Newsletter Archives

The Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce, as one of the key players in the Goleta Partnership for Preparedness, has formed its own task force to design and implement a disaster preparedness program for businesses.

Over the next 18 months, the volunteer task force members expect to have a program which involves tools and resources for businesses to set up individual disaster preparedness programs. The group anticipates that the program will include some type of certification or self-certification as well.

The work of the Chamber task force will compliment the work of the Goleta Partnership for Preparedness which is currently finishing up its fundraising for two disaster relief trailers. The trailer come with the price tag of around $50,000 which funds the initial purchase and provides money to restock it in the future. Once purchased, these trailers will be strategically located to best serve the Goleta Valley in the event of a disaster.

County Sups to Vote on Goleta Beach
By Tom Blabey

The Santa Barbara County Supervisors will vote on the future of Goleta Beach Park at their meeting in Santa Barbara on November 20th, according to County Parks Director Dan Hernandez. Hernandez, guest speaker at the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Issue and Policy Roundtable luncheon on Tuesday, October 9th, presented the latest in the development of two proposals for a twenty-year plan for the popular Park.

The County Parks Department proposes two options to determine the long-term future of the Park: installing a permeable groin and “managed retreat.” The first, constructing a permeable groin alongside the existing pier, is projected to cost roughly $10 million. This would serve as a natural barrier, slowing the movement of sand down the coastline and allowing the gradual buildup of protective sand at the Park. “Managed retreat” would involve removing the current protective infrastructure, at a cost of about $12 million, to allow natural erosion to occur over time, essentially allowing the ocean to reclaim the sandbar which is Goleta Beach.

“Goleta Beach Park is a community treasure at a critical crossroads,” stated Kristen Amyx, President/CEO of the Goleta Valley Chamber. “Seasonal storm surges, wave activity, and natural sand erosion pose an imminent threat to the wonderful recreational facilities along the beach and the critical utility lines buried beneath the Park.” Community groups, private citizens, and other organizations, including the Goleta Valley Chamber, have been studying the history, the geography, and the environmental context of the Park for many years to help determine the best course of action to protect the Park and minimize any adverse impact on the coastal ecosystem.

Advocates for the protection of the Park point to several major concerns, should erosion be allowed to continue along the beach. The Park serves as a critical shield protecting the Santa Barbara Airport, Goleta Sanitary District facilities, and vital underground gas and electric conduits and pipelines. There is also evidence that Goleta’s fresh groundwater supply would be threatened with sea water intrusion. Historical maps and old photos also suggest that, should Goleta Beach Park disappear, Old Town Goleta could, once again, be at great risk of catastrophic flooding. Proponents of “managed retreat” argue that nature should be allowed to take its course and that measures to protect the Park could interrupt natural sand flow along the coastline.

Your Chamber at Work
The Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce sent letters and emails to the Governor, Federal, and State lawmakers in the past month regarding the following legislation (partial list):

Chairman's Journal - Goleta Loses Friend of Business in Firestone
By William MacFayden

County Supervisor Brooks Firestone has announced his retirement, igniting fevered speculation about the 3rd District and the balance of power over county government itself.

Regardless of how that debate plays out, Brooks’ departure next year will be a huge loss for Santa Barbara County’s beleaguered business community. Throughout his term on the Board of Supervisors, he has been a champion of small business and a foe of many of the mindless regulatory burdens that bubble up from the county bureaucracy.

A true citizen legislator, both in the Assembly and as a supervisor, Brooks hardly fits the cookie-cutter mold of a modern local politician. His patrician roots are enhanced by an entrepreneurial drive and success as a small businessman — experience that is in woefully short supply among an entire generation of hotshot pols less than half his age and who have never had to meet a payroll. That perspective will be dearly missed and should give pause to every business owner and employer who thinks one board seat doesn’t make a difference. Brooks has demonstrated otherwise on land use and planning, California’s affordable and workforce housing mandate, the budget process, and the search for common ground among disparate factions that almost split our county in two.

President's Journal
By Kristen Amyx

If you have ever picnicked at Goleta Beach, strolled along the pier, taken a client or business associate for dinner at the Beachside Bar and Cafe, parked your car on your lunch break to watch the surf in the middle of a hectic day, you are among good company and you will be interested to hear what is being planned for the future of our beloved Goleta Beach Park.

The County of Santa Barbara, who has jurisdiction over and maintains the Park, is nearing the end of a several-year process to determine the best way to address the erosion problem and maintain the beach park. There have been studies, experiments, and a public working group who studied the available options and best practices from around the world. The working group recommended a technique where an underwater structure is built (called a groin) that traps moving sand and widens the beach. A minority group report endorsed a technique called managed retreat where you move infrastructure out of the way of eroding shoreline and “manage” the retreat of the beach.

The County Board of Supervisors will choose between the two recommendations on Nov. 20th. The obvious choice is to build the groin and save the beach park so that it is maintained largely as it is today.

I have no quarrel with the idea of managed retreat in other applications. It is likely that many new alternatives to addressing erosion along California's coastline will need to be explored in the coming years due to global warming and rising sea levels. However, in the Goleta Beach Park example, there are utility lines, picnic areas, rest rooms, parking lots and a restaurant that would have to be moved out of nature's way to allow for managed retreat. Conversely the groin solution is simple, environmentally safe and is a good 20-year solution to recovering and maintaining the only active beach parkland maintained for Goletans.

The choice seems clear and community support should be given consideration in solving this problem. If you choose to save Goleta Beach Park let me know and we'll forward your comments, or you can weigh in directly with your Supervisor Janet Wolf or Brooks Firestone.

Issue & Policy Roundtable — RLA & SBCC PDC
By Grayson Peters

The September Issue & Policy Roundtable (IPR) meetings featured Lisa Rivas, Executive Director, Regional Legislative Alliance (RLA), and the Santa Barbara City College Professional Development Center (PDC)

Regional Legislative Alliance
The legislative session ended September 14, which left the Governor until October 14 to take action on the bills that reached his desk. The Regional Legislative Alliance of Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties (RLA), as with most other businesses in the State, was particularly concerned with AB 8, the Assembly Speaker’s proposal to provide heath care to all Californians with the business community facing a 7.5% increase in payroll taxes.

Rivas, Executive Director of the RLA lead a discussion on the repercussions and effects of AB 8, which the Governor has since vetoed, and other bills that were active in the last week of session. She also detailed the bills that had already passed both houses and had been signed by the Governor, in addition to those which sat on his desk until October 14.

For more information visit the Chamber’s advocacy section of our website, or visit www.legislativealliance.org.

Santa Barbara City College Professional Development Center (PDC)
IPR was joined by guests Diane Hollems, Ph.D., Dean, Economic Development, Santa Barbara City College; and Pablo Buckelew, Vice President, Continuing Education, Santa Barbara City College, on September 27th. Hollems and Buckelew discussed the current and future endeavors and programs of the college’s PDC. The PDC provides short-term, credit-based workplace training for more than 2,000 Santa Barbara area managers and general employees each semester, and is the home of the new Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation Program.

Hollems and Buckelew detailed the various ways that SBCC is reaching out and partnering with local businesses and organizations to create low-cost staff training, employee incentives, small business training, and continued adult education. Future partnerships with the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce to bring our members special training benefits was brought up and will be discussed in the future.

Other topics touched on during the luncheon include: the progress of the City’s General Plan amendment workshops, proposed encroachment fee increases, and SC Edison’s Energy Efficiency program.

For more information on the SBCC PDC visit www.sbcc.edu/professionaldevelopment/.

Local Online Newspaper Launched
Noozhawk, the local online newspaper, has been launched with “News you use. Information you trust.” It will be delivering writing worth reading for the South Coast, with their staff of professional journalists providing original reporting on local news, business, real estate, sports, schools and nonprofit organizations. While Noozhawk exists to deliver mainstream news and information about the greater Santa Barbara community, it wants stories, photos and video clips about your own community within the community. Its editors are interested in what you do, and think others will be, too.

Visit the website at www.Noozhawk.com and email Founder & Publisher William MacFadyen at wmacfadyen@noozhawk.com with your input and feedback.

New Directions Offer Holiday Tours
New Directions, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is now accepting reservations for their holiday tours for people with developmental disabilities. Tour destinations include Knott’s Berry Farm, San Diego, Disneyland, San Francisco, and Waikiki, Hawaii. Tours include luxury accommodations, transportation, meals, a structure itinerary, activities and entertainment and much more. Twenty-four hour assistance is provided at a 1:3 or 1:4 ratio. For more information on how to register or to support New Directions, go to www.newdirectionstravel.org or 967-2841.

Mid-State Bank & Trust Changes Name to Rabobank
Mid-State Bank & Trust officially changed its name to Rabobank, N,A., unveiling new signs on all bank facilities. Mid-State has been operating as a division of Rabobank since May 1, 2007.

Rabobank is a California community bank with more than 90 retail offices (including two in Goleta) and financial service centers stretching from Sacramento in the north to the Imperial Valley in the south. All the retail offices and financial service centers remain open and continue to be staffed by the same employees and managers. Rabobank will continue to honor and process checks, wires, and other electronic transactions drawn on and made payable to Mid-State. Mid-State customers will retain their current account numbers and passwords, and may continue using their existing checks and ATM, debit, and credit cards.

Jaffe Joins Bargain Network Team
Bargain Network welcomes Samara Jaffe as Senior Vice President, of Business & Product Development. Jaffe has a rich background in business and product development and most recently served as Director/GM, AOL Careers and Real Estate. Jaffe and her newly formed team will bring Bargain's product development focus to new heights. You can contact Jaffe at 968-2020 ext. 2107 or at samara.jaffe@bargain.com.

New Member Profile

Angels Bearing Gifts (ANGELS) does one simple thing—remember those who would otherwise be forgotten. ANGELS brings happiness to people with developmental disabilities who have no one to remember them by providing gifts on birthdays and holidays. They foster compassion within our community towards those with developmental disabilities via year-round volunteer and educational outreach activities.

ANGELS currently serves 150 people in Goleta and Santa Barbara who have mental retardation, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, and/or other significant developmental challenges.

Volunteer “angels” help shop, wrap and deliver gifts on December 24th each year. Volunteer today by calling 884-7222. www.angelsbearinggifts.com.

Habitat for Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara County (SSBC) is a nonprofit organization that provides affordable housing for low-income families in our community. We join others to find solutions to poverty housing in this area. Experience has shown that the shortage of adequate affordable housing causes significant environmental, economic and social impacts. By providing home ownership opportunities, Habitat for Humanity of SSBC helps end the cycle of poverty for working families making less than $40,000 per year. We invite the community to get involved in our construction activities by contacting Joyce McCullough, Executive Director, at mail@sbhabitat.org or 692-2226. Visit the website at www.sbhabitat.org.

ServiceMaster Anytime has been servicing the Disaster Restoration & Residential Cleaning needs of the Santa Barbara area since 1965. When fire, smoke, or water damage your home or business, speed is essential to minimize further damage. To restore your home or business to its pre-crisis condition – and avoid costly mistakes – it's just as critical to select the most qualified professionals. So no matter what the emergency; water, sewage, fire or smoke damage, trauma /vandalism clean up, mold remediation and construction services or if you just need your carpet cleaned, ServiceMaster Anytime is ready to give you peace of mind with 24/7/365 service. To contact ServiceMaster Anytime, call Justin Haagen at 705-9222 or email her at smjustin@verizon.net.

News from the Ambassadors
By Kevin Young

As the GVCoC Ambassador Committee guest writer, it is my pleasure to report that our 14-member group had a busy, fun and productive September and October. You and your dog should have been to the September 12, Dioji opening. Owners Susan and Bryce Wendell and Susan Vasquez invite you and your pooch to stop on by and see what you can do for Fido these days.

On September 19, we welcomed Old Town Antiques and owners Bernice Pagliaro and Paul Lewis to the Chamber. On September 26, the new Rabobank (formerly Mid State Bank) manager Ida Poiner-Gomez joined us for two ribbon cutting ceremonies at their branches on Hollister and Patterson, and Calle Real.

A highlight of any month is when the Chamber Mixer is held at a great restaurant with generous owners. This was the case September 26th when our monthly business after hours was held at Zaffiro in Camino Real. Mr. and Mrs. Perry Ferguson amazed us with culinary delights such as their thin crust pizzas. After time to enjoy the crowd lingering over the hors d'oeuvres, beer and wine, there was an update by the GVCoC CEO and a raffle.

I invite you all to our next mixer on November 28th at the Goleta Boys and Girls Club, 5701 Hollister Avenue, behind the Goleta Community Center, where I will be serving some of my brother's fine McConnell's ice cream. Email me your favorite flavor at kyoung@sbre.com.

Save The Date: Jean Blois Community Room Dedication

Jean Blois Community Room Dedication
Wednesday, December 12th
5:00-7:00 p.m.
Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce Office