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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/26/2013 OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER MEMORANDUM July 26, 2013 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: Alan Tandy, City Manager AT SUBJECT: General Information ______________________________________________________________________________ Good News! As previously announced, the Grand Opening of the Westside Parkway will be held next Friday, August 2nd, at 10:00 a.m. Please see the attached flyer for specific information about the event. Because of Council’s diligence, scrutiny and patience, the community will now have an east-west roadway that will expedite a commute through town, and will surely reduce traffic volumes on both Truxtun and Rosedale. It will, also, become a part of State Route 58 when the Centennial Corridor is complete. This has been a long time in coming and it is an exciting occasion! Please note, those attending the grand opening will be able to access the site from either the eastbound Truxtun Avenue on-ramp or from the Mohawk westbound on-ramps. We have typically opened the previously completed TRIP projects to motorists immediately after the ribbon cutting ceremonies took place. However, the Westside Parkway will not be accessible for public use until later in the afternoon of August 2nd to allow sufficient time for the removal of equipment needed at the grand opening celebration. Miscellaneous News  The enclosed article from the July 22nd edition of the Washington Examiner reports that Bakersfield ranks as the city with the leanest government in the country. The Examiner’s ranking included all U.S. cities with a population of 200,000 or more; their source of information was the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2011 Annual Survey of Public Employment and Payroll.  PG&E has informed us that the “implosion of the boiler” at the Kern Power Plant is scheduled to take place on Saturday, August 3rd. This “charge-type” implosion (no dynamite) will take place sometime between 5:30 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., and General Information July 26, 2013 Page 2 the whole process will take about 2 to 5 seconds. The contractor who is conducting this step is going to close Coffee Road, between Rosedale Highway and Brimhall Road, for about 15 minutes that morning. This is the last step in the demolition of the Plant. Cleanup of the materials should take about a month, and then the environmental remediation efforts will follow.  Last month, we provided you with the quarterly sales tax distribution report. We now have the additional data by industry breakdown, which is enclosed for your information. Litter Removal Update  The monthly Caltrans meeting was held this week, during which they received a report that the Board of Supervisors approved the Kern Cog agreements for enforcement ($100,000) and litter removal ($100,000) on areas of freeway not covered in the agreement with the Homeless Center. These include medians and County freeways. The funds will be used for overtime for enforcement and for guards for crews (crews will work Thursdays and Fridays).  A third crew from the Bakersfield Homeless Center is being recruited. This crew could potentially be used to support riverbank homeless encampment clean ups currently performed by City crews. Funding is available for the Caltrans portion.  Litter and weed removal on the Westside Parkway is scheduled for Monday, July 29th.  There are two crews currently working on State Route 178 in the Fairfax area. After completing this work, they will return to State Route 99. Occasionally, you may see the crews on special assignment when Caltrans chooses to close a lane and thoroughly clean some hard-to-get areas. TRIP Traffic Advisory  Allen Road Motorists are advised to anticipate lane closures on Allen Road, between San Juan Avenue and Vermillion Drive, on Saturday, July 27, 2013 to allow the contractor to install signs along the Allen Road Bridge. The outside northbound and southbound lanes will be closed between the hours of 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. Two lanes in both directions will remain open while work is underway. General Information July 26, 2013 Page 3  Truxtun Avenue Motorists are advised to anticipate nighttime lane closures on Truxtun Avenue, between Commercial Way and Empire Drive, on Sunday, July 28, 2013 and Sunday, July 29, 2013 to allow the contractor to complete work along Truxtun prior to the opening of the Westside Parkway. Alternating eastbound and westbound lanes will be closed between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. One lane in each direction will remain open while work is underway. All lanes will reopen in time for the morning commute. Council Referrals The following response to a Council referral is attached:  Councilmember Maxwell: o TRIP Financing Chart Reports For your information, we enclose the following:  Streets Division work schedule for the week of July 29th Upcoming Events  Jerry Seinfeld Friday, July 26th at 7:00 p.m. Rabobank Theater Tickets: $45 - $75  Brave (Movie in the Park) Friday, July 26th at 8:00 p.m. Bright House Networks Amphitheater FREE  Alvin & the Chipmunks Saturday, July 27th at 12:00 p.m. Fox Theater Sponsored by the City of Bakersfield Solid Waste Division There will be having outdoor displays and booths starting at 10:30 a.m., on 20th Street next to the Fox, and inside the lobby beginning at 11:00 a.m. AT:rs:al:mc cc: Department Heads Roberta Gafford, City Clerk The City of Bakersfield and the The City of Bakersfield and the The City of Bakersfield and the The City of Bakersfield and the Thomas Roads Improvement Program Thomas Roads Improvement Program Thomas Roads Improvement Program Thomas Roads Improvement Program cordially invite you to attend the cordially invite you to attend the cordially invite you to attend the cordially invite you to attend the Westside Parkway Westside Parkway Westside Parkway Westside Parkway Grand Opening CelebrationGrand Opening CelebrationGrand Opening CelebrationGrand Opening Celebration Friday, August 2, 2013Friday, August 2, 2013Friday, August 2, 2013Friday, August 2, 2013 10 a.m.10 a.m.10 a.m.10 a.m. Westside Parkway/Coffee Road BridgeWestside Parkway/Coffee Road BridgeWestside Parkway/Coffee Road BridgeWestside Parkway/Coffee Road Bridge Please enter the freeway from the Mohawk Street westbound onPlease enter the freeway from the Mohawk Street westbound onPlease enter the freeway from the Mohawk Street westbound onPlease enter the freeway from the Mohawk Street westbound on----ramps.ramps.ramps.ramps. See attached sheet for directions to the event site.See attached sheet for directions to the event site.See attached sheet for directions to the event site.See attached sheet for directions to the event site. From State Route 99, exit at Rosedale Highway/State Route 58 West and proceed west on Rosedale Highway to ohaw Street! "urn le onto ohaw Street, and connue south to the west%ound Westside &ar way on- ramp! "urn right onto the new (reeway ramp and con nue west to the e)ent site at the *o+ee Road ,ridge! "he north%ound ohaw Street to west%ound Westside &ar way loop on-ramp will also %e a)aila%le (or those aending the e)ent! &ar ing will %e a)aila%le on si te! For addional in(ormaon, contact .anet Wheeler at //0-32/-3490 or at jwheeler@%a ersfield(reeways!us Westside Parkway Westside Parkway Westside Parkway Westside Parkway Grand Opening CelebrationGrand Opening CelebrationGrand Opening CelebrationGrand Opening Celebration August 2, 2013August 2, 2013August 2, 2013August 2, 2013 10 a.m.10 a.m.10 a.m.10 a.m. 143COMMENTS(HTTP://WASHINGTONEXAMINER.COM/EXOGRAPHY-19-U.S.-CITIES-HAVE-PROPORTIONATELY-BIGGER-WORKFORCES-THAN-BANKRUPTED- DETROIT/ARTICLE/2533338/COMMENTS#DISQUS_THREAD) (/gallery/articleid/2533338) EXography: 19 U.S. cities have proportionately bigger workforces than bankrupted Detroit BY LUKE ROSIAK(/AUTHOR/LUKE-ROSIAK)| JULY 22, 2013 AT 2:45 PM 1 CITY EMPLOYEE FOR EVERY HOW MANY RESIDENTS? Cities have wildly varying civil servant workforces relative to their population size, from 1 city worker for every 28 residents in San Francisco to only 1 for every 137 residents in San Diego. Red circles represent cities with the most expansive bureaucracies, while green represent the leanest. A full list follows. TOPICS:FOLLOW THE MONEY(/SECTION/FOLLOW-THE-MONEY) Detroit declared bankruptcy due in no small part to $3 billion in unfunded public employee pensions owed a sprawling city workforce that kept growing even as the city’s population shriveled, but a Washington Examiner analysis found that 19 major American cities have even bigger ratios of such workers to residents. The Examiner used the Census Bureau's 2011 Annual Survey of Public Employment and Payroll to rank every U.S. city with a population of 200,000 or more. Some of those cities managed to get along fine with comparatively few municipal employees, such as San Diego, which has 9,501 employees for 1.3 million residents, or one for every 137 residents. But others like San Francisco had a bureaucracy seven times as large, with one of every 28 of the city's 800,000 residents on the city payroll. Remarkably, the Census Bureau excluded from these figures all teachers and education professionals, which make up the largest group of local government employees. Sign Up for the Politics Today newsletter! Page 1of 2EXography: 19 U.S. cities have proportionately bigger workforces than ba... 7/26/2013http://washingtonexaminer.com/exography-19-u.s.-cities-have-proportionate... The figures also do not include separate government divisions that comprise significant portions of many urban public workforces, like the 1,200-employee Baltimore City Housing Authority, the 1,000-employee Philadelphia Housing Authority and the 2,300 employee Chicago Park District. Transit systems, such as the 9,500-worker Chicago Transit Authority and New York's 7,000-person Port Authority, are also not counted. In different places, levels of government have different cost-sharing arrangements, with the state, county and special taxation districts for services like sewage picking up part of the tab, so these figures represent somewhat less than all of the government employees for which residents of a jurisdiction support with tax dollars. That also means that a simple comparison of city workforces --especially between cities in different states --doesn't always show the full picture. Washington, D.C. ranks first in the nation, which is no surprise to residents who recall the dramatic growth of the municipal workforce in the 1980s under then-mayor Marion Barry, who created hundreds of new positions to help reduce unemployment and encourage growth of a black upper- middle class. But D.C. also has the distinction of providing services that in many other places are often split among multiple levels of government, including state, local and county authorities. The District’s status as the national capital makes the burden on other cities all the more dramatic, cities like Baton Rouge, with one in 30 residents a city employee; Richmond, at one in 39; Denver, with one in 49; Cleveland and St. Louis, at one in 50; and Philadelphia and Atlanta with one in 51. Philadelphia's city council president this week began pushing a plan to use part of a 1-percent sales tax hike to pay for city worker pensions, which are significantly underfunded. Some cities such as Rochester have, like Detroit, seen dramatic population losses without commensurate reductions in the city workforce, illustrating what many see as government's tendency always to grow bigger, without ever losing wasteful or obsolete programs. San Francisco's 28,660 workers, with an average salary of $91,000, come in a long tail of different job categories, including 2,000 health employees --not including city hospitals --1,843 welfare workers, 2,872 judicial and corrections officers, 1,081 parks workers, and 1,171 in "other government administration." The city by the bay’s 4,266 transit workers do not include Bay Area Rapid Transit employees presently striking for a 21 percent pay increase. The city with the leanest government is Bakersfield, Ca., which has 1,410 employees for 348,000 residents, or one for every 246. The city's population has quadrupled in the last 40 years, and its public employee workforce may have lagged behind. The city is one of California’s most conservative and the largest that employs the lowest sales tax allowed by state law. Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated San Diego's population and city workforce and incorrectly said some cities ranking higher than Detroit paid their workers twice as much. An earlier version of the list also displayed some cities' payroll costs as twice their actual dollar amount. Page 2of 2EXography: 19 U.S. cities have proportionately bigger workforces than ba... 7/26/2013http://washingtonexaminer.com/exography-19-u.s.-cities-have-proportionate... MEMORANDUM TO: Alan Tandy, City Manager FROM: Nelson K. Smith, Finance Director DATE: June 19, 2013 SUBJECT: Quarterly Sales Tax Update We received the most recent quarterly sales tax data, which reflects the activity and sales during the months of January, February and March 2013. The quarterly and annual trend information is as follows: Comparing the most recent quarter with the same quarter last year – positive (+) 20.81 %. Comparing the most recent four quarters with the prior four quarters – positive (+) 9.62 %. These results are better than our budget projections for the current fiscal year, which estimated sales tax growth at an annualized rate of 3.0 %. We do not have the detail results available by industry type at this time; this information will be available in a few weeks. Attachment cc: Rhonda Smiley Steven Teglia File name: nks:/s:/sales tax/memo-sales tax memo june 2013.doc Week of July 29_2013_Work Schedule Page 1 of 2 STREETS DIVISION – WORK SCHEDULE Week of July 29, 2013 – Aug. 2, 2013 Resurfacing/Reconstructing streets in the following areas: Grinding & Paving Stockdale Hwy between Gosford & Old River Reconstructing streets north of White Ln and west of Akers Preparing Westwold from Gosford to El Portal for reconstruction Sealing streets in the area west of Union Ave and North of California Ave Blade sealing various streets in the area between Palm St and Brundage Ln from Oak St to Oleander Blade sealing various streets in the area between Beale Ave and Baker St from Niles St to Flower St Miscellaneous Streets Division projects: Video inspection of City owned Sewer & Storm lines to evaluate condition of pipes Miscellaneous concrete repairs throughout the city Building temporary parking lot at north end of Sports Village phase 2 using asphalt grindings Concrete work in the area north of Flower St and east of Alta Vista in preparation for street reconstruction / resurfacing (HUD funded area) Miscellaneous sewer repairs found during video inspection. Note one on west bound 24th street between “M” St & “K” St will start next week Preparing site at Sister City phase B Concrete work on various streets in the area south of E. California Ave and west of MLK Blvd in preparation for street reconstruction / resurfacing (HUD funded area) Working with San Joaquin Valley Railroad Company to repair crossing at White Ln, Hughes Ln, Ashe Rd and Gosford next week. Also preparing to modify the railroad crossing on So. “H” St the week of Aug 12th which will have detours setup for that week THIS SPACE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Week of July 29_2013_Work Schedule Page 2 of 2 STREETS SWEEPING SCHEDULE Monday, July 29, 2013 All sweepers are assigned to sweeping streets that are not on a set sweeping schedule. Tuesday, July 30, 2013 All sweepers are assigned to sweeping streets that are not on a set sweeping schedule. Wednesday, July 31, 2013 All sweepers are assigned to sweeping streets that are not on a set sweeping schedule. Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013 City areas between Kentucky St. & Quincy St. – Owens St. & Virginia St. Between Union Ave. & Washington St. – E. Truxtun Ave. & Brundage Ln. Between Progress Rd. & Old River Rd. – Panama Ln. & Pacheco Rd. (alignment) City areas between Progress Rd. & Old River Rd. – Meadow Falls Dr. & Rose Creek Dr. Friday, Aug. 2, 2013 Between Buena Vista Rd. & Allen Rd. – Harris Rd. & Panama Ln. Between Buena Vista Rd. & Mountain Vista Dr. – Panama Ln. & Birkshire Rd. Between 178 Hwy. & Paladino Dr. – W. Columbus St. & Morning Dr. City areas between Sterling Rd. & Morning Dr. – 178 Hwy. & College Ave. Between Valley St. & Lene Pl. -- !78 Hwy & Hickory Dr. Between 178 Hwy. & Reynard Rd. – Kern Canyon Rd. & McKenna St. Between Stockdale Hwy. & Joseph Dr. – McDonald Wy. & N. Stine Rd. NOTE: If raining, there will be no street sweeping service and all street cleaning personnel will be assigned to cleaning plugged drains and part circle culverts. This also applies when a large number of street sweeper are in Fleet for repairs. Areas that have been missed during this time will be swept at the end of the month.