Salida MAC Newsletter - July 2015

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

Salida Family Movie Night
Salida Family Movie Night at Segesta Park was a huge success, about 60 people attended to watch the movie "Hook". Our thanks to Eastside Mosquito Abatement for spraying the park earlier in the day and to Capt. Rizotto and Salida Fire Department for their support.

Stanislaus County Sheriff Dept

Mary Alpers with the STARS unit has magnets available that has the emergency and non-emergency numbers printed on them. They also have small badges for children. The STARS have driven around Salida and Anderson Care Home and have seen issues that has been brought up at previous meetings.

California Highway Patrol

Officer Chuck Leon reported there have been 6 auto accidents in Salida. One was a DUI accident at Ladd and American.

Salida Fire Department

Capt Rizotto giving Salida Fire report

Captain Joe Rizotto reported there has been 111 calls for service in the last 30 days and 597 calls in the last 6 months. Average response time is 5 minutes and 55 seconds. They have gone to all the elementary schools in Salida to give demonstrations and safety information. There was a structure fire at Hope Lane and Salida Blvd. Another structure fire occurred at Kiernan Village in April which displaced 26 residents as well as a large vegetation fire on McHenry on June 18. Additionally, SFD and Woodland FD fought a hay fire consisting of 35 tons in Wood Colony. The fire assessment failed 1878 ballots were returned, 941 yes votes, 937 no votes. Due to the weighted ballot, the assessment failed 52% to 48%. 16 new volunteers have recently joined the department. The chicken BBQ dinner will take place on Saturday, August 22 and tickets are $12 each. Fireworks sales start on June 28th.

Salida Sanitary District

Brad Johnson reported that they are in the process of getting a loan to pay for projects and several businesses on Pirrone were paying for service but were not hooked up to the system.

Salida Post Office

John Paul Cabral reported that many homes in Salida who only have a post office box can start getting mail delivery at home via community mailboxes. No mailbox break ins recently. 

Salida Chamber of Commerce

The Salida Chamber of Commerce held a well-attended mixer on June 5 at Salida Veterinary Hospital hosted by Dr. Paul Sessa.

Modesto Irrigation District

Board member Jake Wenger reported they have been actively monitoring water levels and and being proactive to avoid water thefts. Many farmers have taken advantage of MID's drought incentive programs. Some board members went to Washington DC and met with Senator Boxer and Nancy Pelosi's staff to talk about the drought. It doesn't look like there will be an electric rate increase this year. 

Nick W. Blom Salida Regional Library

Wiggle Worms is on Wednesday mornings at 10:00 - open only to children under age 3 and their caregivers. Wednesday mornings at 11:00 - open to toddlers, their siblings, and their caregivers.  Preschool Story Time - Thursday mornings at 10:00 - open to children ages 3 to 5 and their caregivers Preschool Story Time is followed by Stay and Play... Play and Learn each week.  Summer Reading Program goes through August 4 - all ages. Gift basket prizes on display at the library. A Kindle Fire and Amazon gift certificate are possible prizes.

Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors District 3

Supervisor Withrow reported the board passed the county budget two weeks ago and there will be an increase in spending on public safety. The negative bailout failed in the state government. There is a water community meeting June 25 in Knights Ferry. Completion of the new day reporting center and coroner's office is almost completed. Homeless action meeting June 30th at the Sutter Gould building on McHenry ave at 1pm.

Announcements

Salida Sit-n-Sew is a new quilting group organizing and if you quilt, you are invited to attend an organizational meeting on Thursday July 23rd at 7pm at Salida Fire Station 12 (Salida Blvd & Broadway Ave)

Former San Joaquin County Supervisor Ken Vogel is running for Kristen Olsen's assembly seat and he was recognized and thanked for attending our Salida MAC meetings and listening to the communities concerns.

National Night Out on Tuesday, August 4th at 6pm.

Salida MAC's website - visit: http://salidamac.weebly.com/

Next Salida MAC Meeting:

Tuesday, July 28, 2015 at 7 pm @ Salida Library Community Room

4835 Sisk Rd. - Salida

Featured Department: "Stanislaus County Department of Public Works"

Salida MAC Newsletter - April 2015

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

Stanislaus County Sheriff Dept
Deputy Scott Block reported that seventeen new deputies will be graduating the academy in April. He also shared that he was aware that there were two areas of concern on either side of the freeway. He asked that residents continue to call and report issues.

California Highway Patrol
Officer AJ Palazuelos shared that the CHP has received complaints about speeding on Wallasey Way and Pirrone. Residents shared many concerns regarding speeding and school traffic issues.

Salida Fire Department
Salida Fire Chief Dale Skiles asked residents to bring people by the fire station or stop by if they have programs. Salida Fire will be co-sponsoring the "Every 15 Minutes Program" with Gregori High School. Salida Fire Department is averaging 120 emergency calls per month and many of the calls are overlapping calls. To research recommendations for better service, the Salida Fire District asked citizens of Salida, Del Rio, and Wood Colony to serve on a Citizens Advisory Committee which has been meeting since September. The Salida Fire Board will hold a public workshop at the fire station on Salida Blvd and Broadway on Thursday, April 2 at 7 pm to discuss recommendations for Salida Fire.

Chief Skiles also asked that citizens pull over if they see a fire engine with their sirens and lights on. He also asked that if any residents had tall weeds to please cut them down.

Salida Sanitary District
Salida Sanitary District board member Brad Johnson reported that the loan for the solar dryers is almost paid off and the director has suggested that the Sanitary District take out another loan for capital improvement costs. Board member Johnson invited the public to attend the meetings which are held on the 2nd Thursday of every month at 6:30 pm at the Sanitary District's headquarters off of Pirrone Rd.

Salida Chamber of Commerce
Amanda Sorenson shared the Salida Chamber of Commerce's project for Love Salida on Saturday, April 18 at 9 am will be care packages for Salida firefighters (including volunteers), sheriff deputies and CHP officers. Salida Chamber welcomes donations of the following items: Starbucks gift cards and/or coffee, Girl Scout cookies, Energy bars/granola bars, sunflower seeds, eye drops, razors, (travel sizes of the following) shaving cream wet wipes/hand sanitizer, Gold Bond powder, shoe polish, sunscreen lip balm, or cash donations. Please feel free to call Amanda at (209) 232-5022 or contact her through the Salida Chamber's website at www.salidacachamber.com

Nick W. Blom Salida Regional Library
Salida Library Director Carol Blomquist shared there will be no preschool or Wiggle-worms storytimes, or stay-n-play this month; these programs will resume in May. Tuesday's for Family Day programs "Wee Move and Play" for 5-yr olds is on April 14th @ 4pm. Lego day is on April 28 @ 4pm and children under age 4 need to have any adult with them. Dance exercise continues on Mondays at 6 pm, Modesto Money Mavens couponing class is Saturday, April 11th at 3:30. Money Smart Week for Kids is April 21 @ 4 pm ages 9-15 only. On April 25th at 1 pm is an identity theft program hosted by Bank of the West. Visit the website for more upcoming events. Ms. Blomquist also announced that after 10 years at the Salida Library, Barb will be retiring.

Modesto Irrigation District
MID Director Jake Wenger gave an update on the Prop 218 process that the district is involved in. Director Wenger said that this year will be the most difficult one in the history of MID, they are looking at a 16 inch allocation per acre. Last year was the largest reduction with 24 inches in allotment.  The district is looking at different drought programs to make water available, like farmers selling water they don't use back to the district. Director Wenger also addressed the recent letter to the editor in the Modesto Bee asking why there is water in the canals. He stated that its groundwater, there's no water coming out of the reservoirs right now. MID owns about 100 wells and farmers are renting those pumps and wells in certain sections. April 5th will be the start of the irrigation season.

Special Presentation - "Focus on Prevention - Quality of Life Initiative" Program 
presented by Aaron Farnon

Aaron Farnon shared Stanislaus County's new initiative called "Focus on Prevention" which includes nine sectors of our community: Arts, Sports & Entertainment; Business, Education, Faith-based, Government, Media, Neighborhoods, Non-profits, Philanthropy. There are four quality of life areas to be addressed and the first one is Homelessness which will convene on October 1st at Modesto Centre Plaza. Mr. Farnon said they are close to starting "Action Councils" which he is hoping to have some representation from towns within our county like Salida. The goal is to have membership within a community to oversee and develop action plans, and work with the community to see where there are gaps in our services. They are looking specifically for someone in the community who has a passion for prevention. He gave an example of an overlapping gap in service when different housing providers didn't coordinate efforts and when people apply at one group, they can lose out on permanent housing at another group. Mr. Farnon stated that beginning at the end of May, they will be reaching out to people who wish to be on the action council. Citizens who serve on the action council will be lending their voice and be a set of eyes for our community. For questions or to volunteer for an action council, please contact Aaron Farnon at farnona@stancounty.com

Click here for a copy of the Focus on Prevention handout

Stanislaus County Supervisor's Report
Supervisor Terry Withrow stated that the county has finalized their mid-year budget. The budget is recovering from the recession and revenues are coming in higher than expected. The Board of Supervisors' priority is for increasing public safety, hiring more sheriff deputies, etc. The goal right now is for 172 deputies, including one designated for Salida. Supervisor Withrow also shared how the county wishes to partner with the court system to reduce costs.

Announcements:

Salida Town and Country Festival - Salida Civic Association needs volunteers to help with putting on this year's Town & Country Festival. Contact Kathy Paioni at (209) 545-0601 if you can help.

Love Salida - Love Salida will be held on Saturday, April 18 with meet-up at Salida Park at 9 am. As mentioned above, the Salida Chamber of Commerce will be compiling care packages for local safety personnel and running a freeway clean-up along the Hammett Road exit ramp. The Rotary Club of Salida project is to clean and weed the center median on Broadway. Other Love Salida Projects include: graffiti removal, alleyway clean-up, Salida Food Bank donations, clothing donations, and cleaning up illegal dump sites in Wood Colony. For more information and/or volunteer, please contact Dan Miceli at micelit@juno.com or show up at Salida Park at 9 am. Event ends at 1 pm.

Salida MAC's website - visit: http://salidamac.weebly.com/

Next Salida MAC Meeting:

Tuesday, April 28, 2015 at 7 pm @ Salida Library Community Room

4835 Sisk Rd. - Salida

Presentation:"Gangs in Stanislaus County"
presented by Sheriff Dept Detective Frank Soria

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 the 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

Salida MAC Newsletter - May 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 Works Director
Matt Machado

"Take Back Salida" Program -  The 'Take Back Salida' program launched by Salida MAC in January has been widely successful in combating graffiti. Thanks to Supervisor Terry Withrow and Stanislaus County Department of Public Works Director, Matt Machado for graffiti abatement supplies and support!

Salida Fire District Report - Jerry DeBoer, Chairman of the Salida Fire District relayed a message from Chief Dale Skiles that if residents or their neighbors have any tall grass around their fences or houses to report it to Station 14 as its a fire hazard and we're in extremely dry conditions due to the drought. 

Stanislaus County Sheriff Report - Deputy Jason Braley reported that there were a couple of new leads on the home invasion robbery. There's been a significant increase in suspicious persons calls in Salida. Deputy Braley attributed this to wider distribution of the Sheriff's Non-Emergency Dispatch number (209) 552-2468. 

Salida Sanitary Report - Salida Sanitary Board member Brad Johnson reported that the sanitary district purchased new computers and made a payment on the solar dryer.

Salida Postmaster Report - Nanette Spyksma presented the report on behalf of Postmaster, John Paul Cabral. She reported that three mailboxes had been broken into and replaced and then two more were broken in the previous night - one on Sun Glen and one on Pirrone.

Nick W. Blom Salida Regional Library Report - Library Branch Manager, Diane Bartlett shared that the library Zumba is held on Monday nights at 6 pm in the Community Room, Tuesdays are "Family Days" at the Salida Library at either 4 or 6 pm. Join us on May 20 at 6 pm for Family Dinner and Movie Night, the featured film is Disney's "Frozen".  Children can come in their pajamas. Bring a picnic dinner and a blanket to sit on. The library will provide a beverage and popcorn. Storytimes are Wednesdays for ages under 3 at 10 am and 11 am. Storytime for pre-schoolers ages 3-5 are held on Thursdays at 10 am.

Salida Chamber of Commerce Report - Gary Finch, Vice-President of the Salida Chamber of Commerce shared that the Salida Chamber sponsored a freeway clean-up and graffiti abatement for Love Salida with volunteers from Centerpoint Baptist Church. The chamber also provided over 70 hot dog lunches at Salida Park for Love Salida volunteers. The chamber's kick-off party will be held at the Post Restaurant on Friday, April 25 at 6 pm with lots of prizes. 

Stanislaus County Department of Public Works - Director Matt Machado reported that public works averages about 100 miles of road resurfacing a year. But considering we have 1,500 miles of roads which means that they only get around to resurfacing the roads about once every seven years. There is an average of 2,000 accidents and 30 fatalities per year. 2.5 million miles driven on county roads every day. This year Public Works is projected to replace 120 miles of roadways.

Director Machado shared maps of areas that are scheduled to be chip-sealed in Wood Colony and slurry-sealed in Salida this summer.

Below is a recap of the concerns shared at Salida MAC, with responses / solutions to each by Matt Machado. The item (in red) is still being worked on. 

1. Concern - Failed trenches in ROW, Possible Solution discussed at the MAC - require CDF backfill and 3 year warranty - Our plan is to first verify some locations / complaints to determine if there are trench failures.  If so, then we will pursue the contractor who did the work to make repairs.  If unsuccessful then we will look at our standards to make them more stringent.  Can members of the MAC or the public provide specific locations where they believe there are trench failures? 

2. Commercial property owner, adjacent Vizcaya - contact info shared with Vizcaya residents 

3. Concern - at Ladd / Tully all way stop warrant, accident history – 
Our traffic division is updating their data and will be producing a warrant analysis.  This documentation should be complete within the next couple of weeks. 

4. Concern - Tully, south of Ladd at the canal crossing / vertical curve sight distance. 
Our traffic has furthered reviewed and deemed there is no down side to making this a no passing zone.  A double yellow center line will be painted 1000’ before the canal crossing and 1000’ after the canal crossing. 

5. Apparently the worst roads in Salida are off Zinfandel, such as Westwood, Parks, Edgewood, Driftwood. 
A field review was completed in the area around Zinfandel Avenue, an AR Cape would be the best solution at this point in time.  The pavement is pretty cracked up, but has limited base failures.  It's just old.  The rubber chip would do well in holding it together and the slurry would help make the riding surface acceptable for residential use.  This project scope will be looked at the next time we plan to conduct a resurfacing project in Salida, tentatively planned for 2015. 

6. On Murphy near Green Knoll Rd apparently there is a patch that county crews have placed, yet apparently it is in bad shape. 
This location was repaired (twice at least) and staff spoke to the person regarding his complaint. That section of Murphy has been settling for several years. All of the low spots are in line with the sewer trunk, so it appears the sewer line may be causing the problem.  We made need to discuss with the Sewer District regarding some leaking sewer pipe joints. 

7. On Kiernan west of the tracks there is a large pothole. 
This was patched with hydro-patch, due to the cold weather at the time it appears. It has settled some since then so has been touched it up. The work is complete. 

8. Old Paint from HHW for use of graffiti removal -  Keimi called and coordinated with John Martin. 

9. On the corner of Pirrone and Hammett the inside corner is rutted out, cars are tracking dirt and gravel. Will possibly fill with AC.  Apparently the paved corner is a sharp curve / corner - There is a drop off, even though it appears to be pretty wide so we will pave it out with the patch truck.

10. Large pothole on Commons near Harding (MAC member drives to Turlock each day) - Patched 

11.  Status of new signs for Salida and Wood Colony – 

The traffic division and sign division have been swamped with work, roadway safety has taken priority over these signs.  We hope to have them installed within the next couple of weeks. (Sign installation completed on May 15, 2014) Read Ken Carlson's article about the signs in the Modesto Bee, "Wood Colony, Salida welcome signs added"

Salida Annexation Update - At the Modesto City Council voted and approved a comprehensive general plan and EIR update on April 8, 2014. For further information, please see the May 21st EIR meeting info below.

Announcements
May 21, 2014 at 5:30 pm - The City of Modesto is holding a presentation of their draft EIR (Environmental Impact Report) for their city's general plan update. The reason that you are being notified of this is because they are still including Salida in their general plan. 

May 21, 2014 at 7 pm - Salida residents are invited to the Salida Fire Protection District Board meeting for an update and information on the coming changes to Salida's fire service as a result of the dissolution of Modesto Regional Fire Authority (MRFA).

Summer 2014 - Streets in Salida on the east side of 99 will be resurfaced with slurry-seal this summer. Check this link to see if your street is included. Streets in Salida on the west side of 99 are currently being assessed for slurry and possible chip-seal in the Zinfandel-Westwood area for 2015. Since many Salida residents travel through Wood Colony to commute, be aware that several streets in Wood Colony have also been scheduled to receive chip-seal resurfacing this summer.

Next Salida MAC Meeting:

Tuesday, May 27, 2014 at 7 pm @ Salida Library Community Room

4835 Sisk Rd. - Salida
Presentation: Salida Crime Update
by Sheriff Adam Christianson

Salida MAC Newsletter - April 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

Salida Fire District Report - Chief Dale Skiles reminded everyone that fire season is quickly approaching and to keep an eye out for fire hazards.

CHP Report - CHP Officer Chuck Leon reported that there were three DUI collisions, one felony DUI arrest for marijuana, and one auto-theft arrest. He responded to a complaint about street-racing. Officer Leon spotted a pickup truck speeding along Ciccarelli Road and doing circles in the dirt while people took pictures. The driver was pulled over and was arrested for reckless driving.

Every time Officer Leon is in Salida, he makes it a point to make at least one pass and back on Wallasey Way. He dressed in plain clothes and sat with a radar gun on Wallasey. He did cite one person for going 37 in a 25 mph zone on Wallasey.

Salida business owner, Craig Coker, brought in a box of bike helmets to sponsor a helmet program at Salida Union School District. Officer Leon offered assistance with this program.

Salida Postmaster Report - Salida Postmaster, John Cabral reported that three more community mailboxes have been broken into: on Sisk between Wessex and Wallasey, Trowbridge. and one on Salida Blvd. Postmaster Cabral said several of the boxes have graffiti on them and he has supplies to remove the graffiti, just come and see him. 

Postmaster Cabral gave an update on Senate Bill 1486, its still in the senate and should go through the House quickly. The chief vice-president of the postal service testified before congress that without postal legislation, the USPS is in dire straits. Postmaster Cabral met with Congressman Jeff Denham who expressed his support for the USPS. He gave a brief summary of the local mail routes being consolidated and downsized. He recommended visiting savethepostoffice.com for additional info on changing hours, closures, etc.  Postmaster Cabral shared his article featuring Salida in "Save Our Rural Post Offices" on page 9 of the National League of Postmasters California Branch.

Salida Chamber of Commerce Report - Gary Finch, Vice-President of the Salida Chamber of Commerce shared that the chamber would be participating in LoveSalida on April 5 with a Highway 99 cleanup at Hammett. The Salida Chamber will be sponsoring the hot dog lunch after the project for the participants at Salida Park on Broadway. The chamber's kick-off party will be held at The Post Restaurant & Bar on Friday, April 25 at 6 pm. For more information and to reserve your free ticket, click here. 

Nick W. Blom Salida Regional Library Report - Library Branch Manager, Diane Bartlett shared that the library is collecting snuggle blankets for animals awaiting new homes. Crochet, knit, quilt, sew or tie blankets in the following sizes 14"x14" for cats and small animals, 24"x24" for cats and small to medium dogs, 36"x36" for medium to large dogs. These are guidelines, they don't need to be exact. Materials should be washable, such as cotton or acrylic. Leftover scraps of yarn or fabric are fine. Yarn ends should be double-knotted and woven in well to prevent unraveling. Make them thick for comfort and warmth, but do not use battling. For pattern suggestions: www.snugglesproject.org  Bring completed blankets in during library open hours. Deadline: April 30, 2014 Questions? Call Cindy @ the Waterford Library (209) 874-2191 Donations may be dropped off at the Salida Library.

Zumba has started on Monday evenings and is held either in the Community Room or the Storytime Room. April is Poetry Month and and the library will have a "Poet Tree". You can write your poem on there, either one you've written or one that you like and the library will hang all the poems on the tree. The Book Club for Adults meets on the 2nd Tuesday of the month. 

Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros ~ Day of the Child, Day of the Book, Día for short, is a nationwide celebration of children, families and reading will be held Saturday, April 26 at Salida Library @ 10:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. Features a Bilingual Story Time, world music, crafts, Friends of the Salida Library will be giving away free books and more! 

Stanislaus County Planning Department Report - Javier Camarena gave a presentation on his department and projects they are working on. There are grant funds available for low and moderate income families for home improvements. Current projects they are working on are: Empire storm drains, Parklawn sewer infrastructure, and Airport sewer infrastructure. Plans get updated every year and have to be approved by the county board of supervisors. Salida received a storm drain grant about eight years ago. The neighborhood stabilization program is starting to wind down.
For more information on Stanislaus County's Block Grant Annual Action Plan.

Salida Annexation Update - At the Modesto City Council meeting on March 11, 2014, Modesto City Councilman John Gunderson made a motion to put Salida back on the agenda for a vote, the motion was seconded but went nowhere, so Salida is still within Modesto's General Plan. Wood Colony was put on the agenda and voted upon at the March 25, 2014 council meeting. The council voted to remove the "ag" section of Wood Colony from Modesto's General Plan Update, but north of Beckwith and the area south of Woodland are still in the plan. The city council will be voting on a comprehensive general plan update on April 8, 2014.

Next Salida MAC Meeting:

Tuesday, April 22, 2014 at 7 pm @ Salida Library Community Room

4835 Sisk Rd. - Salida
Presentation: Public Works Update by
Stanislaus Public Works Director,
Matt Machado

Salida MAC Newsletter - August 2013

The July Salida MAC meeting video is viewable online by clicking this link thanks to Salida MAC Councilmember, Brad Johnson and local Salida Public Radio Station 104.9 FM. 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

Nick W. Blom Salida Regional Library Report - Library Branch Manager, Diane Bartlett shared that the library has a new "Reader's Theater" which has met the last few Mondays and performs their favorite stories. 

Salida Fire District Report - Salida Fire Protection District Fire Chief, Dale Skiles, reminded everyone that National Night Out is coming up on Tuesday, August 6 and asked residents to call the fire

Jaden Wenger waves to his dad, Jake, from
a fire truck on National Night Out

department and/or sheriff dept if they are having a block party and would like either department to attend.  

Chief Skiles announced that Salida Kountry Kitchen will be hosting a National Night Out block party in conjunction with the Salida Chamber of Commerce between 6-8 pm. 

Salida Fire Fighters Association will be hosting their annual chicken bar-b-que on August 24th. Tickets on sale at the fire department.

Renovations will continue for some time in and around the fire station and the contractors have been phenomenal to work with.

Salida Sanitary Report - Salida Sanitary Board member Brad Johnson shared that the Sanitary District has received a proposal for a solar array to be placed on the property.

Salida Chamber of Commerce Report - Amanda Sorensen, Secretary of the Salida Chamber of Commerce shared that there existed a previous Salida Chamber of Commerce, which brought such improvements as the Salida Lighting District and Salida Park to the community of Salida. The new Salida chamber has plans to improve the quality of life for Salida's residents in addition to supporting and promoting business and commerce in Salida. The Salida Chamber of Commerce will have a booth at the Salida Town and Country Festival on August 24 so stop by and see us. We will also be participating in National Night Out at Salida Kountry Kitchen on August 6. Applications to join the chamber are on the back table and if you have questions, see Amanda after the meeting. 

Stanislaus County Planning Department Report - Javier Camarena gave a brief overview of the Community Block Grant funds and Emergency Solutions grant funds. CBG funds are to benefit low to moderate income people to prevent and minimize blight and urgent community needs. He shared some highlights of the programs over the past year like the allocation of approximately $2.1 million. Some of the funds were allocated to Parklawn and Airport sewer infrastructure projects. Funding was also provided to fifteen non-profit programs which provided services to low and very low-income families. Over the last year, about 1,300 individuals were assisted in the county with emergency shelter grants. 

CHP Report - CHP Officer Chuck DeLeon researched that as far as the trucks parking on Elm, he issued warnings and next time, he will issue tickets. As for the trucks parked on Gateway, they are parked legally. 

Special Presentation - The Modesto Chamber of Commerce's "Pathways to Jobs and Prosperity" - Modesto Chamber CEO, Cecil Russell introduced fellow presenters, Brad Hawn, Craig Lewis and George

George Petrulakis and Craig Lewis
present Modesto Chamber of
Commerce growth plan.

Petrulakis.  Craig Lewis noted that there were more attendees for this meeting than at the Planning Commission meeting. He went on to say that there's a lack of shovel-ready land in Modesto for jobs.

George Petrulakis stated that the plan is in draft form and they visit groups like Salida MAC looking for input and ideas. Most groups presented to so far have been in Modesto and are co-sponsoring the plan. Mr. Petrulakis mentioned the book, "The Coming Jobs War" by Jim Clifton and cited several of the key factors for job creation, and it needs to occur at the city level. The Modesto Chamber's presentation only deals with two of the key factors: a modern freeway transportation network and shovel ready land. They looked at the Modesto area-proper to the city limits and what the current condition is. The shaded blue areas are in the Modesto City limits and the Beard Industrial tract is outside the city limits. The conclusion they drew is that Modesto does not have a lot of large sites for job creators, and no sites along Freeway 99, and without Beard, they would be in real trouble. 

Modesto's job centers are in three areas: the Beard tract, downtown, the area straddling 99 north of downtown. He reviewed the various freeway transportation routes that lead into Modesto. Highway 132 does help the Modesto route as well as go into other communities. Mr. Petrulakis then reviewed the other local cities and their available land that bordered freeways. One of the problems that Modesto has is a lot of land for business parks but almost none of it is shovel-ready. 

Since Salida is not a city, the Modesto Chamber used light grey to show the current boundaries based on the Salida Sanitary map and the dark grey distinguishes the Salida Community Plan boundaries.

 
Mr. Petrulakis noted that Salida was the first outside (of Modesto) group they had visited so requested that attendees share any transportation priorities they might have. 

Craig Lewis gave an overview of the taxes that fund transportation projects. About eight-five cents of the price we pay at the gas pump goes to a transportation tax. However, Stanislaus County is not a "self-help county" which means that only 20-25% of the eight-five cents comes back to our county for improvements. The rest goes to other counties in the state. Eighty percent of the population in California have a 1/2 percent self-help tax. For every penny that is put into the tax, two pennies come back to the county in self-help counties. We are helping to fund those improvements in other counties like the Arch Road improvements in San Joaquin County. Part of the Modesto Chamber's plan is for Stanislaus County to become a self-help county. 

George Petrulakis then resumed the presentation and provided descriptions for the color-coded areas on the map. Three broad areas have been defined as "study areas" as the best land for job creation: one to the west (Beckwith Triangle/Wood Colony), one north of Kiernan, and one east of Modesto for housing. Modesto already has a lot of land within its sphere of influence for housing in the east so it may never need the land that's within the study area.  Mr. Petrulakis then explained that the words "Salida Self-Determination" is the Salida Community Plan area and Salida is in charge of that.  

The west (Beckwith Triangle/Wood Colony) area was compared to business parks in other cities with an overlay adjusted for population. Mr. Petrulakis then addressed the adoption of 'Ag Investment Zones' that will not be converted to urban uses. Some of these areas include land between Waterford and Modesto and Dry Creek and the river. He also mentioned that Salida residents have attended Modesto General Plan update meetings and requested Salida to be removed from the General Plan. Another concern regarding the Modesto Chamber's plan is that it "boxes Salida in" or "landlocks" Salida which the Modesto Chamber will take back to their commission and address. 

Watch the Q&A portion of the presentation online.

Next Salida MAC Meeting:

Tuesday, August 27, 2013 at 7 pm @ Salida Library Community Room

4835 Sisk Rd. - Salida

Presentation: The Salida Town & Country Festival
and Salida Civic by Salida Civic President,
Debra Allen