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Board of Supervisors Department

Lower Russian River Municipal Advisory Council

Lower Russian River Municipal Advisory Council

The Lower Russian River Municipal Advisory Council (River MAC) is established to advise the Board of Supervisors and other County decision-makers on local planning and management decisions relating to the Lower Russian River region; to provide a regular forum for citizen participation in the formation of advisory recommendations on those decisions; and to provide a bridge for communication between the County and residents, businesses, and the general public on local government decisions affecting the Lower Russian River.

Project Kickoff — Lower Russian River Governance Study

We’re excited to announce the start of the Lower Russian River Governance Study. We invite your participation to help develop an effective, responsive plan!


Mark your calendar for
Community Workshop #1

Saturday, February 4th   10:30 am – 12:30 pm
at

Guerneville School

14630 Armstrong Woods Rd, Guerneville, CA 95446

Click here to sign up for updates & let us know what's important in your community!

The Governance Study will seek to improve government services in the Lower Russian River region. The Study will take 6 – 9 months and result in: 

  • recommendations for improving existing and add new government services
  • a funding and governance strategy to implement these recommendations

The needs of the community will drive recommendations! Through several community workshops and online tools, the public be asked to identify unmet needs, gaps in existing services, and potential new services to improve the quality of life in the Lower Russian River region. The public will also be able to comment on draft recommendations before the final study is complete. 

The Governance Study is managed by the Office of Supervisor Lynda Hopkins District 5 with technical and outreach support from the Blue Sky Consulting Group based in Oakland, California. 

For more information, contact the Office of Supervisor Hopkins at district5@sonoma-county.org 

The FY 2022-23 Tourist Impact Fund (TIF) Grant Application Process is open.

The Sonoma County Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) is a tax on accommodations at lodging and camping facilities in the unincorporated areas of the county. From this fund, each Supervisorial District in the county receives a percentage for discretionary projects within each District from the Tourism Impact Fund (TIF).

These funds are then awarded in small grants to not for profit organizations to create improvement projects in their community. Awards are based upon the TIF funding area and criteria as listed in below. For geographical areas covered by Municipal Advisory Councils (MAC), the TIF policy has been determined by the MAC with input from the community. For those geographical areas not covered by a MAC, the application will go to District 5 staff and similar policy and procedures will be followed.

General Funding Criteria (No preferential order)

*Applicants must be a not-for-profit organization.

Extra points will be given to those projects that can demonstrate the following, although all good projects fitting the funding priority areas will be considered. 

  • Greatest Impact on Community
  • Multi-Community Benefit
  • Best Return for Dollars (Leveraging/Matching Funds)
  • Geographic Fairness
  • Environmental Sensitivity

River MAC funding priorities

  • Trash removal
  • Restrooms
  • Community Resilience
  • Parking / Crosswalks / Sidewalks
  • Disaster preparedness
  • Security
  • Homeless prevention

Grants are awarded throughout the year on a rolling basis. The PDF application form for the 5th District TIF Grants is linked here:  

Lower Russian River Municipal Advisory Council Calendar

Board of Supervisors Regular Meeting Calendar

04
APR 2023
8:30 a.m.

Board of Supervisors Meeting

18
APR 2023
8:30 a.m.

Board of Supervisors Meeting

09
MAY 2023
8:30 a.m.

Board of Supervisors Meeting

16
MAY 2023
8:30 a.m.

Board of Supervisors Meeting