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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/25/96 BAKERSFIELD MEMORANDUM October 25, 1996 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY C~ ~/ FROM: ALAN TANDY, CITY MANAGER SUBJECT: GENERAL INFORMATION 1. With the Chester Avenue streetscape ahead of schedule, the reception to the Convention Center expansion being positive so far, and the D.A. bids for an office complex being out, it just seems very, very positive for the downtown! I have enclosed a slightly revised copy of the Phase I "needed authorizations" document. I'd suggest we begin proceeding with these steps in the near future. 2. I am pleased to report that Fire Chief Mike Kelly will be rejoining us on November 7th. 3. Enclosed is a letter we sent to the City of Shafter which points out both the procedural errors in the processing of their environmental document, as well as the practical issues of offering City services to a disjointed, "leapfrog" annexation. This is a product of the Urban Development 'Committee discussion. 4. An update on the County's latest strategy for implementing universal refuse collection is enclosed. They are talking about it for apartments only. 5. The soils testing is finished on Panorama. 6. Cox Cable has informed us of some managerial and operational changes they are making, which they indicate will have no negative impacts to customers in Bakersfield. It is primarily switching certain functions back and forth beteen two cities. Their letter is enclosed.. 7. Approximately 600 trees will be planted throughout southeast Bakersfield this Saturday. The project is sponsored by the Southeast Partnership. The City will again be donating compost materials. A memorandum from ECDC regarding this event is enclosed. 9. The "white" paper requested at the goals session on the original, as well as "new" Centennial Plaza site is enclosed. Honorable Mayor and City Council October 25, 1996 Page 2 10. We sent some reserve fire engines to the big fires near Malibu and Calabasas. 11. The time frame on the barricades on 17th Street is up. We'll be pulling them down and doing some after removal monitoring to see if anything has changed. 12. A response to a Council referral is enclosed, as follows: · Provide information to Mr. Tim Bjornson regarding an injured dog euthanized by the SPCA. AT:rs cc: Department Heads Pamela McCarthy, Acting City Clerk Trudy Slater, Administrative Analyst EXHIBIT "B" PHASE I ELEMENTS, WORK TASKS, AND NEEDED AUTHORIZATIONS In order to pursue Phase I, staff should be authorized and directed as follows: 1) To bring forward for Council decision the open issues surrounding cost/sizing and scope of amenities for the arena. 2) To bring to conclusion the issue of moving the Chamber, or not, and preparing a contract for Council action, if a concept agreement is reached; 3) To initiate the RFP. process for architectural and engineering designs of the Plaza (if applicable), arena parking and rail crossing elements; 4) Assuming Item #1 is positively resolved, plans should be refined to work with the Centennial Committee for fundraising, design, timing, and related issues for the Plaza. A major cooperative effort would be needed to maximize community efforts and involvement; 5) To have land appraised and then to initiate land acquisition needed for parking, to obtain permits from the railroad for track crossings. 6) To demolish structures on land currently owned by the City that would be involved in temporary parking; 7) To initiate procedures to bring a bond underwriter and bond attorney "on board"; 8) To return appropriation adjustments for the financing of Phase I and to work with City Council to complete the financing plan for Phase II. 9) To complete a joint parking agreement with Kern County to share existing surface spaces, in addition to the County owned garage. 10) To initiate environmental and zoning processes which are pertinent. CC-FEI0.24 B A K E R S F I E L D Development Services Department Jack Hardisty, Director October 18, 1996 Dennis C. }:idler Stanley C. Grady Building Director Planning Director (805) 326-3720 Fax (805) 325-0266 (805) 326-3733 Fax (805) 327-0646 City of Shafter Attention: Lawrence Tomasello, Planning Director 336 Pacific Avenue Shafier, CA 93263 RE: Sphere of Influence Amendment No. 96-1; Annexation No. 69; General Plan Amendment No. 96-1; Zone Change No. 96-4 Dear Mr. Tomasella: We have reviewed the Negative Declaration' for the above-referenced case and offer the following comments: 1. The public notice failed to advertise the fact you will actually rely upon a previous environmental impact report for both the general plan amendment and zone change. This omission would be in apparent conflict With Government Code Section 21092. 2. The Form "E" of your negative declaration indicates the City of ShaRer City Council will adopt a negative declaration for this overall project. This appears inadequate, you are relying on an EIR for the actual GPA and zone change, see Government Code Section 15153. 3. It appears necessary to have the City Council certify the EIR and make the same or similar overriding findings made by the Kern County Board of Supervisors. This appears legally necessary as upon annexation the City of ShaRer will become the lead agency for · the EIR and becomes responsible for implementation and monitoring of all mitigation measures, see Government Code Section 21081.6. ~'~. 4. In an effort to review the FEIR on the Foreign Trade Zone a member of staff visited the 'i. Kem County Planning Department at 2700 "M" Street on October 17, 1996. We '~' .:., requested to review the environmental docUment at their fron~ counter but no copy was available: Our purpose for reviewing the document was to see what measures the FEIR contained to insure this large industrial area was to be provided with adequate urban infrastructure. City of Bakersfield · 1 71 5 Chester Avenue · Bakersfield, California ° 93301 City of ShaRer October 18, 1996 Page 2 5. The urban node containing the Foreign Trade Zone is located literally miles from the City of ShaRer. We would think the 'provisions of emergency services would be strained to provide for this island of development. Fire and Police services are located miles from the area to be served. This particular issue was not addressed in the County's EIR nor is there any identification of impacts to emergency services in the negative declaration. 6. We understand the County has other relevant agreements regarding mineral rights access with the existing mineral rights owners. Since the area is about to become within the jurisdiction of the City of ShaRer, it would appear these agreements will need to be revised. 7. Public Works staff has reviewed the Negative Declaration prepared by the City of ShaRer for the annexation of the Foreign Trade Zone. With the annexation of such a significant amount of land, we feel that insufficient information has been presented with regard to the need for additional infrastructure.' How will ShaRer plan, finance and construct the necessary expansion of sewer and water conveyance and treatment facilities? These are extremely expensive items, as Bakersfield has reason to know. What is the effect on the circulation of the area? How will Shafter fund the required transportation facilities? 8. In addition, staff can foresee that urbanization of the agriculture area around the Foreign Trade Zone will occur at an earlier date than that nearest the ,existing urbanized area. How will ShaRer take care of the "leapfrog" effects due to the distance between the development and the core of the City services? Will ShaRer become, in actuality, two cities? , 9. Public Works staff feels that these issues are extremely critical in a project of this magnitude and that they must be addressed in order for this document to be considered complete. ~ ~,:. Should you have questions, please call. ,,., tor '~" MG:pjt '~ l\lcosl0-17 BAKERSFIELD PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM TO: Alan Tandy, City Manager FROM: Rani Rojas, Public Works Director/~t--~~ DATE: October 21, 1996 SUBJECT: UPDATE ON UNIVERSAL REFUSE COLLECTION IN COUNTY AREAS County staff, together with the local haulers, unveiled a new strategy for achieving a universal collection mandate. It involves making multiple unit dwellings use universal refuse collection first, since the tenants would not typically be inclined to self-haul their garbage to the landfill. The other part of the "plan" is to raise the rate and switch the existing manual refuse collection at single family homes to automated refuse and greenwaste collection, and subsequently reduce the rate as universal collection is required. The hope is that the future "price reduction" (albeit it follows an increase) will generate a positive political reaction to forced garbage service. 10/24/96 TIUJ 12:12 FAX 805 322 7503 CITY BKFI) SANITATION DI¥ ~002 MINUTF~ OF THE METROPOLITAN BAKERSFIELD SOLID WASTE SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING SEPTEMBER 27, 1996 12:00 P.M. AT BAKERSFIELD CITY HALL IN ATTENDANCE WERE: Pat DeMond, Kevin Barnes, Roland Burkert, Nancy Ewert, Fred Cox, Larry Moxley, Howard Morris, Greg Ferrari, and Barbara Costen. ITEM NO. 1. MANDATORY COLLECTION/AUTOMATIONUPDATE Roland Burkert reported on a new approach for acheiving mandatory collection in the county areas. With not being able to identify problems with single family residential areas, the County is focusing on mandatory collection for muitifamily dwellings only. The idea is to automate first with a higher rate then go to mandatory collection which allows for a rate decrease, as a possible strategy. With the County's refuse and greenwaste to mirror the City's program, haulers can then go to Mt. Vernon Facility instead of going to the landfill. Right now with the system the way it is, the haulers are not willing to guarantee a lower · rate, because Kern Refuse Disposal, Inc. is agreeing to a rate of about $9.50 or even a little higher. Councilmember Pat DeMond noted that mandatory collection would probably also help build a constituency among people who pay already, because all the people around them would then have to pay also. Roland Burkert noted that the Board of Supervisors only see people in the chambers who are opposed, they never see anyone who is for mandatory collection. While you might be able to build a constituency, it would be difficult to see the results at a Board meeting. Larry Moxley said that trying to build the idea that mandatory collection does not have high profile politically, is something the Board might do. They might take it as a one-step and fl~en two-step approach using the automation first with a higher rate then going mandatory collection with a rate decrease, which will be more palatable. Pat DeMond said that Neighborhood Watch block leaders can also build support and positive feedback. She has had success in doing this in her Ward. Larry Moxley said that Kern Refuse can work with the Board of Supervisors and determine who i.s in support and who is in opposition to mandatory collection, then they perhaps can cultivate the major players, Roland Burkert pointed out that Paul Benz, a hauler outside of Bakersfield can make things work, but not in a short term. Short term meaning one month where he can actually lose customers through automation, but pick up customers in the long term, meaning three months. So this is another consideration for the haulers to voluntarily automate a program in the areas where' they do not have mandatory coUection. The real issue is whether automation will lose customers or gain customers. Looking at the example of Paul Benz, you appear to lose customers in the first month, people do not like the program, but then you end up gaining more customers in the long term in the following couple of months. IOF 3 $;~W'PDATA~METR0927.MIN 10/24/95 TflI! 12:13 FAX 805 322 7503 CITY BKFD SANITATION DI¥ ~003 M~i'KOPOLITAN BAKHRSI~,ELD SOLID WASTE 8UBCOMMITTI~E MRRTI!NG SEi~r~M~R ~.7, 1996 ITEM NO. 2. BULKY ITEM DISPOSAL PROGRAM Kevin Barnes reported that with the changing over from the old manual system to containerization and the change out of 8,000 homes that used to share 2,000 of the big 300 gallon alley cans, which were targets for those mid-size items that people wanted to get rid of, there seems to be an increased need for bulky item collection. There have been sporadic attempts in the past years to do area clean ups or perhaps an annual sweep of bulky items. With those attempts being so costly per ton of material collected, we have been talking to County staff about a possible cost sharing agreement to do a program similar to thc one in San Bernardino. This program was set up with monthly drop off at a particular place which happened to be two Home Depots. In our case, we would use Mt Vernon and another site. When the material comes to the location(s), it tends to be about a $100 a ton cheaper to handle it, and yOu can get recycling put in different containers and deal with it easier. This is the proposal the City staff is working on. ITEM NO. 3. BAKERSFIELD CITY LANDFILL SWAT (SOLID WASTE ASSESSMENT TEST) Nancy Ewert reported that Metcalf & Eddy has submitted a draft Supplemental SWAT report, the Solid Waste Assessment Test which looks at the groundwater to establish if the landfill is contaminating it, Based on all the investigative results, it is concluded that leakage from the landfill does not currently pose a threat to the groundwater per the existing beta soil moriitoring system, comprising lysimeters, gas probes, and neutron techniques which should provide an early warning if significantly J-migration occurs, Metcalf & Eddy did determine that there is some gas migration down to about $0' below the landfill. They have not seen it expand from that, alot of that is due to ~he fact that they do have an active gas system going on and over time that will start to decrease. This report will go to the Re4~ional Water Quality Control Board in Fresno. They will be reviewing it and hopefully the County will have it wrapped up within a month or two. This will conclude the Metcalf & Eddy contract for the SWAT work with the Bakersfield Sanitary Landfill. ITEM NO. 4, MT. VERNON GREENWASTE FACILITY Kevin Barnes reports the capital improvement is just about done. The engineers in Public Works will be signing off any day. Capital improvement being site improvement: grading, drainage, and waterlines. City has begun wil~drowing on the new graded portion so there will be easy runoff into two sumps. The City has acquired a new self-loading tubgrinder that has been in use for about two weeks. Also a new used 4 cubic yard loader to replace the old surplus I 1/2 cubic yard loader for better production. City is still waiting on a new screen to match the grinder. 2OF 3 8,\WPDATA~vl EI-RU927, MI]V 10/24/96 TI~! 12:14 FAX 805 322 7503 CITY BKFI) SANITATION DI¥ ~]004 Mf~ROPOI=.s'TAN B^KERSFIP-.I..D SOLID W^STE gUBCOMMITTE~ MEETINO ~EPTEMBI!R 27. ITEM NO. 5. ARVIN CAPACITY EXTENSION Roland Burkert reports the County has completed the ramp at Bena Landfill, but because of some delays in thc operations contract, the ramp has not been opened. Open bid had gone out for a new operator to temporarily work in the lower section. There is a new liner and the County has filled in a portion of thc area at the bottom of the liner with garbage to make a pad. The County will fill in the rest with soft garbage which comes out of packer trucks. There will bca temporary agreement for an operator to handle nothing but packer trucks at thc lower portion while all of the roll offs and self haul material will s~ay at the top of the face and William Joy will continue to operate there. There is an operational layer of sand about 2' thick which will have 4' of garbage on top of it so there will be plenty of space between where the County is operating 'and the liner. Once this is established then everything will be routed to the bottom and the liner will be filled up from there. The agreement with the operator at the bottom portion will probably be effective about October 14 or 15, Negotiations with G!!liam & Son for operation of the Arvin Landfill has reached an agreement as far as the monthly cost is concerned. Gilliam & Son's compensation (based on the tonnage rate) for the operation of the Arvin Landfill will decrease and increase for the operation of the Bena Landfill due to trucks being diverted from Arvin Landfill to Bena landfill. Everything should be in place in two weeks. The County trucks are already going to the Bena Landfill, along with some of the City trucks. Kevin Bnmes, Solid Was~ Direclor Lar~J Moxley, Kern Refuse [0i,wo~st, Rolnnd Budders, Kern Count,/Want~ palr~ci& DeMond, Bakersfield C~ty Councllmember l~bara Palrick, K~rn Coun~ Su!0erviaor Daptu~ Washington, Kern Co~tty Alan 'l'~ndy, Cl~y Manager H~s~ M~la, ~id Wa~ b~e~j~edcnt 3OF 3 g:\WPDATA\MLgTR0~27.MI~ 820 22nd Street Bakersfield, California 93301 ph (805) 327-3372 fax (805) 327-7921 October 16, '1996 Mr. Alan Tandy COi~IVIUNICATIONS City Manager 1501 Truxtun Avenue Bakersfield, California 93301 Dear Alan: As you know, rve maintained responsibility for managing the Cox Communications-. system in Bakersfield since my promotion to Santa Barbara some six months ago. During this time, it's become increasingly apparent to me that there are some functions common to both systems that could be consolidated into one. This would provide us some economies of scale .to hold down overhead while maintaining the same level of customer care and programming offerings. As a result, customer service telephones, marketing, accounting, MIS, collections and human resources will be shared services between Bakersfield and Santa Barbara. The Bakersfield operation will maintain independent of Santa Barbara for direct sales, service center operations, warehousing, field service and maintenance. The integration of these services will be gradual. We've targeted January, 1997 for completion. Rest assured that these moves will be transparent to our customers who will continue to call the same local number for service. Our locally staffed front counter operation will also remain in operation. Providing exceptional customer service to our customers remains a first priority to us. The economies we anticipate will be realized from these shared services and will now allow us to guarantee 24-hour telephone service as well as two hour appointment windows for all service needs! Keith Crossley, who was named interim Director of Operations when I moved to Santa Barbara, is now 'official' and will manage the Bakersfield operation day-to- day. His number remains 327-3372, extension 344. Thank you in advance for your anticipated understanding and cooperation. Should you have any questions or comments related to this consolidation, please call me directly at (805) 683-3821. General Manager BAKERSFIELD Economic and Community Development Department MEMORANDUM October 23, 1996 TO: Alan Tandy, City Manager FROM: Jake Wager, Economic Developme/~t Director~ SUBJECT: Tree Planting Project Scheduled for Saturday, October 26, 1996 On Saturday, October 26, 1996 a group of volunteers, recruited by the Southeast Partnership, will gather at the Richardson Center (1515 Feliz) in southeast Bakersfield to kick-off a second round of tree plantings. You may recall that earlier this year, this department helped coordinate a massive tree planting in southeast Bakersfield during National Arbor Week. Our estimate is that nearly 700 trees were planted. A high percentage of these trees did survive the summer and in the years to come, the appearance of southeast Bakersfield will continue to improve as the trees mature. The most visible example of this first project is the periphery of the Kern County Fairgrounds. This Saturday, volunteers will fan out throughout southeast Bakersfield and plant three types of trees: Eucalyptus, Honey Locust, and Chinese Pistachio. It is estimated that just over six hundred trees will be planted this time. Of this number, over fifty percent of the trees will be planted in the incorporated areas of Bakersfield. As was the case last time, the City will be providing over forty cubic yards of compost material from the Wood Waste Recycling Facility. Kevin Barnes, our Solid Waste Director, has again been very supportive and continues to demonstrate the City's continued desire to foster improvements in southeast Bakersfield. cc: Raul Rojas, Public Works Director dlt:jw9 treeplan.mern OCT 2 ]1 i! BAKERSFIELD CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE MEMORANDUM October 25, 1996 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members FROM: G aiters, Assistant City Manager SUBJECT: C~ntennial Celebration Background At a City Council retreat held in June 1996, the Council indicated its desire to review all plans for the establishment of a "landmark" to pay tribute to the centennial, which is in 1998. They directed staff to present to them a white paper outlining the possibility, feasibility and viability of completing a landmark in time for the centennial celebration, with the understanding that there is a ground swell of support for the idea already taking place within the community. Several proposals have been introduced by different groups within the community; in particular, the Centennial Celebration Committee and Future Bakersfield. Recently, these two entities appointed an ad hoc committee to reach a consensus on the approach that should be taken to honor the centennial and to ensure that efforts for a final project are coordinated. 1 It is clear that whatever the final product, the consensus is that it be a community project spearheaded by private sector donations. This emphasis allows for greater participation, ownership and civic pride. Depending on the final product, the City would entertain taking over responsibility for the upkeep and maintenanCe of a landmark, because at that point it would stand as a positive addition to the City's cultural and recreational history. Preliminary maintenance and operational costs based on Option #1 below have been estimated at $18,682 annually, but could come in as Iow as $3,500, as Option #2 has more hard scape than greenery. Discussion A synopsis and specifics on the size and make up of each option is outlined below: Option #1 is a site bounded by 17th Street on the north, P Street to the east, Truxtun Avenue to the south, and O Street to the west. Preliminary work has begun on site selection and land and improvements acquisition costs. This site encompasses nine lots and is held by five individual property owners. Its proximity to the Convention Center and Holiday Inn Select make it a prime focal point to promote the Convention Center and as well continue to focus on developing the downtown. Because five of the lots have improvements, it may be extremely difficult to negotiate a reasonable sale price, since the completion of the Holiday Inn Select and the anticipated future economic activity. The City's property manager was asked to lay out "ball park" values for the site based on the current market. Those figures roughly total 2 between $1,025,000 - $1,285,000 for the land; and $1,412,978 for the improvements to the proposed Centennial Plaza. The figure for the improvements is based on estimates to complete a city-funded project. Several of the subcommittee members have or will be approaching the property owners of this proposed site to discuss acquisition issues. The Committee is aware that one of the property owners has placed an option on his land to bid for the County District Attorney's project. This basically puts a hold on any negotiations with the property owner until after it is announced who will receive the bid, which is scheduled for November 19, 1996, when bids are opened and awarded. Option #2 is a scaled down version of the Centennial Plaza proposal outlined in Option #1. It focusses on constructing a Centennial Plaza at the corner of Truxtun Avenue and N Street. The identified location would require the relocation of the Chamber of Commerce. Discussions with the Chamber have been favorable contingent upon the City making them "whole" and if the relocation is not cost prohibitive. This proposal could include the following: an open air seating court with the focal point being a small platform or podium that would position the featured attraction of an event; a water element such as a "pop jet" fountain or a stream with rocks and a waterfall would be situated behind the platform; a reader board at the entrance of the plaza could be used for announcing events going on at the Convention Center; there could be a grassy area between the entrance to the plaza and the seating area that would provide some flexibility not only for seating but for other uses as well; benches would make for a nice noon hour setting or could be used for smaller events such as pre event gatherings, small community ceremonies, or a speaking site for dignitaries; and decorative lighting and mature landscaping would be placed throughout the plaza and along the brick lined pathways. To address the traffic pattern, two lanes could flow in a half moon on the back side of the plaza and in front of the Convention Center. These are some of the major items that make this option attractive. The City Manager has proceeded with further developing Option #2. He has made oral presentations to a number of the major stakeholders in the community and has gotten favorable feedback. The main attraction is that Option #2 appears to be a more "doable" project in the short term. This site is also on Colonel Bakers "original field" and is thus uniquely situated as a landmark for the City of Bakersfield's centennial celebration, its history and its future. As well, the need for the City to expand its Convention Center facility has made this option even more attractive because it will tie together the concept of a cultural and recreation entertainment center at the focal point of downtown and the entry way to major events in the City. As an aside, but a very significant plus to Option #2, is a proposed arena expansion to 4 I the Convention Center that would allow for additional entertainment venues that the City is now turning away because of lack of space. This concept is currently being developed by the City Manager which consists of a seating capacity ranging from 6,000 to a possible 8,000 facility, depending upon total cost factors and final priorities. So far, community reaction to the concept has been overwhelmingly positive. The expansion is proposed as a multi-purpose arena with a bowl-type seating arrangement. The facility could be used for major concerts, rodeos, trade shows, auto shows, circuses and other events of this magnitude. A related proposal is the concept presented by David Milazzo and Associates which proposes a "Riverstreet" similar to the very successful water element in San Antonio. This concept, while much broader in scope, also identifies a component as the Centennial Plaza which can be phased in. It takes in that part of downtown that goes past R Street to the east; 22th Street to the north; Truxtun Avenue to the South; and N Street to the west. Milazzo's proposal is a direct result of the work done by an ad hoc committee of the Future Bakersfield group. The concept has been walked around the community and has gotten varying degrees of interest and support, particularly because of its comprehensive and ambitious undertaking. For example, the proposal details new construction for a sports arena, multi-screen cinema theater, centennial plaza, symphony and performing arts auditorium, museum of art, water museum, apartment tower, office tower, and five parking structures. Existing facilities identified within the entertainment hub include Central Park and the Senior Center, Hill House motel, Beale Library, Convention Center, Holiday Inn Select hotel, and their adjacent parking structures/lots. A water element is a major part of the Riverstreet plan, which requires diverting water from the canal to feed into a water element that encircles about nine blocks within in the overall concept plan. Preliminary research conducted by City staff has identified a number of areas in which some significant issues need to be addressed, such as working with the downtown businesses to ensure that a project such as this does not take away their livelihood; determining the condition, ownership and appropriate use for the streets wherein the water element would be constructed; replacing on street parking; and last but not least, funding sources. While it is reasonable to think that something like a Centennial Plaza can be constructed through private donations, it is less likely that Milazzo's proposal could be supported that way or that the City of Bakersfield's coffers can, at any point in the near future, begin to budget for this kind of project. The committee did explore other sites such as Central Park, but has determined that for the initial phase the proximity of Central Park was too far from the core of downtown and the Convention Center/Holiday Inn Select. In addition, Jastro Park, the area around the Fox Theater and a project in conjunction with the Chester Street Landscape project were discussed. For various reasons, all of these sites were less desirable than the options mentioned above. Conclusion Some committee members have expressed confidence in securing private donations for the project. Fundraisers, in kind contributions related to infrastructure materials as well as donations like the Tree Foundation's commitment to furnish the trees can reduce the cost of the improvements a great deal. This direction is perhaps the make or break point of moving forward with a centennial landmark. Additional areas for financial community involvement would be a "brick dedication" program where individuals could purchase a brick that would line the pathway throughout a centennial plaza; or renting space on a reader board where a business owner could advertise. Finally, the most critical contribution could be in the way of public support for the idea of a centennial plaza. This project must be embraced by individuals, talked about at neighborhood meetings, in the grocery store and as a major component of all businesses short- and long-range goals, for it has the potential to benefit every citizen and bring increased revenues to every business. '7 As stated earlier, the centennial celebration is a celebration of community pride, which means Bakersfield residents, business owners, non-profit organizations, and government entities -- not just government, and not government leading the way.. More and more, citizens are saying that they want to be a stronger participant in what is being planned for their community. More and more, citizens are concerned that government is moving into areas which are better left to grass roots efforts. There is no better example where this can be realized than through the centennial celebration. Just as it took a private/non-profit organization to win the All America City Award, it will take the community at-large to say what is most important about living in Bakersfield and how they want to showcase that pride. Staff is supportive of establishing a centennial landmark provided that it is a community project, that it is located in the downtown where it can enhance other attributes of the City, and that full funding is identified prior to breaking ground. Staff recommends that Council review and address similar issues based on the information provided in this paper and discussions with the community at-large. BAKERSFIELD PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM DATE: October 24, 1996 TO: ALAN TANDY, CITY MANAGER FROM: RAUL M. ROJAS, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR ~t~~ / SUBJECT: 17TH STREET CLOSURE AT UNION AVENUE The Traffic Engineers have completed gathering traffic volume counts west of Union Avenue on 17th Street and the adjacent alleys to the north and south of 17th Street. A draft report regarding the barrier effectiveness and traffic diversion impacts should be ready for review in two weeks with the final report available November 15, 1996. With the end of the four month test period and Traffic Engineering's completion of the data collection the existing temporary barricade will be removed on Monday, October 28, 1996. cc: Stephen L. Walker, Traffic Engineer s:\wp\bradLmemo96\ 17th.pwd ! OCT 2 4. ,, -"'~,2' , , ~ 1 ', ,", r. "~" :":~; .",'t,'~'2-~;'''~:~"  B A K E R S F I E L D CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE MEMORANDUM _ . October 23, '1996 TO: Alan Tandy, City Manager FROM' Trudy Slater, Administrative Analyst III SUBJECT: Request from Tim Bjornson As a follow up to Council Referral WF0011905/001, I contacted Mr. Tim Bjornson regarding an incident reported in the Cheers & Jeers section of the Bakersfield Californian involving an injured dog euthanized by the SPCA. Mr. Bjornson felt it would be more convenient to him to discuss the issue over the phone rather than meeting in person. I mentioned the information provided to me by the SPCA as well as related my conversation with Dr. Robertson, the veterinarian the animal was to be directed to. Dr. Robertson said he felt the SPCA had taken humane and appropriate action in this case and that he felt the SPCA was highly professional in carrying out its duties. Dr. Robertson indicated his wife had told him the dog was barely alive when she had seen it at the site. Mr. Bjornson indicated he did not need to get written copies of my information. He still felt that the SPCA did not follow the Penal Code in the euthanizing of the animal. When I mentioned the code sections cited by the SPCA, he indicated that he felt that if the animal were capable of being moved, then it should have been moved to the veterinarian and not euthanized. He specifically mentioned section 597.1(c) of the Penal Code relating to this issue. Mr. Bjornson's feelings were quite fixed on the issue. I indicated that I would have the City Attorney's Office (Laura Marino) look at his issue from a legal interpretation. He indicated he would like to receive a copy of that response. Mr. Bjornson's address is 2600 Barrington, Bakersfield, CA 93309, telephone (805) 834-6035. (P:\SPCA\M 1023961) cc: Laura Marino, Assistant City Attorney Judy Skousen, City Attorney