Saturday, July 26, 2014

Salida MAC Newsletter - August 2014

LIKE “Salida MAC” on Facebook and follow on Twitter https://twitter.com/SalidaMAC
and sign up to receive our newsletter via e-mail. ~ Katherine Borges, Editor

Public Comments - Wood Colony resident, Lina Alldredge shared an invitation to attend the first annual Wood Colony Faire which will be held at Hart-Ransom School 3930 Shoemake on Saturday, August 16, 2014 from 10 am to 6 pm. The Faire will have a marketplace, crafts, live music, a petting zoo, covered wagon rides, dairy tours, 1903 milkhouse tour, heirloom tomato tasting and much more! See Wood Colony Faire flyer for more details. 

County resident, Terry Withrow invited anyone who would like to support the "Stamp Out Sprawl - Modesto" ballot initiative to a fundraiser dinner to be held at his home on Saturday, August 23, 2014 at 6 pm. Please call him (209) 525-8050 for more info.

Stanislaus County Supervisor District 3 Report - Supervisor Terry Withrow reported that the county is in negotiations with labor unions for pay raises for county workers. He also shared about the work and progress of the water committee and invited residents to attend the meetings.
Deputy Braley presented John Martin
 with his "Take Back Salida" plaque for
graffiti removal.
(Photo courtesy of Salida Ca News)

Sheriff Department 
- Deputy Jason Braley shared that three people were arrested in Salida for tagging and vandalism. Salida has experienced no homicides, one rape, and three robberies in the past six months. Property crimes has decreased by 7.5% but burglary is up 13%. Petty theft/larcenies are down 11%. An attendee asked what is being done about the drag racers and Deputy Braley responded that some extra patrol requests (between calls) have been put out to the graveyard shifts. If you witness a crime in progress, call 911. Please report any thefts and suspicious activity to the Sheriff's Non-emergency number at (209) 552-2468. 

Stanislaus County Department of Public Works - Andrew Malizia provided the following Public Works updates for projects in and around Salida: 

A traffic analysis at Ladd and Tully Roads did not warrant an all way stop but did warrant a traffic signal. While the county applies for funding to install the traffic signal, an all-way stop will be installed.
A request was received for widening Broadway Ave near the tracks where the traffic merges. They are looking into it and are working on a sidewalk project with the railroad. Even though its been slow moving the project through, there are plans to widen it there. Some possible solutions are removing the vertical parking lanes and/or making it a right turn only onto Elm.

Received some complaints about truck parking on Elm and public works is working on getting some new signs up along Elm and Broadway. 

Request to install a double no-passing striping on Tully Road near the canal bridge from St. Francis to Ladd Road. The new striping was completed last week. Another request received via a Salida MAC meeting was the amount of traffic from the school farm on Ladd Road. Public Works will work with the school to insure that the students are safe.

Working on request to install "No trespassing - county ordinance" signs on Salida's ponding basins.


Update on the Kiernan and Pelandale interchange construction - the Pelandale northbound on and off ramps are going to be closed for three weeks, starting in the beginning of August, either August 4 or August 11. The detour will be down to Kiernan and Sisk. The first stage of bridge work on Kiernan should be completed by the end of September.

Public Works is working on a speed bumps/humps ordinance to be adopted by the Board of Supervisors. Some key elements of the new policy is that the county will have to approve which roads they go on, there needs to be a minimum number to be effective (i.e.: a grouping of three spaced out 300-400 feet apart and the road needs to be able to accomodate that. The community would need to pay for the installation and the removal if they want them removed afterwards. Emergency vehicles would also have a say in locations that they could be approved in.

Salida Fire Department - Board member Jerry DeBoer announced that a workshop will be held in August (date TBA) regarding Salida getting its fire department back. He also asked for volunteers to help with their annual chicken BBQ which will be held on August 23. Please contact Dale Skiles if you can help.

Salida Postmaster - Starting in August, Postmaster John Cabral announced that recycling bins will be placed in the lobby of the post office to recycle the newspaper and AdVos mailers. Two new mail carriers have been hired, Ben and Debbie, so please have patience if your mail is misdelivered and report any misdeliveries to (209) 545-0620. Postmaster Cabral, who is the webmaster for Salida Civic's website received notice this week that the Salida Town & Country Festival has been cancelled. They plan to be back in 2015 & need volunteers to help. To volunteer, please contact: info@salidacivic.org

California Highway Patrol - Officer A.J. Palazuelos reported that there were only four traffic collisions during the prior month, two were property damage collisions, one was injury and one was a DUI collision. The DUI collision occurred at Kiernan and Neva. The CHP is planning to target the street racing problem in various communities and will start in Salida first.

Nick W. Blom Salida Regional Salida Library - Library Branch Manager, Diane Bartlett shared that while the summer reading program is winding down, there are still many other fun activities at the Salida Library: For children: July 29 - Legos, August 5 - Shark Week (shark/sea life stories and crafts), August 12 - Back to School with Pete the Cat (make pencil cases), August 19 - Dinner and a Movie - "Finding Nemo" and August 26 - Grossology - disgusting books and crafts. Wiggle Worms & Pre-School StoryTime begin again August 6/7.

Teen Anime Day - August 16 from 12 - 4 pm which includes costumes, movie, crafts, etc.

Adult Programs - Zumba on Mondays at 6 pm, August 9 - couponing at 4 pm, August 12 - Book Club at 10 am, and t
he library has basic computer classes on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month at 10:30 am. Registration required. 

The Friends of the Salida Library needs helpers to set up for their booksale on October 23 and during their Halloween Book sale on October 25. For more information, call (209) 543-7353

Water Conservationist
Juan Teneya
Special Presentation - Water Conservationist Juan Teneya opened with some drought related events that occurred in 2014. On January 17, 2014, Governor Brown requested all Californias to voluntarily reduce water use by an average of 20%. May 1, 2014 saw a decreased allocation of MID deliveries to the City of Modesto from an average of 30 MGD to 17 MGD due to lower than average rainfall and snowpack during the last two hydrological cycles. The reduction will continue until April 30, 2015. The State Water Resource Control Board approved an emergency regulation on July 15, 2014 to ensure water agencies, their customers, and state residents increase water conservation in urban settings or face fines or other enforcements.

 Mr. Teneya shared that the City of Modesto (which owns Salida's water system) is under Stage 1 water (drought) restrictions. All residents using outdoor water will follow the year round watering schedule:

 - Outdoor watering must be kept on your property – AVOID WATER RUNOFF
 - Outdoor water use is prohibited between noon and 7 pm daily
 - Odd-numbered addresses ending in 1,3,5,7 or 9 water on Wed, Fri, & Sun
 - Even numbered addresses ending in 2,4,6,8,or 0 water on Tues, Thurs, & Sat
 - NO OUTDOOR WATER USE ON MONDAYS
 - Car washing is subject to above with use of positive shut-off nozzle
 - Hosing concrete areas, building exteriors, etc. may be done with city permit
 - Water leaks, once identified, must be repaired within 24 hours
 - Restaurants are encouraged to serve water only upon request

Additionally, the City of Modesto is collaborating with Stanislaus County Parks Department in adjusting their sprinkler systems to minimize run-off, to comply with "no watering on Mondays" and making repairs as needed. No water permits will be issued effective August 1, 2014. The City of Modesto has one full-time service person helping by educating and enforcing water regulations in Salida. Since June, they have made 257 direct contacts in Salida. Positive nozzles and rain gauges are available for FREE from the City of Modesto's Water Department. For more tips and rebates, and to report water waste, call (209) 342-2246

Announcements - Residents are invited to a National Night Out Potluck & Bar-b-que at Segesta Park off of Finney & Pirrone on Tuesday, August 5, 2014 from 6 to 9 pm. Bring your favorite potluck dish and chairs.

Update on the installation of Cold Plasma units at Diamond Pet Foods in Ripon: the units are in service but they are still waiting on approval from the Air Pollution District. 

Salida MAC has its own website! Visit: http://salidamac.weebly.com/


Next Salida MAC Meeting:
Tuesday, August 26, 2014 at 7 pm @ Salida Library Community Room
4835 Sisk Rd. - Salida
Presentation: Stanislaus County Community Development Block Grants - Fiscal Year 
           13/14 Consolidated Annual Performance Evaluation Report (CAPER)
by Kristin Doud

Monday, July 21, 2014

Salida MAC Newsletter - July 2014

LIKE “Salida MAC” on Facebook and follow on Twitter https://twitter.com/SalidaMAC
and sign up to receive our newsletter via e-mail. ~ Katherine Borges, Editor

Sheriff Department - Deputy Vince Hooper took notes regarding residents' concerns and will try to get the issues resolved. He talked to residents on Trailwood regarding crime in the area and shared that there has been an increase of copper wire thefts. If anything looks suspicious report it to the sheriff department immediately, call the Sheriff's Non-emergency number at (209) 552-2468. Deputy Hooper said to call 911 if we see tagging in progress.

Salida Fire Department - Board member Mark Brubaker stated Modesto Regional Fire Authority (MRFA) will dissolve July 1st and Salida will be getting their fire department back. They entered into a six month service agreement with Modesto Regional Fire Authority for service. He asked residents to get dry grass and weeds cleared to reduce fire hazards.

California Highway Patrol - Officer Chuck Leon reported a drop in activity from the previous month. 7 vehicle accidents and 2 DUI accidents. He has been writing a lot of tickets lately for expired registration. He addressed residents' concerns regarding street racing and will try to work that area more. He is still working on the bike helmet letter to give to kids who aren't wearing helmets. Salida Union School District has the bike helmets. 

Salida PostmasterPostmaster John Paul Cabral stated first class mail revenue has dropped 8% but package revenue has increased. During the food drive, the USPS collected 72.5 million pounds of food that was distributed to local food banks and shelters. The Salida post office collected over 500 pounds of food. There are open employment jobs available at the post office and he hopes to have the jobs filled soon. Postmaster Cabral reminded residents of the new hours of the Salida Post Office: Monday - Friday 10am - 4:30pm, closed on Saturday & Sunday.

Salida Chamber of CommerceThe Salida Chamber of Commerce will be having a one year anniversary mixer at Solid Networks on July 11th at 6:30pm. 

Nick W. Blom Salida Regional Salida LibraryLibrary Branch Manager, Diane Bartlett shared that there is an all ages reading group this summer with chances to win prizes. They also have audio podcasts narrated by Emerson Drake available. There are many activities available including: Zumba, couponing, movie nights, etc. Python Ron will be at the library July 5th at 4pm and there will be an adult craft on July 19th.

STARS Volunteer Rodney Caetano presenting on starting a
Neighborhood Watch.
Special PresentationSTARS volunteer Rodney Caetano spoke about forming a Neighborhood Watch group. First step is to talk to neighbors and set up a time and date for everyone to meet. Then, call STARS at (209) 652-0356 with the information and they will come to the meeting and discuss how to set up neighborhood watch. National Night Out is August 6th. If we see crimes in progress, get as much information as possible (vehicle make, model, license plate, description of suspects, height, race, weight, clothing) and call 911 but do not confront the suspects. 

WIN A TRIP! - Enter our Neighborhood Watch Contest!
 
Set up a new neighborhood watch group or hold a meeting for your current group between January 1, 2014 and July 31, 2014, you'll be entered to win a 3 days and 2 nights trip to your choice of one of 20 locations which include Disneyland, Lake Tahoe, Hawaii, etc. courtesy of MainStreetChamber. (Airfare and travel expense to and from is not included. Room tax fees apply, see certificate for additional requirements.) Contest open to Salida residents establishing Salida neighborhood watch groups only. One person entry per group. Salida MAC council members not eligible to win. Contact Deputy Vern Blagg to establish a neighborhood watch group: (209) 652-0356 and to be entered in the contest, send an e-mail with the date of your neighborhood watch meeting to salidamac@gmail.com 

Salida Annexation UpdateLAFCO submitted comments to Modesto regarding their environmental impact report. The comments are good for Salida and Wood Colony. LAFCO wants to have a boundary between Modesto and Salida. If anyone is interested in reading LAFCO's comments go to: salidaannex.blogspot.com


Announcements - A new Salida MAC sign was installed on the exterior of the library.


Next Salida MAC Meeting:
Tuesday, July 22, 2014 at 7 pm @ Salida Library Community Room
4835 Sisk Rd. - Salida
Presentation: Water Conservation
by Juan Tejeda
City of Modesto Water Conservationist