Crisis in Our Jails

Last week, the Board of Supervisors hosted a special meeting to place our attention on healthcare in our Jail. It is clear to me that we must do more to get those who are incarcerated the help that they need.

The lack of staffing of the Jail healthcare provider, WellPath, is having tremendous consequences. We heard from the Sheriff that there is a long waitlist for inmates to get the medications they need to detox from opiates and alcohol. In fact, many are only able to access this potentially life changing treatment shortly before their release date.

While our concerns are first and foremost with those who are languishing without the care that they need, it is not lost on me that under the status quo, the lack of accountability is enormously costly. If the County is not able to get the healthcare services that it contracts for, it should not have to foot the bill – rather, we should put those resources elsewhere to provide better treatment services.

What is also clear is that there needs to be more oversight and accountability. To that end, the Board of Supervisors recently voted to create the Jail Healthcare monitoring unit under the Public Health Department to expand our ability to perform medical audits.

Heat Pump Webinar on Thursday

Residents are getting incentives from $4,000 to $11,000 for upgrading to heat pump water heaters. With such high incentives people are eager to know—is a heat pump water heater right for me?!

Join 3C-REN to discuss the pros and cons of heat pump water heaters with expert Gregory Holladay and local residents that live with heat pump water heaters. You’ll be sure to get answers to questions such as: