City of Napa Recommended for $400,000 in Grant Funding through Safe Streets & Roads for All Program

On Friday, February 2, 2023, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced a historic $800 million in grant awards for 510 projects through the new Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program, a record amount of funding to improve roads and address traffic fatalities. 

The City of Napa will benefit from a portion of these grant awards, as the City's grant application has been recommended for a total of $400,000 in funding (with a $100,000 required local match). In the coming weeks, City of Napa staff will work with federal officials from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration to execute a grant agreement, in order to begin work. The City of Napa was awarded this grant funding specifically to develop a corridor study along Jefferson Street, which has been identified as a high-injury corridor in Napa.  Through this study, a plan will be developed that will identify improvements to enhance pedestrian and bicycle facilities, as well as traffic safety. The work will also advance the planning for streetscape improvements on Jefferson Street that were included in the newly adopted general plan.  As this work continues, the City will share regular updates on the progress of the project.

Traffic safety remains a top priority for the City of Napa, and the Safe Streets and Roads for All grant funds will further the City’s goals of creating safer streets for our community. 

Read on for more here: https://www.cityofnapa.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=514

City Council Community Update! 

Check out the following updates from the February 7 City Council meeting.

Council Discussion:

Each year the City of Napa evaluates the safety and quality of its streets. After conducting speed surveys around Napa, the Public Works Department presented the findings. After monitoring the prevailing speed on 43 streets and roadways in 2022, the report confirmed that the current speed limits are appropriate in 20 segments and recommended the remaining 23 areas’ speed limits be reduced by a 5 mph increment. The Napa City Council is currently in the first reading and approval process of this ordinance. The speed limit changes will go into effect on March 9, 2023.

Presentations:

The Napa Materials Diversion Facility was recognized with the Large-Scale Compost Manufacturer of the Year Award from the United States Composting Council. 

Consent Calendar:

The City of Napa is adjusting its job classifications to create a Homelessness Intervention Coordinator. This new position works as part of a team to assist the City in providing support for various homeless services, including intervention, diversion, and outreach to homeless people. The City continues to prioritize addressing homelessness and to partner with local non-profits.

Watch the City Council meeting at: http://napacity.granicus.com/player/clip/2813?view_id=2&redirect=true&h=93effce126b3da9fbf37e9d4d5ad0f8f

Keep It Loose!

Reminder: When throwing your bottles, cans or other recyclables into the recycling cart, remember to keep it loose! 

• DO NOT bag recyclables. Soft stretchy plastics tangle and damage the sorting lines at recycling facilities so items placed in bags are landfilled.
• Put recyclables loose in the blue cart and put plastic bags and other soft stretchy plastics in the gray (landfill) cart.
• Visit https://naparecycling.com/ for more recycling tips! 

Napa County Water Conservation Video

The 8th annual Napa County Water Conservation Video Contest is now open to all 9th-12th grade students. 30-second videos capturing this year's theme Planning for those not-so-rainy days are due by Friday, May 19, 2023. 

Winners will be announced via social media and local agency web sites. Top prize is $1,500 and the winning video will be shown before films at Century Napa Valley Theatre for one week this summer. The 2nd and 3rd place videos will garner $1,000 and $500 cash prizes. View the contest web page for full details.

Request for Qualifications Now Open for Soscol Avenue Median Art

The City of Napa seeks to identify and select a qualified public artist to create and install a site-specific artwork in the Soscol Avenue medians. This Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is open to professional artists or teams with experience in the design, fabrication, and installation of public art.

More information found at www.cityofnapa.org/publicart

The February Economic Development Newsletter is OUT!

This month, the Economic Development team wanted to highlight several efforts to enhance community engagement and forge a more inclusive economy. 

Read on in the February newsletter for more information here!