10/11/2019[Icon]

OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER October 11, 2019 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: Alan Tandy, City Manager A T SUBJECT: General Information Notable Items ➢ The trend of new hotels coming to Bakersfield continues as two are expected to open in the near future, and four more are either under construction already or have submitted plans for new sites. Construction on the Home 2 Suites by Hilton (seen below, on Brimhall Road near the Westside Parkway) and Hyatt Place (on Coffee Road near California State University Bakersfield) is nearly complete. These are both new brands to Bakersfield, offering more than 130 rooms combined for visitors. A second Residence Inn – 125 rooms – is being built on Espresso Drive (off Coffee Road, north of Rosedale Highway). These new hotels come as hotel room night sales are on the rise compared to the first eight months of last year as well. That translated to almost $10 million in more tax revenue for the City for the fiscal year that ended June 30, the most ever collected through the Transient Occupancy Tax. General Information October 11, 2019 Page 2 ➢ On Tuesday, Pacific Gas and Electric and Southern California Edison issued a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) warning to much of California, including Kern County. The warning stated that the utility companies would shutoff power to customers in preparation of an anticipated weather event to help reduce the chances of sparking a wildfire. The initial warning also included parts of Bakersfield, possibly affecting as many as 32,000 residents. That warning carried over into Wednesday, with the shutoff expected for Thursday. City staff worked Wednesday to establish communication among departments and formulated a plan in case a shut off did come to pass for customers within the City’s jurisdiction. Planning included preparations for lost power at water and wastewater pumping stations, as well as public safety services such as police, fire and traffic controls. The public was also notified via press release and social media posts. PG&E did in fact turn off power to some customers on Thursday, though it affected far fewer City residents (approximately 4,000 total, according to PG&E). One sewer lift station was affected by the outage and staff installed a generator to restore power in the meantime. ➢ Mayor Karen Goh, Councilmember Andrae Gonzales, Police Chief Lyle Martin, Assistant City Manager Chris Huot, Administrative Analyst Brianna Carrier and other City representatives participated in the Bakersfield City School District Community Partners in Education event held on Friday, October 4. City representatives heard about the state of the district, then visited one of the district’s 44 campuses, to learn all about what BCSD is doing to support the overall success of its students. Thank you to BCSD for inviting the City to participate in this great event! ➢ As the recruitment efforts to find a new City Manager following my retirement continue, and there are a number of projects still ongoing, I am willing to extend my tenure through the end of the day on Friday, Jan. 10, 2020 to help with the transition. ➢ The City of Bakersfield was recently honored with three awards at the American Red Cross Northern/Central Area meeting highlighting last year’s achievements by providers who offer Red Cross swim lessons, lifeguarding, CPR/AED/first aid training, and more. Full-time aquatics staff from the City’s Recreation and Parks Department attended the meeting in Tulare on September 19th. Providers include municipalities, special districts, colleges and waterparks. The City received the Gold Level Learn to Swim Provider Award for providing more than 1,000 swim lessons in a year; the General Information October 11, 2019 Page 3 Participant in the Aquatics Centennial Campaign award as one of 50 cities in the nationwide campaign working with the Red Cross to reduce drowning rates in underserved areas; and the Certificate of Appreciation for certifying more than 200 people with life-saving skills in one year. ➢ Bakersfield is featured in the October/November issue of Amtrak’s on-board magazine, The National. The magazine, distributed on Amtrak trains system-wide with a readership of five million, spotlights Bakersfield in its “The Weekender” section. The article highlights the Padre Hotel, Wind Wolves Preserve, Bakersfield Museum of Art, the Fox Theater, 18Hundred, Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace, and the Woolworth’s Luncheonette. The article can be found at: http://www.amtrakthenational.com/bakersfield ➢ Another out-of-town group is visiting Bakersfield this weekend. About 140 people from through California, Arizona and Nevada are part of the Greater Los Angeles Airstream Club’s Urban Rally based at Bakersfield RV Resort. Visit Bakersfield provided maps, brochures and a detailed list of local events going on this weekend. Visit Bakersfield Manager David Lyman welcomed the group Wednesday evening with many facts about Bakersfield and fun things to see and do in our city. On Thursday morning, two groups of Airstreamers descended on Dewar’s historic downtown location (right) for a tour of its candy factory and to sample its ice cream. The group will be in Bakersfield through Sunday. ➢ The Bakersfield Police Department on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning observed the Active Shooter Knowledge (ASK) Day Drills held at Adventist Hospital. The drills were held to help with preparing hospital staff in the event of an active shooter. BPD staff observed the drill created and implemented by hospital staff. These drills are held on an annual basis during the hospital’s ASK Week, during which safety protocols, policies and education are provided to all Adventist staff. ➢ Staff from BPD’s Community Relations Unit visited Garces High School on Monday to educate students and staff about vaping. They explained the health risks associated with vaping, reasons to avoid it, how addictive it is and hidden dangers of vaping students may not be aware of. This presentation came after school officials requested more information as they were confiscating an increasing number of vaping pens from students. ➢ The Unit also provided bicycle safety training to students at Chipman Junior High on Thursday. Students learned about the rules of the road when it comes to riding a bike. General Information October 11, 2019 Page 4 The presentation also taught safe riding habits and the importance of teaching kids to implement these habits. ➢ During the October 8th Planning and Development Committee meeting, members of the Sikh Community requested that the Park Naming & Re-Naming Policy not be presented to the City Council as previously planned. The Committee directed the City Manager’s Office to delay the matter, and it will no longer be heard at the Council meeting set for October 23, 2019. Traffic Advisories ➢ Nighttime Westside Parkway Ramp Closure The westbound Westside Parkway on-ramp from southbound Mohawk Street is scheduled to be closed for electrical work on Tuesday night, October 8, from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. The closure is needed for electrical work. While this work is underway motorists can make a U-turn at Truxtun Avenue and return northbound on Mohawk Street to enter westbound Westside Parkway at the loop on- ramp. This work may be postponed and rescheduled without notice. For information, please visit our website at www.BakersfieldFreeways.us. ➢ Upcoming closures for 24th Street Improvement Project Utility relocation and drainage work will require closures in the vicinity of the 24th Street and Oak Street intersection this weekend. Oak Street, north of 24th Street, will be closed to all traffic from 7 a.m. Saturday, October 12 through 5 a.m. Monday, October 14. Oak Street, south of 24th Street, is expected to remain open to traffic throughout the weekend. 24th Street will also be open to traffic, but the outside eastbound lane on 24th Street (near the intersection) is expected to be closed around-the-clock from 9 p.m. Friday, October 11 through 5 a.m. Monday, October 14. One eastbound lane will remain open while a utility line is relocated. The outside westbound lane on 24th Street in the vicinity of Beech Street is also expected to be closed Saturday, October 12 between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. One westbound lane will be open to traffic. This closure is for drainage work that was rescheduled from an earlier date. The outside lane on southbound F Street, between 23rd and 24th Streets, is expected to be closed next week, from 7 a.m. Tuesday through 5 p.m. Friday. This is an around-the- clock closure and is needed for sewer tie-ins. One southbound lane and both northbound lanes on this section of F Street are expected to remain open while work is underway. Construction work may be postponed and rescheduled without notice. Please slow down and watch for construction workers and equipment while driving through the work General Information October 11, 2019 Page 5 zone. The Thomas Roads Improvement Project apologizes for any inconvenience this work may cause the traveling public. ➢ Freeway closures scheduled for Belle Terrace Bridge falsework Nighttime freeway closures have been scheduled for State Route 99 next week to set falsework for the Belle Terrace Bridge. (Falsework temporarily supports the steel and concrete while the bridge is under construction.) The following closures are expected to be in effect between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., each night. Monday, October 14 through Wednesday, October 16 Southbound State Route 99 will be closed between State Route 58 and Ming Avenue. Southbound motorists will be detoured onto eastbound State Route 58 and will use Union Avenue (SR 204) to return to southbound State Route 99. Thursday, October 17 Northbound State Route 99 will be closed between Ming Avenue and the northbound on-ramp from Wible Road.

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