Author Archives: Jaime Shaw

Thank You to our Outgoing Parks & Rec Student Commissioner

City of Goleta wants to thank our Parks and Recreation’s Student Commissioner Jonika Ronkainen for her service to the City! She served as the Student Commissioner from October 2020 through August 2021, and also graduated from the City’s first LEAD (Learn, Empower, Advocate, Discuss) Goleta Community Academy in July 2019. Jonika is leaving Goleta for Boson as she begins her freshman year at Boston University this fall, where she will be studying Linguistics and Philosophy at the College of Arts and Sciences.

Growing up in Goleta, Jonika spent much of her time in the city’s parks, running around the many playgrounds as a child,playing volleyball with friends, more recently walking her dog and hosting occasional meetings with her book club.

Jonika said about her experience on the Parks and Recreation Commission, “I loved having the opportunity to participate in discussions about the exciting new projects being undertaken in my hometown and investing a bit more time into getting to know Goleta’s shared spaces, the importance of which has been especially highlighted over the past year and a half of isolation.”

JoAnne Plummer, Parks and Recreation Manager, added “Commissioner Ronkainen was a valuable asset to our Commission and will be missed. Many of the points she raised during discussions contributed significantly to the outcome of the decisions made by the Commission. She was always prepared for the meetings and her inquiries and comments were well thought out, insightful, and enthusiastic. While we are sad to see Commissioner Ronkainen leave, we are excited for the next chapter in her life.”

Youth and Student Commission positions at the City are great opportunities to get involved and learn about City government at a young age. We encourage our eligible community members to look for openings when we have them and to apply!

Meet the New GUSD Superintendent

When school goes back this month, the Goleta Union School District will have a new Superintendent, Dr. Diana Galindo-Roybal. The GUSD board said it selected Dr. Galindo-Roybal due to her proven track record of promoting academic success, professional learning communities among teachers, and parent engagement.

Dr. Galindo-Roybal recently served as the Executive Director of Elementary Education for the Cherry Creek School District in Colorado. In that role, she oversaw and provided support to 15 elementary schools serving 8,000 students. Dr. Galindo-Roybal has over 25 years of experience in public education. and had been with the Cherry Creek School District since 1998. In her time as a Principal and Administrator, she implemented Positive Behavior Intervention Support (PBIS), worked with Padres Unidos groups supporting Spanish speaking families, initiated an Adult English Class to increase parent engagement, and developed Professional Learning Communities (PLC) with teachers.

Dr. Galindo-Roybal earned her Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership from University of Phoenix, an Educational Specialist (Ed.S) degree in Administration & Educational Leadership from the University of Colorado, a Master’s Degree (MA) in Curriculum & Instructional Design from Colorado Christian University, and a Bachelor’s Degree (BA) in Elementary Education from Colorado Christian University.

Dr. Galindo-Roybal is a California native and was born in Woodland, California and grew up in the Inland Empire in Southern California. She has been married for 32 years to her husband, Chris Roybal who recently retired from the Colorado Air National Guard. They have two adult children and enjoy outdoor recreational activities. Dr. Galindo-Roybal and her husband are enjoying their recent relocation to the Goleta area.

Welcome to the Good Land! #GoodLandGoodPeople

Bike Share Survey Results Are In!

Thank you to the more than 400 people who took our community interest survey on bringing a bike share pilot program to Goleta! Bike share programs are popular in cities throughout California, including our neighbor City of Santa Barbara. The City of Goleta is considering a bike share pilot program that would offer bikes on-demand, providing residents and visitors with quick and easy access to some of Goleta’s most popular destinations. The results from the survey will help the City Council decide if a bike share program is appropriate for our community.

City of Goleta Sustainability Manager Cindy Moore said, “We are very appreciative that so many people took the time to give their feedback. We received a lot of thoughtful responses that will help the City Council to consider the future of bike sharing in our community.”

The survey was available in English and Spanish, and open for three weeks (June 28 – July 19). It included 17 questions in six categories: demographics, current transportation habits, bike share support, bike share operational details, a mapping element, and additional comments.

Over 80% of people who responded to the survey either lived or worked in the City of Goleta. On average, respondents were supportive of bringing a bike share to Goleta, with 66% of people rating their support as either a 4 or a 5 on a scale of 0-5. The most liked benefits of bike share were positive environmental impact, convenience, reduced traffic congestion, fun, and improved health. The most common concerns were street safety, access to bicycles, and cost to use a bicycle. Most people preferred a bike share program that operated regionally with a docked system. The most common places people said they would start and end their bike rides were shopping centers, Old Town, parks and open space, City of Santa Barbara, and Isla Vista. View the full survey results in English and Spanish.

The bike share survey results will be presented to the City Council Energy/Green Issues Standing Committee in September for their consideration and direction regarding next steps.

LED Street Lighting Project Given the Green Light

City of Goleta is moving forward with its LED Street Lighting Project after receiving approval from City Council. On July 20th, the Goleta City Council unanimously voted to approve the design plans and authorize the LED conversion agreement amendment for the LED Street Lighting Project. This is a major milestone in the City’s sustainability efforts as we will be replacing approximately 1,300 High Pressure Sodium (HPS) streetlight fixtures throughout Goleta with new energy efficient LED streetlights. The project is expected to save Goleta over 345,000 kilowatt hours and approximately $115,000 in energy costs in the first year after the project is implemented. In addition to saving the City money, the new lights will require less maintenance and provide clearer lighting.

Cecilia Brown, a 50-year resident of the City of Goleta said, “The City’s LED Street Light Project is a very important and significant capital improvement project which will benefit all of Goleta and its residents. Staff has been most accommodating in working with the public and responding to their inquiries. Kudos to LED Street Light Project manager Michael Winnewisser and Deputy Public Works Director James Campero for recognizing and promoting Goleta standards in project design.”

In 2020, the City acquired the streetlights from Southern California Edison and began looking into different LED options for our community. In January 2021, we held a pilot study to get community input. Based on feedback from the pilot study, Green Committee, and Virtual Town Hall, the City has selected GE fixtures that are 2700K color temperature streetlights. The wattage of the LED fixtures will vary depending on the road type of the light’s location: arterials, collectors, and residential streets will all vary in brightness. The busier streets will have higher energy, and thus brighter lights.

Design maps showing the existing and proposed streetlight fixture wattages throughout the City, as well as other project design considerations and recommendations, are available on our website at www.CityofGoleta.org/LEDStreetlights.

Watch our video featuring Public Works staff to learn more about the LED Street Lighting Project. The video is available in English (https://youtu.be/6zgKww9XIiQ) and Spanish (https://youtu.be/j9-r-2zLi9Q).

City staff is currently coordinating with our consultant and their subcontractor to approve and place the order for LED streetlights needed for conversion to begin. The LED streetlight fixtures are anticipated to take approximately two months to ship and arrive. City staff will update our website and do outreach with the proposed conversion schedule once the LED streetlights are received and construction is ready to begin.

Please contact Project Manager Michael Winnewisser at (805) 690-5120 or mwinnewisser@cityofgoleta.org for any questions or additional information.

Goleta Train Depot Project Enters Final Design Stage

The Goleta Train Depot project is now in the final stretch of the design phase. At its meeting on July 13, 2021, the Design Review Board provided its support for the final design of the Train Depot. Now the focus for the Project team will be on more detailed drawings.

When completed, the Train Depot will be a full-service multi-modal train station next to the existing Amtrak platform on South La Patera Lane. By creating a full-service station, the City hopes to increase train ridership, improve connections to bus transit, accommodate transit service to/from the Santa Barbara Airport and UCSB, and add new bicycle and pedestrian facilities. The Project Team is planning to start construction of the Goleta Train Depot in the summer of 2022.

The Design Review Board (DRB) has been a big part of this process, providing input, guidance, and support on this project, most recently at the July 13, 2021, meeting, and previously at the January 26 and April 27 meetings. Meeting information is available at www.CityofGoleta.org/GoletaMeetings.

The comment period for the Draft Environmental Impact Report just closed on July 19, 2021, and the Project team will be working to review and address comments as part of the environmental review process.

Once the more detailed drawings are complete, the Project Team plans on presenting them as part of a status update to the City Council along with more current cost estimates.

To learn more about this project, go to https://tinyurl.com/GoletaTrainDepot.

Goleta Train Depot Rendering

COVID-19 CA Rent Relief Program Extended

Income-eligible renters and their landlords impacted by COVID-19 will now be eligible to receive 100% of unpaid or future rent. Additionally, CA COVID-19 Rent Relief applicants who were previously paid at a lower amount will also be compensated the difference to receive 100% coverage – no need to reapply!

California’s critical eviction protections have also been extended through September 30, 2021, to help keep Californians housed.

Visit HousingIsKey.com or call 830-430-2122 to apply. If you’ve already applied to the program, log in to the application portal to check your status.

Variants Outpacing Vaccine Efforts & FAQ’s

Like all viruses, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, constantly changes through mutation. These mutations add up and create slightly different versions of the virus, called “variants”. Sometimes, a mutation will result in the virus spreading more easily, making people sicker or making it resistant to treatment or vaccines. Variants with these types of mutations are called variants of concern. Scientists continue to study and track these variants as they evolve.

The CDC is tracking a number of variants of concern in the United States. These include:

Variant name: First detected: First found in the US:
Alpha (B.1.1.7) United Kingdom December 2020
Beta (B.1.351) South Africa January 2021
Beta (B.1.351) In travellers from Brazil January 2021
Delta (B.1.617.2) India March 2021

These variants are a serious threat to adults who are not fully vaccinated, especially those who are at higher risk of severe COVID-19 disease. The Delta variant is concerning because it seems to be spreading much more easily than the original virus and other variants. It may also cause more severe infections, including those that lead to hospitalization. The Delta variant is becoming more common in the US, including in Santa Barbara County. Everyone should focus on slowing its spread until we better understand how the Delta variant is spreading and who it is infecting.

Read the full Variant FAQ’s here.

State Mobile Vaccine Clinics

Available for schools, employers, community-based organizations, and faith-based organizations.

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 August 1, 2021, 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.

The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department launched their local COVID-19 Mobile Vaccine Program last April. Within 3 months, the mobile teams conducted over 60 on-site vaccination clinics across the County, specifically for worksite locations, housing facilities, and churches, and distributing over 12,000 vaccinations. The Mobile Vaccine Program was a strategic response to distribute the vaccine to communities who were disproportionately burdened by COVID-19 and/or where existing access to the vaccine was limited. With a focus on health equity, the program served to remove barriers for groups of individuals (i.e. homebound seniors, homeless) who were unable to get their vaccine at community clinics.

CDPH launched the state mobile vaccination teams earlier in the summer also with the intention to reach communities that had limited access to the COVID-19 vaccine. They offer to deploy mobile vaccination teams to local jurisdictions throughout the state with trained staff to register and administer vaccines.

Any organization interested in organizing a mobile or pop-up clinic, particularly schools, employers, community-based organizations, and faith-based organizations, can complete the intake form by going to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/mobilevaccination or send inquiries to: mobilevaccinesites@cdph.ca.gov.

Share Your Talent and Time with Goleta

Are you looking for a new way to get involved in your community? The City of Goleta is looking for community members to #JoinTeamGoleta by serving on several of our Commissions and Committees including two youth positions. The City has openings for a Parks and Recreation Youth Commissioner and a Public Engagement Youth Commissioner. The City also has two additional openings on the Public Engagement Commission, two vacancies on the Library Advisory Commission, one vacancy on the Santa Barbara County Library Advisory Committee and two vacancies on the Naming Committee. Applications are available here and are due by July 23, 2021, or until filled.

Goleta City Clerk Deborah Lopez said, “This is a great opportunity for those that want to put their skills to good use, for those interested in making a difference in Goleta, and for those who want to be more involved with the City.”

City of Goleta residents between the ages of 15 and 21, who enjoy spending time in the City’s parks and open space are encouraged to apply for the Parks and Recreation Youth Commissioner position. The Commission advises the City Council on all issues related to parks and recreational opportunities in Goleta. The Parks and Recreation Commission meets every two months on the first Wednesday of every even month.

If you are interested in looking for opportunities and ways to increase public engagement in City government, then you may be interested in serving on the Public Engagement Commission (PEC). Currently there are three positions open including a youth representative. To be considered, you must be a resident of the City of Goleta and not employed by the City. For the youth position, you must also be between 15 and 21 years of age. The Commission has six regularly scheduled meetings per year. Currently, the PEC is assisting with the district mapping process to determine district lines for the City’s first District Elections in November of 2022.

If you are interested in learning how libraries work and helping guide services in the greater Goleta Valley area, then you may be interested in applying for the Library Advisory Commission. This Commission meets the first Monday of each month at 6:00 p.m. There are two vacancies, one member of the incorporated service area of the City of Goleta Valley and one member suggested by the Board of Supervisors and residents of the unincorporated service area of the Goleta Valley. The role of this Commission is to increase citizen participation in library issues by analyzing the library’s needs, considering goals, anticipating future needs and problems, acting as a liaison, and helping to develop consensus for advisement to the Goleta Library Board of Trustees.

The City is also looking for a member to serve on the Santa Barbara County Library Advisory Committee. This Committee’s role is to advise the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors.  It reviews and maintains the master plan for each County library service zone, makes recommendations to ensure adequate library services to all, determines the per capita level of service, reviews budgets, considers site locations and building programs, and reviews the operation of the library. The member represents all of Zone 4, which includes Goleta, Buellton and Solvang.

Finally, if you are interested in naming City Parks, Facilities, open spaces and City buildings, there is also an opportunity to serve as a member of the City of Goleta Naming Committee. You must live in the City of Goleta to apply.

All of the positions are compensated at the rate of $50 per meeting. The Youth Commissioners may choose to waive his/her compensation and receive community service credit instead.

For more information, go to https://tinyurl.com/goletaboards-commissions or e-mail cityclerkgroup@cityofgoleta.org.  

City of Goleta Honors 2021 Spirits of Fiesta and Celebrates Ranchera on the Go!

Mayor Pro Tempore James Kyriaco presented the 2021 Spirit of Fiesta Ysabella Yturralde and 2021 Junior Spirit of Fiesta Savannah Hoover on June 17th with Certificates of Recognition at the beautiful Ranchera La Patera & Stow House. The performers, along with other local dancers, then participated in “Pop Up Performances” at several restaurants on Calle Real and the Camino Real Marketplace over the course of the next several days. While it wasn’t the traditional, large-scale Fiesta Ranchera event at Stow House that Goleta looks forward to each year, it was a great way celebrate Fiesta in Goleta and allowed many of our local restaurants and community members to participate. If you missed it, you can see the dancers perform August 4-8 during Old Spanish Days. Go to www.sbfiesta.org for more details and for a calendar of events. We will let you know if there are any performances in Goleta. Viva La Goleta!


Pictured: Mayor Pro Tempore James Kyriaco with Spirit of Fiesta Ysabella Yturralde 


Pictured: Mayor Pro Tempore James Kyriaco with Junior Spirit of Fiesta Savannah Hoover