Get involved to help build Pleasant Hill’s community

PLEASANT HILL, CA (May 24, 2024) — This month, I am going to talk about ways in which you can learn about your Pleasant Hill community as well as ways in which you can get involved.

I’m excited to say that after a hiatus due to the COVID pandemic, the city has reinstituted the Local Government Academy Program. The LGA is a great way to get to know your city government and how it works. Starting on May 30, participants will gather every week for five weeks and learn about different areas of government.

We will cover how city government differs from state or federal government, look at the city’s departments and how they work, as well as get an overview of how they all interconnect as we bring to life a program, project or event in the city. They’ll tour our maintenance and police facilities and even have an opportunity to see how city budgets are created.

The spring session is already full, but for those interested, we will be doing the LGA again. It’s an excellent opportunity for residents to get a look behind the scenes and gain a deeper understanding of how government works. It’s a perfect jumping off point for those interested in pursuing a seat on the City Council or one of our commissions.

Changes

Speaking of which, as we transfer from an at-large City Council to a district-based council, Pleasant Hill residents in voting Districts 1, 2 and 5 will vote for one new council member to represent them in the Nov. 5 General Election. Residents may only vote for a candidate within their district. To learn what district you live in, you can use the city’s tool at pleasanthillca.org/mydistrict.

Those interested in running in one of those three districts will be able to make an appointment with the city clerk to take out candidacy papers beginning July 15.

If you’re not ready for the council, consider applying for city commissions. To find out if there are current vacancies and obtain information on how to apply or learn more about commissions, go to www.pleasanthillca.org/vacancy or contact Juanita Davalos at jdavalos@pleasanthillca.org.

Giving back to the community

Beyond that, there are many ways to help out and give back to the community. This year marks the 20th annual Community Service Day. This year’s event is set for Sept. 21. We’re in the process of getting ready to commemorate the anniversary, but what we need most at the moment are great community projects for our volunteers. If you have a neighborhood project that could really use some help, or if you have ideas for projects to help out your community, register your project with us now at www.pleasanthillca.org/csd. That way, we can build a wide roster of projects for our volunteers.

Other ways to help out include becoming a volunteer for CERT, or the Community Emergency Response Team. We train CERT members to prepare their families and homes to be ready in the event of wildfires, earthquakes or other calamities, as well as how to provide assistance within the community during such an event. The CERT course is seven weeks, with a graduation training exercise. Signups are underway for the next training course, set for September-October. For more information, go to pleasanthillca.org/CERT.

If you’re someone who wants to know more and give more to your community, we’ve got plenty of ways to do it. How do you want to help?

Contact Matt Rinn at Mrinn@pleasanthillca.org.