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Home My WebLink About05/08/98 BAKERSFIELD CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE MEMORANDUM May 8,1998 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COU~~ FROM: ALAN TANDY, CITY MANAGER SUBJECT: GENERAL INFORMATION 1. There is a memo enclosed detailing the results of the County Proposition 218 . hearing regarding placing the multi-unit landfill fee back on the property tax bill as a land use fee, instead of using the gate fee method they used last year. Fortunately, the land use fee passed. We are now back to where we were two years ago before the County started the pay-as-you-throw plan under the guise of Proposition 218 compliance. A letter from the County Waste Management Department on the results of the hearing is also enclosed. 2. A status report from Public Works on the repair of local railroad crossings is enclosed. There is also a memo attached from the City Attorney's office on this subject. Since, after our repeated requests, the railroad is in the process of fixing the crossings, we will withdraw Our legal complaint against them, provided all repairs are done by July 1. 3. A response to a Council request to study possible Coffee Road access to multi- family areas of the Riverlakes development is enclosed. 4. The attached article from Thursday's newspaper shows population figures released by the State Department of Finance. Bakersfield's population at January 1, 1998 was 3.3% higher than last year, or a total of 221,700. 5. There is another article enclosed, in case you missed it, on some of the upcoming sporting events to be held at Centennial Garden. 6. A memo is enclosed from the Chief of Police regarding the Kern County Peace Officers' Memorial Ceremony which is scheduled for Wednesday, May 13~h at noon in front of the Justice Building, 1415 Truxtun Ave. Honorable Mayor and City Council May 8, 1998 Page 2 7. We are proposing to put the 1962 Convention Center time capsule, which had to be removed due to "Garden" construction, into the big time capsule going under the Plaza. 8. Pacific Resources has asked to be let out of their contract with us, and we accept the withdrawal. 9. The California High Speed Rail Authority will hold a meeting in Bakersfield on Wednesday, May 20th. Preliminary meeting information is attached. The Kern Transportation Foundation does not yet have a time schedule or agenda for the meeting, but they do plan to host a reception for the Authority members on Tuesday, May 19th at the Convention Center from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. An invitation is attached, and reservations are required. AT:rs cc: Department Heads Pamela McCarthy, City Clerk Trudy Slater, Administrative Analyst BAKERSFIELD CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE MEMORANDUM May 6, 1998 TO: Alan Tandy, City Manager FROM: John W. Stinson, Assistant City Manager SUBJECT: County Multi-Unit Landfill Fee Yesterday at the Board of Supervisors meeting they conducted the hearing regarding placing the multi-unit landfill fee back on the property tax bill as a land use fee instead of using the gate fee method they used last year. This was a concern since the county intended to have cities collect the fee if the gate fee method was continued. Fortunately the land use fee passed. They mailed 11,317 ballots and the final tally of responses was as follows: Land Use Fee 2,846 Gate Fee 1,941 They had a 42% response rate. This was higher than their 35% response rate when they had their prop 218 County Service Area mail in protest last year. We are now back to where we were two years ago before the county started the pay-as-you-throw plan under the guise of Proposition 218 compliance. Also of interest at the meeting was a board discussion regarding a complaint'by a citizen about illegal dumping. The board expressed concern about not being able to do anything about illegal dumping. Several Board members noted that without mandatory collection they need to better address the illegal dumping problem. They referred the issue to the Scott Jones, Daphne Washington and Dave Price to work out some alternatives. Roy Weygand of Kern Tax volunteered to assist them as part of the committee. cc. Raul Rojas, Public Works Director Judy Skousen, City Attorney Kern County City Managers P XATTASKS\County Multi-Unit Landfill Fee.wpd KERI1 COUHTY HASTE flAHAG EHT DEPARTHEHT Daphne H. Ha hington, Oirettor 2700 "M" Street, Suite 500 Bakersfield, CA 9330 I (80S) 8~2-e900 (800) 552-KERN (option 6) Fax: (805) 862-8901 May 7, 1998 Alan Tandy, City Manager City of Bakersfield 1501 Truxtun Ave Bakersfield, California 93301 Dear Mr. Tandy: On Tuesday, May 5, the Kern County Board of Supervisors conducted a hearing to tabulate Proposition 218 ballots on the question of returning Solid Waste Land Use Fees for multi-unit parcels to the property tax bill. A majority of ballots received favored placing this charge back on the property tax bill. Therefore. the Board enacted a new land use fee ordinance for the 1998/99 fiscal year that includes this fee. The amount of the fee was not changed from previous years. The current system of billing bin disposal fees to multi-unit parcels will stay in effect until June 30, 1998. Please do not make any immediate changes. Cities should continue to provide billing information and franchise haulers should continue to bill bin disposal fees for garbage collection service provided through June 30, 1998. For garbage collection service provided after July 1, 1998, it will not be necessary to bill bin disposal fees to multi-mt parcels. For service provided after July 1, cities will not be required to provide the County with separate billing information for multi-unit parcels and the County franchise garbage haulers must stop billing bin disposal fees to multi-unit parcels. Implementing Proposition 218 has been difficult and confusing. We appreciate your past cooperation and patience in this matter. NoTM, going back to land use fees for multi-unit parcels is a very positive step. Billing and record keeping will be simplified and delinquent accounts will be almost eliminated. Sincerely, DAPHNE H. WASHINGTON, Director By: Roland B. Burkert Special Projects Manager RBB:nef · .~ I:\LETTERS~Ballot Results Letter to City Managers and Haulers-RBB Merged.nef R ECE VED [] "~.ITY MANAGER'S OFFIC~ BAKERSFIELD PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM TO: ALAN TANDY, CITY MANAGER FROM: RAUL ROJAS, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR~ DATE: MAY 1, 1998 SUBJECT: UPDATE ON RAILROAD CROSSINGS The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad Company has completed repairs on the following crossings. Sumner Street, west of Miller Street - Crossing #2-885.4 Beale Avenue, north of East Truxtun Avenue - Crossing #2-885.7 Baker Street, south of Truxtun Avenue - Crossing #2-885.95 Tulare Street, south of Truxtun Avenue - Crossing #2-886.2 The repairs consist of removing the wood planks and reconstructing the crossing by installing concrete panels. The use of oil sand (cold-mix) to fill the gap adjacent to the panels is temporary. When at least two more crossings are completed, the Street Division will perform the permanent repairs on the pavement portion of the crossings. Repair work is currently in progress on the railroad crossing at Gage Street, north of East Truxtun Avenue. Once the repairs are completed at the Gage Street crossing, they will start on the crossing at Sonora Street, south of Truxtun Avenue. The railroad crossings south of Truxtun Avenue from "L" Street east to "S" are also supposed to be repaired this year. However, no specific date has been mentioned. We will continue to keep you informed on railroad crossing repairs as they are completed. G:\GROUPDAT~STREETS\SANTAFE.RRXINGS.wpd May 7, 1998 TO: FILE FROM: ALAN D. DANIEL, ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY SUBJECT: CITY vs. BNSF RAILROAD COMPANY, et al On May 6, 1998, I spoke with Mr. Curtis Ballantyne (213-620-0460) concerning the above-entitled action. I told Mr. Ballantyne the City had investigated the allegations in his answer to our complaint and discovered that the crossings were being repaired as he had stated. Four crossings, out of the 7 complained of, had been completely repaired and one (M Street) is waiting for City action before repairs can start. Two others at L and F Street will be repaired by July 1st. The current schedule is to have L Street completed by June 1 5th, and F Street by July 1st. The crossings at L and F will be done with timber, and M Street will be done with a concrete panel. Mr. Ballantyne suggested we speak to the administrative law judge on May 12th, the scheduling conference hearing, and explain the crossings are being fixed and request a continuance past July 1st. I agreed with this methodology. If the crossings are repaired by July 1st the City will dismiss its action. ADD:dlr ~ cc: Alan Tandy, City Manager Judy K. Skousen, City Attorney Raul Rojas, Public Works Director Jacques LaRochelle, Engineering Services Manager Stephen L. Walker, Traffic Engineer Laurie Dunehew, AIMS S:~.IT'P, AILROAD~CORR~BNSFRepairMmo.wpd I THIS MEMORANDUM IS EXEMPT FROM DISCLOSURE AND IS PROTECTED BY THE ATTORNEY/CLIENT AND ATTORNEY WORK PRODUCT PRIVILEGES. BAKERSFIELD PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM TO: ALAN TANDY, CITY MANAGER FROM: RAUL M. ROJAS, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR~ DATE: May 6, 1998 SUBJECT: REFERRAL BY COUNCILMAN McDERMOTT, STUDY OF POSSIBLE COFFEE ROAD ACCESS TO MULTIFAMILY AREAS OF RIVERLAKES DEVELOPMENT, APRIL 22, 1998 COUNCIL MEETING At the April 22, 1998 City Council Meeting, Councilman McDermott requested Public Works staff to investigate the possibility of allowing the multifamily zoned areas of the Riverlakes development to have direct access to Coffee Road. The two areas are located along Coffee Road between Hageman Road and Olive Drive. The areas are separated from Coffee Road by a 100-foot wide power line easement/linear park. The Traffic Engineer studied the area and concluded that a street from each multifamily area could be extended across the power line easement/park to provide access to Coffee Road if right turn lanes are used. The new streets will reduce the linear park area by about one-half acre. The new streets would each need to have a minimum of 60 feet of right of way and a curb to curb paved width of 40 feet. Each of the intersections with Coffee would need a twelve foot wide right turn deceleration lane of 350 feet in length. Median breaks to allow left turns into the new streets must be designed for only left turns into the multifamily streets. To maintain traffic flow and safety, no left turns out of the multifamily streets would be allowed. To eliminate the potential for "cut through" traffic, the multifamily areas should have either no access through the single family home area or very indirect access to Riverlakes Drive as may be required for emergency services. c: Traffic Engineering RECEIVED...- C MANAGER'S OFFtCF-.., slw: G:\GROU PDAT~Memo\1998\Rivedakes.MultifarnilyAccess.980422.ref.wpd .... ~la~f~d~- DOF Population Estimate for 1998 Page From: Jim Eggert To: Jack Hardisty Date: Thu, May 7, 1998 4:39 PM Subject: DOF Population Estimate for 1998 The State Department of Finance released yesterday (May 6, 1998) that the population for Bakersfield on January 1, 1998 was 221,700 an increase of 3.3% (7,100 people) over last year's population of 214,600. We are still ranked as the 13th largest city in the state (Stockton is the 12th and they have about 20,000 more people than us). California & the West State adds 582 000 in '97 Concorciwasl0thonthegrowth-ratetist~whileCtu¢o and Santa Rosa were tied for 15th and Oakland and Redding were lied for 24t~ Meanwhile, ~e state numbers are watched for a number ~'California's population goes tl~ird, of reasons -- not least because they can affect how much Kings County recorded the fastest percentage growth ~ money local governments are authorized to spen~ up for second sWaight year. .~.~ percem -- wl~le Los Angeles drew in the mos~ new- Communities may find their spending litrfits increased if comers, some 132,000 new residents, they see a populalJon growth (although they'll always get a~ SACRAMENTO (AP) ~ Yo, dude! (Repea~ 582,000 Tell the U-Haul people about it. Los Angeles was the least as much as they got t~e year before, even if their poi> 0roes). company's No. 1 destination city in 1997, for the second ulation shrinks). 'California gained more than half a million more people conseculJve year. Not evew increase in pop, lation is an autonu~ic bonan- th2n it lost in 1997, according to I)eparm~ent of Finance fig- Anaheim was sixth among destinalions, San Diego eighth, za. The Kings County commumty of Corcoran has tl~e ures released Wednesday. Sacramento ninth, Van Nuys llth, San Jose 15th, San honor of being the state's ~wing city, withapopu- ' The growth -- the second year of gains, after five years Francisco26th, Oakland35th, and San Bemardino, Fremont la~on incr~ase of 22 percent between1997-98. of'losing pop,~mion -- put the state's total population at and Concord were 47th, 48th and 49th, respectively. But don't bother looking for 3,011 of the 3,100 new faces 332.52,000, as of January 19c~. San Luis Obispo had the second-highest 'growth rate,~ in Corcoran: They belong to inmates at the new state ..Los Angeles remains far and away the state's largest U-Haul said -- the percentage difference between inbound prison and substance abuse U'eaUnent facility. county, with some 9.6 million residents. San Diego, with 2.8 and outbound moves. Nearly 25 percent more U-Haul Inmates, members of the militar~ and residents of men- mJllion~den~ was second and Orange, with2.7 million, renters weremovmginto~e city than out tal health facilities are among the popuistion groups sub- L.A. Kings to help open new arena Oct. 4 http://www.bakersfield.com/top/i-- 1317543905.htm L.A. Kings to help open new arena Oct. 4 Filed: May 7, 1998 Maybe you'd like to give the Los Angeles Kings an earful for their first-round belly-flop against the St. Louis Blues in the National Hockey League playoffs. Or perhaps you'd like to hoot and holler at Vancouver Canucks coach Mike Keenan, who has an uncanny knack for alienating his players before moving on to a new head coaching job. Better yet, you could appreciate the artistry on ice of the Canucks' Pavel Bure (if he isn't traded by Keenan) and Mark Messier, or the Kings' Rob Blake and Luc Robitaille. Those opportunities will be yours when the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks square off in an exhibition game at Centennial Garden on Sunday, Oct. 4. The Kings finished 38-33-11 this season before being swept by the Blues in the first round of the playoffs while the Canucks were 25-43-14 and didn't have snowball's chance of making the playoffs. Jim Foss, executive director Ogden Entertainment Inc., which is managing the multi-purpose arena currently under construction on Truxtun Avenue, said the Kings-Canucks matchup will be the final exhibition game before regular-season play begins. Ogden is still ironing out details for ticket prices. "The Kings are anxious to come up here and grab a hold of this market, as are we (for them to come)," Foss said. "We'd love to develop a long-term relationship with them, where the fans can say each year, 'I wonder who the Kings will be playing here next year.'" Ogden has more than 70 clients, ranging from arenas to convention centers to stadiums to theme parks. Among its more notable clients are the Apollo Arena (Temple University in Philadelphia), Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim and The Great Western Forum. Its most far-reaching are the Bangkok Arena in Thailand and Stadium Australia in Sydney. Foss' networking skills with Ogden's other clients helped seal the deal with the Kings, who will get first crack at the Centennial Garden ice before the Bakersfield Fog, the arena's No. 1 tenant, hits the ice later in October for the West Coast Hockey League season. Other shows slated for Centennial Garden, according to Foss, are Disney on Ice, Champions on Ice, Globetrotters, professional bull riding, monster trucks, Ringling Brothers 1 of 3 5/8/98 9:56 AM L.A. Kings to help open new arena Oct. 4 http://www.bakersfield.com/top/i--1317543905.htm Circus, Sesame Street and the beloved World Wrestling Federation. On the wish list is a women's professional basketball preseason game and a Los Angeles Lakers preseason game. "I also have contacts with the Arena Football League ..." Foss said. "Maybe it's a great test market where we could put together a preseason game and gosh, you know what, this thing could expand. "I'm open to any idea. I've been involved in the arena business with some of the high school and amateur sports where we do the state basketball finals and state hockey finals," Foss added. "Whatever makes sense for this market, I will explore." And let's not forget there's the possibility that the Cal State Bakersfield basketball team may play its home games at the arena. Foss said that negotiations with CSUB are continuing and that Ogden Entertainment Inc. is hopeful the Roadrunners will come downtown. It's also possible that CSUB may play a few selected games at the arena to test the waters, but at this stage, anything is possible. Tragic losses Kern County recently lost two of its legendary sports figures · with the deaths of former Garces athletic director Bob Carroll and former Bakersfield High track coach Jack Trout. Both are members of The Bob Elias Kern County Sports Hall of Fame. Trout, 76, who passed away Saturday, was an outstanding track athlete at Bakersfield High and USC. He was a member of the legendary four-man squad at USC that won the NCAA team track and field title in 1943. Trout's best times at USC were 9.6 seconds in the 100-yard dash and 21.0 in the 220-yard dash. He was the state 100-yard dash champion and runner-up in the 220 as a senior at BHS in 1939. Carroll, 75, passed away April 23. He spent 30 years at Garces, coaching and serving as the school's athletic director before retiring in 1983. "They called him Mr. Garces," said Garces athletic director Vince Fanucchi. "He's been a part of Garces as long as I've known Garces. He was pretty much the driving force here, the heart and soul of the athletic department." Carroll, who played professional baseball with the St. Louis Browns before World War II, set up the first Garces vs. Bakersfield High football game in 1969 and coached with 2 of 3 5/8/98 9:56 AM L.A. Kings to help open new arena Oct. 4 http://www.bakersfield.com/top/i--1317543905.htm every team and created every program that's there. A service award at the school is named in his honor and next year the school will start a memorial baseball tournament that will bear his name. "He'll be missed," Fanucchi said. "He was super well-respected around the league and the city. He took us to the big-time." 0 back to top Copyright 1998, The Bakersfield Californian 3 of 3 5/8/98 9:56 AM ~,,,¢""~5~,'.~- '" ;'¢}¢ BAKERSFIELD POLICE ! ~.~ ~/~~~ MEMORANDUM May 7, 1998 To: Honorable Mayor Price and Council Members From: Steve Brummer, Chief of Police Subject: Annual Kern County Peace Officers' Memorial Service The Kern County Peace Officers' Memorial Ceremony scheduled for Wednesday, May 13th, will commence at 1200 noon in front of the justice building at 1415 Truxtun Avenue. 'RECEIVED_ I~AY - 8 l°J:J8 ~ ig!TY MANAGER'S OFFtCS~ Wheo Congress passes its $200 bl'fl'Jml highway spefldJng bill, it will likely opell up new areas to spf'au~mg suburbal~ d(welopment. Who pairs for sprawl? Hidden subsidies fuel the growth of the suburban fringe BY PHILLIP J. LONGI~u~ and that in principle they would prefer built in cornfields, for example, are often neighborhoods clustered around a down- affo~lable, as a result of low land costs. T ime was when only nature lovers town or village center. But to an extent rarely acknowledged, and urban sophisticates would get Yet sprawling development continues suburban sprawl is also encouraged by worked up about suburban sprawt, apace. In a report issued last year, the government subsidies-both deliberate but no more. Growth moratoriums American Farm]and Trust estlm~ted that and u~intended. have sprung up around the country. Con- the United States is losing about 50 acres The subsidies start with transportation servative think tanks and even institu- an hour to suburban and exurban devel- spending. The House of Representatives tions like the Bank of America (which has opment. At this rate, the United State~ and the Senate are currently negotiating a huge stake in construction loans) spon- will lose 13 percent of its prime farm!_and about spending between $214 billion and sor reports attacking the economic costs by the middle of the next century and, the $217 billion on a new transportation bill. of continuing to convert undeveloped report says, could conceivably become a Whatever the final number, the lion's land into low-density tract housing and net food importer, share of this money will go for highways. stripmal]s. And according to reeent mar- What's l~hind this sprawl phenome- Many of theze highways will open up new ket research, most ordinary Americans, non? Some factors are obvious: Hour~ land for development, and if the patterns though still favoring detached, single- of the past continue, much of this de- family homes, are increasingly fed up ~fl~t~ 0f n~ ~b[lrb~ velopment will take the form of with the congestion and sprawling sprawlin§ tract homes and strip malls. commercia/development that too of- In Atlanta, for example, regional plan- t~. ~om~ ~ ~ o~ ~ pa~ r~ rarely pal/tl~e full g0$t of .~ p~ ~a~ ~.~w ~an~po~a- day's consumers say they are particu- ~y an.oy~ ~ ~mm~ ~ their ~0vernment services. ,OnroadsbillthroughWill windthe uPstill.ruralfimdingareasneW 22 U.$.NEWS & WOVa_D Rrd~RT. A~aL 27, rags outside the city, thereby causing sprawl to low-density developments pay taxes, of values in the central city and dose-in sub. expand out to another layer of counties, course, but are rarely charged the full cost urbs usually decline. To compensate, The highway lobby (construction com- of the government services they consume, these areas have to raise property tax panics, unions) claims that motorists Instead those costs are usually averaged rates, passing still more costs on to their who move to these new developments across a whole region or state, in effect residents. This pushes still more middle- will pay for the new roads they'll use. But charging the people in the older areas for class families to move farther out, leaving according to the U.S. Department of the costs ofsprawl, center cities with their familiar mixture of Transportation, that's not true. Tolls, gas- Consider, for instance, the cost .of pro- very rich and very poor. oline taxes, and other user fees cover viding new sewer hookups to various The cycle might go on forever, except about 70 percent of the direct cash costs neighborhoods in Tallahassec, Fla. Ac- that ultimately huge infrastructure prob. of building and maintaining the nation's cording to a study by James E. Frank, an lents build up, commute times become road system. The rest-amounting to tens urban-planning professor at Florida State long, and "urban" problems such as crime ofbillionsofdollarsperyear-isfinanced University, the actual costs were about and pollution reach even the outer by general revenues. $4,447 for the mostly black, center-city suburbs. And this subsidy is only a tiny fraction neighborhoods nearest the sewage treat- What to do? So far, attempts to control of what drivers actually receive. Driving imposes other external costs on the American economy, from damage caused by air poilu- tion to the cost of mending people injured in traffic acddents to the need for strategic involvement in oR-producing regions of the world. It's impossible to do an exact ac- counting of these external costs, but even conservative estimates show them adding up to at least 22 cents for every mile Americans drive. As urban planner Reid Ew- ing notes, that number implies that a gas tax of $6.60 a gallon would be necessary to make driv- ers fully pay for the cost that ear travel imposes on the economy. Wealth transfer. Who pays and who benefits from this subsidy? Since the farther out one lives, the more miles one is likely to drive, the biggest net beneficiaries are people who move into the expand- ing sprawl zones, while the biggest net losers are people who live in ~ the u~aa ffla~ eglnmas, I~rol~m~/rala~ ia ~a inner git/aaa ~lasa-ia sulmfa~ denser communities. The transfer of wealth is indirect, but it involves a sub- merit plant but $11,443 for the upseale sprawl through regulation have proved sidy every bit as real as a government Lakeshore neighborhoods at the north- disappointing. In 1985, for example, Flor- cheek, em edge of town, where politicians and ida passed a comprehensive growth-man- In addition to the nationwide subsidy lobbyists tend to live~ agement plan that was hailed around the of roads and driving, the suburban- Despite this nearly $7,000 difference country as a model of enlightened land- sprawl pattern shifts economic burdens in real cost, all households pay the same use regulation. But the top-down regula- within a region. In a low-density tract de- price, about $6,000, for sewer eonnec- tory approach engendered huge frnstra- velopment, the cost of most government lions, regardless of where they are. That tion and backlash among landowners and services goes up. Sower lines must be means that the poor families living near developers, and the legislation was effec- longer, school bases must travel farther, the sewer plant not only have to endure tivelygutted. and more fire stations and miles of road its odor but also pay considerably more Regional planning and growth manage- are needed to serve a given population, for their sewer hookup than it actually ment may help contain sprawl-Portland, Sprawl also forces governments to spend costs the government to 'serve them. Ore.'s "growth boundary" has shown money on new schools and other capital Meanwhile, affluent residents escape some success-but so long as low-density projects that would not be needed ff resi- both the smell and the full bill for their development relnains heavily subsidized, dential patterns remained more compact, waste treatment, the effect of regulation is like tapping on Between 1970 and 1995, the number of Clearly, such subsidies do not cause the brake with one foot while keeping the public-school students in Maine declined people to move to the suburbs. But they accelerator to the floor with the other. 151- by 27,000, yet the state spent more than do artificially lower the costs, skewing the timately, the best way to cope with sprawl $:588 million building new schools in factors citizens weigh when making a is to stop subsidizing it, so that its full fast-growing suburban towns, move or stay decision, costs are built into public and private de- Who pays for it? The residents of new As suburban sprawl expands, property cisions about land development. · U.S.NEWs & WORLD REPORT. APRIL 27. ~908 23 BAKERSFIELD PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT Date: May 8, 1998 /// To: Alan Tandy, City Manager [// From: Rani Rojas, Public Works Director ~~ Subject: High Speed Rail Authority On Wednesday, May 20, 1998, the California High Speed Rail Authority will conduct their monthly meeting here in Bakersfield. The Kern Transportation Foundation (KTF) will be hoiding a reception for the Commission on Tuesday evening, May 19, from 6 to 7:30 pm at the Convention Center. Attached to this memo are several invitations to that reception. KTF has requested that these invitations be delivered to the Mayor, the City Council members, and Department Heads. Several copies of a flyer regarding the Authority's meeting on May 20 are also attached to this memo. In this flyer, KTF is requesting "letters of support for the high speed rail work being done by the Authority". Individual letters from the Council members and Department Heads would be appreciated. I suggest that both the invitation and the flyer be distributed with your weekly General Information Memo. I RECEIVED,,. :: .. "'~," 'L' :' ""'~,GEWS OFF~C "' i Kern Transportation Foundation We're Moving Forward I4]GH SPEED RAIL MEETING On May 20th, the California High Speed Rail Authority will be meeting in Bakersfield. Every City Councilmember, Kern County Supervisor, and citizen is directly impacted by this meeting. A high speed rail system would greatly improve the economic vitality and the air quality of our area. History shows that every major economic boom in the State of California has followed a major public works construction project (railroad, water, highways, etc.). Bakersfield and the San Joaquin Valley were instrumental in getting the approval of a rail aligmment that would serve the valley communities. Now, we have an' oppommity to show our united support for the high speed rail effort underway. We need you to do two things. First, we need letters of support for the high speed rail work being done by the Authority. These letters can be sent to the Kern Transportation Foundation, PO Box 417, Bakersfield, 93301-0417. Secondly, we need you, or your representative, to attend the high speed rail meeting on the 20th. (We do not have a t/me schedule or agenda at this point). In addition, we are planning a reception for the Authority members on Tuesday, May 19th, at the Convention Center, from 6:00 to 7:30 p. m. and we request your presence at this reception. Yours truly, Gary A. Blackburn, Chair Kern Transportation Foundation NOTICE A RECEPTION WILL BE HELD BY THE KERN TRANSPORTATION FOUNDATION FOR THE CALIFORNIA HIGH SPEED RAIL AUTHORITY BOARD OF DIRECTORS WHO ARE MEETING IN BAKERSFIELD ON MAY 20TH, 1998 THIS RECEPTION WILL BE HELD AT THE BAKERSFIELD CONVENTION CENTER FROM 6:00PM TO 7:30PM ON MAY 19, 1998 RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED FOR RESERVATIONS CALL OR MAIL THIS FORM TO KERNCOG , 1401 19TH STREET, SUITE 300, BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA 93301 TELE. 805 861-2191 FAX 805 324-8215 MY NAME IS (PRINT). AND I PLAN TO ATTEND THE RECEPTION FOR THE HIGH SPEED RAIL AUTHORITY. OTHER GUEST WILL BE MY TELEPHONE NUMBER IS