March 2014
Dear Residents:
The City of Watsonville strives to provide excellent customer service. We are committed to providing programs and services that will create a safe, healthy and environmentally friendly community. We do it with pride and we do it with less!
Find out what's happening in Watsonvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
There are a lot of exciting things happening in Watsonville:
Watsonville Film Festival
Find out what's happening in Watsonvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The third edition of the Watsonville Film Festival (WFF) will be held on March 14 through March 16 at the Mello Center for the Performing Arts.
Under the theme “Dance, Music and Culture on Film,” the WFF will screen more than 15 films over the weekend. It will host a number of directors arriving from Mexico City, Los Angeles, New Mexico, San Diego, and the Bay Area, alongside local professional and student filmmakers
More information may be found at www.watsonvillefilmfestival.org or on the festival’s Facebook page.
Mail in Your Support Letters for Funding of the Pajaro River Risk Reduction Project & to Recall Proposed Changes in the National Flood Insurance Program
Our community desperately needs new levees and we’ve been struggling with the effects of catastrophic flooding since the early 1900’s. As an economically disadvantaged community, we have a greater need for Federal assistance than most communities. Additionally, proposed changes in the National Flood Insurance Program will have a devastating economic impact on our community. The proposed changes to the Biggert-Waters Act will increase flood insurance premiums by 25% each year, until the insurance program is fully funded. In Watsonville, 10% of the population is affected by this legislation.
Show your support for these two very important topics that will greatly affect our community by downloading the two letters on our website. Print, sign and mail the letters to the Senators.
Grow a Library in Watsonville
Watsonville is known for growing things. We are proud to announce a new crop that the Friends of the Watsonville Library is sowing – Little Free Libraries. The Little Free Library movement connects local and global communities throughout 35 countries! The concept is simple – put a small box (think large mailbox) on a post in your yard, fill it with books and watch the interest grow. Take a book – return a book is an idea that allows neighbors to share their passions with others. You may be awarded a small grant from the Friends to purchase a kit and start your own Little Free Library in your neighborhood. For more information call 768.3409 or visit www.watsonvillelibrary.org.
Keeping Watsonville’s Drinking Water Safe and Affordable
The City of Watsonville is proud to provide safe and healthy drinking water to our customers at the lowest rates in the region and has done so for over 80 years. Recently, the State of California proposed a new drinking water regulation for Chromium 6, a naturally occurring element in our region’s groundwater. The proposed Chromium 6 level is 10 ppb and could begin as soon as this July. With this regulation, 8 of our 12 City wells would require new treatment systems costing $26 million, plus an additional $1.7 million per year in operations and maintenance.
If the proposed regulation were to pass, Watsonville water customers would be faced with a 78% rate increase in order to pay for these changes. We are currently joining other water agencies across California in asking the State to review the true economic impacts of this proposed regulation on our communities. For more information on how you can help, please contact Jackie McCloud at 768.3172 or visit our website.
I love to hear from our community, so please feel free to email me directly at: karina.cervantez@cityofwatsonville.org.
Sincerely,
Mayor Karina Cervantez
