TO: Mayor and Council
FROM: Executive Team
DATE: May 1, 2009
RE: ACTIVITY UPDATE – WEEK OF April 18-24, 2009
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
Economic Development/Redevelopment:
· Councilmember Spycher and Economic Development/Redevelopment Manager attended Alliance Board meeting.
· Economic Development/Redevelopment Manager attended Chamber mixer and CEO luncheon.
DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
· The video of the General Plan Update: Community Visioning Workshop held on March 26, 2009, should be available on the General Plan Update web page (www.gpupdate.turlock.ca.us) by Monday or Tuesday of next week. The video was recorded by DJ Fransen with Turlock City News. He also taped the joint meeting held on April 23. As soon as that video is available, we will load the information to the City web page as well as the General Plan Update web page.
· On April 16, StanCOG held a joint meeting with the Stanislaus Planning Directors group to discuss the draft Request for Proposals for the SB 375 Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS). The RFP will be presented to the StanCOG Board at their May 13 meeting. The Directors expressed concern that StanCOG is proposing to develop the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and SCS ahead of the mandated schedule of 2011. Instead, based on the joint decision of the Valley COG Directors, StanCOG will be attempting to adopt the RTP and SCS to align with the Transportation Improvement Program that must be adopted by July 2011. In addition, the County just allocated $100,000 toward the development of a Countywide Growth Plan and is requesting that the cities participate in funding this effort. After discussions with County staff, it is still unclear whether these funds will be used to develop the growth plan required for the SB 375 SCS or the County is proposing a parallel process that may or may not coordinate with the StanCOG plan. StanCOG does have resources available to prepare the growth plan under SB 375, so it is unclear why the County would be looking for cities to provide funding for a growth plan, especially under the current tight fiscal conditions. More to come on this issue.
· On April 22, the first community meeting was held for the Highway 165 interchange and corridor study. The public meeting was well attended and was held at the Elim Elementary School in Hilmar. The purpose of the meeting was to let affected property owners know about the project and solicit input on the purpose and need for the project. The meeting went well and lots of input was received. The information will be used in the next step of the process to formulate alternatives.
· On April 15, the City of Hughson invited the Stanislaus Planning Directors' group to participate in a meeting with the Central Valley Farmland Trust and the American Farmland Trust to talk about agricultural mitigation programs. The American Farmland Trust announced that they were conducting an assessment of land in the Stanislaus County area to determine the appropriate locations for long-term agricultural easements. Information was shared about what other agencies are doing. The consensus of the group is that a County-wide program is preferable over individual city programs. The group is awaiting the outcome of the County lawsuit brought by the BIACC regarding its Agricultural Element.
· On April 24, the City held a community/stakeholders forum for the Housing Element. Approximately 30 people attended the meeting representing non-profits and social services agencies, as well as members of the public. The purpose of the meetings was to determine whether the consultant had identified all of the cities housing needs and to evaluate the effectiveness of the programs currently offered by the City. Attendees offered many ideas and perspectives. The input will be used in preparing the updated Housing Element for consideration by the Planning Commission and City Council. The Housing Element must be adopted by August 30, 2009.
· Daniel Parrot met with the predevelopment team to discuss adding an approximately 1,148 square foot house and 780 square foot garage to his property. There is an existing 600 square foot house and detached 473 square foot workshop that are legal non-conforming structures. The garage is currently 5 feet from the rear property line and the house is on the property line. In order to expand the nonconforming structures a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) would be required prior to submitting for a building permit. Mr. Parrot wanted to try and avoid having to obtain a CUP. Staff was able to provide Mr. Parrot with three options, two of which would still require a CUP. Mr. Parrot will be working with the Planning and Building staff as he prepares the plans for the new construction.
Building & Safety
Among the 19 building permits applied for this week:
- 2190 W Monte Vista Ave – Tenant improvement for “Rabo Bank”
Among the 16 building permits issued this week:
- 595 High St – Remodel “PAL” building
- 595 High St – Renovate “Columbia Park” recreation building
Certificates of Occupancy were issued for the following projects:
- 3220 W Monte Vista Ave – Tenant improvement for “UPS Store”
MUNICIPAL SERVICES
Regulatory Affairs Division:
· As a part of our ongoing efforts in working with the Regional and State Water Resources Control Boards, the City received a check from the Board for $141,000 to cover costs prior to 2006 for the PCE cleanup project in Downtown Turlock. This is a portion of the $600,000 we will receive as this project moves into the remediation phase in the coming months. Staff has issued a Request for Proposals for the design, construction of a system to pump and treat the remaining PCE plume that exists in the Downtown. The funding from the State is anticipated to be utilized for this project.
· Staff have been meeting bi-weekly with Ceres, Hughson and Modesto on the Surface Water Project, current activity is focused on drafting a JPA agreement as well as an MOU to address costs for evaluation of documents the TID has generated as a part of the 1st Drinking Water Agreement. To date the TID has spent $8.6 million of which each agency is responsible for its percentage share ($3.2 million for Turlock.) At this time the estimated cost of the Surface Water Plant project is $197 million, this estimate has not been revised since October of 2008. Turlock's share is $64 million, not including receiving facilities (storage tanks).
· Go Green Week: Staff has been working diligently with various elementary school sites within the Turlock Unified School District, to coordinate activities and presentations for next week’s “Go Green Week”. This year’s event, scheduled for April 27th - May 1st has been expanded to include 7 elementary school campuses, and is the cornerstone of the City’s elementary school environmental outreach program. The program will feature school site visits by local business representatives, recycling contests, a school campus tree planting activity, and a “Wear Green Day.” Further, green bracelets will again be distributed to every student and participant to be worn the entire week. The week is coordinated to begin in April which is the same calendar month of Earth Day (April 22nd) as well as the City of Turlock’s Arbor Day Celebration.
Recreation Division:
· Staff completed a Safe Swimmer proposal which will be mailed to Safeway Foundation when completed. Safe Swimmer proposal was also sent to Varco Pruden. Staff prepared proposal packets to be sent to Burger King Foundation and Turlock Women’s Medical Group. Program partnership letters were also sent to Jamba Juice and Quizno's Sub restaurants.
· Quizno’s and Jamba Juice were requested to partner with the City in celebrating “July as Parks and Recreation Month” by setting aside a percentage of the proceeds for Recreation programs, during a specific time frame in July.
· Staff developed written information regarding Corporate Contributions and requested that the information be placed on the City web site under Recreation.
· Recreation staff has created a summer promotion power point advertising that the guide is out and the summer programs that are available. The power point will play on Channel 2 starting this week. Channel 2 is a public Service Channel hosted by CSUS.
· Graduation Dinner for the 2008/2009 Teens in Action program will be held on April 30. Cost to attend the dinner is $15.00 per person. There are 18 juniors and seniors who participated in the first year of the program.
· Teens In action Leadership Applications are being accepted through May 15 for the 2009/2010 program. To date, $9,580 has been secured in sponsorships to cover the cost of the 2nd Annual Teens in Action program.
Arts:
· Chalk the Walk /Family Adventure Day at Crane Park is in part sponsored by Monte Vista Small Animal Hospital (staff apologizes for the error in mentioning the incorrect sponsor last week). Monte Vista Small Animal Hospital donated $500.00 to the event. For their contribution they will receive name recognition on the day of the event, and a special thank-you in the next Activity Guide publication. Turlock Commerce Bank is also a sponsor of the event.
· During the week of April 20 the Regional High School Art Show is on view at the CSUS Art Gallery. More than 350 works of art by students from throughout the region are on display. Gallery hours are Monday - Friday noon-4 p.m. The Arts Commission was able to sponsor a special prize in the show thanks to generous donations from City Councilmen Ted Howze and Kurt Spycher. A reception for the student participants will be held on Friday, April 24 at 6 p.m.
FIRE SERVICES
Operations:
· Personnel responded to a total of 94 emergency calls this past week.
· Engine companies have been busy completing their annual hose testing of all fire hose the past 2 weeks. The Rescue Team trained together on Wednesday as part of their monthly training.
· Division Chief Tim Lohman has been working on developing a grant proposal for new portable radios through the "Assistance to Firefighters" grant.
· The department is preparing to send 7 firefighters to a county wide wildland training exercise on Saturday, 4/25/09. The exercise will take place at 3 different locations around Modesto.
Fire Prevention:
· The project US Cold Storage on Fransil Ln. is progressing well. We will be on site next week for sprinkler hydro testing. We will meet with them to review the project at this time.
· The project on the corner of W. Main and Soderquist is near completion.
· The building at 1400 W. Main has been a target of vandalism, brings concern to emergency services safety. (Police and Fire). Owners doing their best to secure the building. Over the weekend water damage due to fire system tampered with, worked with owner to repair and system back in service.
POLICE SERVICES
Service Demands:
Calls for Service 2416
Criminal Investigations 232
Arrests 100
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
· Avoid the 12 was out at the Oakdale Rodeo. Several TPD officers assisted in this event. 230 vehicles were stopped over the weekend. Eleven drivers were arrested for DUI, two were arrested for suspended licenses, and three felony arrests were made with two of those for drug charges. Two other misdemeanors, three unlicensed drivers, sixty-five citations were issued and eleven vehicles were impounded.
· Staff completed a DUI Saturation patrol later in the week, no DUI’s arrested, eleven drivers were stopped, one was arrested for a suspended license and two received other citations (STEP grant detail).
· Staff completed a Speed Enforcement Detail during the evening hours. Staff initially targeted the area of E. Monte Vista and Amethyst. This was in response to an area complaint and a speed/flow survey. There was no problem indicated there, which was supported by the fact that staff only issued four citations for speeding. Staff moved to Geer Road and Baylor and wrote five more speeding cites, arrested an unlicensed driver, impounded a vehicle and issued a car seat citation.
· Staff assisted in light traffic control at the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast. Traffic was not an issue. During the afternoon, staff completed a red light enforcement detail targeting red light runners. Four drivers cited for running red lights, two cell phone violations, one crossing guard violation, one pedestrian right of way violation, one registration/insurance/impound citation, one unsafe lane change (nearly striking one of our Officers).
Street Crimes Team (CAGE)
· While the Street Crimes team was at Central Park, conducting a probation search, a car drove S/B with a tire rubbing the fender and no lights. The driver seemed to speed away upon seeing officers. When the officers tried to catch up, a chase was initiated. The suspect drove at high rates of speed, through a field, then onto the campus of the Excell Center on Youngstown Road. He spun the tires all over the lawns, hit a parked cars, and went head on into a tree. The suspect was removed from the totaled car without resistance. Officers determined that the suspect, a resident of the Excell Center, robbed one of the female counselors of her car keys by threatening her with a butter knife. Instead of calling 911, she called family. By the time the incident was over, there was no reason to wait for the Sheriff’s Office. TPD officers handled the entire incident. The suspect was booked for carjacking and evading arrest.
Special Operations Division:
Investigations
· The Investigations Unit has started a new program utilizing our Volunteers in Police Service. This program details one of our Volunteers to contact burglary or theft victims by phone after their report has been processed. This takes normally one to two weeks. We have found that this gives the victims of these crimes the opportunity to add information to the initial report that they may have developed since they first reported the crime. The victim is also given an update on the investigations progress and is given the opportunity to speak in more depth about the crime and options they may have to prevent further activity. Although this program has just begun we have had some very positive interactions with the public and look forward to further developing the program.
· Several members of the Turlock Police Department gave up their day off to help the Stanislaus County Special Olympics at the Red Robin “Tip-A-Cop” program. Each member volunteered their own time to help serve customers at the business in support of the program. Through their efforts over $2700 was raised.