This document is the City of Turlock Activity Update for the week of July 25 – 31, 2009. 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
FROM: Executive Team
DATE: August 2, 2009
RE: ACTIVITY UPDATE – WEEK OF July 25-31, 2009
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
City Manager’s Office:
• City Manager held meetings this week with Dr. Shirvani (CSUS), Norm and Evan Progess (Prime Shine Car Wash), Mark Hall (Monte Vista Crossings), Larry Weiss (TID).
• City Manager spent a few hours with Jolynn DiGrazi at Westside Ministries getting to know the programs, services, issues, members and children. Very impressive work by this organization.
• City Manager attended and spoke at the funeral for Sergeant Steve May of the Modesto Police Department.
DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
Planning Division:
• On July 15, AB 333 became law which gives an automatic two-year extension on approved tentative maps. Staff is in the process of notifying sub-dividers of their new deadlines pursuant to the Subdivision Map Act.
• On Thursday, the Deputy Director participated in a conference call regarding the Highway 99/165 Interchange and Corridor Study. Omni Means, the consultant for the project under contract to the Merced County Association of Governments, is currently finalizing the alternatives evaluation matrix for the project and is beginning to define alternative alignment and interchange locations based on the purpose and need statement approved by the City Council and the four other jurisdictions partnering on this project.
Capital Improvement Projects:
Projects in Construction
• Fransil and W. Main Intersection Improvements: An addendum for this project changed the bid opening date to August 11, 2009.
• IT Server Room Air Conditioning: The HVAC system should be installed by the end of this week.
• Taylor Road French Drain: The installation of pipeline will begin this week and should be completed in two weeks.
Land Surveying
• We are currently working on the Topography Survey for the repair of a damaged Storm Drain pipe at the intersection of Monte Vista Avenue and Golden State Blvd. The damage was detected by a sink hole in the Asphalt pavement. Municipal Services provided a temporary repair to avoid any hazards in the travel way. The Engineering Division and the Utilities Division conducted some exploratory excavation to determine the cause of the damage and define a scope of the repair needed. It was determined that the Turlock Irrigation District pipeline in this area was leaking. The leak in the irrigation pipeline was repaired immediately. Plans will be prepared to complete the repairs of the Storm Drain pipe and any necessary surface repairs due to the settling.
• The construction staking for the French Drain project on Taylor Road was completed this week. We are anticipating construction to begin this week. The French Drain is a type of Storm Drain system used in areas where a positive system does not exist. A catch basin is installed in a location where flooding occurs. The Storm water is collected in the catch basin and flows into an underground perforated pipe which is installed in a trench of drain rock.
Building & Safety:
Among the 19 building permits applied for this week:
• 2058 E Canal Dr – TI- “Subway”
• 734 South- Remodel & Rehab SFD
• MISC RESIDENTIAL: 13
• MISC COMMERCIAL: 5
Among the 16 building permits issued this week:
• HVAC-4
• RE-ROOF-3
• New SFD-3
• MISC RESIDENTIAL: 6
MUNICIPAL SERVICES
Regulatory Affairs Division:
• Battery Disposal: Due to State regulations prohibiting the disposal of batteries in the trash, the City of Turlock is providing free disposal sites throughout the City for residents to drop-off their old batteries. The drop-off tubes are designed to safely hold dead household batteries and will be emptied and maintained by City staff. All batteries will be disposed of properly. Additionally, drop off containers have been placed in various worksites of the Municipal Services Department for employees to dispose of used batteries as well. It is important to note that due to new additions to the regulation, all batteries must be taped at each terminal or bagged individually before depositing them into the disposal container. As part of the City’s Go Green program, the battery drop-off service aims to make complying with the state regulations easy and convenient for Turlock residents. The project is funded through waste disposal fees that the City is required to use for solid waste diversion programs.
Public Facilities Maintenance Division:
Recreation Services
• Summer Recreation Camps: 205 youth have registered for summer camps this summer and there are three weeks left in the program. The Program is available at Pitman High for youth 1st – 6th grades from 7:30 am – 6:00 pm.
• Recreation staff along with ASPIRANET Co-sponsored an Ice Cream Social at Columbia Park on Wednesday, July 29 and gave out program information to more than 250 people.
• Fall Programs are ready to begin advertisement and staff have created new and exciting programs; The focus this fall is “Stay and Play in Turlock , Family time” Coming up: Outdoor Movie Nights at the Turlock Sports Complex, September 4 & 18.
• The last session of swim lessons have started at Columbia/Marty Yerby Pool, Turlock High Pool and Pitman High Pool. To date, over 820 youth have participated in swim lessons.
FIRE SERVICES
Training Division:
• Three Structure fires were at:
1515 N. Palm: an electrical fire in the HVAC system with an estimated $100.00 dollars in damage and no injuries.
434 Locust: a detached garage with an estimated $10,000 dollars in damage, the fire is under investigation and there were no injuries.
428 Locust: a small out building was damaged from the fire at 434 Locust. There was about $500.00 dollars in damage and there were no injuries.
• On Monday Police Lieutenant Ron Reid and Fire Division Chief Tim Lohman met with CSUS officials and an auditor from the Chancellors office to review the City’s Emergency Operations Center which is the alternate EOC for CSUS. They were very impressed with the City’s partnership, and the auditor was going to use our model as a template for all campuses in the CSU system. Chief Lohman also met with OES officials to turn in the draft Emergency Operations Plan and review the changes. It will take some time to complete the draft process.
POLICE SERVICES
Service Demands:
Calls for Service 2187
Criminal Investigations 213
Arrests 99
Staffing Levels:
Sworn Personnel- 86
Deployed 82 (6 Officers: Field Training)
Vacancies 5
Non-Sworn Personnel 46
Deployed 44
Vacancies 2
Field Operations Division:
Significant Events and Trends
Traffic Safety Unit
• Three of our staff from the Traffic Unit attended and assisted with the funeral of Modesto Police Department Sergeant Steven May. This was in addition to our command staff and several other Department personnel who attended the funeral on their own time to honor Sergeant May and his family.
Uniformed Patrol
• A Lincoln Navigator was too fast for conditions and lost control while eastbound on Taylor Rd from S/B 99. The Navigator was eastbound in the westbound lane. A Ford Excursion was westbound and swerved to avoid a collision. The Navigator broadsided the Excursion causing the Excursion to roll onto its’ side. The driver and passenger of the Navigator had their seats ½ way reclined which caused them to submarine under the lap belt and negated any effect of the airbags. The passenger suffered internal injuries and a severely fractured femur. She was airlifted to Memorial. The driver of the Navigator complained of pain and was transported by ambulance to Memorial as well. The driver of the Excursion who just began wearing his seatbelt a week ago after his third seatbelt ticket, suffered from a complaint of pain to his neck. He was up and walking until emergency services got there. He was transported to Doctor’s by AMR. A blood draw was conducted on the driver of the Navigator on the suspicion of DWI.
• A witness reported seeing a male hack-sawing off a lock on a trailer in a parking lot in the 700 block of Lambert. While on the phone with dispatch, the witness yelled at the suspect telling him he was on the phone with the police. The suspect began walking away and the witness followed at a distance, giving dispatch updates. The 43 year old suspect was detained by officers. He had burglary tools, a butterfly knife and methamphetamine on him. He was booked for attempted burglary, possession of burglary tools and possession of narcotics.
• A witness saw two subjects running from his neighbor’s house in the 1300 block of Picard carrying a large flat screen TV and a white box to a waiting white Mercury Grand Marquis that was backed into the driveway. The witness knew his neighbors were gone for the weekend and called 9-1-1. He wrote down the license plate as they drove away. Unfortunately, the plate came back with a release of liability and a bad address in Turlock. Officers searched the area, but were unable to locate the suspects. The house had been ransacked and two TV’s were obviously missing as well as other items. Officers were unable to reach a victim and the neighbor did not know their names.
• Around 2:45 P.M., a sergeant was driving past the Shasta Motel when he saw the suspect vehicle from the earlier burglary unoccupied in the parking lot. He parked down the street until backup units arrived. The Mercury left the parking lot occupied by two. A high-risk stop was conducted. Both suspects were taken into custody. Another officer had gone directly to the motel to ensure no one else left. There was no answer at the door and the drapes were pulled apart about 6 inches. Through the gap, the officer could see jewelry, credit cards, and electronics on the bed. On the dresser in front of the bed was a large flat screen TV. Next to the TV was the white box the witness had described. Officers could see a second TV on the floor of the bathroom through the open window. Detectives were called out and search warrant was obtained. Most if not all of the stolen property was recovered. One suspect was already on probation for burglary.
