Author Archives: Jaime Shaw

Group Picnic Reservations Now Open in Goleta

The City of Goleta is pleased to announce that we are now accepting reservations for our group BBQ areas. These areas have been closed to public access for more than a year. We are so excited to not only restore the reservation program at Stow Grove Park, but to have also added reservation opportunities at our newest park, Jonny D. Wallis Neighborhood Park. 

Effective immediately, the two covered areas at Jonny D. Wallis Neighborhood Park can be reserved for gatherings. The other four group areas near the field will remain available on a first-come, first-served basis. Stow Grove Park and Jonny D. Wallis Neighborhood Park are the only City parks that take reservations. (Girsh Park is a private park and Goleta Beach Park is run by Santa Barbara County.) There are also a number of parks within the city with picnic tables available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Parks and Recreation Manager JoAnne Plummer said, “As soon as Jonny D. Wallis Neighborhood Park opened, we received numerous requests to reserve the space for family gatherings and birthday parties. The Parks and Recreation Commission supported a recommendation, and we are pleased to provide these two covered areas as reservable options for the community leaving four other picnic areas open as first-come, first-served.” 

To reserve a group picnic area, please visit our webpage (www.CityofGoleta.org/GroupPicnic) or contact City Hall at (805) 961-7500. You will need to download the 2021 Group Picnic Area Reservation Application and return the completed form via email to parkreservations@cityofgoleta.org or mail it with payment to: City of Goleta, Group Picnic Area Reservations, 130 Cremona Drive, Suite B, Goleta, CA 93117. Reservations are for the entire day. We have updated our Group Picnic Area Reservations webpage so that you can see the current availability; the schedule is updated every Friday. Also on the webpage are photos of the group picnic areas that can be reserved, Frequently Asked Questions, park rules, and more. If an area is not rented ahead of time, it is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Jonny D. Wallis Neighborhood Park is located in the heart of Old Town Goleta at 170 S. Kellogg Avenue. There are two picnic areas available to reserve, both with a maximum capacity of 30 persons. The park includes a multi-purpose field, basketball court, handball court, concrete ping-pong table, bocce ball court, pickleball court, perimeter walking path, fitness nodes with exercise equipment, picnic areas, and skateboard plaza.

Stow Grove Park, located on La Patera Lane is one of the City’s most historically rich parks. There are three picnic areas available to reserve, with the maximum capacity ranging from 50 – 100 persons. Stow Grove Park offers something for everyone. It is a beautiful park with stunning redwood groves, native plants, and sycamore, oak, and eucalyptus trees. Park amenities include a softball field, two volleyball courts, horseshoes, open lawn and playground, restrooms, BBQ grills, benches, and picnic tables. If you are looking for a park to hold a family or company picnic, this is it.

For more information, please go to www.CityofGoleta.org/GroupPicnic. We hope you have fun and enjoy your visit!


Jonny D. Wallis Neighborhood Park Area A


Stow Grove Park Area 1

Goleta and Santa Ynez Valley Libraries Reopen

After almost 15 months of being closed to the public, the Goleta, Solvang and Buellton library branches have reopened to the public in limited capacity for Express Service. Library staff is happy to be able to serve patrons again in-person following COVID-19 safety guidelines.

Express Service Library Hours are Wednesday – Saturday, 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. The hours are the same as Sidewalk Service, which remains open. Please note, the entire library is open at all three branches except for the restrooms. Each branch operates a little differently – you can find information below on your branch:

  • Goleta Library: Patrons are allowed in on a first-come, first-served basis and have 15 minutes to spend inside picking out material and checking it out on a self-checkout machine, using an Express computer, and/or browsing the Friends of the Library Book Sale. Up to 25 people are allowed in at a time.
  • Solvang Library: This branch can accommodate up to six people at a time. There are a limited number of public computers available. Solvang Library accepts reservations 24 hours in advance on the Library website (https://tinyurl.com/SolvangExpressService) and via telephone at (805) 688-4214.
  • Buellton Library: The Buellton branch can accommodate up to five patrons at a time. This branch also follows a first-come, first-served basis. Patrons can also call the Buellton Library at (805) 688-3115 if other accommodations are needed.

Patrons who choose to come inside the library must wear a mask (ages 2 and over) and maintain at least six feet of distance from others. There are gloves and hand sanitizer available at the entrance.

Sidewalk Service remains open Wednesdays – Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. for those who want to quickly grab their holds without entering the building. All programming continues to be held online only. Click here for the library Events Calendar.

For now, the material available to check out, whether in-person or through Sidewalk Service, will continue to only be from the Goleta, Solvang or Buellton branches. Black Gold Service will resume sometime in July. We will keep you posted.

We have missed you and can’t wait to see you back in the library!

Pictured: Marcos Martinez of the Goleta Valley Library ready to welcome patrons back in the building.

LED Virtual Town Hall on June 22

The City of Goleta wants to encourage our community members to attend an important Virtual Town Hall on June 22nd at 6:00 p.m. to discuss a long-awaited project that will impact our entire city. As part of the LED Streetlight Conversion Project, the City will soon be replacing more than 1,300 High-Pressure Sodium (HPS) streetlight fixtures throughout Goleta with new energy efficient LED streetlights. The new lights will save money, require less maintenance, provide clearer lighting and are better for the environment. The project is expected to save Goleta more than 345,000 kilowatt hours and approximately $115,000 in energy costs in the first year after the project is implemented.

City of Goleta Public Works Department Project Manager, Michael Winnewisser, said “Our LED Street Lighting project has a lot of major benefits to the City, and we understand our residents may have questions or concerns about the project and how it affects their neighborhoods. We encourage residents to attend the virtual meeting so we can answer residents’ questions and discuss the project and the streetlight conversion process.”

We hope you will join us for this important conversation. 

Meeting Information:
Tuesday, June 22, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Google Meet video call link: https://meet.google.com/nqx-uvbc-jtv
Or dial: ‪(US) +1 929-324-2297 PIN: ‪844 034 734#

The City recently released a video explaining this project featuring Public Works staff. Please take a few minutes to watch it. It is available in English (https://youtu.be/6zgKww9XIiQ) and Spanish (https://youtu.be/j9-r-2zLi9Q).

We also updated our website with more information on this project including Frequently Asked Questions and design maps showing the existing and proposed streetlight fixture wattages throughout the City. Learn more at www.CityofGoleta.org/LEDStreetlights.

The project will be going to City Council on July 20, 2021, for final approval and to seek authorization to start the streetlight fixture conversions.

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

District Elections Public Workshop Kickoff

The City of Goleta is beginning the historic process of transitioning to district elections for our City Council beginning in November 2022 and will be holding three public workshops this summer. Spanish interpretation will be available. These events are opportunities for the community to learn about, provide input and participate in this important process. The first of these workshops will be held Monday, June 7th, at 6:00 p.m. Register here: https://tinyurl.com/9zdtmkdh, Webinar ID 972 1928 6351. We hope you will join us! In addition to being informational, the public will also learn about tools they can use to draw their own maps for proposed districts.

With district elections, the city will be divided into four districts, and voters in each district will elect a City Council member who lives in their own district. The mayor will continue to be elected by voters across Goleta. Public input is a critical part of this process.

If you would prefer to come in person to a workshop, two are scheduled following COVID-19 safety guidelines. A workshop will be held on June 26th at 11:00 a.m. at the Goleta Union School District Boardroom located at 401 N. Fairview Avenue. A third workshop will be held on August 2 at 6:00 p.m., location to be determined.

Assistant City Manager Kristy Schmidt said, “Making the move to District Elections is a big transition for the City. We have been working with our Public Engagement Commission to develop a process to educate and involve Goleta residents shaping the future of our elections. Our hope is that community members will attend at least one of the three workshops we have scheduled.”

Also as part of this process, the City is looking for feedback on what communities of interest might exist within Goleta. A community of interest is a group of people with common interests who live close together and would benefit from being kept together in a single district. If you know of a community of interest, please email it to Goleta’s City Clerk, Deborah Lopez, at dlopez@cityofgoleta.org.

For additional questions, contact cityclerkgroup@cityofgoleta.org or call 805-961-7505.

Also, stay tuned for the launch of our new City of Goleta District Elections website.

In the meantime, we hope to see you at one of our workshops!  Thanks in advance for caring about being informed and for participating in shaping the future of elections in Goleta!

Goleta Community State of the City is Now Available to Watch Anytime

Thank you to everyone who took time out to watch our first of its kind virtual Goleta Community State of the City which premiered on May 27, 2021. We are so pleased with the great responses we have received so far about how it went and the great turnout of community members who tuned in to watch. If you missed it, don’t worry, you can watch the Goleta Community State of the City anytime in English or Spanish, at your convenience, on one of our many City outreach platforms. TVSB also plans to begin playing the show as well on Cox Channels 17 and 71.

  • YouTube: youtube.com/cityofgoleta1 (English and Spanish)
  • Goleta TV Channel 19: Thursdays at Noon & 7:00 p.m. and Fridays at 1:00 p.m. & 9:00 p.m.
  • City website: cityofgoleta.org
  • Facebook: facebook.com/CityofGoleta
  • TVSB Channel 17: Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m., Wednesdays at 11:30 a.m. & Thursday at 10:30 p.m.
  • TVSB Channel 71: Mondays at 1:00 p.m. and Saturdays at 3:00 p.m.

City of Goleta Community Relations Manager, Kelly Hoover said, “Thanks to everyone who helped make this a memorable, informative and entertaining show. While we look forward to being in person next year for the Goleta Community State of the City, we are grateful we could use this opportunity do some things differently to both inform and celebrate our special community. Hopefully it will lead to some new traditions.  We are grateful for everyone who participated in the show and to everyone who took time out to watch!”

Watching the Goleta Community State of the City is a great way to get up to speed on everything happening in Goleta and what the future holds. The program includes a State of the City speech from Mayor Paula Perotte, an important financial update from City Manager Michelle Greene, personal messages from your Councilmembers, performances by some of our local community members, and a Q&A where City staff answer questions sent in from Goleta community members.

Thanks, Goleta, for your support and for caring about being informed.

District Elections Coming to Goleta in 2022 – Attend a Public Workshop

The City of Goleta is beginning the process of transitioning to district elections beginning in November 2022 for its city council. This means that the city will be divided into four districts, and voters in each district will elect a City Councilmember who lives in his/her own district. The mayor will continue to be elected by voters across the city.

We welcome and encourage input from the public about what these districts might look like. In particular, we appreciate feedback on what communities of interest might exist within the city, which are groups of people who live close together and would benefit from being kept together in a single district. In order to garner such input, we will be holding public workshops during the summer – stay tuned for more information. These workshops will educate the public on the process and some tools they might use to draw maps of their community of interest and any proposed districts.

At our most recent Public Engagement Commission (PEC) meeting on April 22, the Commission received a presentation on the 2022 Electoral Districting Process, including an updated timeline, and provided input on the media and public interest organizations to be included in the City’s districting outreach efforts as well as the local “communities of interest” that should be considered when drawing electoral district lines. The staff report is available at https://tinyurl.com/vmkr5ew, and the meeting can be viewed here: https://tinyurl.com/addmzumt. At the prior PEC meeting on February 17, 2021, the Commission received a presentation on the process from City staff and our district elections consultant, National Demographics Corporation. View the staff report https://tinyurl.com/3mumxe6j, and watch the meeting at https://tinyurl.com/bbkrajju.

Also be on the lookout for a website about this project, which will launch in May. For questions, please contact City Clerk Deborah Lopez at dlopez@cityofgoleta.org.

Library Website Show and Tell – Watch our Video!

You may not know how much the Goleta Valley and Santa Ynez Valley Libraries have to offer without needing to walk through the front door. It is incredible all you can access at www.GoletaValleyLibrary.org with the click of a mouse or on your phone. The library offers Spanish Language materials for adults and children, as well as Spanish language programs. Bilingual staff are available to assist patrons. 

Don’t miss this show and tell tour of our library website with Library Director Allison Gray where she shows you how easy it is to find everything you could possibly need. Prepare to be impressed. Watch now in English (https://youtu.be/zYi7m0nKDPM) or Spanish (https://youtu.be/U7vN5A8DiTI).

Life in the Orange Tier

Santa Barbara County met the State’s Orange Tier case rate (less than 5.9 daily new cases per 100k) and positivity rate (less than 4.9% positive testing rate) which allowed the County to move into the less restrictive Orange Tier.

The following changes in the state’s orange tier became effective on April 21, 2021, for Santa Barbara County:

  • Restaurants: Indoor seating increases to 50% capacity or 200 people maximum.
  • Gyms and Fitness Centers: 25% capacity indoors; indoor pools can open.
  • Wineries and Breweries: 25% or 100 people indoors maximum
  • Movie Theaters: 50% or 200 people maximum.
  • Museums, Zoos and Aquariums: 50% capacity for indoor activities.
  • Places of Worship: 50% capacity indoor activities.
  • Bars with no food service: Open outdoors with modifications.
  • All retail: No capacity limits.
  • Gatherings: Maximum of 10 people and three households

For more information please visit https://publichealthsbc.org/. 

The Latest COVID-19 Vaccine and Appointment Information

In Santa Barbara County, everyone age 16 or older is eligible to be vaccinated. Minors are only eligible for the Pfizer vaccine and must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Those 18 and over have two other vaccine options: Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. After a short pause, Johnson & Johnson vaccine administration has resumed. The State of California has posted a FACT SHEET to assist California residents while choosing a vaccine.

Vaccine appointments are available through My Turn California, mobile vaccination clinics, and local pharmacies. To find availability and make an appointment, please go to the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department website at https://publichealthsbc.org/vaccine/.

Those registered for an appointment should bring documentation with your name on it and proof of Santa Barbara County residency.

For more information, and Frequently Asked Questions, click here, or call 2-1-1 and select option 4.

Don’t Miss the 2021 Goleta State of the City on May 27 – Send Us Your Questions!

Mark your calendar for 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 27, 2021, for the premiere of the 2021 Goleta Community State of the City. Support our local restaurants by getting #GoletaToGo and gather around to watch the show. The program includes an update on how our City is doing from Mayor Paula Perotte and City Manager Michelle Greene, special messages from your Councilmembers, local entertainment, and a Q&A. It is going to be a special night and we hope you will join us for this virtual event.

Ways to Watch:

Besides watching, we want you to be part of the show! Do you have a question for our Mayor, City Council or Staff? Then send in a short cell phone video of yourself asking your question (you can also email us your question). Send your question to PIO@cityofgoleta.org by May 14th to be included. We will do our best to make sure we answer as many questions as possible as part of the Goleta Community State of the City.

For cell phone video questions:

  • Please record your cell phone video horizontally.
  • Be aware of your surroundings (make sure there is no background noise).
  • Introduce yourself quickly and your connection to Goleta. Example, “My name is Barbara… and I have lived in Goleta for … years. I am concerned about…”
  • Videos must be approximately 15 seconds.
  • Review your video then email the final clip to PIO@cityofgoleta.org.
  • Look for yourself during the Community State of the City.

If you prefer to write your question in an email instead of recording a video, please be sure to include your full name and connection to Goleta as well.

We look forward to hearing from the community and hope you will tune in to watch our Community State of the City on Thursday, May 27 at 7:00 p.m.