Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Salida MAC Newsletter - April 2013

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Community Announcements - Paul Sessa made an announcement that as part of "Love Salida" on April 27, Salida Rotary will be collecting used wheelchairs and other mobility enhancing equipment (i.e. crutches, walkers, canes, toilet inserts, etc.)  Collection dates; April 22-27 from 8 am - 5 pm at the following collection sites: Salida's Kountry Kitchen, Salida Veterinary, Mildred Perkins School Room 29 or drop off at 9 am at Salida Park on "LoveSalida" day.

Lana Moore announced that Salida Civic will be a part of "Salida Days" at the Modesto Nuts on Friday, April 12 at 7 pm. Tickets are $7 each and can be purchased from Salida Civic members.

Vicky McAteer shared that the Salida Chamber of Commerce will have a sign-up table at the "LoveSalida" event at Salida Park on Saturday, April 27 and everyone is welcome to sign up and join the Chamber.

Salida Fire District Report - James Gunn, Operations Chief from Modesto Regional Fire gave an update that in the month of March, there had been 71 calls and 56 of those calls were in Salida and the area around Salida. There was a large house fire on Ladd Rd. & American Ave. area and another large fire at an abandoned ag building just north of Kiernan. It was also shared that Station 12 (Broadway & Salida Blvd) will stay open during construction on the Kiernan Freeway 99 interchange.

Stanislaus County Sheriff Report - Salida Community Deputy Lloyd McKinnon shared that he has been patrolling Salida in an unmarked car as part of the Crime Reduction Team.

The probation DRC (Day Reporting Center) on Broadway is still there but should be moving to downtown Modesto by the end of the month.

Salida Postmaster Report - Salida Postmaster, John Paul Cabral reported that over 90 mailboxes had been broken into and 14 of those were in Salida and have been replaced. Postmaster Cabral just hired two new carriers and will be hiring a postal clerk.

CHP Report - CHP Officer Chuck DeLeon reported that Salida had 4 injury collisions and 1 non-injury collision. No arrests in the area. A few traffic complaints around the school, especially with teen drivers around the high school. A resident reported that people were riding motorcycles on the railroad tracks so Chairman Reeves suggested calling the Union Pacific Police at 1-888-877-7267.
Officer DeLeon also shared that April is "Distracted Driving Month" so there will be extra patrols on the streets looking for people on their cell phones or texting.

Salida Sanitary Report - Salida Sanitary Board member Brad Johnson asked that more residents attend the meetings. Meetings are held on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. Boardmember Johnson is encouraging solar requirements for new development.

Special Presentations

StanCOG (Stanislaus Council of Governments) - Carlos Yamzon gave a brief overview that StanCOG administers funds for regional and federal transportation projects. StanCOG is updating its Transportation Plan so is asking for community feedback via surveys. StanCOG plans to return to administer the survey at the Salida MAC meeting. In October or November, StanCOG will ask its policy board to adopt the Regional Transportation Plan to establish transportation priorities for Stanislaus County. Mr. Yamzon left handouts about StanCOG and StanCOG's Regional Transportation Plan.
Valley Vision Stanislaus is where StanCOG is combining land use planning with transportation planning to address the effects of greenhouse gas emissions. Salida residents can take the Valley Vision Stanislaus survey online as well.

Stanislaus County Department of Public Works - Public Works Director Matt Machado and Gary Heyward addressed the sidewalk issues on Pirrone, Finney, and Sisk Roads which are a joint effort between the County's Public Works Department and the County Parks Department. Mr. Machado introduced the Director of Parks, Jami Aggers with staff members, Russ West and Amanda Fife. 

Mr. Machado then presented a Powerpoint on the sidewalk issue. The sidewalk issue affects County Service Area 10 (CSA 10) which CSA 10 was established in October 1990 and consists of 2,800 parcels, most of which are residential parcels and the remainder are commercial and industrial parcels. CSA 10 is managed by the Public Works Department. The infrastructure of CSA 10 is comprised of parkscape maintenance, streetscape maintenance and storm drain maintenance which include four parks (Segesta, Murphy, Wincanton and Countrystone), a number of landscaped streetscapes (Bacon Rd, Covert Rd, Finney Rd, Kiernan Ave, Murphy Rd, Overland Pl, Pirrone Rd, Sisk Rd, Toomes Rd, Whitestone Wy, and Wincanton Wy) that include sidewalks and the storm drain system that serves the area. 

CSA 10's annual assessment is $417,875 and there are two primary assessments: the Parks Annual Budget os approx. $250,000 and the Public Works Budget of approx. $150,000. The reserves accrual of $20,000 is used for capital improvements, capital maintenance and capital pumps. Total current reserves is $300,000. 


Sidewalk tagged to be removed along Pirrone Rd.
Mr. Machado then presented photos of where the sidewalks have been lifted by tree roots along Pirrone, Finney and Sisk Roads. The proposal is to remove the trees, grind out the stumps, grind out the roots under the sidewalk, remove the sidewalk and replace the sidewalk. There are 96 trees that need to be removed just to make repairs to the sidewalk. The scope of the project only includes removing the trees to make repairs to the sidewalk; it does not include replacing the trees. 

The proposal is to do the project in phases. Phase 1 (Areas 2,3,4,5) $165, using 55% of total reserves. Construction to be completed Summer of 2013.  Phase 2 (Area 1,6) - $135,000. Construction would begin in ~5 years. Total project cost: $300,000 with reserves at the end of construction: ~$100,000. Under "Additional Consideration", Mr. Machado mentioned that an unanticipated capital or other major maintenance need like a pump failure may force a ballot procedure to increase the CSA 10 assessment. Mr. Machado mentioned that CSA 10 is unique because its a set amount. Most of the CSAs in the County (about 30) are based upon a formula that fluctuates based on the cost of power, cost of maintenance, and the cost of capital needs. 


"Soft closure" on Pirrone Rd sidewalk.
Mr. Machado proposed a "soft closure" of the sidewalks, almost immediately, which means that there's a sign on the barricade. People can still walk on the sidewalks but the signs mean "walker beware". 

During the Q&A, Salida residents requested that the trees be replaced. A resident asked how many trees will remain and the answer was 70 - from Modesto Christian School to Pirrone, some on Pirrone and Finney Rd. Another resident proposed adjusting the phases to wait to remove the trees that were not yet a problem to which Mr. Machado was very receptive to this suggestion. Councilman Johnson suggested sidewalk shaving and Mr. Machado responded that the sidewalks have already been shaved and ground down as far as possible.

Stanislaus County Planning and Community Development - Miguel Diaz, Planner for Stanislaus County Planning and Community Development stated that his department is developing their annual action plan for community development grant and emergency solutions grant. These are two HUD funded grants that the County partners with six cities: Patterson, Oakdale, Waterford, Hughson, Newman, and Ceres. None of this year's infrastructure projects are in Salida. 10% of grants are used for public services and those services are available to Salida residents. The Fair Housing Program is an advocate program for tenants and other types of housing issues. The Neighborhood Stabilization Program has purchased 27 homes and 24 have been rehabilitated and sold to first time home buyers.

Councilmember San Nicholas asked how much money was available for down payment assistance for next year? Mr. Diaz replied that the program was funded by Cal Home and there's about $700,000 available. Councilmember Borges asked if the solar program was still available and Mr. Diaz replied that it had been suspended and they were waiting for some rebates. The original grant has been fully expended. 

Mr. Diaz can be contacted at 525-6330.

Nick W. Blom Salida Regional Library Report - Library Branch Manager, Diane Bartlett shared that the library will be celebrating Día de los Niños/Día de los Libros, a nationwide celebration of children with bilingual storytelling, crafts, and other activities on April 13 at 1 pm. The library will again be participating in Love Salida with the organization of books at the libary.

Supervisor District 3 Report - Supervisor Withrow shared that there was a groundbreaking ceremony at Morrow Road and Kiernan for widening Kiernan to four lanes all the way to McHenry. 

NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, April 23, 2013 at 7 pm at the Nick W. Blom Salida Regional Library Community Room, 4835 Sisk Road, Salida. Featured presenter is the Stanislaus County Parks Division.

Salida MAC meetings are broadcast on government cable channel 19 in Salida.

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