I am not usually transfixed by the presidential show during inauguration but was certainly this year. I sat inside Bravo Burger and watched, along with about half of the breakfast crowd, President Obama begin the 44th Presidency. Regardless of whom we voted for or even if we voted at all, we can certainly praise this: An awesome amount of power can be passed from one person to another amid revelry rather than recrimination and even bloodshed. God Bless America.
I have started my new position with our State Assemblyman, Curt Hagman. After being off for four months, I am not sure about 'work'. Denise has decided I also must put in another 10 years, just like her. In light of this new information, I may have to adjust my timeline. FYI - Hagman's state assembly office will open at The Shoppes in April. On a side note, the Chairman of the County Board of Supervisors Gary Ovitt, will also have his district office located in our city hall.
1) Speed humps are one of the few effective traffic calming devices available to traffic engineers to help reduce speeds on residential streets. However, emergency vehicles really dislike them because response times become slower. To solve the situation staff is interested in a policy to utilize speed cushions rather than the traditional speed humps. A "cushion" is a raised portion of the roadway that extends across the entire street but has gaps between the raised portions to allow fire trucks to drive unaffected through the street. A typical SUV, truck or car wheel track is not wide enough to span the hump and, therefore, must slow down to drive over the Speed Cushion.
2) National Night Out was held in August and Chino Hills ranked 37th out of 294 cities in participation of its residents. It was a fun evening and I hope you and your neighbors plan to participate next year.
3) Metropolitan Water District informed the City that our application in the amount of $997,000 was awarded to us to retrofit obsolete sprinkler timers with central computer irrigation controllers. These new state-of-the-art controllers will be installed in 220 different areas within the City and will assist staff in their ongoing goal of water conservation throughout the 700 acres of landscaping in the City.
4) With all the financial mess within the state and federal government, how is Chino Hills doing? While the state government can postpone the pain, city governments are prevented from borrowing money to balance their budgets. I wonder why the state didn't adopt the same idea? The city council held a mid-year budget review in January to discuss the effects of this economic crisis on our revenues. To prepare for the future we have frozen 10 city positions currently not filled, we will not spend $1.1 million in capitol projects, stopped consultant and special studies to save another $190K. At least these will hold us until the actual impacts of the State Budget are clearly known.
5) For you AT & T customers, a new cell tower was approved and going up soon. Did I just hear iPhone users yelling "Yes"!
6) A truancy sweep was conducted for the school district last month. Police agencies from Upland, Chino, Montclair, Rancho, Fontana, Hesperia, County Probation and the DA's office were involved along with CV School District and various county juvenile agencies. In total, 45 students were picked up and cited along with 3 adults who were arrested for various charges. Those participating thought it was a very successful program
7) There was a snow survey done and indicates snow pack is 76% of normal for the current season so far statewide. This time last year it was 60%. It is still too early to tell whether improved figures will translate into a better water year. We still need winter storms. As to the smelt in the delta region, in 2009 greater restrictions will be imposed on sending water to the south.
8) These are my city council committee assignments for this year: Big League Dreams Sports Park, Chino Desalter Board of Directors, School District Joint Committee, and the Water Facility Authority Board of Directors. I am an alternate on Healthy Cities, League of Cities, Onmitrans, San Bernardino Associated Governments (SANBAG), and the Water Supply Reduction Committee
9) In January we held a workshop to predict what Chino Hills would need in the year 2020. This "Vision 2020" was held with our city's 15 volunteer city commissioners and staff. It will be a planning tool to keep our community as one of the best in California. "Vision 2020" is the start of a community process, of public engagement, and government transparency. More to follow.
10) I thought I would mention two holiday events. The Annual Boat Parade was another great crowd pleaser, so plan on attending to witness the 75 decorated boats next year. This year I decided to judge "The Holiday Home Decoration Contest" and I am glad I did. I am thinking about having the three winners decorate my home next year.
11) It is expensive to put in a traffic signal. The bids for the new Soquel Canyon/Slate signal came in and run from $155K to $209K. This is a typical amount for a signal. The contract was awarded and the signal should start to flash in about four months.
12) The California Attorney General filed a lawsuit against artificial turf companies regarding alleged violations of Prop 65. His lawsuit has nothing to do with the safety of artificial turf. Prop 65 is a consumer labeling issue. The state wants any product that has any traces of chemicals to be labeled as such, even if the traces are 1000x below any state or federal allowable levels. This is the same issue for children's toys, kitchen tile, house and car carpeting, etc. Both the US Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Center for Disease Control have concluded that children are "not at risk from exposure to lead" from playing on artificial surfaces. For a direct link to the CPSC report:
www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PREREL/prhtml08/08348.html
13) Here are some fascinating stats from last year's state government.
Total new laws authored: 313 by Democrats in Assembly, 204 by Senate Democrats, 129 by Assembly Republicans, and 76 by Republicans in the Senate.
Average number of bills signed per Republican lawmaker - 4.36. Average number of bills signed per Democratic lawmaker - 7.08
14) A Community Meeting for Stonefield Development was held in October with members of the public. The Stonefield Development is a proposed 28-unit gated community on 35 acres located at Carbon Canyon Road and Fairway Drive. Major concerns raised at the meeting will be answered by the developer at the Planning Commission level.
15) Villagio Apartment Project, a 286-unit apartment complex on a 15-acre property located on the southeast corner of Butterfield Ranch Road and Picasso Drive and will soon develop. The property is zoned for High Density Residential, which allows for 377 units for the entire site but the developer has lowered that number.
As always, please feel free to call or email.
