Heitman looks forward to overseeing county departments

By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Santa Barbara Harbor closed

Wednesday for a few days to allow for the emergency dredging of thousands of cubic yards of sand, silt and sediment deposited in the harbor by a storm-created “historic” ocean swell that occurred earlier this month.

The emergency dredging operation could continue through Saturday, after which the harbor will reopen to mariners, including commercial fishermen, Mike Wiltshire, the city’s waterfront director, told the News-Press Thursday.

“That’s the situation we’re in right now,” he said.

He added that Pacific Dredge, the company contracted to remove the unexpected sand and sediment, has put its equipment across the harbor’s mouth, potentially through Saturday morning, “so the harbor is essentially closed to no or limited access.”

The company would have to stop its operation and decouple its piping “if Harbor Patrol had to get out to tend to an emergency,” Mr.

Wiltshire said.

He said he recognized the economic impact the harbor’s “hard closure” will have on the commercial fishermen who rely on it, but stressed the city has no choice given the current emergency situation.

“I understand there will be some frustrations at their inability to get in and out of the harbor. This is their livelihood,” Mr. Wiltshire said. “But this is a very unique emergency situation. It has to be done at some period of time, and this is that period of time, in order to remedy this situation as soon as possible.”

Since the Jan. 5 swell, the nowshallow harbor has been difficult to safely navigate, Mr. Wiltshire said.

“With all that infill, all of the harbor entrance is a lot shallower after the storm,” he said, so harbor officials initiated what Mr. Wiltshire called a “soft” closure.

“We posted notices to the mariners to let them know of the hazardous conditions,” he said.

Harbor Patrol vessels have been available to escort all mariners, including commercial fishermen, into and out of the harbor, and “a lot of them do so on high tide.

“That’s been the condition for the last couple of weeks, but behind the scenes we’ve been working with the Army Corps of Engineers to initiate the emergency dredging process,” he said.

The Army Corps picked Pacific Dredge, the company that’s done regular dredging of the harbor the past three years, to handle the emergency dredging, which involves removing 30,000 cubic yards of sand to create a navigable channel 100 feet wide by 12 feet deep, Mr. Wiltshire said.

“It’s purely just to get the harbor back to use,” he said. “We want to widen it as fully as possible for all vessels in harbor.”

The Army Corps will fund and manage the emergency dredging operation, just like they do the regularly scheduled dredgings that occur every year, he said. “They foot the bill so that’s very lucky for us.”

The next regularly scheduled dredging will take place in three to six weeks, and involve the dredging of 120,000 cubic yards of sediment and sand from the harbor bottom, he said.

According to Mr. Wiltshire, the huge swell responsible for the current situation measured 20 to 25 feet high about a mile out to sea, and 15 to 18 feet when it came toward shore, “infilling” the harbor with sand and sediment.

Ordinarily, the ocean, “left to its own devices,” would create a series of smaller swells over a couple of years to deposit that much sand and sediment to fill the harbor — and it happened on one night.

“All of the impacts were due to the Jan. 5 and Jan. 6 swell,” he said. “A lot of it happened overnight. Coupled with a high tide, it brought a tidal surge into the harbor. It’s really rare for the wharf itself to be breached by a unique and historic swell.

“Dredging is just sort of a fact of life here,” he added. Normally, sand moves down the coast “and

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Chief Probation Officer

Tanja Heitman will begin her new position March 20 as the assistant executive officer to oversee Santa Barbara County’s Health and Human Services and public safety departments.

“It is very humbling, for one thing,” Chief Heitman told the News-Press. “I have received a great amount of support from staff within the county family, external stakeholders, community members and people I have worked with in the past. It has really been affirming having a network of people that are quick to offer support, and with that network of individuals, I will be able to be more successful.

“It’s really daunting to step outside of what I am familiar with into this new role,” she said. “So I am grateful for this supportive network and people who are willing to partner with me in public safety. I am eager, but I am also very thankful for the support.”

Chief Heitman holds a

Tanja Heitman

bachelor’s in psychology from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. She has served Santa Barbara County for more than 32 years — specifically with the probation department. She has served in her current assignment as chief probation officer for just over five years.

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