HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/21/2007 S A K E R S F I E L D
CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE
MEMORANDUM
December 21, 2007
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Cou cii
/, i
FROM: Alan Tandy, City Manager
SUBJECT: General Information
1. On several recent occasions this document has contained warnings about fiscal matters
— declining sales tax, and the increasing potential for the State fiscal crisis to spill over
onto us among others. Regrettably we now have to step those warnings up a couple of
levels. On Wednesday, the Finance Department received the quarterly sales tax
information. We are down 13% compared to the same quarter last year. For the last
four quarters, which have all been down, the total is 5%. This increasingly negative
trend is now very serious.
2. The Mill Creek project is proceeding at an amazing pace. Public Works crews, annual
contractors, and vendors are working tirelessly on the canal, pond, overflow weir, soil-
cement liner and other improvements before the deadline of January 1, 2008. That is
when Kern Delta Water District expects to be able to run water through the canal again.
Enclosed are some photos of the progress to date.
3. Congratulations are in order to Jack LaRochelle who has accepted a position with the
City of Napa. Jack will be a big loss for us. His last act is supervising the Mill Creek
improvements that are underway at Central Park. Thanks Jack and good luck!
4. The Community Services Committee has been reviewing the issues related to the
deteriorating condition of our older neighborhood swimming pools, as well as ways to
identify the most feasible locations for construction of future pools. As you are aware,
Jastro Pool is in the worst shape. Temporary repairs were made last summer, which
made it possible for us to open it for only half of the 2007 season. The costs for repairs
and to bring it into code compliance have been estimated at approximately $4 million.
Staff has recommended that a more realistic alternative, based on economics and other
factors, would instead be to construct a spray park at the existing site. The five spray
parks we have in place are very well attended and are free to users. The committee
also asked staff to create a plan to address conditions at Planz and Siemon. In
response, staff has recommended that we contract for a needs assessment study for
both sites, to see if the expense for renovations is warranted, or if they should be
replaced. Also factoring into future decisions, the Kern High School District has
expressed interest in partnering with the City on a new pool that could be used as a
training facility. KHSD has identified the southwest area as its highest need location.
Honorable Mayor and City Council
December 21, 2007
Page 2
The committee voted to forward to Council the staff recommendation for construction of
a new spray park to replace Jastro Pool, with the condition that it be completed and
placed in operation during the 2008 warm weather season. The recommendation also
includes a request to proceed with a needs assessment study at Planz and Siemon
Pools. Lastly, it includes a request for exploration of a partnership with Kern High
School District to study the options for identifying a southwest location and funding for a
pool that can also serve as a training facility. This matter will be placed on the January
16th City Council agenda for your consideration. In the meantime, if you have any
questions, please call.
5. Congratulations are in order to John Stinson, Rick Kirkwood, and the "budget team", as
we received official notification this week that the Government Finance Officers'
Association has again recognized us with the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award
for the FY 2007-08 budget. This will be the seventh consecutive time the City of
Bakersfield has received this award.
6. Enclosed is an article that details the decision that the High-Speed Rail Authority
(HSRA) made on Wednesday, in which it chose to link the Central Valley portion of the
future high speed rail system with the Bay Area via the Pacheco Pass alternative. The
HSRA had two options on the table for consideration, the Pacheco Pass connection
(Los Banos) and the Altamont Pass connection (Tracy). The various COGs in the
Central Valley (including KernCOG) were united in supporting the Altamont Pass
connection due to the fact that this option extended through a larger portion of the
Central Valley, thus having a greater perceived positive impact on the Central Valley as
a whole. Ultimately, either route will succeed in the overall goal of connecting the
southern part of California with the Bay Area.
7. The State Fish and Game Department has revoked the Department of Agriculture's
original permit and will issue a permit to re-locate the beaver. We have had lots of calls
and emails!
8. The Streets Division work schedule for the week of December 24th is enclosed.
9. Responses to Council requests are enclosed, as follows:
Councilmember Benham
• Traffic Study on East Truxtun Avenue near Sonora and Tulare Streets; and,
Vice-Mayor Hanson
• Repairs of dots on speed bumps on Oak Road and Broad Road.
AT:rs:rk
cc: Department Heads
Pamela McCarthy, City Clerk
Roberta Gafford, Assistant City Clerk
Pacheco Pass chosen over Altamont for proposed high-speed rail line Page 1 of 3
SFGa e...
Pacheco Pass chosen over Altamont for proposed high-speed rail line
Michael Cabanatuan, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, December 20, 2007
(12-20) 04:00 PST Sacramento --
High-speed trains - if they ever run in California - should zip in and out of the Bay Area over the
Pacheco Pass on their way to and from Southern California, the California High Speed Rail
Authority decided Wednesday.
The authority ended a four-hour hearing Wednesday, and more than a decade of debate,by
choosing Pacheco Pass over a route that would have taken the trains through Altamont Pass.
The Pacheco route would link the Bay Area to a boo-mile, statewide, high-speed rail system, with
trains traveling at speeds in excess of 200 mph from Sacramento to San Diego. The trains would
have the capability to whisk travelers from the Transbay Terminal in downtown San Francisco to
Union Station in Los Angeles in 2 1/2 hours.
The proposed system would cost about $4o billion to build,but the project has no money-or
promise of funding -for construction.A$10 billion bond measure, on the November 2oo8 ballot,
would start construction of the first phase: from San Francisco to Anaheim.
The Pacheco route was seen by supporters as the speediest, most-direct route to Los Angeles. It
would sweep into the Bay Area over the pass between the Los Banos area (Merced County) and
Gilroy, head north to San Jose, then up the Peninsula along the Caltrain right-of-way to San
Francisco.
The Altamont proposal would have crossed the pass west of Tracy and traveled through the Tri-
Valley to a new bay crossing near the Dumbarton Bridge, where it would have headed north to San
Francisco.A separate set of tracks would have taken the train south down the East Bay shoreline to
San Jose.
In the end, the authority's members went along with its staffs recommendation issued a month
ago. There was no formal vote. The board, relying on an opinion from the attorney general's office,
simply didn't introduce any motions to alter the staff recommendation. The route was selected as
part of the required environmental studies for the Bay Area-Central Valley connection.While the
studies are not expected to come before the board for final approval until March, the authority
decided to make its choice Wednesday, authority member Rod Diridon said.
http://www.sfgate.com/egi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/12/20/BAD9U 1 H3 R.DTL&type... 12/20/2007
Pacheco Pass chosen over Altamont for proposed high-speed rail line Page 2 of 3
"There's closure," said Diridon, head of the Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State
University. "For all intents and purposes, the route decision was made today."
Mehdi Morshed, executive director of the authority, said his staff recommended Pacheco Pass
because an Altamont alignment would have required:
-- Construction of a new Transbay Tube or bridge, a costly endeavor likely to attract opposition
from environmentalists.
--As many as six tracks through developed Tri-Valley communities, forcing controversial eminent
domain proceedings and construction of elevated tracks, both opposed by civic leaders.
--The splitting of trains, some going to San Jose and others northeast to San Francisco, eventually
limiting the system's capacity.
The final showdown between the Pacheco and the Altamont drew an overflow crowd of more than
loo people to a state Capitol committee room, including Mayor Gavin Newsom and San Jose
Mayor Chuck Reed.
The mayors, among 31 speakers to address the authority, advocated Pacheco Pass. Newsom said it
was time to end the bickering over the best route into the Bay Area and focus on getting a high-
speed rail system funded and built.
"The cost has grown billions and billions of dollars because of the delays while this has been
debated," he said outside the hearing. "Countries around the world are leapfrogging us and
building high-speed rail systems. This is an environmental imperative. This is a transportation
imperative. This is about the future of the state. Enough is enough."
Representatives of environmental groups, transit advocates and San Joaquin Valley officials said
the Altamont offered an opportunity to build a system that not only served the San Francisco-to-
Los Angeles market but carried long-distance commuters and travelers between the Bay Area and
the Central Valley as well.
But others argued that that isn't the role of high-speed rail service.
"We are commissioned to do one thing- not solve the transportation problems of the Bay area,"
said authority member T.J. Stapleton, a retired union official from Alameda. "It's to build a high-
speed rail system from San Francisco to L.A."
Authority members and many of the speakers Wednesday said it was time to put aside differences
and focus on the campaign for the November ballot measure.
"Let's get going so we can pass the bond in November," said Jim Lazarus, San Francisco Chamber
http://www.sfgate_com/cgi-binJarticle.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/12/20/BAD9U 1 H3 R.DTL&type... 12/20/2007
Pacheco Pass chosen over Altamont for proposed high-speed rail line Page 3 of 3
of Commerce senior vice president for public policy.
Gov.Arnold Schwarzenegger tried earlier this year to persuade the Legislature to delay the ballot
measure until 2010 or 2012,but his spokeswoman, Sabrina Lockhart, indicated Wednesday that
effort may be over.
"The governor has not yet taken a position on that ballot measure, and there have been no recent
proposals to delay it again," she said. "The governor is supportive of high-speed rail and has been
working with the authority to develop a comprehensive funding plan."
TO LEARN MORE
Go to www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov
HOW TO BECOME INVOLVED
The California High Speed Rail Authority is expected to adopt the final environmental impact
report on the Bay Area-Central Valley link at its March 5 meeting.
Comments on high-speed rail can be directed to:
Deputy Director Dan Leavitt at dleavitt @hsr.ca.gov
Or Deputy Director Carrie Pourvahidi at CPourvahidi @hsr.ca.gov; (916) 324-1541
E-mail Michael Cabanatuan at meabanatuan @sfchrorzicle.com.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/20/BAD9U 1H3R.DTL
This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-binJarticle.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/12/20/BAD9U 1 H3 R.DTL&type... 12/20/2007
r
s
e �
•r•
a
•. xi
r
• — .. {r 4 iS V�'
AM
~roA r,
t ,
.A `.,
fj
P
A�
yga
i
r ,
3X .x
t
4,
yy fw T c
P'.
~Y
�t�f
�5
�r
,
f
I 0..
aw-
:ZA
lye v a
s�
Pagel of 2
STREETS DIVISION — WORK SCHEDULE
WEEK OF DECEMBER 24, — DECEMBER 28, 2007
Resurfacing/Reconstructing streets in the following areas:
No street resurfacing or reconstruction this week.
Miscellaneous Streets Division protects:
Working on the Aera Park project.
Working on the Mill Creek project.
Working on the Fire Station #5 project.
Working on replacing brick at Centennial Garden.
CADOCUME-1\RKIRKW-1\LOCALS-1\Temp\XPgrpwise\Week of December 24_2007_Work Schedule.doc
Page 2 of 2
STREET SWEEPING SCHEDULE
Monday, December 24, 2007
HOLIDAY — NO STREET SWEEPING SERVICE
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
HOLIDAY — NO STREET SWEEPING SERVICE
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
City streets in the area between Snow Road and Hageman Road, Jenkins Road to
Jewetta Avenue.
Between Niles Street and Jackson Street, Union Avenue to Beale Avenue.
Between Sumner Street and E. Truxtun Avenue, Beale Avenue to Brown Street.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Between Snow Road and Hageman Road, Jewetta Avenue to Calloway Drive.
Between Berkshire Road and Astor Avenue, So. "H" Street to Union Avenue.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Between Coffee Road and Calloway Drive, Norris Road to Granite Falls.
Between Hageman Road and Meacham Road, Old Farm Road to Calloway Drive.
Alfred Harrell Highway - 178 Highway to the N/W City Limit.
Streets in the neighborhood north of 178 Highway, east of Valley Street.
Mira Monte Drive - 178 Highway to the south end.
CADOCUME-1\RKIRKW-1\LOCALS-1\Temp\XPg rpwise\Week of December 24-2007-Work Schedule.doc
B A K E R S F I E L D
CITY OF BAKERSFIELD V8D
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
MEMORANDUM One 21 2,,007
TO: Alan Tandy, City Manager c�rYMq/vq�EASo
FP/CE
FROM: Raul Rojas, Public Works Director r°
DATE: December 18, 2007
SUBJECT: TRAFFIC STUDY ON EAST TRUXTUN
Referral No. 1857
[COUNCILMEMBER BENHAM REQUESTED STAFF CONDUCT A TRAFFIC STUDY ON
EAST TRUXTUN AVENUE IN THE AREA NEAR SONORA AND TULARE STREETS,
NEAR THE EDUCATION CENTER, TO DETERMINE IF TRAFFIC SAFETY MEASURES
COULD BE IMPLEMENTED.
A traffic study of East Truxtun Avenue in the area of the Education Center (old
Sandstone building) between Sonora and Tulare Streets was added to the work
program for Traffic Engineering for the benefit of the Kern County Superintendent of
Schools. Traffic Engineering staff will be conducting traffic volume studies, speed
studies and pedestrian activity studies to determine the most appropriate solution to the
perceived problems. Studies and analysis of this type can take six to eight weeks,
depending on weather and work load.
C:\DOCUME—I\lskinner\LOCALS—I\Temp\XPgrpwise\Ref#1857 Traffic Study.doc
B A K E R S F 1 E L D
CITY OF BAKERSFIELD �C��V�
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
MEMORANDUM 272007
TO: Alan Tandy, City Manager c�TYMgNgG�p
,S OFF'C�
FROM: Raul Rojas, Public Works Director
DATE: December 18, 2007
SUBJECT: REPAIR SPEED BUMPS
Referral No. 1858
VICE-MAYOR HANSON REQUESTED STAFF REPAIR THE DOTS ON THE SPEED
BUMPS ON OAK ROAD AND BROAD OAK, NEAR CHRISTA McAULIFFE SCHOOL.
The Signs and Markings crew from General Services responded to the request and
completed the repairs/replacements on December 17th.
C:\DOCUME-1U skinner\LOCALS—I\Temp\XPgrpwise\Ref#1858 Speed Bumps.doc