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Home My WebLink About12/23/2020CC / JK OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER Dec. 23, 2020 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: Christian Clegg, City Manager SUBJECT: General Information MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS! City offices will be closed Thursday, December 24 and Friday, December 25 in observance of the Christmas holiday. There will be no trash pick-up on Christmas Day. Curbside trash service will be delayed by one day. B-CARES Update  City Staff continues to review and process applications for B-CARES small business assistance grants, with some even working over the weekend. As of Wednesday morning (December 23), the B-CARES program has awarded $3.31 million to 521 local businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. There are another 659 applications being reviewed and the City expects to have the entire $5 million that was allocated to the program awarded to all eligible applicants by the end of the calendar year. Notable Items  Extra trash and clutter expected after the holidays? This year, through the Clean Cities Initiative, the City of Bakersfield’s Solid Waste Division is offering a way for you to get rid of it FREE with a pair of pop-up, drive-thru-style holiday trash drop-off events! You can bring household trash or recycling items that won’t fit in you tan or blue bins to the parking lots at Mechanics Bank Arena or Aera Park on January 2 or 3. General Information Dec. 23, 2020 Page 2  If you use the Kern River Parkway bike path, you will likely notice some new maps installed along your ride! The City partnered with Kern County and its Parks Department, the East Bakersfield Rotary Club and the Kern River Parkway Foundation to design the maps (right). The City’s Water Resources Department installed the 15 new map monuments along the path – which stretches from Enos Lane north to Lake Ming – with 11 locations in the City and four in the County.  The Bakersfield Police Department’s Training Academy celebrated the graduation of 14 cadets on Thursday, December 17 at the Westside Substation (below). The ceremony was smaller than most, in order to maintain social distancing. Family members of the cadets attended, pinning badges on the new officers. The graduates will next take part in a three-week mini academy, followed by a 17- week field officer training program before hitting the streets. This is the third class of cadets to graduate from the academy as part of an effort to hire 100 new officers over a three-year period using funding from the Public Safety & Vital Services (PSVS) Measure.  The Bakersfield Fire Department is proud to announce that they’ve promoted five new Fire Apparatus Engineers. Wesley Howard (hired 10/16/2017), Daniel Rivers (2/9/2015), Derek Rodriguez (9/4/2012), John Sturgeon (2/9/2015), and Jeremy Villalovos (2/9/2015) were all promoted on December 22 after completing a rigorous six-month testing process. Congratulations to these new Engineers! General Information Dec. 23, 2020 Page 3  Bakersfield was recently ranked among the top 10 cities where cost of living is decreasing. Apartmentguide.com placed Bakersfield 9th on the list of U.S. cities, with the overall change to cost of living dropping nearly 3% from the first quarter of 2020 to the third. That change is owed to an almost 7% decline in grocery costs and another 7.1% drop in "miscellaneous" costs, according to the website. The website called Bakersfield "the family-friendly side of the Golden State, a steady and reliable energy production hub with a low cost of living (for California, at least)."  The front doors for City Hall North (1600 Truxtun Avenue) will be inaccessible to employees and the public from 8 a.m. to approximately 11 a.m. on Tuesday, December 29. Crews will be performing repair work at the building during that time. The public and City employees will be able to enter City Hall North using the side door located near the visitor parking lot on H Street. Traffic Advisories  Westbound Truxtun Avenue Lanes at City Hall North to be closed The two westbound lanes of Truxtun Avenue between Eye and H Streets will be closed Tuesday, December 29, from 6:30 a.m. to approximately 11 a.m. as crews complete repairs at City Hall North. Signage will be posted in the area to divert traffic. Construction work may be postponed and rescheduled without notice due to inclement weather or other unforeseen conditions. The City thanks the public for its patience during this closure.  Freeway closure for westbound 58 to southbound 99 connector Nighttime closures have been scheduled for the southbound State Route 99. All lanes will be closed from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. on December 29. During this time the westbound State Route 58 to southbound State Route 99 will also be closed. The closure is for placing steel reinforcement of column on State Route 99 median. During these closures, westbound-to-southbound motorists will be detoured to northbound State Route 99 connector to exit at California and then enter on the southbound State Route 99 on-ramp. Construction schedules may be changed without notice due to unforeseen circumstances. The Thomas Roads Improvement Program apologizes for any inconvenience this work may cause the traveling public. Reports  AT&T U-verse programming changes through February 2021. General Information Dec. 23, 2020 Page 4  AT&T U-verse price changes starting Jan. 17, 2021. Events  Holiday Trash/Recycling Drop-off Event, January 2 and 3 at Mechanics Bank Arena (1001 Truxtun Avenue, enter parking lot from N Street) and Aera Park (100 Jewetta Avenue). Public Works Department – Solid Waste Division 4101 Truxtun Road, Bakersfield, CA 93309 661-326-3114 FAX: 661-852-2121 MEDIA ADVISORY FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Joe Conroy Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020 Public Information Officer 661-326-3074 JConroy@bakersfieldcity.us CITY OFFERING HOLIDAY TRASH POP-UP DROP-OFF EVENTS When the holiday season comes to a close, many households will face the same question: What to do with all the extra clutter that comes after opening the gifts? As part of the Clean Cities Initiative, this year the City of Bakersfield is offering a pair of FREE pop-up drive-thru drop-off events to help residents get rid of all that extra clutter that comes with the holidays! City residents are welcome to take advantage of this special two-day event at either of two locations, Aera Park or Mechanics Bank Arena. When: 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., January 2 and 3. Where: Parking lot of Aera Park (100 Jewetta Avenue) and Mechanics Bank Arena (1001 Truxtun Avenue, enter rear parking lot from N Street). Accepted: Regular household items that don’t fit in your tan cart, regular recyclables that do not fit in your blue cart, including cardboard, paper, plastic containers, glass bottles (green, brown and clear), metal. Not accepted: Household hazardous waste, construction or demolition materials. Please separate tan cart items from blue cart items before arriving to help the drive- thru move as quickly as possible. Each person will unload their own items into designated bins provided at the event. The City asks that everyone wear a facemask or covering and practice social distancing at the event. For questions, please contact the Solid Waste Division at 661-326-3114, option 3 for Residential Services. ### Special Event Got extra clutter around the house after the holidays? Bring it to the City's FREE pop-up drive-thru event! Clean Cities January 2 & 3 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Parking lots at Mechanics Bank Arena & Aera Park Initiative City Manager’s Office 1600 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93301 661-326-3751 FAX: 661-324-1850 MEDIA ADVISORY FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Joe Conroy Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020 Public Information Officer 661-326-3074 JConroy@bakersfieldcity.us CLOSURES REQUIRED DURING REPAIR WORK AT CITY HALL NORTH The front doors for City Hall North at 1600 Truxtun Ave. will be temporarily inaccessible to employees and the public from 8 a.m. to approximately 11 a.m. on Tuesday, December 29. Crews will be performing repair work at the building during that time. The building will remain open during this work. The public and City employees will be able to enter City Hall North using the side door located on the west side of the building near the visitor's parking lot on H Street. This work will also require the closure of the two westbound lanes of Truxtun Avenue between Eye and H Streets from 6:30 a.m. to approximately 11 a.m. Signage will be posted in the area to divert traffic. Construction work may be postponed and rescheduled without notice due to inclement weather or other unforeseen conditions. The City thanks the public for its patience during this closure. ###