Response to the October 21 emails, a public records request, and a notice to preserve records

October 22, 2026

VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL ONLY

Dear Director Hoevertsz and Supervisor Hermosillo:

This letter responds to your separate electronic communications of October 21, 2026 (the “October 21 Communications”) concerning Glenwood Drive, Oakwood Drive, Brookview Drive, and Maplewood Drive in the Rancho Madrone subdivision of Eldridge (collectively, the “Subdivision Roadways”). It is the twelfth written notice in this matter. It incorporates by reference the eleven prior notices, including the notice dated October 18, 2026 (the “October 18 Notice”).

I. BACKGROUND

The Subdivision Roadways serve approximately 300 residents. On October 12, 2026, Sonoma Public Infrastructure (“SPI”) acknowledged in writing that Glenwood Drive carries a Pavement Condition Index rating of “Very Poor.” Approximately 91 minutes later, SPI Road Maintenance closed Service Request No. 26-003080 (the “Request”) on a finding of “no immediate hazard.” No repair was performed.

The October 18 Notice set out nine specific requests, sought acknowledgment by October 21, 2026, and sought a substantive response by October 28, 2026. Neither of the October 21 Communications addresses any of those nine requests. The October 28 date remains in effect.

II. THE OCTOBER 21 COMMUNICATIONS

A. Director Hoevertsz

Your communication was directed to the undersigned alone. It omitted the Clerk of the Board, the members of the Board, and every resident and other party copied on the prior notices. This matter concerns four public roadways and the residents who depend on them. It is not a private matter between the County and a single property owner.

Your communication is attached as Exhibit A and is now part of the record. Please direct all future correspondence to every recipient of this letter. Any communication addressed to the undersigned alone will be forwarded to the full distribution.

Your request for clarification. You asked what is meant by “formal administrative notice” and “formal administrative deadline,” and whether those terms refer to the Request or to a separate administrative process or filing.

The notices in this series are formal written notice to the County, its Board of Supervisors, and SPI of the condition of the Subdivision Roadways, the hazards those conditions present to pedestrians, children, and residents with limited mobility, and the action residents have requested. They are submitted under the Request and are not a separate proceeding. They establish that the County has actual notice of these conditions within the meaning of Government Code section 835.2, and they form part of the record the County is asked to preserve under Section VI.

The deadlines are the dates by which a written response has been requested. Except where a statute supplies the deadline, as with the Public Records Act request in Section V, they are not statutory deadlines. Any date that passes without a response will be noted in the record.

The undersigned reserves the right to involve counsel at any stage of this matter. Until notified otherwise, please continue to direct all correspondence to the undersigned and to every recipient of this letter.

B. Supervisor Hermosillo

Your communication directs residents to report road conditions through SoCo Connect or SPI Road Maintenance. That is the very process that generated the Request and produced its closure, without repair, approximately 91 minutes after SPI rated the roadway “Very Poor.” Directing residents to resubmit through the same process is not a response to the record already before the County. The Request should be reopened, or a linked active record covering all four Subdivision Roadways should be established.

Your communication also leaves unanswered the October 18 Notice’s request that you clarify your remarks in the March 20, 2026 SoCo Chat interview, in which you described:

SOCO CHAT · MARCH 20, 2026“creating pathways for catastrophic road repairs” as “not something that we have prioritized.”

That request remains outstanding.

III. THE UNDISCLOSED INSPECTION

The October 21 Communications disclosed, for the first time, that an unnamed Deputy Director had already visited the subdivision ahead of a site meeting set for October 30, 2026. Residents had asked in writing to be present at any inspection. None was notified. The County has not disclosed the date, time, or duration of the visit, the streets observed, whether photographs, video, or notes were taken, or what was found.

The residents of the Subdivision Roadways are the public the County serves, and their taxes fund the County’s road maintenance. An inspection of their roadways conducted without notice, and disclosed only after the fact without the official’s identity or any findings, falls short of the transparency owed to them.

Separately, SPI maintenance operations are based in Santa Rosa. Closure of the Request within approximately 91 minutes is difficult to reconcile with any on-site evaluation. If the Request was closed without a site visit, the County should say so.

DUE 5:00 P.M., FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2026

1. The name and title of the employee who closed the Request, and whether any site visit preceded the closure.
2. The name, title, and contact information of the Deputy Director; the date, time, and duration of the visit; the streets observed; whether photographs or video were taken; any findings; and the name of the person who directed the visit.

Please also confirm that no further inspection of the Subdivision Roadways will occur without advance written notice to the residents copied on this letter.

IV. THE OCTOBER 30, 2026 SITE MEETING

The October 30 site meeting was first disclosed in the October 21 Communications and was not scheduled with residents. To serve any purpose, it must be a documented inspection conducted with residents present. Please confirm the following in writing by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 23, 2026:

1. The time and meeting location.
2. The attendees by name and title, including whether Director Hoevertsz and the Deputy Director will attend.
3. That residents of all four Subdivision Roadways may attend, accompany the inspection, and identify conditions for the record.
4. That the inspection will address pavement condition, sub-base failure, utility-trench seams, loose aggregate, drainage in advance of the wet season, pedestrian access, and emergency-vehicle access on all four Subdivision Roadways.
5. That written findings, including recommended interim and permanent treatment, maintenance responsibility for each roadway, and anticipated decision dates, will issue within ten business days after the meeting.

V. REQUEST FOR PUBLIC RECORDS

Pursuant to the California Public Records Act, Government Code section 7920.000 et seq., I request copies of the following records of the County of Sonoma, SPI, and the First District office:

1. The Request. The complete file, including intake, assignment, status changes, the closure entry and its stated basis, assigned personnel, dispatch and vehicle location data, field notes, and photographs.
2. The Deputy Director’s visit. All notes, photographs, video, logs, evaluations, and communications relating to the visit, including any instruction directing it.
3. Pavement condition. All Pavement Condition Index ratings and pavement condition surveys for the Subdivision Roadways, including the rating acknowledged on October 12, 2026, with its date and source.
4. Maintenance history, 1996 to present. All maintenance, repair, patching, resurfacing, chip-seal, overlay, grading, drainage, and utility-trench restoration records for the Subdivision Roadways from January 1, 1996, to the present.
5. Prioritization. All pavement management and Capital Improvement Program lists, rankings, and selection criteria from January 1, 2016, to the present reflecting whether and how the Subdivision Roadways were scored or considered.
6. First District resurfacing. Records of road resurfacing projects completed in First District subdivisions from January 1, 2016, to the present, reflecting location, treatment, and cost.
7. Internal communications. All communications since October 1, 2026, among SPI, SPI Road Maintenance, the Director’s office, and the First District office concerning the Subdivision Roadways, the Request, or this series of notices.

Please produce records electronically to cessna@cessnabarrett.com, on a rolling basis as they become available. Government Code section 7922.535 requires a determination within ten days of receipt. Any denial, in whole or in part, must be in writing, identify the exemption relied upon, and state the names and titles of each person responsible for the denial, as required by Government Code section 7922.540.

VI. NOTICE OF CONDITIONS AND PRESERVATION OF RECORDS

The County has had written notice, since the first notice in this series, of the following conditions on a roadway it has rated “Very Poor”:

• Pedestrian access. After returning home from the hospital, Kathleen St. John of 941 Glenwood Drive used a walker while relearning to walk. She did not feel safe doing so on the roadway because of cracking, loose aggregate, gravel patches, and uneven utility-trench seams.
• Injury. A child at 970 Glenwood Drive sustained a serious bicycle crash on the roadway.
• Wet season. Seasonal rain will aggravate drainage failure, loose material, and surface deterioration on all four Subdivision Roadways.

The County is on notice of these conditions and of potential claims arising from them. The County, SPI, and the First District office are requested to preserve all documents, electronically stored information, photographs, video, vehicle location and telematics data, and communications relating to the Subdivision Roadways, the Request, the Deputy Director’s visit, and this series of notices, and to suspend any routine deletion or overwriting that would affect them.

VII. SUMMARY OF REQUESTED ACTIONS

All responses should be directed to every recipient of this letter. Any date not met will be noted in the record.

VIII. RESERVATION OF RIGHTS

This letter is not intended as a complete statement of the relevant facts or of the rights and remedies of the undersigned or of other residents of the subdivision, all of which are expressly reserved. Nothing in this letter constitutes a claim under Government Code section 910 et seq. or a waiver of the right to present any such claim.

I look forward to your timely response.

Very truly yours,

Cessna Champion Barrett
Property Owner, 970 Glenwood Drive
Rancho Madrone Neighborhood Coalition Coordinator
Licensed California Real Estate Broker (DRE #01281555)

EXHIBIT A

Electronic communication from Director Johannes Hoevertsz dated October 21, 2026

Reproduced as received. Recipients: the undersigned only.