This document is the City of Turlock Activity Update for the week of November 15 - 21, 2008. The activity update is meant to keep the Turlock City Council and all areas of the government organization on the same page. The community may also view the complete document here at TurlockCityNews.com as it was sent out by the City of Turlock.
TO: Mayor and Council
TO: Mayor and Council
FROM: Executive Team
DATE: December 6, 2008
RE: ACTIVITY UPDATE – WEEK OF November 15-21, 2008
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
· The California Housing and Community Development announced Friday that Turlock is eligible to receive $1.06 million in HUD Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funds. This unique CDBG program is designed to help cities purchase, rehabilitate, and sell foreclosed residential properties. The application period will begin in January.
Economic Development/Redevelopment:
· Economic Development /Redevelopment Manager attended the Annual Meeting of Success Capital. This organization specializes in SBA loans to small businesses for land purchase and construction.
· Economic Development/Redevelopment Manager attended Stanislaus County Economic Development Action Committee meeting.
· Economic Development/Redevelopment Manager attended The Turlock Chamber Mixer.
Housing Program Services:
· Staff met with several tenants of the Lakewood Apartments after receiving complaints regarding deferred maintenance and safety issues. After meeting with the tenants and inspecting the grounds, it was determined that staff should assist with contacting the owner regarding the necessary repairs and safety concerns.
· Even though the Housing Division did not assist in creating or providing federal funding to the developer, it has taken an active role in assisting the tenants with their complaints.
· Staff has spoken to the Housing Authority of Stanislaus County and the bond agency that provided financial assistance to the developer, in an attempt to ensure that the tenants’ issues are resolved.
DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
Planning Division:
· The Deputy Director attended a workshop entitled “‘Building Forward” sponsored by the Home Builders Association of Northern California and the California BIA on the implications of SB 375. The conference provided insights from builders, regulatory agencies, and planners on the ability of the homebuilding industry to respond to the new requirements of SB 375 by providing higher density development in close proximity to transit services. The message most of the builders are hearing from SB 375 is that each region will be responsible for meeting its specific housing need. Each region will be asked to review its specific job projections and the resulting housing need to determine the appropriate mix of housing types to plan for in regional transportation plans and city/county general plans. For the Bay Area, this will mean that more housing opportunities will have to be accommodated within the nine-county region which should result in less spillover into San Joaquin Valley cities and towns. For San Joaquin communities, this will likely mean that future housing markets will be less influenced by fluctuations in the Bay Area real estate market and more directly impacted by the housing need of people who work within our communities. As such, SB 375 will have a very direct impact on the upcoming City of Turlock General Plan on how we strategize general plan and zoning designations to accommodate projected housing growth for the City.
· In a related matter, SB 732 has been enacted that will provide funding for local governments to implement the requirements of AB 32 (the comprehensive climate change law) and SB 375. The bill provides significant funding for local agencies to update general plans to incorporate strategies to address greenhouse gas emission reduction goals. The Deputy Director has requested that this item be placed on the next Stanislaus County Planning Directors’ meeting to discuss a potential countywide strategy to access these funds to help cities and the County address these new requirements.
· The Deputy Director attended a workshop sponsored by the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD) on the “Climate Change Action Plan” recently adopted by the SJVAPCD. The plan calls for the local district to prepare guidelines for analyzing greenhouse gas emissions for development projects. The District is seeking input on the form and content of the guidelines. The Deputy Director has also asked that this item be placed on the next Planning Directors’ agenda for discussion.
· Staff met with Robert David to discuss operating an auto sales business at 1250 N. Golden State. Mr. David proposes to use a portion of the existing building for his office. (The remaining portion of the building is currently being used by a separate business for wholesale auto sales.) The cars for sale would be located on the south side of the building. This area is undeveloped and would therefore require paving, landscaping, and other site improvements. Planning informed Mr. David that a Minor Discretionary Permit would be required in order to review the design of the proposed car lot in comparison to City standards. The Fire Department told Mr. David that the existing electrical and water connections for the fountain used by the prior Taco Truck business must be removed since the appropriate permits were not obtained.
· All Saints Catholic Church met with pre-development staff to discuss the expansion of their facilities by constructing a new building to be used for an interim worship center. The existing building on the site would then be used for meeting rooms. They will be submitting an application for a Planned Development for a new Master Plan for the site that would include a new, much larger church in the future. There will be no curb cuts allowed along Christoffersen. Additional on-site parking and landscaping will be required. The architect is working on a revised site plan and will meet with City staff again for more comment.
Support Services:
· On Tuesday, the Support Services Supervisor/Property Agent held a property inspection/open house for the 400 B Street building. The property was also shown to representatives of the school district this week.
Capital Improvement Projects:
Projects in Construction
· Golden State and Tuolumne Road Signal: The railroad construction crew completed the installation of the concrete panels. Teichert will be back on site within a week.
· Water Reservoirs and Pump Stations: The contractor spent most of his installation work at the D Street site hooking up to the main water line.
· CNG Slow Fill Station: Equipment will be delivered in February with anticipated completion by February 27th.
· Fire Station #1 Parking Lot: All of the vertical curb has been poured. The contractor is now installing electrical lighting conduits.
· Fairgrounds Sidewalk: Electrolier bases were poured and curb and gutter will be poured next week.
· Traffic Signal at Orange & South Avenue: Contractor has ordered the signal poles and construction will start in January 2009.
· Demolition of Existing Structures: The asbestos abatement was completed this week at both sites. We are pulling a demo permit so that demolition can begin.
· Interim Police Evidence Facility: Construction started this week with the removal of two large trees.
· Commercial Water Meters: Out to bid with a bid opening of December 18th.
· Trench Repair 08/09: In the contract stage.
· Antenna at Fire Station No. 1: In the contract stage.
· RFP’s – Landscape/Signage Beautification Project: Bids open November 26th.
· Prop 1B Homeland Security-Transit: Staff applied for and received a $91,000 grant to install security cameras and lighting around the transit area at the corporation yard. Work should begin early next year.
· Tennis Court Resurfacing at Columbia Park: Bids open on December 18th.
Projects in Design
· West Main Street and Fransil Signal: Working on acquiring right of way.
· Colorado and Monte Vista Signal Interconnect: Working on right of way and applied for federal funding.
· Westside Industrial Specific Plan
· City Hall Projects: Staff is creating a Request for Proposal.
· Water Line Replacement: Working on the topo.
· Sewer Line Replacement: Working on the topo.
· Well #40
· Prop 1B Overlays: Staff is reviewing which streets will be overlayed.
· Kilroy and N Walnut Road Pump Stations
Land Development:
Active Submittals in process
· 16 – Improvement Plans
· 7 – Parcel Maps
· 15 – Subdivision Maps
· 1 – Lot Line Adjustment
· 6 – Road Dedications / Public Utility Easements
· 3 – Abandonment
· 13 – Approved Plans waiting for permits to be issued
Land Surveying
· The survey crew continued with construction staking for City Project #0604, Fairgrounds Sidewalk on N. Broadway. They are working on resolving boundaries on City Project #0847, Sewer Line Replacement FY 08-09 and City Project #0848, Water Line Replacement FY 08-09. They have also begun topography on City Project #0869, Canal Drive Reconstruction and Resurface.
Public Works Inspectors
· The Inspectors have completed the second part of 4 training sessions via web cast on Storm Water Pollution Prevention this week.
Traffic/Transit
· Transit staff will be meeting with the Car Swap officials in regards to traffic control.
· Working with IT putting Transit Routes and Schedules on the web site with a link to “Google Map”.
· Installing new shelters and benches at various locations.
· Working with the school district in regards to the traffic congestion at Osborn School. Staff is looking at installing 3’ vertical centerline markers.
Building & Safety Division:
Among the 56 building permits applied for this week:
· 1609 Lander Ave – Tenant improvement for “Little Caesars Pizza”
· 1200 W Main St – Foundation only permit for retail shell building
· 2219 Lander Ave – Interior remodel for existing “AM/PM”
Among the 58 building permits issued this week:
· 1200 W Main St – Foundation only permit for retail shell building
Certificates of Occupancy have been issued for the following projects:
· 1570 East Ave – Remodel for “Sid’s Oasis” mini-mart
· 3025 W Christoffersen Pkwy – Recreation Building for “Sierra Oaks”
MUNICIPAL SERVICES
Utility Maintenance Division:
Electrical/Mechanical Projects
· Installed new Hach LDO probes and SC-100 controller at Aeration basins 1&2.
· Installed 5 hp 3102 Flygt pump at sewer 61. Both pumps are now 5 hp with new SO cords and new sealing grommets.
· Removed 75 hp motor from pump 2 at Dianne pond to be cleaned and baked at Andrews Electric motor due to low megger readings.
· Pulled motors from storm 14, and 26 to be sent to Andrews to be repaired. Zero meg ohms readings.
· Installed temporary power at the High Tech Crimes bldg.
· Welded star wheel at Flotator #3. Tightened radial chain also.
· Assisted technicians from Itron at all 3 antennae sites. Installed new GPS/GPRS antennas at Well 38 site.
· Completed weekly sewer lift checks. Pulled pumps at sewer 54, and 9.
· Completed weekly WQC cleanings and calibrations.
· Completed USA’s and street light work orders.
Water System Projects
· Abandoned the water service at curb valve and located sewer service at 609 High St.
· Abandoned the water service at 1079 N. Olive.
· Changed the End Points at 1092 &1062 Bennington and 700 & 717 N Broadway.
· Made a 10” hot tap @ 324 W. Linwood for private contractor.
· Assembled the backflow devices and excavated the area for the installation at 301/305 S. Soderquist.
· Replaced the sidewalk, after water leak repair, at 1780 N Quincy and 1921 E. Hawkeye.
· Repaired water leak in meter box at 2364 Celebration.
· Delivered 410 pounds of Asbestos Cement water pipe to the Fink Rd Landfill in Westley.
· Installed two 2” meters at 301 S. Soderquist and two 2” meters and backflow devices at 305 S. Soderquist and a 4” valve on mainline to that property.
Sewer and Storm System Projects
· Installed a clean out on the service at 276 Florence, pump sewage from basement and found that they had piping problems under the house, which is not the City’s responsibility. The City main line and the service were clear.
· Installed a sewer clean out at 550 and 566 S. Rose St.
· Installed a sewer clean out at 266 N. Berkeley.
· Installed a sewer clean out at 1200 N. Johnson.
· Cleaned 4790 feet of existing sewer mains, Grids G-7, H-5 and E-11. This also includes monthly cleaning runs.
· Televised 670 feet of existing sewer main Grid E-11 and H-5.
· Cut roots and grease with Power Rodder, Grid E-10 and F-10.
Miscellaneous and Special Projects
· This is the summary for this week’s projects, along with the normal USA’S, well pump and sewer pump maintenance, city bacti samples, water complaints & employee training hours.
Fleet Maintenance
· Diagnosed and repaired vehicles/equipment for the following divisions and departments:
ü Police -15 work requests
ü Transit bus -14 work requests
ü Public Facilities -18 work requests
ü Utility Maintenance -18 work requests – included, Electrical, Collections and Water
ü Fire – 5 work requests
ü Operations -1 work request
ü Planning – 2 work requests
ü PM’s Preventive Maintenance work requests – 30 which include, A’s, B’s, CHP’s, Mini’s, etc.
Water Conservation
· Gave 8 watering schedules
· Responded to 5 water leaks
· Set up 4 sprinkler timers
· Gave one 3rd time warning
· Recorded 170 street lights
Recreation Division:
· Staff attended meetings with the Turlock Community Collaborative, Stanislaus County of Education. A presentation on Afterschool programs for youth was provided to the Stanislaus Children’s Council.
· Pedretti Park was the host site of a Men’s Slo-pitch softball tournament on November 15. Fourteen teams played games all day at the facility. This is the second to last softball/baseball tournament of the year. The facility will be closed to the public for rentals on November 24 for facility maintenance.
· Turlock Youth Soccer completed their season on November 15. This was a nine week league that used the Turlock Regional Sports Complex every Saturday. The ages for this program ranged from 5 to 18 years, with approximately 2500 youth at the complex every weekend. The group will now begin competitive play, from November 22 and continue through the end of February.
Public Facilities Maintenance Division:
Parks
· Central Park – Turlock’s new official Christmas tree arrived on Nov. 19th. With the help of a heavy duty crane, the 6 ton Deodar Cedar tree was lifted off of the truck and planted by City crews in the new brick planter designed and built by City staff for the new tree.
· Columbia Park/Marty Yerby Recreational Facility – On Nov. 21, 2008, at 11:00 a.m., the Mayor, Council Members, City staff, and special guests will unveil and dedicate the new sign for the Marty Yerby Recreational Facility. Staff repainted the front of the facility.
· Graffiti continues to be a problem at Broadway Park, Columbia Park, Crane Park, and Sunnyview Park. Crews spend several hours a week cleaning up graffiti in the parks.
· Pedretti Sports Complex – Painted and prepared fields and staffed the complex for a 14 team Men’s Slow Pitch Softball tournament.
· Turlock Regional Sports Complex – Painted fields and set 12 sets of soccer goals for the TYSA games, staked trees, repaired irrigation and general maintenance. Crews edged valve boxes, raked soft fall under swings and set trash cans with liners. Cleaned up graffiti at West Wingette Park.
· Crews continued to do general maintenance, mowing, blowing, edging, weeding, irrigation repairs, cleaning, rake soft fall and playground safety inspections daily at all City Parks and ponds.
Streets
· Leaf pick up season began on Monday, December 10th. Crews picked up 90 tons of leaves the first week. Crews straightened, removed, replaced, relocated 17 miscellaneous street signs throughout Turlock and trimmed branches from speed limit sign on Crowell near Christoffersen. Staff completed an Engineering work order requesting the installation of 3 new applications of signal ahead symbol signs on both northbound and southbound N. Golden State near Atherstone, painted 2 existing lanes of directional arrows on northbound N. Tegner at W. Monte Vista and installed lane line extension through same intersection using thermoplastic. This project involved extensive work zone signage and temporary traffic control during this 3 hour project.
· Crews performed preventive maintenance on all chainsaws as to prepare for winter storms.
Water Quality Control Division:
· The Regional Water Quality Control Facility is operating well. Preventative maintenance activities during this period were conducted by staff.
· On Wednesday, November 12, 2008 staff collected the required weekly R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5 samples.
· The maintenance staff installed a new Dissolved Oxygen meter at Aeration Basin # 2. The Dissolved Oxygen meter is used to measure and control the amount of oxygen present in the Aeration Basins. The Aeration Basins are a major part of the Secondary Activated Sludge Process and maintaining adequate oxygen levels is essential for the health of the process. The Activated Sludge process is a biological wastewater treatment which speeds up the decomposition of wastes in the wastewater being treated. Activated sludge is added to wastewater and the mixture (mixed liquor) is aerated and agitated in tanks called Aeration Basins. After some time in the Aeration Basins, the Activated sludge is allowed to settle out by sedimentation in unit processes called Secondary clarifiers. The clear effluent form this process undergoes further treatment at the Tertiary process. The majority of solids collected at the bottom of the clarifier are returned to the aeration basins and a small portion is sent to the Gravity belt thickener for dewatering and to maintain a solids balance in the Activated sludge process.
· Staff continued screening the yearly Nutrilock production.
· Contractors continued working on the Fuel Cell Project.
· Staff conducted Facility tours on Wednesday, November 12 and Thursday, November 13, 2008. The tours were given to Ecology classes from California State University Stanislaus.
· The WQC Facility has encountered 336 days without a lost time accident.
· Operations and laboratory staff continued working on “factual comments” relative to the preliminary draft permit.
FIRE SERVICES
Operations Division:
· Fire Services responded to 90 calls for service for the week of 11/14 through 11/20.
ü 61 EMS
ü 8 False Alarm
ü 4 Checkouts
ü 4 Canceled
ü 3 MVA’S
ü 2 Vehicle Fires
ü 2 Smoke Detectors
ü 1 Sprinkler Activation
ü 1 Assist Invalid
ü 1 Good Intent
ü 1 Dumpster Fire
ü 1 No Patient Contact
ü 1 Person in Distress
Training Division:
· City of Turlock sent an Engine to the “Freeway Incident” in Southern California on last Saturday evening, and they returned on Wednesday evening. They reported some firefighting and structure protection on the first 2 days, and mop up the other days in the Oxnard area.
· Four Firefighters attended their 3rd week of Hazardous Material school in Stockton.
· Physical Fitness testing, and SCBA training were completed this past week for all line Firefighters. Training also continued at the Liberty Market on Geer Road.
Administration:
· Staff hosted a fire assessment center for the Relief Battalion Chief position in our department, in which two candidates participated.
POLICE SERVICES
Service Demands:
Calls for Service 1912
Criminal Investigations 256
Arrests 92
Staffing Levels:
Sworn Personnel- 87
Deployed 77 (11 Officers: Field Training)
Vacancies 3
Non-Sworn Personnel- 47
Deployed 42
Vacancies 3
Special Operations Division:
Investigations
· Investigators are still working on leads regarding the new born infant being found in a dumpster behind the Savemart on Lander Avenue. We are hopeful that with some recent tips we will be able to identify the mother in the near future. We are still working with the Stanislaus County Coroners Office regarding the disposition of the infant. An account has been set up for donations through “HELP” of Stanislaus County. These donations can be sent to “Baby Jane Doe” at the Valley First Credit Union.
· On Tuesday evening officers responded to the 20 block of Oleander regarding a report of a man being shot in the street. A 24 year old male was found with multiple gun shot wounds including one to the middle torso area. He was flown by air ambulance to a local hospital. We have found the witnesses to this shooting to be very uncooperative. The victim was contacted later in the week when his medical state allowed and gave us very little useful information.
Neighborhood Services
· Staff continues to work with the public and businesses regarding the shopping cart ordinance. Most stores have been inspected and contacts in the field with violators have still been educational where only warnings are given. Beginning in January 2009 enforcement of the ordinance will begin.
Field Operations Division:
Significant Events and Trends
Traffic Unit
· DUI Injury Traffic Collision – An intoxicated driver hit two pedestrians. The driver was westbound on Canal while the pedestrians, ages 14 and 15 years old respectively, were southbound in the crosswalk. Neither was seriously injured. The driver did not see the pedestrians and did not use her brakes. The driver was found to be under the influence of prescription drugs. This same driver was arrested for a DUI just a few days prior after rolling the same vehicle. She was booked for felony DUI.
Patrol Unit
· Robbery – An officer saw a Blue Ford Expedition leave a gas station parking lot in the 200 block of North Golden State at a high rate of speed without its lights on. The officer tried to initiate a traffic stop on Golden State at Crane Street. The vehicle failed to yield and a pursuit ensued. The pursuit terminated in the 8oo block of Alpha with the vehicle crashing into an iron fence and the driver running through the Senior Citizen complex. A check of the station revealed a citizen whom the suspect attempted to rob. The suspect tried to grab a woman’s purse and put a gun to her neck. The suspect said, “Don’t worry, it is a toy gun.” He jumped into his car and raced out of the parking lot. The toy gun and a purple knit hat with holes cut into it for eyes were located in the vehicle. The suspect was identified since the vehicle had been previously towed with him listed as the driver. There was also a soccer trophy with his name on it in the vehicle.
Street Crimes Unit “C” Team
· Extra Patrol – While providing extra patrol to the area of Kay Circle and Veek Drive, officers caught a 17 year old doing a brake stand (smoking tires) in the middle of the road. He quickly pulled around the corner onto Kay and tried to walk away. The juvenile was driving a truck rented by his father for their paving business. He was cited for exhibition of speed and the truck was towed (zero tolerance).