Benicia News: Valero's exit, city finances, and Opening Day on the Strait
Welcome to The Benicia Bridge newsletter.
It’s official: after nearly 60 years as a refinery town, Benicia’s stacks have gone cold. Valero officially stopped refining at its Benicia plant with no plans to start up again. What does that mean for the City's finances? The City doesn't expect to know in full until 2027. But council and staff discussions over the next few weeks will "help define how we address the past, present and future of Benicia," said City Manager Mario Giuliani's in his Monday afternoon message.
Today's City Council agenda includes a presentation on the city's $40 million grant application to the Bay Area Air District Local Community Benefit Fund. The fund was created with money from Valero's record-setting fine for years of unreported, illegal air pollution. The grant would allow the city to "do all we can to reshape Benicia's economy," Giuliani says.
On April 28, the council will discuss potential new taxes: a Business License Tax Modernization and a Real Property Transfer Tax. More on that next week.
For now, read below for:
- Pics from Opening Day on the Strait
- Valero-related news we published last week
- A timely health tip
- Upcoming meetings and events
Opening day!
The Benicia Yacht Club held its annual Opening Day celebration on Saturday, with vendors, live music, the blessing of the fleet and a decorated boat parade on the Carquinez Strait. (Did anyone else grow up calling it the "straits?")
Local resident and helpful drone-pilot Tye Moody shared some pics and notes with us. There's a cool embed video of his drone footage below. If it doesn't show up below, you can click here to see it.
After that breath of fresh air. Back to Valero.
...In case you missed it, tight-lipped Valero executives finally opened up about future plans for the site during a community meeting on Tuesday.
Two main takeaways:
- Valero will import, store, and distribute gasoline and diesel (no more jet fuel), but has no plans for a “tank farm,” or long-term, large-scale storage in Benicia.
- The company is likely to exit the site within two years. Read more.
The good news? Flaring at the plant is over, according to outgoing General Manager Lauren Bird, weeks after a plume of black steam erupted from one of the stacks, prompting a voluntary shelter-in-place order.
→ Read here to find out what Valero says happened on March 26 and why the company delayed reporting it.
Meanwhile, Valero’s plant is now without its own fire brigade. If a fire should break out, the company has sufficient stocks of fire-fighting foam on hand, it says. But it will rely on the Benicia Fire Department, contractors, and help from neighboring refineries to douse the flames. Benicia’s Fire Chief Josh Chadwick says it’s far from a done deal. Read why.
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Tip of the week:
It’s tick season, and nationally, emergency visits for the buggy little vectors are at twice the normal average, according to Katelyn Jetelina, over at Your Local Epidemiologist. Her advice:
"Keep enjoying the outdoors! But if you’re in a tick-prone area, take that extra minute to do a tick check. The most important thing is removing the tick properly (use fine-tipped tweezers, grab close to the skin, pull upward, no twisting, no Vaseline, no matches). Then watch for symptoms: fever, rash, fatigue, joint aches. If you find an attached tick and are in a high-risk area for Lyme disease, it’s worth calling your doctor if it was attached for more than 36 hours."
Upcoming events:
April 21, 6 p.m.: City Council meeting at City Hall. (Agenda includes presentations on the city's $40 million grant application, and in more pleasant news, swings at the Playground of Dreams.)
April 25, 9 a.m: Benicia & Vallejo Annual Demonstration Food Forest Tour: Tour starts at the Avant Community Garden on First Street. Learn more and register.
April 30, 6 p.m.: The Benicia Farmers Market returns to First Street
May 26: The Benicia Neighborhood Garage Sale. Learn more and sign up.
