The City of Soledad, California

Dear Soledad Community, the SURF! Busway and Bus Rapid Transit Project is a primary opportunity for MST to reduce congestion along Highway 1. We would like to encourage our community to help MST define the transit amenities that will encourage ridership and make this project a success. To support MST efforts in gathering community feedback, please fill out the survey linked here. https://survey.alchemer.com//SURF-Busway-and-Bus-Rapid-Tra The survey is available through Fe...bruary 19, 2021. Additional information and a short video simulation about the SURF! Busway and Bus Rapid Transit Project can be found on the MST website: https://mst.org/about-mst/planning-development/surf/

An Evacuation Warning has been issued for the Carmel, River and Dolan Fire Burn Scar Areas, effective today at 4:00 p.m. Residents there should consider leaving... the area now before rainfall begins. Heavy rains and wind may make exiting burn scar areas difficult. More at: https://www.co.monterey.ca.us//Compone/News/News/7937/1336 See more

As many people are aware, the Regional Stay at Home Order has been lifted for CA which impacts the residents and businesses in Soledad. Please see the post below from our friends at Monterey County, California for more details.

Until further notice, the City Hall offices will be closed to in person business. The closure is due to the significant COVID-19 case increase in the county. Our staff is still here and still working to serve you. Most of our services are available via phone, email and our website, but we are working on getting 100% of our services available online.

Because of our alarming surge of COVID-19 cases, the state today announced a regional Stay Home Order plan. This order is NOT in effect right now, but will be... implemented within 48 hours when a regions has less than 15% ICU hospital bed availability. Monterey County is in the Bay Area region, which has projections of less than 15% ICU capacity in mid-December. The order is limited, lasting three weeks, and would impact a variety of businesses and services. You can read more about the order and impacts at https://covid19.ca.gov/stay-home-except-for-essential-nee/. These additional measures are temporary, a bridge until we get vaccine relief. Please continue to safeguard yourself and others to help us all get through this dangerous time. See more

Reminder to those who signed up, the Centennial Celebration Committee Meeting will be tomorrow at 7pm. The Zoom teleconference information will be sent out to all who wished to participate. We've got so many ideas for ways to celebrate our 100 year birthday, but we need the ideas and support of the community to make it truly great. Look forward to hearing from everyone tomorrow.

We've been getting some questions about what the city rules are for Halloween this year. The CA Department of Health has handed down some guidelines for us to follow, so we made a quick video to summarize what we were told. Even though activities will look and feel different, we do so to protect our community and keep everyone healthy and safe. We'd like to thank everyone involved in the Front Street Spookfest and No-Contact Car Parade happening on October 31st. We think it's a great, safe alternative that will give our residents an outlet to celebrate. More details about the event in the video. Happy Halloween Soledad!

Reminder that our offices will be closed Thursday and Friday for the holiday. We hope all our residents are making smart, safe choices this Thanksgiving however you chose to celebrate. Each of our employees are eternally grateful to serve this fine community, and we wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving.

The Workforce Development Board of Monterey County would like to remind our residents of their Small Business Relief Program that is providing financial assistance to small businesses in Soledad that lost revenue due to COVID-19. The program provides up to $10,000 in grant-funded reimbursement to businesses with 50 or fewer full-time employees. They have a Fact Sheet/FAQ here: https://bit.ly/3mibTjd or you can contact them directly: [email protected] Applications will be accepted beginning Nov 2 through Nov 15. To apply visit their website: https://bit.ly/2FR0A22

The County of Monterey Housing Authority would like to remind Soledad residents they will be accepting online and in-person applications for their Housing Choice Voucher Program (formerly known as Section 8) starting October 26 through November 6. It's a narrow window of time to apply, so if you are interested go to https://apply.hamonterey.org next week or meet in person at HACM's office on 123 Rico Street in Salinas to apply. More details in the flyers below.

Another reminder to our citizens that this great public assistance program is still available to Soledad residents. We've had many inquire and sign up, but we suspect there are more in need that aren't aware this program exists. We are going to try and get some information included in the next utility bill to reach those without access to social media. Please pass this information along to friends or family that are in need. A quick phone call to 211 gets you started.

Our mayor Fred Ledesma and military veteran Tony Virrueta would like to remind veterans and their family that our Soledad Military Banner program is still in progress. If you or a family member are active duty or formerly served in the military, please submit your details at https://www.soledadmilitarybanners.com so we can honor your service by displaying your name/picture on a banner to be flown on Front Street.

What's better than free pizza? Being correctly counted for the upcoming census! (Ok, both are equally important) The 2020 Census Monterey County board is sponsoring an event at Round Table Pizza Saturday, October 10th from 1pm-7pm to help Soledad complete it's 2020 Census. Census numbers help businesses, governments and others decide so many critical decisions about our community like where new roads and schools get built, what kind of funding we received to run programs, the... size of the representation we get in elections, etc. Soledad only has a 70% response rate so far. If you haven't already, please come by, complete your form and make sure you and your family are counted! -- ¿Qué es mejor que la pizza gratis? ¡Ser contados correctamente para el próximo CENSO! (Ok, ambos son igualmente importantes) El Censo del Condado de Monterey 2020 está patrocinando un evento en Round Table Pizza el sábado 10 de octubre de 1 pm a 7 pm para ayudar a Soledad completar su Censo 2020. Los números del Censo ayudan a las empresas/negocios, los gobiernos y a otros hacer decisiones críticas sobre nuestra comunidad, cómo y dónde se construyen nuevas carreteras y escuelas, qué tipo de fondos recibimos para ejecutar programas, el tamaño de la representación que tenemos en las elecciones, etc. Soledad solo tiene una tasa de respuesta del 70% hasta ahora. Si aún no lo ha hecho, venga, ¡complete su formulario y asegúrese de que su familia sea contada!

We'd like to make our Soledad residents aware of a great public assistance program being offered by United Way Monterey County and the Monterey County Department of Social Services. Those in our community that are struggling to pay rent and utilities due to COVID-19 have options available to them for assistance. Those interested can call 211 to get the process started or follow the link/post below for more information. -- Nos gustaría informar a nuestros residentes de Soledad... de un gran programa de asistencia pública que ofrecen el United Way Monterey y el Departamento de Servicios Sociales del Condado de Monterey. Aquellos residentes que están luchando para pagar su renta y utilidades debido a Covid-19 tienen la oportunidad de recibir apoyo financiero. Los interesados pueden llamar al 211 para iniciar el proceso o seguir el siguiente sitio web para obtener más información. See more

The Soledad staff would like to make everyone aware that Monterey County Health Department will be having a FREE COVID-19 testing site at the Soledad High School on Friday, October 9th between 1pm-7pm. There is no appointment necessary. There are more details available in the attached flyers. We encourage all residents with or without symptoms to come take advantage of this free service.

Reminder from our Mayor Fred J. Ledesma and Mayor Pro Tempore Alejandro Chavez that Soledad is still following Monterey County ordinances that require mandatory face coverings that cover the nose and mouth when going out into the public perform essential activities. Monterey County has also a good FAQ about the ordinance that answers many of the questions we get from our residents: English: https://www.co.monterey.ca.us/home/showdocument?id=90138... Spanish: https://www.co.monterey.ca.us/home/showdocument?id=90152 Anyone who has questions or would like clarification on our city's policies, please ask here and we will try to get you an answer as quickly as possible.

City of Soledad veterans and active duty banner program applications are now available! Do not delay in getting your application in. Questions can be emailed to [email protected]. Download and print the application here: https://cityofsoledad.com/res/our-community/special-events/ ---- ¡Ya están disponibles las aplicaciones del programa de pancartas para veteranos y servicio activo de la Ciudad de Soledad! No se demore en enviar su solicitud. Las preguntas se pueden enviar por correo electrónico a [email protected]. Descarga e imprime la aplicación aquí: https://cityofsoledad.com/res/our-community/special-events/

Soledad, Are you looking for answers? Do you need to report a public works or animal control issue? You can text the City of Soledad at 831-228-5456 to quickly get answers to many important questions. See the attached photo for instructions or visit our website to use the same service online. https://talktomycity.com/create This service is not for emergency police or medical communications. In an emergency, dial 911. For non-emergency police dispatch, call 831-755-5111.