Veterans Memorial Buildings
General Services is now Sonoma Public Infrastructure - Website updates coming soon!
The Veterans Memorial Buildings and Community Center Building have been serving residents of Sonoma County for a variety of purposes since their construction following World War II.
The 8 buildings vary in size from 5,420 square feet in Cotati to 45,650 square feet in Santa Rosa, for a total floor area of 137,778 square feet.
The buildings typically have a large auditorium, meeting rooms, kitchen, and support spaces with offices, however, each building is unique:
- Guerneville shares the building with the Sheriff's Substation;
- Cloverdale has a 100,000 gallon public swimming pool;
- Sonoma is adjacent to a Memorial Cemetery,
- while Cotati and Sebastopol are adjacent to city parks.
Most of the buildings were constructed between 1950 and 1961. Guerneville is an older building that was acquired by the County in 1948.
Management and Operations
Responsibility for management of the buildings is shared between the County and 3rd party agencies.
- The County operates the Veterans Memorial Buildings located in Santa Rosa, Sonoma, Guerneville, Petaluma, Cloverdale and Cotati.
- The Sebastopol Center for the Arts operates the building in Sebastopol.
As you know, we have all been actively working on re-opening plans, and we’re pleased to share that, with your cooperation, we’re able to re-open buildings for Veterans Services Organization (VSO) BUSINESS MEETINGS ONLY on May 24, 2021 at the Cloverdale, Cotati, Guerneville, Petaluma, Sebastopol, and Sonoma locations. Due to PG&E and building upgrade work, the Santa Rosa location is scheduled to offer on-site VSO business meetings beginning June 14, 2021.
These date apply only to standard business meetings, and must adhere to the COVID-19 safety protocols that are in place for all County buildings. Although there has been a lot of conflicting information in the news regarding mask-wearing and other safety protocols, Sonoma County facilities must adhere to the most current CalOSHA and County Health Department mandates, which have not changed. They include:
- Self-Assessment – if you are sick, stay home
- COVID-Self-check app or on-site attestation
- Sign-in log
- Mask-wearing while indoors at all times
- Temperature Check – no fever above 100.3
- Frequent handwashing/sanitizing of meeting space
- No communally shared food/drink
- For complete details and information regarding these protocols, please contact me at Jeremy.Scannell@sonoma-county.org.
Our Booking and Reservation Office will work with all VSO’s to complete their rental reservations and gather proof of insurance. As always, building use requires a completed rental reservation and agreement along with proof of current insurance. Depending on group size, VSOs may have different rooms/areas for meeting than before, as guidance on seating and tables. For inquiries regarding Petaluma, Sonoma, Guerneville, and Cotati, please contact Kara Mack, who we are pleased to welcome back as our Booking & Reservations Coordinator, at Kara.Mack@sonoma-county.org or 707-565-2158. For inquiries regarding Santa Rosa, please contact Stephanie Goodwin, at Stephanie.Goodwin@sonoma-county.org or 707-568-4311. For inquiries regarding Cloverdale, please contact Gene Marcinkowski at ferme1@comcast.net or 707-669-2089. For inquiries regarding Sebastopol, please contact the Facilities and Rentals Manager at info@sebarts.org or 707-829-4797 ext. 1005.
As I’m sure you are aware, a central issue around mask-wearing and occupancy rates is whether or not individuals are fully vaccinated. We have no visibility regarding this, nor are there current plans to develop any such protocols for Veterans buildings at this time. As a public entity, we are obligated to follow all safety protocols in the service of our community. At the same time, we are heartened by the positive news regarding California’s decreasing COVID-19 rates, and look forward to adjusting any procedures if and/or when changes in regulations and protocols are approved for our County.
All other events besides VSO business meetings, including the reopening of the Veterans bars/lounges, social events, and community-based events for non-veteran users remains on track to reopen beginning July 1, 2021.
If you have any other questions about the reopening of the Veterans buildings please contact me at Jeremy.Scannell@sonoma-county.org or 707-565-3025.
A PDF copy of the reopening announcement can be downloaded here.