Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM
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OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER May 11, 2018 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: Alan Tandy, City Manager AT SUBJECT: General Information Notable Items Announced Friday, Governor Jerry Brown’s revised budget plan will include $359 million in funding for resources to address homelessness across the state. The funds would be immediately available to local governments. An article by the Los Angeles Times briefly mentions the effort by the Big 11 Mayor’s to dedicate additional resources for homeless services. See the article attached. National Police Week is May 13-19, 2018. The City of Bakersfield Police Department and law enforcement members throughout Kern County will honor officers who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving their community. Please see the attached invitation from Chief Lyle Martin for memorial ceremony information. Staff received confirmation that the Downtown Bakersfield PBID Committee did not obtain enough petition signatures to reach the 50% + 1 threshold needed to make the deadlines for the 2019 County property tax roll. However, the group plans to continue to meet with property owners over the next several months to try for 2020. This means the item will not be scheduled for Council consideration to initiate the ballot process on May 23rd. In recognition of Public Service Recognition Week, the City of Bakersfield’s Employee Incentive Team hosted the annual Employee Appreciation Breakfast. Thank you to all of our city employees for their continued dedication to improving the quality of life in our community! General Information May 11, 2018 Page 2 Yesterday evening, City staff attended the Community Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Training workshop hosted by California Walks and Berkeley SafeTREC. This workshop focused on Union Avenue from E 4th St. to E 21st St. and the neighborhood near Martin Luther King Jr. Park. The goal of this workshop is to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety by bringing together local stakeholders to identify safety concerns in high-traffic pedestrian areas. The City of Bakersfield was joined by staff from the Bakersfield Police Department, CalTrans, Golden Empire Transit (GET), Kern COG, Bike Bakersfield, The Bakersfield Homeless Center, community members and others on a “walk audit” of sections of Union Avenue, with participants being encouraged to note both positive and negative aspects of their experience as a potential bicyclist and pedestrian. This workshop is one in a series that will help inform the City and local partners on areas of improvement and potential solutions. Mayor Goh opens the workshop Participants audit Union Ave. Traffic Advisories Nighttime Lane and Ramp Closures for the Week of May 14 State Route 99, State Route 58, and Union Avenue Electrical work for the Beltway Operational Improvements Project will require the following nighttime lane and ramp closures on State Route 58, State Route 99, and Union Avenue from Monday, May 14 through Thursday, May 17. These closures are expected to be in place between the hours of 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. At least one travel lane will remain open to traffic while work is underway, but motorists will need to use an adjacent interchange to enter or exit the freeway during ramp closures. Monday and Tuesday nights: • Southbound State Route 99-Ming Avenue on- and off-ramps • Two outside freeway lanes on southbound State Route 99 from Ming Avenue to south of the Wilson Road Overcrossing • Two outside freeway lanes on eastbound and westbound State Route 58, between State Route 99 and Cottonwood Road General Information May 11, 2018 Page 3 Wednesday and Thursday nights: • Alternating lane closures for all lanes on southbound and northbound Union Avenue near State Route 58 • Eastbound State Route 58-Union Avenue on- and off-ramps Lane Closures on Truxtun Avenue This Weekend and Next Week Final work on the relocation of fiber optic lines will require lane closures of the outside westbound lane on Truxtun Avenue, between Oak Street and State Route 99 this weekend. The closures are expected to be in effect during the following dates and times: • Friday, May 11, between the hours of 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. • Saturday, May 12, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. • Sunday, May 13, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. In addition, the work on the north side of Truxtun Avenue, between Oak Street and Myrtle Street, will continue next week and the outside westbound lane in this area is expected to be closed Monday through Friday, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. The westbound right-turn lane to northbound Oak Street will also be closed Monday through Friday, between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Motorists travelling through this area during these days and times should anticipate delays due to construction and select an alternate route or allow extra time to reach their destinations. Reports Streets Division work schedule for the week of May 14th Police Department SEU Monthly Gang Report for April 2018 Event Notifications Event calendar for the Rabobank Arena Theater and Convention Center Bakersfield Police Department Honor Guard Pancake & Memorial Breakfast Date/time: Thursday May 17, 2018 from 7:00am to 10:00am Location: Bakersfield Police Department Auditorium 1601 Truxtun Ave. Tickets are $5.00. Purchase your tickets at the BPD For more information, call Lt. Clayton Madden 661-326-3153 The Tarina Homes Sports Complex at Mesa Marin is holding its first ever FREE adult home run derby at the sports complex on Saturday, May 19 starting at 2:00 p.m. This fun event will be followed by a Movie in the Park starting at dusk. See the attached flyer for more information. SUBSCRIBE LOG IN TOPICS 4 weeks for only 99¢ TRIAL OFFER | 4 weeks for 99¢ Elon Musk unveils video of his Dispute between two students A notorious mansion. A first underground L.A. tunnel, leaves 1 shot at Palmdale high assault by a Hollywood predicts rides within months school, suspect detained A suicide. What happen ADVERTISEMENT POLITICS LA TIMES Gov. Jerry Brown oõers part of a historic budget bonanza to help ease California's homelessness crisis By JOHN MYERS and LIAM DILLON MAY 11, 2018 | SACRAMENTO Gov. Jerry Brown, shown at a May 1 news conference, unveiled a revised state budget plan on Friday that again seeks to avoid spending an income tax windfall on ongoing programs. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Even in the wake of previous tax windfalls, Gov. Jerry Brown's announcement on Friday was breathtaking: The state has collected an unexpected $8 billion in tax revenue in recent months, even more additional cash than reported in January. The money is the latest installment in a fiscal winning streak of historic proportions in California. And, as in previous years, the governor's newly revised budget seeks to divvy it up either on short-term spending or long-term savings by putting it into government reserves. ADVERTISEMENT "I've said it before and I'll say it again," Brown said of his generally cautious approach. "Let's not blow it now." Brown's most significant proposal for spending the cash is a $359-million boost to ease the state's burgeoning homelessness crisis. The money would immediately be available to local governments. The governor's proposal also would ensure that a $2- billion bond for homeless housing makes it to November's statewide ballot. The budget plan also includes $312 million for mental health programs. Get the latest updates on California politics » The infusion of cash to help the homeless is one of a handful of new proposals in the $199.2-billion spending plan, a revision of Brown's proposal to the Legislature in January. As was the case then, the governor continues to believe the lion's share of the tax windfall should be socked away in the state's rainy-day fund. His plan calls for topping off the account at $13.5 billion by next summer, which would be the largest reserve in state history. Under the provisions of a 2014 ballot measure approved by voters, the fund can grow to no more than 10% of projected general fund revenues. That law also requires some of the early money be spent on repaying government debts. As in previous years, a key debate point over the next few weeks is likely to be how to categorize much of the cash. Brown has consistently argued the windfalls should be considered temporary, and thus not used to pay for ongoing state services. Legislative Democrats have largely acceded to those demands, thereby narrowing the number of social services programs that can be boosted. In some cases, those programs have remained at or near recession-era levels. Lawmakers, in budget committee hearings through the winter and spring, heard from scores of advocates for social services who pleaded for additional funds to boost everything from subsidized child care to cash grants for the working poor and the aged or disabled. And Democrats in both the Senate and Assembly are expected to insist on more long-term funding for CalWORKS, the state's welfare assistance program. The new focus on homelessness is expected to win praise from local officials struggling to address the steady stream of adults and families now living on the streets of most California cities. A federal study concludes that more than 130,000 residents of the state are homeless, a 14% increase in the last year alone. Several of the leading candidates vying to succeed Brown as governor were critical of the state's response thus far to the homelessness crisis in a televised debate on Tuesday.