OFFICE of the CITY MANAGER September 20
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OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER September 20, 2019 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: Alan Tandy, City Manager AT SUBJECT: General Information Notable Items Some great news when it comes to water conservation in the City! Bakersfield residents are still saving water, even after Gov. Jerry Brown in 2017 removed the conservation targets set by the Drought State of Emergency. The Water Resources Department reports that we have cut usage by almost 12% compared to 2013, the last year before the drought. That savings is also in spite of the City’s population growing by nearly 18,000 residents over that time. When taking the growth of the water system into account, water use this past August was cut by 15.31% per person per day compared to 2013. In addition to more conscious conservation efforts, we’ve been helped by 2019 being the 16th wettest years on record (since 1894), allowing residents to water their lawns less. Keep up the great conservation, Bakersfield! Click here to see Water Resources’ charts of water usage in the City for 2019. The new roundabout traffic control at the intersection of Stockdale Highway and Enos Lane (right) is starting to take shape! The Thomas Roads Improvement Project reports that drainage work is complete and crews will start building the roadway section on the north side of the K-rail in the coming General Information September 20, 2019 Page 2 weeks. This phase of construction is expected to continue through the end of the year. The City’s “General Plan” is an important tool that guides the future development of the City and provides policies to ensure that the community develops strategically and in line with the City Council’s goals. The existing General Plan is a joint document with Kern County and has been in place since 2004. Much has changed in the Bakersfield Community since 2004, including the County’s decision to do a separate General Plan. Therefore, the time has come to update the plan. The process is regulated by State Guidelines and is highly intensive. Updates across the State take an average of three to four years and cost several million dollars. Therefore, on May 10, 2019, the Development Services Department sent out a Request for Proposals to prepare a “General Plan Update Strategy & Options” document. The purpose is to provide an analysis of Bakersfield’s current status and make recommendations for options to approach this important task. Those options will range from a simple “Focused” update, to a mid-level “Policy” update, to a fully comprehensive update. The City was excited to select Mintier-Harnish (MH), a well-regarded Planning firm to complete the strategy document. The Contract was to be scheduled for the September 25, 2019 City Council meeting. However, the City was informed by MH that they had also recently contracted with the County to provide technical services in support of their General Plan Update, and the County issued a written determination to MH that work on general plan updates for any city in Kern County would be considered a conflict of interest. Though MH and City staff do not believe there was a conflict, the County contract required that MH withdraw their proposals from the City of Bakersfield and another local City. Given that the MH was one of only two proposals received, Staff will re-issue the RFP and will engage in direct outreach to a number of well-regarded firms to solicit a response proposal. This is an unfortunate delay; however, the City Manager’s Office is confident that a suitable firm will be located in short order. The U.S. Constitution turned 332 years old on Tuesday, September 17, but the day before, Bakersfield Police Chief Lyle Martin attended Chapman Junior High School’s Constitution Day. He spoke to students about the importance of the Constitution and what it means for not only the department, but also the community itself. He even took a selfie (left) with the students while he was there! General Information September 20, 2019 Page 3 Congratulations to both the Public Works Department and the Water Resources Department for a pair of recent awards from the local branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers! The honors were celebrated at the Petroleum Club on Thursday. Public Works Director Nick Fidler accepted the Outstanding Transportation Award for the department’s work on the Truxtun Avenue Operational Improvement Project. That project added a lane in each direction of Truxtun Avenue between Empire Drive and Elm Street, as well as other improvements. Water Resources Director Art Chianello accepted the Excellence Award in Water/Wastewater Treatment category for the department’s work on the TCP Water Treatment Project, which mitigated the level of 1,2,3-Trichloropropane (TCP) in the City’s domestic water. The City’s Downtown arena will be getting a new name, after the recent merger between Mechanics Bank and Rabobank N.A. The new naming rights agreement was announced this week and the rights will run through January 2025. The popular facility will be named Mechanics Bank Arena, Theater & Convention Center. The merger was made official on September 1, 2019. The home of the Bakersfield Condors, Bakersfield Symphony and other concerts and events will continue to be managed and operated by AEG Facilities. The signage will be changed in the coming months. Click here to see renderings of the new look. This week the Bakersfield Police Department hosted a child passenger safety certification for 25 students. All of the students are employees from agencies such as the Department of Human Services, Kern County Department of Public Health, the California Highway Patrol and others. The course will culminate with Saturday’s Car Seat Check event in the Walmart Parking lot at 6225 Colony Street. The event will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is open to anyone to check to see if their child’s car seat is properly installed. General Information September 20, 2019 Page 4 Traffic Advisories Nighttime freeway closures scheduled Demolition work on the westbound State Route 58 bridge that crosses over State Route 99 will require nighttime closures on State Route 58, State Route 99, and on Wible Road during the week of September 22-26. The closures are expected to be in place between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., each night. The contractor will be removing the existing bridge barrier and overhang in advance of widening the structure. The westbound State Route 58-to-southbound State Route 99 connector ramp will be closed each night. Westbound-to-southbound motorists will need to exit at Union Avenue and head south to Ming Avenue to connect with southbound State Route 99. On Sunday and Monday nights, the contractor plans to close southbound State Route 99 and the inside northbound lane. Southbound motorists will be directed to exit at Stockdale Highway and will then take Wible Road to the Ming Avenue interchange. Two lanes will remain open in the northbound direction on State Route 99. Once demolition over the southbound lanes has been completed, the contractor will begin work over the northbound lanes on State Route 99. All northbound lanes and the inside southbound lane are expected to be closed Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Northbound motorists will be detoured off the freeway at Ming Avenue and will follow Wible Road to the California Avenue interchange. Two lanes will remain open in the southbound direction. On Thursday night, the contractor plans to close Wible Road in the vicinity of the bridge crossing. Motorists can detour around this closure by using Real Road or H Street to travel between Brundage Lane/Stockdale Highway and Ming Avenue. This schedule may be changed without notice. Please slow down and pay attention to construction and detour signage while driving through the area. The Thomas Roads Improvement Program apologizes for any inconvenience this work may cause the traveling public. Weekend lane closure scheduled for 24th Street The contractor for the 24th Street Improvement Project has scheduled a closure for the outside westbound lane on 24th Street, in the vicinity of Beech Street and Elm Street, beginning at 7 a.m. Saturday and continuing through 4 p.m. Sunday. One westbound lane will remain open to traffic on 24th Street. No impacts are anticipated for eastbound traffic on 24th Street. Beech Street is also expected to remain open while work is underway. This closure is needed for drainage installation. Construction work may be postponed and rescheduled without notice due to unforeseen circumstances. Please slow down and watch for construction workers and General Information September 20, 2019 Page 5 equipment while driving through the work zone. The Thomas Roads Improvement Program apologizes for any inconvenience this work may cause the traveling public. Reconstruction of Buena Vista Road from San Joaquin Valley Railroad Crossing to White Lane Beginning the week of September 23rd, 2019, the City of Bakersfield will begin a project to reconstruct the roadway on Buena Vista Road from the San Joaquin Railroad Crossing to White Lane. During the reconstruction of the roadway, traffic will be reduced down to one lane in each direction. In addition, on-street parking will be closed and access to side streets may be affected for the duration of time that reconstruction is occurring. Detours and alternate access points will be provided during these closure periods which will result in traffic delays. Drivers are advised to use caution and to take alternate routes or allow extra travel time through this area. All work on this project is scheduled to be complete by late November 2019.