Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "city council"

U.S. Transportation Secretary checks out intermodal facility

2012-02-10T01:44:17Z

Mayor Kevin Johnson toured the downtown railyards with U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Thursday, showing off the site of the future intermodal facility and – if all goes well for Johnson and the Think Big Committee – the site of a new entertainment and sports complex.

LaHood stopped in Sacramento on a tour of California to discuss investments being made in job-creating infrastructure projects in Sacramento and around the country, according to a press release Tuesday.

LaHood spoke to a crowd of more than 50, discussing the importance of high-speed rail in California, as well as job potential from the future intermodal facility.

“This facility is what I believe is a national model for a transit-oriented development opportunity,” LaHood said. “(It will) not only create jobs for people in Sacramento, but create an opportunity to be a magnet – to draw people to a part of the city that many people never thought would be usable.”

Johnson said Thursday that the 245-acre downtown railyards will be home to “two crucial hubs” in one location: the intermodal facility and the entertainment and sports complex.

“We believe this will be one of the busiest intermodal hubs in the country,” Johnson said. “It gets at two things at once: transportation and economic development.”

The intermodal facility will be a transit center that will provide connections between nearly all modes of transportation: bicycle, pedestrian, bus, light rail, taxi and train, according to the city website.

Work on the first phase of the transit project began in May and is expected to be complete by the end of 2013.

The entertainment and sports complex is expected to generate more than $7 billion in economic activity over 30 years and nearly 4,000 jobs to the region, according to the Think Big Sacramento website.

“We believe the entertainment and sports complex is a game-changer for this community,” Johnson said.

“We’re talking about a project that will bring 3 million people to downtown. (We’re talking about) a project that will double the size of downtown and will bring $154 million in additional revenue to our region,” he added.

If a financing plan is worked out before the March 1 relocation deadline and the project comes to fruition, it will be a 700,000-square-foot complex in the southern section of the railyards.

Representatives from the Think Big Committee planned to unveil the newest artist renderings of the entertainment and sports complex at Thursday’s event, but the plan changed at the last minute.

“(The renderings) just weren’t as perfect as we’d wanted them to be,” said Kunal Merchant, Johnson’s chief of staff.

“Really, though, people aren’t as interested in what it will look like right now,” Merchant added, “they just want to know how we’re going to pay for it. That’s the priority.”

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Council: Parking lease issue won't reach June ballot

2012-02-08T22:01:48Z

The push to put a city parking lease to a vote fell flat Tuesday as the City Council rejected a motion to put the question on the June ballot.

It was City Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy who first suggested in November that the voters should have a say in whether the city leases its parking inventory to an outside company.

She conducted a city-wide poll on her website in October, which indicated that
70 percent of respondents favored a public vote on a potential 50-year lease, according to Sheedy.

“The (arena) plan hinges on leasing the city’s parking for 50 years,” Sheedy said Tuesday. “I think such a massive public investment warrants a public vote.”

Still, after almost an hour of public discussion, the council voted 5-4 Tuesday not to place the issue on the ballot.

Sheedy and Council members Kevin McCarty, Darrell Fong and Bonnie Pannell voted in favor of the measure.

Council members Angelique Ashby, Steve Cohn, Rob Fong and Jay Schenirer and Mayor Kevin Johnson voted against it.

The City Council is pursuing the possibility of leasing the city’s parking assets as part of a financing plan for a new entertainment and sports complex.

Opponents of a public vote on the issue said a ballot measure would occur after the March 1 deadline for the city to have a solid arena plan – without one, Sacramento Kings’ owners have threatened to relocate the team.

“We owe the NBA an answer by March. The election is in June. In the effort of being timely, I don’t think we should send it to ballot,” Ashby said.

Another point of opposition was the message a possible vote would send to the 13 companies that have expressed interest in leasing the city’s parking inventory.

“If the leasing of parking assets is put on the ballot it would send a signal to the NBA, AEG, and to the business community across the country that this council is indecisive and it would sabotage efforts to this point,” said Sacramento resident James Battle during public comment.

“It’s impossible to separate this issue from the impact of the vote,” City Councilman Steve Cohn said. “Let’s be clear: it would kill the arena deal in its tracks. If that’s what you want to do, then vote for it.”

Johnson said the list of 13 interested lessees would be reviewed and narrowed down to three or four before a financing agreement would be created.

“The goal is to have that term sheet in place before the March 1 deadline,” Johnson said at his weekly press conference Tuesday.

“We are doing all we can to make that happen,” he said.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Police union halts labor talks with City Hall

2012-02-08T15:27:42Z

In the the wake of the City Council’s 5-4 vote Tuesday blocking the strong mayor initiative from going to the November ballot, police union leaders halted labor contract discussions with City Hall.

Mark Tyndale, president of the Sacramento Police Officers Association told City Manager John Shirey in an email just hours after the final council vote that he was “suspending all discussions between the city and the SPOA negotiations team.”

After voting down the strong mayor initiative, council members approved a ballot measure to create an elected 15-member charter reform commission.

Calling the cost of a charter commission “fiscally irresponsible,” Tyndale said in the email that he “can’t help but feel this was nothing but a tactic by some of them to once again publically (sic) display their contempt for the Mayor.”

Although the SPOA had engaged with city labor representatives in a series of “off the record” discussions, Tyndale said in the email, the council’s decision to create a charter commission caused him to reevaluate his position.

“I refuse to consider further concessions that will only be used to fund the Commission,” Tyndale said.

The cost of a charter commission is largely unknown, according to the City Clerk’s office. In a staff report to council Tuesday, a portion of the cost – the cost of putting the question to the voters of rather to create a commission – was estimated at more than $127,000.

Assistant City Attorney Matt Ruyak said Tuesday that the additional costs of staffing and maintaining a commission – beyond the cost of the election alone – were unknown at this early stage.

Tyndale asked Shirey and City Finance Director Leyne Milstein for a written estimate of the costs to the city for an elected charter review commission.

Neither Tyndale nor Shirey were available for comment at press time for this story. The Sacramento Press will give updates on the situation as they become available.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter with The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Charter reform goes to November ballot – but not as 'strong mayor'

2012-02-08T07:03:40Z

Charter reform will be an item on the November ballot, but not in the form of a strong mayor initiative. Instead, voters will be asked if they want to elect a 15-member commission to review the city charter.

After more than 20 people spoke on the topic during public comment, the City Council voted 5-4 Tuesday to reject putting the Checks and Balances Act of 2012 – the strong mayor initiative – to a public vote in November.

Council members Sandy Sheedy, Rob Fong, Kevin McCarty, Darrell Fong and Bonnie Pannell were the majority votes.

Council members Angelique Ashby, Steve Cohn, Jay Schenirer and Mayor Kevin Johnson each voted in favor of the measure no .

Two governance-related considerations were on the agenda Tuesday night: a charter reform commission and the Checks and Balances Act, which had been revised from the last council discussion.

After the motion to put the strong mayor initiative on the ballot failed, the council voted in favor of a ballot measure to elect a 15-member charter commission.

McCarty suggested the charter reform commission as an option to the strong mayor initiative at the Jan. 17. council meeting.

The measure would be twofold: first asking voters if they want an elected charter commission, and second, asking voters to select whom they want to serve on that commission.

“I don’t like a charter commission because I don’t like how much it will cost,” Ashby said. “Between staffing and meetings and the elections – It’s too expensive.”

According to the City Clerk’s office, the county is currently unable to give a cost estimate for the “candidate” portion of the issue – the cost would depend largely on how many candidates were on the ballot.

The “question” portion of the issue, however, is estimated at $127,100 according to the City Clerk’s office.

Supporters of an elected charter commission told council members that it would be worth the time and expense.

“Democracy is messy, and a commission can be time-consuming,” Sacramento resident and former City Council candidate Henry Harry said, “but it will allow us to get it right.”

Many who opposed an elected commission, however, expressed concern that opening the city charter for review is akin to opening Pandora’s Box.

“(A charter commission) opens up doors to other issues that we’d rather not see open up,” said Mark Tyndale, president of the Sacramento Police Officers Association.

Roger Niello, current CEO of the Sacramento Metro Chamber and former State Assemblyman, said he believes an elected charter commission would pit competing city interests against each if the city charter is reviewed in its entirety.

“You would be creating the political equivalent of a food fight,” Niello said.

After the final vote, Johnson voiced his disappointment, saying simply, “I think a charter commission is a bad idea.”

Ashby said of the charter commission, “This seems like déjà vu. It looks like redistricting, and we all know how that turned out. I promise you that a year from now we will get hammered on this.”

If a charter commission is elected in November, the members will have two years to submit any proposal for charter reform to voters.

The City Council also considered creating a ballot measure Tuesday asking voters to weigh in on a potential lease of the city's parking assets to help finance a new sports and entertainment complex. The Sacramento Press will have the update on that story Wednesday.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Editorial Note: A correction was made to this article after it was published. The incorrect information was struck out and the correction information added.

Del Paso Boulevard to get a makeover this summer

2012-02-04T02:52:45Z

The Del Paso Boulevard corridor between Globe and Baxter avenues will be getting a makeover this summer in a $1.5 million dollar streetscape project set to begin in May.

The project will include safety improvements at intersections and new on-street parking to the 1000-block of Del Paso Boulevard, according to city Department of Transportation Assistant Engineer Matthew Johns.

The city received federal community development grant funds in 2009 to construct streetscape improvements between Arden Way and State Route 160.

Before construction could begin, the project had to go through various stages of planning, design and environmental review. The project got the final go-ahead from the City Council Tuesday.

Johns said the project includes removing and replacing sections of curb and sidewalk, enlarging the wells surrounding trees along the boulevard and adding an irrigation system to promote growth of the trees.

“One day it’ll have something of a shade canopy from those trees, similar to what you see in Midtown,” Johns said Friday.

The street improvements will also address safety needs along that corridor, Johns said.

There will be a new traffic signal system at the intersection of Southgate Road, Colfax Street and Del Paso Boulevard, on the corner in front of the Sacramento News & Review building at 1124 Del Paso Boulevard.

Currently, there are stop signs at the side streets (Southgate and Colfax) and a marked crosswalk, but Johns said the improvements will include a traffic light and pedestrian controls at the crosswalk.

“Pedestrians will be able to cross when traffic is completely stopped instead of trying to judge when it’s clear,” Johns said. “It will make the intersection safer and hopefully will prevent accidents.”

Fran Barker, a member of the Del Paso Heights Improvement Association and a longtime community advocate, said that the planned improvement project will be a benefit to the area.

“We definitely appreciate whatever improvements can be made to our environment,” Barker said Friday. “Especially safety improvements.”

Barker said that, over her more than 50 years of advocating for her Del Paso Heights neighbors, she has watched many improvement projects go in – but not the ones she feels are most important.

“Beautification seems to come before safety,” Barker said.

One concern for Barker is the lack of lights on the smaller residential streets that tend to get very dark, making it difficult for people to navigate the streets at night.

“With the crime rate where it is, safety is so important,” Barker said. “We should have streetlights. That’s elementary, Dr. Watson.”

Additional streetlights are part of the upcoming project, Johns said, although they will not be installed on the smaller residential streets. They will be put in along the southern end of the corridor, nearing State Route 160.

The project is expected to take nearly four months to complete, Johns said.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Bagatelos may take on McCarty for District 6 council seat

2012-02-03T05:20:22Z

When it comes to talking about how to run a city, local developer and City Council District 6 candidate Jon Bagatelos is all business.

Bagatelos, co-owner of Bagatelos Architectural Glass Systems and Bagatelos Development, LLC, was recruited to join the City Council race by business, community and public safety groups who are “tired of the way things are going with the city,” Bagatelos, 44, said Wednesday.

Bagatelos has not officially filed notice of his candidacy, but said he expects to select a campaign manager within the next couple of weeks. He will be running against incumbent Kevin McCarty for the City Council District 6 seat.

One of the main reasons he decided to consider the council seat, he said, is McCarty’s position on charter reform – more commonly referred to as “strong mayor.”

“I’m disappointed that he won’t vote to put it on the ballot,” Bagatelos said. “I would say he’s wrong on some of his positions, especially the strong mayor issue.”

Bagatelos said he supports a strong mayor system of government – not because of any loyalty to Mayor Kevin Johnson – but because he wants an accountable city council.

“I’m for (strong mayor) because the executive should have his authority, and the council – the legislative body – should have its authority,” Bagatelos said. “The city should not be run by an unelected city manager. That’s not accountability.”

Bagatelos has a self-described “one-track mind” about Sacramento that hinges on creating a business-friendly environment to create jobs and boost the local economy.

“We’ve dug a hole, and we have a lot of city services that we take for granted but we can’t afford,” Bagatelos said. “It’s going to take time to build the revenue to pay for those things. That’s just the truth of it.”

That’s not to say he’s against social services, Bagatelos was quick to point out – but he believes spending decisions need to be made carefully.

“The people on (the City) Council think money grows on trees and – they’re the government – they think they can spend what they don’t have,” Bagatelos said. “I don’t believe in that. If that makes me a radical, well, OK.”

The key to providing services such as transportation and utilities and homeless programs, Bagatelos said, is fostering an environment where companies want to come to Sacramento – and bring employment opportunities with them.

“That creates jobs for people who pay taxes, and taxes provide revenue for those needed services,” he said.

If the key to providing city services is tax-producing businesses, then the key to drawing them to the city, Bagatelos said, is the proposed entertainment and sports complex.

“The arena is a major opportunity. It will create jobs for the city,” Bagatelos said. “To have (the arena) happen would be instrumental to the growth of this city.”

Bagatelos has been criticized in the media and by some in McCarty’s camp for not living in the district – questioning both his eligibility for the race and his commitment to the district.

He and his family currently live in East Sacramento, but they also own a home in Campus Commons which was drawn into council District 6 through the recent redisticting process.

“I own a house in the district, my business is in the district, and over the years we’ve employed hundreds – if not thousands – of people,” Bagatelos said.

“If the biggest complaint against me is where I live, that’s not much of a complaint,” he added.

Mark Friedman, president of Fulcrum Group development company, worked alongside Bagatelos as co-chair of Johnson’s finance committee when Johnson ran for his mayoral seat in 2008.

“(Bagatelos) is deeply engaged in local politics and has been (politically) active for many years,” Friedman said Thursday.

“He’s focused on building the economy and creating jobs,” Friedman said. “If the economy doesn’t improve, then his district doesn’t improve – no district will.”

Friedman said he will be an “enthusiastic” supporter of Bagatelos’ campaign because he feels Bagatelos will bring a “fresh, business-friendly perspective” to the City Council.

The upcoming City Council election will not be Bagatelos’ first foray into the political arena: In 2002, he unsuccessfully ran for the 8th Assembly District seat shortly after starting Bagatelos Development, LLC, with his brothers, Chris and Nick Bagatelos.

When McCarty spoke with The Sacramento Press Sept. 26 about his intention to run for re-election, he said that he welcomes a challenge in the upcoming race.

“Elections are supposed to be about democracy,” McCarty said in the interview, “that means choosing the best candidate in a competitive race.”

McCarty’s campaign consultant, Andrew Acosta, said Wednesday that McCarty has been fighting for his district since he was first elected in 2004 and will continue his work for the people he represents – despite any challengers for his seat.

“If the mayor’s (political) machine intends to run someone against (McCarty),” Acosta said, “then we’ll have a campaign and we’ll discuss the issues.”

Bagatelos said his campaign will be based on asking people, “Do you think things are getting done right in the city? If not, vote for me.”

“It’s really that simple,” he said.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Mid-year city budget update

2012-02-01T06:12:16Z

The city is spending more than it is bringing in, and even though that’s normal for this time of the year, officials need to make changes to keep spending under control and keep the budget on target.

According to the mid-year budget report presented to the City Council Tuesday, expenditures are at 50 percent of projections, and revenues are at 36 percent – about 14 percent less than anticipated.

This is typical for this point in the fiscal year, Finance Director Leyne Milstein told council members Tuesday – but adjustment is still necessary.

“Without these recommendations, we will not be able to balance our budget,” Milstein said.

It’s not all bad news, though.

The 2010-11 fiscal year ended with an unexpected $5.1 million surplus – largely due to savings from cutting back on expenses in a variety of city departments during the year, according to a city staff report.

That $5.1 million will be used to address a variety of budget needs including:

* $1.2 million to backfill General Fund revenue shortfalls;
* $1 million to the Police Department to cover a holiday pay budget shortfall
* $715,000 for unbudgeted utilities in the Department of Parks & Recreation
* $285,000 for payouts related to contracting out golf maintenance operations
* $750,000 for deferred maintenance projects at city-owned facilities

Another $3 million – left over from capital improvement projects that have been funded and completed ahead of schedule – will go into the General Fund Economic Uncertainty Reserve, bringing that “rainy day fund” balance to $20.7 million.

“Putting money into the reserve is wise, I think,” City Councilman Jay Schenirer said.

Staff also recommended adjustments – both up and down – to citywide revenues to keep the city budget balanced through the end of the fiscal year, including:

* $3.6 million reduction in property tax revenues, due to a greater-than-expected decline in property tax values
* $2.8 million increase in sales and use tax budget, due to a fourth consecutive quarter of sales tax growth

One adjustment to projected revenues comes from the closure of medical marijuana dispensaries in the city.

With eight of 33 dispensaries in the city now closed, business operating tax revenue from the dispensaries – initially estimated in the city budget as $1 million – will be reduced by $250,000 to $750,000.

The actual reduction amount will depend on how many more dispensaries close before the end of the fiscal year, June 30.

The City Council began the budget process for the 2012/13 fiscal year with a workshop Jan. 24. The city manager will present his proposed budget for the coming fiscal year on May 1.

The Sacramento Press discussed the first quarter budget report HERE.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Editorial Note: A spelling correction was made to this story after it was published.

No turning back: Redevelopment transition begins

2012-02-01T05:45:11Z

The City Council unanimously agreed Tuesday to take over responsibilities for the non-housing functions of the city’s former redevelopment agency – but chose not to take over its housing assets and project management functions.

The city – as “successor agency” to the now-defunct Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency – will be responsible for winding down more than $787 million of outstanding obligations over the remaining life of prior redevelopment projects, which varies by project from a few years to nearly three decades.

The city Housing Authority will take over the housing assets and functions – including $81.7 million in assets and managing $80.6 million in outstanding loans receivable.

The Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency will provide administrative and staffing services for projects currently managed by SHRA during a transition period that extends to June 30.

“This is very complicated, and it’s not going to be an easy process,” SHRA Executive Director La Shelle Dozier, told council members Tuesday.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Mayor: Responses to parking lessee search ‘promising’

2012-01-31T22:58:21Z

Mayor Kevin Johnson said 13 companies have expressed interest in leasing the city’s parking system for the next 50 years – a move he described as “promising” as the city looks to bring in $240 million to finance an arena through the process.

“(The responses) show a lot of interest. That is consistent with what we expected,” Mayor Kevin Johnson said Tuesday at his weekly press conference. “It is really encouraging.”

The 13 “letters of intent” arrived after the city sent more than 100 letters to parking operators across the nation in early January. The deadline for interested parties to respond was Monday.

The names of the interested companies will be released Thursday, Johnson said.

Although there is yet to be a completed term sheet outlining the conditions of a potential lease, Johnson said suggestions of parking rate increases could be a deal-breaker for the city.

“Some other cities (that leased their parking) have seen their parking rates go sky high, and that is just not acceptable for us,” he said.

Johnson wouldn’t speculate about how much a final contract might bring the city, but he said he believes the responses create a competitive environment where bidding will be pushed to the higher end of the estimated $180 million - $240 million range.

City staff and parking representatives will review the responses to verify qualifications and shorten the list of potential bidders, Johnson said. That “short list” should be ready for the City Council to consider by Feb. 14, he added.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Redevelopment winds down, city must decide next step

2012-01-26T01:49:24Z

Mere days before the Feb. 1 deadline to end redevelopment, the City Council is faced with two important decisions: what role the city will take in the aftermath, and what will happen to agency staff when redevelopment ends.

Although the City Council did not take any action at the meeting Tuesday, City Manager John Shirey outlined the next steps for council members as the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency winds down.

Shirey is the former executive director ~~president~~ of the California Redevelopment Association.

SHRA is the agency responsible for redevelopment in Sacramento County and the city.

An important factor in the process is figuring out what responsibilities the city will take on, and which ones will be taken over by other agencies, Shirey said.

In August, the City Council agreed to take over the non-housing functions of SHRA.

The city is responsible for managing current construction projects and making required payments on bond debt and other financial obligations.

With redevelopment being disbanded altogether, though, the housing assets and activities of SHRA have to be disposed of as well.

The city could assume that responsibility – or it could allow the city’s Housing Authority to take it over, which is what Shirey encouraged the City Council to have the city do.

If the city Housing Authority assumes those responsibilities and they continue to be managed by the SHRA, Shirey said, Housing Authority staff would have the benefit of the expertise of SHRA staff to administer the ongoing housing activities and assets.

Another problem the city is faced with is how it will handle staffing.

Currently, SHRA provides staff for all redevelopment programs in the city and the county.

Once the redevelopment agency is disbanded Feb. 1, staffing duties will have to be transitioned from SHRA to whatever entity takes over.

There are nearly 100 employees working on various projects at this point, Shirey said, and not all of those people will be needed in the transition.

That means layoffs for a majority of those employees.

Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy said Tuesday that she is concerned about potential layoffs.

“I hope that if any layoffs occur, that management is included and it’s not just the workers who take the hit,” she said. “I’ve seen that happen too many times.”

Bernadette Austin, a housing finance analyst with SHRA, spoke to the council on behalf of staff members who have worked behind the scenes on redevelopment projects such as the La Valentina housing project.

“I couldn’t do my job without (those staff members),” Austin said. “They helped create projects that really mean something to the community.”

Austin urged the council to keep as many current staff members in place as possible throughout the transition.

Shirey said attempts are being made in the Capitol to extend the dissolution deadline from Feb. 1 to April 15, but it’s not certain that legislation will make it to the governor’s desk in time to make a difference.

Redevelopment dissolution will be on the agenda at the Jan. 31 meeting, and the City Council is expected to take action then.

Editorial Note: A correction was made to this article after it was published. The incorrect information has been struck out and the correct information added.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

City Council begins 2012-13 budget process with workshop

2012-01-25T05:13:57Z

As Sacramento gears up to face a $16.5 million budget gap in the next fiscal year, consultants from Colorado met with City Council members to outline a new approach to budgeting that focuses less on dollar amounts and more on top city priorities.

The council budget workshop held Tuesday at the main branch of the Sacramento Public Library was designed to help council members refine fiscal priorities for the city and discuss ways to reshape the budget process.

Significant cuts to resolve a $39 million budget gap last year resulted in layoffs from the police force and rolling brownouts at city fire stations – actions that brought weeks of public outcry at City Council meetings.

The city charter requires the city manager to present a proposed budget to the City Council by May 1 for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1. The deadline for a finalized budget is June 30.

Budget consultants Jon Johnson and Chris Fabian were brought in by the city’s Finance Department to introduce details of “priority-based budgeting” – a method that focuses on matching funding decisions to predetermined city priorities, instead of on prior years’ spending patterns.

City Manager John Shirey said Sacramento, like many local governments throughout the nation, typically rely on such “spending-based budgeting” – that is, making spending and cutting decisions based on how much was spent last year with last year’s revenue levels.

The result, Shirey said, is recurring budget gaps and employee layoffs.

Fabian said the key to priority-based budgeting is having clearly defined priorities.

“Across the board reductions is egalitarian – there is a sense of fairness about it,” Fabian told council members, “but it doesn’t reflect priorities.”

In one budget exercise at the workshop, council members ranked providing a safe community, economic vitality and youth and education as top priorities.

In a detailed staff report presented to council members, 16 city departments – including Community Development, Parks and Recreation, Transportation, Utilities and others – were reviewed to sort programs and services into “mandated,” “essential” and “existing” categories.

As council moves through the budget process, Shirey said, the reviews will be part of the criteria to determine how city resources should be distributed across city programs.

“We have a lot of work to do,” Shirey told council members. “You’ve given us some direction on the focus areas that are important to you. Now we need to go back and apply it.”

The workshop was designed as a starting point for discussion for City Council members as they approach the 2012/13 budget year.

“We definitely need more time to dig into this information,” City Councilman Darrell Fong said Tuesday. “I get it – now I want to look at it closer.”

City spokeswoman Amy Williams said the City Council generally holds one workshop prior to developing the budget, but more could be scheduled if the council feels it’s needed.

Although the council does not make final budget decisions at workshops, the meetings are an opportunity for council members to work with and give direction to staff and the city manager as he begins to prepare the annual budget.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter with The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Financial literacy program expands with United Way

2012-01-24T02:01:59Z

The City Council approved an agreement Tuesday merging a local financial literacy program with the United Way in an effort to expand the program and offer the services region-wide.

Bank on Sacramento is a collaboration between local nonprofit organizations, banks and credit unions to help residents who don’t have bank accounts – or historically have not used mainstream banking services – to get access to low-cost accounts and financial advice so they can begin saving money and building credit history.

According to a city staff report, the merge allows the United Way California Capital Region to administer the program and expand the services to residents of Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento and Yolo counties.

“It makes sense to have one organization (administering the program) for the whole region,” Steve Heath, president of United Way California Capital Region said Monday. “It’s been a success in the city (of Sacramento), and we want to build on that.”

Heath said there are an estimated 30,000 households in the region that do not use mainstream banking – basic savings or checking accounts – and instead rely on check-cashing businesses for “payday loans,” or use cash for every transaction.

But cash transactions and those types of loans don’t help a consumer build credit or assets or save money, Heath said – or learn to wisely manage finances, a necessary skill in today’s complex financial world.

Payday loans – also called cash advance loans or check advance loans – are common, and the average annual percentage rate on a typical short-term loan can be steep, Heath said.

According to the Center for Responsible Lending, payday loans are usually made to people who need money right away and plan to pay it back with their next paycheck. Lenders offer amounts up to $500 for short periods of time – one to four weeks – and loan fees range between $15 and $70, depending on the loan amount.

“Some people spend in excess of $1,000 a year on fees at check-cashing places,” Heath said, “versus about $15 per month at a bank. That’s money wasted.”

Heath said the Bank on Sacramento program is designed not only to offer financial literacy education and access to low-cost banking services, but also to find people who need more intensive financial services and refer them into other, more detailed programs.

“The goals of Bank on Sacramento are well-matched with our goal of teaching financial stability here at United Way,” Heath said.

Sacramento has a significant number of check cashing and payday lending businesses strategically placed in economically challenged areas that provide a significantly more expensive alternative to traditional financial institutions, according to the staff report.

Fees from payday lenders total more than $16 million per year. Without a bank account, the average person will spend 5 percent of his or her income on money orders and in payday lender fees each year.

“Right now, where we are in recovery from financial troubles in the nation,” said Jim Allen, a representative of Safe Credit Union in Sacramento, “there are a lot of people out there who need to improve their financial literacy.”

Safe Credit Union is one of nearly 20 organizations involved locally in the Bank on Sacramento program.

Allen said the program is intended to help people who might otherwise not be able to get a bank account, are skeptical of banks or traditionally don’t use banking systems.

“We want to help set aside preconceptions and help people learn how to use a bank and how to manage their finances to actually build something for themselves,” Allen said.

The Bank on Sacramento program operates on grant funds transferred from the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research to the City of Sacramento, according to the staff report.

Through the program merge, all remaining grant funds will be administered by the United Way. There is no commitment to spend city funds other than staff time, the report states, and city staff will not engage in fund raising for Bank on Sacramento.

According to the report, the Bank on Sacramento program assisted more than 45,000 residents to establish bank accounts – substantially surpassing the one-year program goal of 10,001 residents.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter with The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Sheedy won't run for re-election in council district 2

2012-01-24T01:29:29Z

On the eve of discussion about her goal of putting arena financing to a public vote, City Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy announced that she will not be running for re-election to her District 2 council seat in June.

“After careful consideration, I have decided not to seek another term on the Sacramento City Council,” Sheedy said in a prepared statement Monday.

Sheedy cited 28 years of public service between herself and her husband, Ted, a former county supervisor, adding, “We feel it’s time to call it a day so we can spend more time with our family.”

Sheedy would have faced at least four other candidates for her council seat in the upcoming election, including former Obama campaign organizer Kim Mack, former human resources manager Sondra Betancourt, developer Allen Wayne Warren and former Midtown Business Association Executive Director Rob Kerth.

“I think anyone who serves the public deserves a thumbs up,” Mack said Monday after hearing the announcement, “but it doesn’t change my campaign at all.”

Betancourt said she understands Sheedy’s desire to spend time with her family, and that it is time for a change in the way District 2 is being managed.

“I see a serious need for the type of leadership that I will bring (to the district),” Betancourt said Monday.

"It’s 'full steam ahead' to the election," she added.

Sheedy thanked city staff and the community in her statement, saying they have made her job easier and more rewarding.

“Now it’s time for someone else to take a turn at the wheel,” Sheedy said.

At the Jan. 3 council meeting, Sheedy asked staff to prepare information about a potential public vote on arena financing. The City Council will take up the item Tuesday.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter with The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Will leasing city garages ruin parking validation?

2012-01-20T18:50:13Z

As the city pursues a potential lessee for the city’s parking inventory, there is an important question to ask: Could the city parking validation program end? If it does, is there a risk of damaging existing businesses – some of which have struggled in the downtown area for years?

According to city parking services manager Howard Chan, Sacramento currently validates parking at city-owned garages for many local businesses and venues, providing an incentive to business owners: They buy the parking at a discount, and they have something to offer patrons as a courtesy.

Merchants buy discounted parking tickets worth $5 of parking for 50 cents each, and the validation is good in any of nine city-owned downtown and Old Sacramento parking garages.

Depending on which garage a shopper uses, that comes out to about two hours of free parking.

In the downtown area, 116 businesses took part in the parking validation program in 2011, according to Chan, bringing in roughly $100,000 in revenue to the city.

Tony Sheppard, co-director of the annual Sacramento Film and Music Festival, said several arts and cultural events that are hosted at venues like the Crest Theatre might be threatened if patrons were not offered validated parking.

“It’s difficult with some arts and cultural events to get people to come from long distances,” Sheppard said Thursday.

“Depending on the time of day, or day of the week, the cost of parking changes,” Sheppard said. “If parking rates go up, validation becomes even more important.”

In an economy where businesses struggle and many come and go, parking validation can be an important incentive for shoppers to go downtown.

If downtown loses the benefit of parking validation, are we championing the cause of one business – an arena for the Kings – at the expense of others downtown?

Assistant City Manager John Dangberg said it’s premature to ask that question.

“In a parking monetization, you go through a lengthy discussion period on the concession agreement,” Dangberg said. “It deals with everything from rates to special events to non-competition – all those get wrapped up in the agreement.”

Once the city gets into those discussions, Dangberg said, then details such as parking validation programs are considered.

Dangberg said, however, that it’s important to remember that any concession agreement is subject to existing agreements – such as parking validation contracts some businesses have with the city already.

“Those are legally binding contracts,” Dangberg said. “They don’t just go away.”

Lisa Martinez, spokeswoman for the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, said Thursday that the DSP is concerned with maintaining strong customer service for the businesses in the downtown core.

“Parking validation is something that supports the businesses and provides a perk for customers,” Martinez said.

Martinez agreed with Dangberg that it’s too early in the process to know what impact – if any – a parking lessee might have on parking validation programs in the city, but it’s a good idea for business owners to stay aware of the situation.

“There will be opportunity for businesses to weigh in on the process,” Martinez said, “and we encourage them to do that. We’ve also been advocating for (city officials) to consider all the impacts on a private business owner.”

Raelene Trumm, general manager for Westfield Downtown Plaza, said that if the city leases its parking inventory – which would include the parking garage at Downtown Plaza – it would have no real impact on the mall.

“It doesn’t affect us at all,” Trumm said. “We’re covered under contract with the city (for parking validation) until about 2055.”

Trumm said that any change in parking operations at the city level would need to incorporate the plaza’s legally binding contract.

Not all plaza businesses have parking validation as part of their lease, Trumm said, but most permanent tenants in the mall do participate in the validation program.

Other local business owners who take advantage of the city’s validation program say losing it might make a difference in their business.

Nathan Sorgenfrie, a staff member at Chef's Mercantile in Old Sacramento, said that roughly half of the people who come into the store want parking validation – although not all customers knows it is available until it’s offered to them.

“We ask everyone,” Sorgenfrie said Thursday, “and some are surprised by it. But only the first time. When they come back, they usually ask right away.”

Sorgenfrie said that he doesn’t think parking validation is really what drives people to visit Old Sacramento – but it could be the reason they return for a future visit.

Connie Carlson, manager at G. Willikers Toy Emporium in Old Sacramento said her store gives out at least 100 validations a month during busy months – but not every month is that busy, and not every customer needs parking validation.

“I think losing (validation) would make some difference,” Carlson said, “but over time it would be forgotten. It’s a small percentage of our customers.”

While the city is going through the “request for qualifications” process, Dangberg said his office is compiling questions received from interested parties about the city’s parking inventory.

Interestingly, none of the questions received to date address parking validation programs.

It may be too soon to tell what the city’s parking validation program will look like if the city finds a lessee parking operator.

“The question should still be asked,” Sheppard said. “It should at least be on the radar.”

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

City celebrates R Street project completion

2012-01-20T05:30:18Z

The first phase of the R Street beautification process was dedicated Thursday with a reception and lighting of the new arch at 10th and R streets in front of the Fox and Goose Public House.

“It’s a renaissance of renaissances,” said Jerry Way, director of the city’s Transportation Department.

“It means 150-plus years ago, this place got started, and today we’re celebrating the brand-new R Street in a way that everyone can celebrate, with artwork and features,” he added.

Completion of the more than $6 million project from 10th to 13th streets on Thursday was celebrated with a lighting of the streetlights and the iconic arch at 10th and R streets.

Way added that the draw to the new R Street is that it’s attractive, and be it artwork, more street lighting or a revamped, pedestrian-friendly streetscape – “everyone can find something to come down here for,” he said.

The next phases of construction down the corridor – beyond 13th Street and continuing to 19th Street, are being lined up for community design grants. The next phases include the R Street Market Plaza, which will open up an area for businesses. To read more details on the plaza, click here.

It’s unclear, however, how the loss of redevelopment funding will affect the upcoming projects, Way said.

“The redevelopment scab, if you will, hasn’t formed over yet, and we’re waiting to see how that will pan out,” he said.

In the meantime, Sacramento designers celebrated the installation of the art, which was designed by a local business.

“We wanted to make sure it matched the historical nature of the buildings already on R Street and kind of reinvigorate the area,” said Brent Rector of Fuel Creative Group, the Midtown design studio that designed the arch.

Fuel Creative Group was also responsible for the signage and menus at Hot Italian and the signage at the McGeorge School of Law.

Rector said it was a team of three that worked on the arch, and it was collaboration with the Capitol Area Development Authority (CADA) to use older steel power poles as inspiration, which recalls the R Street corridor’s industrial past.

“With redevelopment funds getting eaten up, it’s probably one of the last projects like this that you’ll see in Sacramento, which is a shame,” he added.

Way said that the city expects to see the revamped R Street as a more attractive place for the mixed residential, industrial and commercial growth planners expect to come to the area.

Betty Williams: Newest candidate for Council District 8

2012-01-20T01:33:48Z

The upcoming City Council elections will see a new candidate in the June primary – the first challenger in the race to unseat incumbent Bonnie Pannell from the District 8 council seat she has held for 14 years.

Betty Williams, a recruitment executive at a local staffing firm and the current president of the local NAACP chapter, filed intent to run papers without any fanfare last month and has been quietly building support for her campaign.

Williams, 55, does not come from a political background, rather from a small business and community activism background – something her campaign consultant, Sam Walton, said he believes will be a strength for Williams in the upcoming race.

“Betty already reaches out to the community, asks for input and brings in other leaders to answer (residents’) questions,” Walton said Wednesday. “If you want to solve problems, you have to take the time to get out in the community and be active.”

Walton is acting as a volunteer assistant in Williams’ campaign, just as he did for former City Councilman Sam Pannell in the 1990s – and Pannell’s wife, Bonnie, who stepped into the District 8 council seat after Sam died in 1998.

This time, however, he decided to get behind Williams in the upcoming race.

“I think 14 years (in a council seat) is a lot,” Walton said. “I didn’t anticipate Bonnie would want to hold the office that long.”

Walton said Williams, whose community involvement spans almost 30 years as a south area resident, is not part of “the establishment,” – that is, the political world – and she doesn’t “rub shoulders with big money.”

“I’d been planning to run for a while,” Williams said Wednesday. “I ended up being drafted by a band of community members who were ready to hit the ground running.”

Unemployment, high crime rates and underperforming schools are a few of the problems in the district that Williams said she wants to face head-on.

“There are 15 schools in my district, and only five are operating at the minimum state level,” Williams said. “I hope to work with corporations, the schools and the school district to somehow make the schools more viable.”

Williams said she is also preparing to host a series of job fairs in the district starting in February.

“I want to partner with businesses and churches to open doors for people to find work,” Williams said. “There are so many people who want a chance to get an interview.”

Williams has been the president of the local NAACP chapter for the last eight years. She is also a member of the California High Speed Rail Authority Business Advisory Committee, and she’s on Mayor Kevin Johnson’s Business Advisory Council as well as the mayor’s Crime Prevention Task Force.

Williams’ campaign is a grassroots effort, Walton said, and more than 200 people have emailed asking to be added to Williams’ “walk list” to walk the district and knock on doors with Williams in support of her effort to win the council seat.

According to Walton, Williams’ fundraising has already started, and she has raised roughly $15,000 so far – a relatively small amount for a candidate facing a longtime incumbent.

Walton said he expects Pannell will out-fundraise Williams by 4-1.

But for Williams’ campaign, Walton said, it’s not as important how much money the candidate raises – it’s much more important how the candidates reaches the community.

“If you have a weak message, or you are not really in touch with the people then you rely on a slick marketing campaign,” Walton said. “That costs money.”

In Williams’ case, Walton said, she is all about the community, and she has a very strong message. Walton said this will make it easier for Williams to connect with the community without having to raise lots of money.

“I’ve watched how she’s led in the NAACP,” local pastor Darrell Heath said Wednesday. “She has a way of speaking to people so they know she’s listening. I admire that.”

Heath has been a close associate of Williams for four years, he said.

“She’s been an advocate for the African-American community, an advocate for underprivileged people and the young people in our community,” he said. “She’s been a real blessing in reaching out to our young people.”

Heath said that, when he looks at the district, he appreciates all of the building that has been going on but feels the district needs someone with a better understanding of core issues.

“In our area, we have the highest crime rate and the highest poverty rate,” he said, “and Williams understands that. She has a heart for the people.”

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

City changes course on parking advisory plan

2012-01-19T02:54:53Z

City Manager John Shirey withdrew a contract Tuesday with two firms that the City Council planned to consider as financial and technical advisers in the search for a potential parking operator lessee, assistant city manager John Dangberg said Wednesday.

“We decided it just wasn’t the right direction to go for the process at this time,” Dangberg said.

The city hired the firms – Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Walker Parking Consultants – in September to take an inventory of the city’s parking and come up with an evaluation of potential profit from leasing out the assets.

Leasing out the city’s parking system is one of a handful of options under consideration for financing a new sports and entertainment center downtown.

The agreement would have allowed the firms to play an advisory role for the city, giving financial advice and technical assistance as the city searches for potential interest in leasing the parking system, according to a city staff report.

The City Council discussed a parking system report Dec. 13, and voted to move forward with a search for interested parties – called “request for qualifications,” or the RFQ process.

The no-fee agreement between the city and the firms would have been contingent on the city keeping the firms as advisers if the council moved on to the request for proposal stage of the game – that is, gathering actual offers.

At that time, the two firms would negotiate a fee agreement with the city for continued services, according to the contract.

Now, Dangberg said, the city is continuing with the RFQ process but will not seek advisers until the RFP stage.

If the firms were hired as exclusive advisers to the city, it would be a conflict of interest for them to respond to the RFQ or to bid on any proposal to lease city parking assets, Jeremiah Jackson, Think Big Sacramento project manager, said Thursday.

The RFQ process is expected to last until the end of January, and – if potential operators are discovered – the city could move on to the request for proposal stage.

Dangberg said that the city will have advisers through the RFP stage, and it’s possible that Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Walker Parking Consultants will be part of the larger advisory team, but final decisions have not been made yet about the number or makeup of a future advisory group.

The city has until March 1 to come up with a solid plan for building a new sports and entertainment complex before the Maloof family – owners of the Sacramento Kings – will have another opportunity to relocate the team.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Council delays strong mayor decision, possibly until November

2012-01-18T08:05:02Z

The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday against putting a strong mayor initiative on the June ballot – but they opened the door for some form of charter reform to appear on the November ballot.

Council members directed the city attorney to return to council in three weeks with a “matrix layout” detailing two options for the council to consider.

One, the creation of an elected charter commission initiative, and, two, a revision of the Checks and Balances Act based on comments heard at Tuesday’s council meeting.

The City Council will have the opportunity to vote for either action at the Feb. 7 council meeting – “or to do nothing at all,” said City Councilman Kevin McCarty when the meeting concluded.

After more than four hours of public comment and discussion among council members, the City Council still hadn’t arrived at a decision by 11:30 p.m. Tuesday about whether to put a strong mayor initiative on the June ballot.

Council members heard lengthy and detailed reports on the proposed Checks and Balances Act of 2012 from both Kunal Merchant, the mayor’s chief of staff, and Matt Ruyak, assistant city attorney.

“We have an obligation to hold a vigorous debate,” Merchant said, “and you can’t have a vigorous debate until it is actually on the ballot and is a real issue, not just a concept or a draft of an idea.”

Merchant went on to outline the Checks and Balances Act, including new powers that would be granted to the mayor, powers that the mayor would be giving up, and items built into the charter reform measure not found in earlier versions.

“Tonight is a historic night,” Merchant said. “The time is right for fundamental change in our city.”

Council chambers were full for the entire meeting, with more than 300 people in attendance. Ten speakers took the podium during public comment, and another 55 spoke on the strong mayor item specifically.

Faith leaders, business leaders and union representatives told council members that the expectation was not to decide the issue, rather to put the issue on the ballot for the voters to decide.

“We will respect you to the level you respect us,” said pastor Rick Cole. “Respect the people by allowing them to vote on this important issue.”

The majority of the speakers were in support of the strong mayor initiative, and called on council members to allow for a vote on the June ballot regardless of any personal opposition to the initiative.

Opponents of the measure expressed disappointment, saying charter reform is not what the City Council should be spending its time on.

Shawn Donohoe, a representative of the Democratic Party of Sacramento County, questioned the “vagueness” of the proposal, saying, “This isn’t the time to spend our resources on a window dressing like charter reform.”

Ruyak discussed some potential shortcomings of the proposal, including ambiguous sections regarding sunshine ordinances, a proposed redistricting commission and a potential ninth council district.

“We have some concerns about the ability to create (a ninth council district),” Ruyak said. “The drafters feels there is not a problem, but this is a novel legal issue, and we don’t have a definitive answer right now.”

City Councilman Jay McCarty opened the debate on the initiative for council members, saying he would like to see the council explore an elected charter reform commission to consider – and ultimately, decide – the strong mayor issue.

“This (Checks and Balances Act) version is cleaner than the previous versions,” McCarty said, “but we can’t go about this willy-nilly. This is something we have to get right.”

City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby said she would like to see the issue resolved – one way or another – so the city can move on to other business.

“I don’t think we should just keep rehashing this,” Ashby said.

“I say, don’t make it about the person of the mayor,” Ashby said. “Make it about the issue. Let’s settle on some language and get it to a vote and put all this behind us.”

City Councilman Jay Schenirer said he agreed with Ashby and wanted to move the issue along.

“Lets take the personalities out of this,” Schenirer said, “Let’s look at the policy and decide if it works, no matter who the mayor may or may not be in the future.”

“Whats the rush?” asked City Councilman Darrell Fong. “I don’t think this should go to the ballot in June. The public needs more time to vet this out.”

City Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell agreed with Fong.

“This is not ready for prime time – yet,” Pannell said. “We need to tweak this for November, not June. Let the people vote on it, but let’s make sure they know what they are voting on.”

The city attorney will present a report on a possible elected charter commission and a further analysis of a revised Checks and Balances Act for consideration on the November ballot at the Feb. 7 City Council meeting.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

The Sacramento Press on 'Insight': Strong mayor initiative

2012-01-18T01:07:27Z

Tuesday on Capitol Public Radio’s “Insight” program, I sat down with host David Watts Barton and Sacramento Bee editorial board member Foon Rhee to discuss the Checks and Balances Act of 2012 – more commonly known as the “executive mayor” or “strong mayor” initiative.

The mayor’s office rolled out the latest version of the strong mayor initiative Dec. 21 by a coalition of supporters led by Mayor Kevin Johnson’s chief of staff, Kunal Merchant.

The issue was scheduled to be on the agenda for City Council discussion Tuesday, and Johnson said he is hopeful that council members will put the initiative on the June ballot.

Rhee pointed out that Tuesday’s meeting was the 16th time the issue has been discussed at City Council – the most recent time being June 2010 when the City Council voted 7-2 against allowing City Attorney Eileen Teichert to prepare a strong mayor ballot initiative.

Although the initiative has been rebranded as the Checks and Balances Act of 2012, Rhee suggested it is more like “strong mayor initiative version 3.0,” because of some similarities with the previous version.

After so much discussion over the last couple of years, it is fair to ask if finally putting the proposal on the ballot will put the issue to rest.

Before the proposal gets put on the ballot, however, council members may want to see some tweaks to language in the draft as suggested by the city attorney’s analysis – such as clarifying ambiguities about a sunshine ordinance and the potential for creating a ninth council district.

The city attorney’s analysis of the proposed Checks and Balances Act can be read HERE.

City Manager John Shirey indicated in November that he wants no part of a strong mayor form of government. If the strong mayor initiative passes at the June ballot, the city may lose yet another city manager – the fourth one in the last three years.

The good news for Shirey is his severance package – guaranteed by contract – that gives him six months’ salary if he leaves office before his three-year contract expires.

In the last couple of weeks, the Checks and Balances Act received some big-name endorsements including former Sacramento mayors Jimmy Yee, Phil Isenberg and Anne Rudin. Monday, Senate President Pro-Tem Darrell Steinberg added his name to the list of endorsements of the initiative, calling it “a solid and responsible proposal.”

Johnson has been something of a polarizing figure with the strong mayor initiative: Some people love the idea because of their affinity for the mayor, but others are opposed to it because of a fundamental opposition to Johnson himself.

Because of this, voters may welcome the chance to both vote for a new mayor and charter reform at the same time – an opportunity that wasn’t possible when the previous strong mayor initiative was floated for the 2010 city election cycle.

Read the entire Checks and Balances Act of 2012 proposal HERE.

Check The Sacramento Press Wednesday for a recap of the council meeting and strong mayor discussion.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Arena headlines State of Downtown discussion

2012-01-17T22:43:22Z

San Francisco Giants President and CEO Larry Baer compared Sacramento’s efforts to build a new arena to the campaign to build Pac Bell Park in San Francisco, telling a collection of businesspeople and government officials that there is “tremendous opportunity” for Sacramento going forward.

Baer’s remarks were part of the 2012 State of Downtown address at Memorial Auditorium Tuesday morning, in which Mayor Kevin Johnson, State Senate President Pro-Tem Darrell Steinberg and other officials stressed the “why” of building a downtown entertainment and sports complex.

Baer said efforts to build the downtown ballpark in San Francisco were under way as early as the 1960s, with four attempts at using public funds defeated by voters. When ground broke on the project in 1997, it was for a privately funded stadium.

If Sacramento uses the resources of private enterprises such as the Sacramento Kings and other corporations along with some public funds that do not impact the city’s general fund, Baer said, it can get support.

The March 1 deadline to have a workable arena plan to present to the National Basketball Association is less than two months away, and Johnson said he is confident.

“We’re going to figure out a way to pull it off,” he said. “I think we’re closer than we’ve ever been.”

Key to any plan that will have both political will and the will of the people, he added, is making a plan that protects taxpayers, the city’s general fund – which has recently been plagued by shortfalls, necessitating layoffs for the past several years – and ensuring job growth.

“If we want to accept and live up to the identity of Sacramento, you’ve gotta have a strong downtown core,” he said.

Baer noted that the area around Pac Bell Park was markedly different just eight years after the ballpark opened.

The area around the park previously held disused land, warehouses and some residential neighborhoods. Today, he said, it is a hive of mixed-use activity including more residential, ground-floor retail and corporate offices.

Some of the notable corporate offices within 10 blocks of the park include the headquarters of Twitter and Zynga as well as the San Francisco offices of Google.

Another aspect of the arena that has worked well in San Francisco and can work in Sacramento, Baer said, is making use of the planned intermodal transit hub that is slated for the downtown railyards, next to the proposed arena site.

Half of the visitors to Pac Bell Park drive, but the other half take public transit, walk, bicycle or come by boat, he said.

Sacramento City Councilman Kevin McCarty spoke to The Sacramento Press after the event, saying that while the two projects have some parallels, there is still much to consider.

“It really has transformed that area of San Francisco, so if we can get that kind of energy here, of course the devil is in the details, but it certainly shows that a venue like that can make a major difference as far as being a catalyst,” McCarty said.

He pointed out that the San Francisco ballpark was privately financed, whereas the Sacramento plan relies on an expected 50/50 public/private partnership.

“We are still trying to figure that out as far as if it is a good decision for the city of Sacramento,” McCarty said.

One of the major decisions for the City Council will be whether it should lease control of the city’s parking for the next 50 years.

The event was hosted by the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, and Executive Director Michael Ault commented on a variety of successes in the downtown core over the past year.

Long-term projects such as bringing cars back to K Street and beginning redeveloping the 700 block of K Street happened in 2011. Additionally, 40 new businesses opened downtown, and the ice rink at St. Rose of Lima Park drew an all-time record of more than 30,000 skaters.

Another example of success in the downtown core was the recipient of the annual Visionary Innovators in Building Excellence (VIBE) award: California Musical Theatre Executive Producer and CEO Richard Lewis.

Ault said in a press release that Lewis and CMT are instrumental in attracting hundreds of thousands of people downtown each year, which provides economic activity.

During his acceptance speech, Lewis pointed out that 2012 will be another strong year, with “Wicked” almost sold-out already – only 5,000 tickets remain to be sold of the 75,000 originally available, and he said they will sell quickly.

Photos by Ron Nabity.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Editorial Note: A correction was made to this story after it was published.

Candidate statements must meet strict guidelines

2012-01-17T01:36:35Z

As one of the first steps of preparing for the June primary elections, the City Council will adopt requirements for candidate statements Tuesday that spell out what candidates can say – in 200 words or less – what they must avoid and how much it will cost them.

Candidates vying for the offices of mayor and City Council Districts 2, 4, 6 and 8 in the June 5 primary will have the option of preparing a candidate statement to be included with the sample ballots voters receive prior to an election.

There is a fee for including the statements in the voter pamphlet. According to the staff report, the cost is an estimated prorated “share” of the total amount to cover the costs of translation, printing, handling and mailing the pamphlets.

Mayoral candidates’ cost for the statement will be $2,650. Each of the district candidates will pay between $350 and $500, depending largely on how many registered voters are in the district, according to the report.

The fees are deposited into the general fund and used to offset the overall costs incurred.

According to the requirements set by the City Council, here’s what the statements can include:
– candidate's name
– age
– occupation
– a brief description of the candidate's education and qualifications, expressed in his or her own words
– must be printed in type that is of uniform size and darkness, and with uniform spacing

And, the entire statement must be less than 200 words.

Any more than that and the statement will automatically be shortened by the registrar, the report stated, by removing words starting at the end of the statement until the word limit is reached. (For reference, the first six paragraphs of this article come to about 200 words.)

The City Council also outlines what cannot be in a candidate statement:
– party affiliation, or mention of membership or activity in partisan political organizations.
– no underlining
– no using ALL CAPITAL letters
– no italics
– no bold print
– no dashes (–); bullets, stars or other forms of emphasis
– no single-sentence paragraphs
– no multiple punctuation such as “....” or “------”, etc.

Those 200 words can mean a lot to a candidate, especially since no other materials can be included in the sample ballot package.

Once the statement is filed, it can be withdrawn – but not changed – any time during the nomination filing period up to one business day after the filing period closes.

Each candidate who chooses to file a statement must pay in advance his or her estimated prorated share cost as a condition of having his or her statement included in the voter pamphlet.

If the actual cost of translating, printing and mailing exceeds the estimated amount, the registrar of voters will bill the candidates who underpaid. If the estimate was too high, the registrar will reimburse candidates the difference.

The Federal Voting Rights Act requires the county to translate candidates’ statements into Spanish and Chinese as well as English, and voter pamphlets will include all three languages.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Traffic signals: Long waiting list for city intersections

2012-01-14T02:30:01Z

On a sunny afternoon in August, a group of kids made their way to Valley Hi Park to play. As they crossed the intersection of Arroyo Vista and Center Parkway, a vehicle driving through the intersection clipped the leg of a 4-year-old walking in the group.

The little girl was left with a fractured leg, and neighbors were left wondering if the accident could have been prevented if there had been a traffic signal in place.

What does it take to get traffic signals installed in Sacramento – especially if residents are seeing safety issues in neighborhood intersections?

Sacramento currently has approximately 800 signals in intersections, including nearly 50 flashing beacons, according to Shad Bennett, a technician in the signal operations division of the city Department of Transportation.

The cost of installing a traffic signal – including equipment, labor and materials – varies depending on the complexity of the project, Bennett said.

“They can be anywhere from $500,000 to a couple million dollars,” Bennett said. “Even the smallest signal is in the range of $200,000 to $400,000.”

Linda Tucker, spokeswoman for the city Department of Transportation, said traffic signals are prioritized according to several criteria, and the city can afford to install typically only one per year.

“If a citizen believes a traffic signal is warranted,” Tucker said in an email Friday, “they can contact 311 and request an investigation, and a traffic investigator will look into it and then determine if it does or doesn’t make the list.”

Some of the criteria needed to install a traffic signal include the impact of school crossings on the intersection, the amount of pedestrian activity and the number of vehicle crashes – fatal and injury-only – at the location.

City transportation engineers evaluate approximately 10-15 new intersections each year for traffic signals. Potential signal locations are suggested through a variety of ways, including traffic investigations, resident requests and council member requests.

Bennett said that, once an intersection is determined to qualify for a traffic signal the location is added to a waiting list.

There are more than 100 potential locations on the list of city intersections currently waiting for some form of traffic-calming measure – and it’s growing.

“Things change, circumstances change,” Bennett said, “so the list changes a bit, too. They try to narrow the list to the top 10 most qualified when it’s time to put in a new signal somewhere.”

The waiting list doesn’t apply to new developments, however, Bennett said.

New development projects that drastically change traffic patterns may require a signal installation, but each new development project typically has funding for the signals included, so those signals are not competing with the signals on the city waiting list.

In 2010, according to the program guide, only one new project was added to the city’s traffic signal list: 29th Street at R Street. Ten other intersections were evaluated, but not included in the list.

According to the Transportation Programming Guide – the document prioritizing the city’s transportation projects, the city first looks at an intersection to determine whether there might be ways, other than a traffic signal, which would improve safety at the intersection.

There are three lead traffic investigators in Sacramento who respond to requests for traffic-calming measures, and each investigator is assigned a territory covering roughly one-third of the city.

Investigation may take two to four weeks to complete, depending on complexity.

What can residents do to speed up the process of getting a traffic signal in a neighborhood intersection where they feel there are safety issues?

Tucker said that, for residential streets, the city offers a neighborhood traffic management program that allows neighbors to collect petitions and start the process of adding any number of traffic-calming measures to their neighborhood.

Speed bumps, new traffic markings or adjusting speed limits may be other ways to make an intersection safer, Tucker said.

Once an intersection is selected for a new signal and funding for the signal is in place, the installation – from groundbreaking to up-and-running, Bennett said – takes about six to eight months.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Editorial Note: A correction was made to this article after it was published.

'Strong mayor,' 'executive mayor': Taking a closer look

2012-01-12T05:26:20Z

The City Council will be discussing the latest version of an executive mayor initiative Tuesday, opening the door to putting charter reform on the June ballot.

A strong mayor initiative has been an on-and-off topic of discussion in Sacramento political circles since it was first brought up by Mayor Kevin Johnson shortly after his election in 2008. The executive mayor version was introduced at a press conference Dec. 21 by the mayor’s chief of staff and a group of supporters ranging from faith community leaders to the head of the local police union.

How is an “executive mayor” different from a “strong mayor”?

Strong Mayor

Initially – in a 2008/09 version of the strong mayor initiative – the city charter would give the mayor greater responsibility in some areas: He would create the budget, hire and fire the city manager and charter officers, and he would have some veto authority.

It also reduced the mayor’s responsibility in other areas: He would no longer be a member of the council, he would have no vote in council matters, and he would need council approval for appointments such as city manager and charter officers.

The 2008 strong mayor plan ultimately failed because the courts ruled that the changes it proposed were too broad to simply be amendments to the city charter, and therefore could not be put on the ballot by petition signatures.

In 2010, another attempt was made to get a strong mayor initiative on the ballot, but that attempt also failed. Proponents of the initiative wanted the city attorney to draft the formal language, but the City Council voted 7-2 to deny the request.

Aside from slight variations between the two, key aspects of the proposed strong mayor system include:
* Concentrates responsibility: one man, one plan – the mayor runs the city with the help of a city manager/administrator
* Concentrates authority: strengthens the influence of the mayor’s office
* Splits efficiency: council sets policy, but mayor takes all the heat if policy is not implemented efficiently
* Concentrates power: mayor is chief executive, city manager serves lesser role under the mayor

The 2008/10 versions would also have required a ninth council district to be added – which would most likely have thrown a wrench into the redistricting process.

Executive Mayor (a.k.a. the Checks and Balances Act of 2012)

The newest iteration of charter reform hangs on to some key provisions of the first versions and lets go of some others – an attempt, proponents say, to satisfy naysayers and create a broader appeal.

The Checks and Balances Act still proposes the mayor as chief executive – who would propose the budget, nominate a city manager and step down from the current voting position on the council.

The mayor would also get the limited veto power established in the first versions as well as being required to deliver an annual state of the city report.

Gone from the executive mayor proposal, however, is the power to hire and fire charter officers, such as the city attorney and city clerk, as well as hiring and firing assistant city managers and department heads – those powers would remain with the city manager as they do in the current manager-council system.

What’s new with the Checks and Balances Act? The creation of an ethics and transparency portion and the creation of an independent redistricting commission.

The ethics and transparency portion of the proposal still needs a little work – as in, specifics of how a new ethics review committee would be selected and what shape any “sunshine ordinances” would eventually take.

Still, the ideals are included in the proposal and proponents say the details would be hammered out with public input, which is more than the current charter specifies.

An independent redistricting commission – modeled after the state’s commission – would have another 10 years to take shape since the next redistricting process won’t take place until 2021.

But, proponents of the plan say it’s important to include the commission in charter reform measures now, while memories of the 2011 redistricting debacle are still fresh in voters’ minds.

Key aspects of the Executive Mayor/Checks and Balances Act:
* Streamlines responsibility: more direction comes from the mayor, more direct accountability for successes and shortfalls
* Realigns authority: mayor’s role becomes more administrative, but council has authority of approval
* Concentrates efficiency: mayor is executive branch, council is legislative branch, each with ways to “check” and “balance” the other
* Separates power: mayor and council have separate and different roles, each is accountable to voters

One thing the Checks and Balances Act offers that previous versions did not is a sunset date – voters would have to actively reaffirm their choice of a strong mayor government in the 2020 election. Otherwise, the system would automatically revert to the current manager-council system at the end of that calendar year.

Although prior versions of the strong mayor initiative failed, it could be said that they failed primarily to have an opportunity to face the voters. Had either of those proposals made it to a ballot, what would the outcome have been?

That is the question proponents of the executive mayor plan want to have answered in June.

The city attorney and the mayor’s chief of staff, Kunal Merchant, are each slated to give an analysis of the Checks and Balances Act to the City Council Tuesday.

The council may vote to put the proposal on the June ballot, or they could ask for adjustments to the proposal and ask for staff to report back at a future date. In either case, Tuesday’s meeting will be a chance to see if – and how – government responds to a call for change.

Read the Checks and Balances Act proposal – including the draft language submitted to the city attorney for review – HERE.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Funding 'swap' jumpstarts long-awaited south area project

2012-01-11T06:31:05Z

The plan to construct a new I-5 interchange at Cosumnes River Boulevard – a key component to the 75,000-acre Delta Shores development project – got a financial jumpstart Tuesday.

The City Council voted unanimously to swap funds between two long-term construction programs to get the new interchange started – a project that the city has had in the works for more than a decade.

“I’ve been bugging people about getting this project started for 13 years,” City Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell said Tuesday. “I’m just so happy it’s going to happen.”

The Cosumnes River Boulevard project will extend Cosumnes River Boulevard from Franklin Boulevard to an intersection with Freeport Boulevard – essentially creating a “punch-through,” according to Pannell – and will add a new interchange for I-5.

The project is located within District 7, but the nearest neighborhood that would benefit is Meadowview, which is in Pannell’s District 8.

The interchange will be a gateway to the long-awaited Delta Shores project, a development project with a combination of retail, commercial and housing, planned for the Meadowview area in South Sacramento.

The punch-through project, including the I-5 interchange, is estimated to cost $95 million. According to the Delta Shores financing plan approved by the city in 2009, the developer is committed to $52 million of that cost, and the city’s portion is about $43 million.

The city has a combination of state, federal and local transportation funds allocated to the project, according to a city staff report, but the funds are not immediately available – and the current economy prevents the city from getting the usual bond financing for up-front cash needed to begin construction.

The solution? Swap funds between two construction projects – one that has more funding than it needs right now, for the promise of future funding that is slated for the other.

The Richards Boulevard/I-5 project currently has a set-aside budget of $13,363,000 – but only $4,265,000 is needed between now and 2015 to complete the environmental, planning, design and approval processes for that project.

“We recommend moving the remaining $9,098,000 to the Cosumnes River Boulevard project to allow the project to advance to construction,” Sheri Smith, project manager for the Economic Development Department, told council members Tuesday.

The move would allow the Cosumnes River Boulevard project to move forward, Smith said, and a construction contract could be awarded as early as summer.

The other side of the funding swap includes moving the remaining amount currently allocated for the Cosumnes River Boulevard project – an estimated $20 million in future State Transportation Authority funds – to the Richards Boulevard/I-5 project.

That move will reduce the construction funding gap for the Richards Boulevard/I-5 project from a $50 million gap to a $30 million gap, Smith said.

“I want to make sure people know this is a two-win situation,” City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby said Tuesday. “It’s good for the Cosumnes River project area, but it is also good for the River District project. They both win here.”

Ashby was the council representative for the River District – formerly in District 1, where the Richards Boulevard/I-5 project is located – until redistricting moved the project boundaries into District 5.

According to the city staff report, the funding swap “jump-starts” the Delta Shores project, which is estimated to generate $3.8 million in sales tax and $5.3 million in property tax annually when completed.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Darrell Fong gets surprise ‘thank you’ from residents

2012-01-07T04:10:05Z

City Councilman Darrell Fong was recognized by District 7 residents Thursday for his part in establishing an event that brought more than 500 neighbors together for a common cause: the safety of their children.

Valley-Hi residents James Shabazz, Donald Johnson and Joseph Sillands surprised Fong at the City Council meeting with a scrapbook of photos and letters from event attendees commemorating the Valley-Hi Safety Day fair organized by Fong and his staff in July.

“It was important for us to find time to thank (Councilman) Fong for the work he did to put on the safety fair,” Shabazz, an apartment manager at Ridgestone Apartments in Valley-Hi said after the presentation.

“We appreciate his hard work and his interest in the community,” Shabazz said.

The idea for a safety fair came in response to a traffic accident at the corner of Arroyo Vista and Center Parkway that resulted in a 5-year-old girl being injured, Shabazz said.

According to Noah Painter, assistant to Councilman Fong, that intersection is in need of a traffic signal to better regulate traffic and make it safer – but it is 18th on a city list for receiving traffic signals.

“Traffic signals cost about $100,000 each,” Painter said, “and the city installs about one a year. Do the math – you can see when this light might finally get put in.”

The fair – the first of its kind organized in that community, according to Shabazz – offered information from a variety of organizations, food and entertainment for the people who came out for the day-long event.

Sillands said the event and others like it are important because they teach people to be prepared to help others and to keep each other safe.

“When we are prepared to do right and serve correctly, then we are ready to respond to where the need is,” Sillands said Thursday. “What is needed in every area of our community is to make sure people are respected and served very well. That’s why we want to launch the Safety Day program every year.”

Fong was clearly taken aback by the unexpected recognition, saying the credit for the fair and the work that went into it should go instead to the community that participated.

“It wasn’t really me – they did all the work,” Fong said after the presentation. “I was just happy to step in and help where I could.”

Painter said that the initial push for the safety fair came from Shabazz, Johnson and Sillands, and Fong and his staff worked with numerous groups to help make it happen.

“They wanted some way of bringing people together and raise awareness of the safety issues that they were seeing,” Painter said. “The result was a lot of people energized and ready to be more engaged in their community.”

Fong said he appreciated the recognition, but the work in that part of the district is not done yet.

“We promised we would go out and work with the community, but they have done a lot of work themselves,” Fong said. “I think we have honored our commitment to the area – but there is still work to do. I think (the fair) really empowered (the community) and we know we can do more.”

Shabazz said he and Johnson and Sillands are working with Fong’s office to host another safety fair in June with the theme, “Be Prepared.”

“Prepared for what? For anything,” Shabazz said. “For flood or for earthquake or any emergency. It’s all about education – educating our kids on what to do to be safe.”

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

‘Hometown boy’ sets his sights on District 4 Council seat

2012-01-07T01:44:42Z

The ever-widening field of candidates for District 4 opened up once again as Land Park resident Terry Schanz joined the 2012 City Council race.

Schanz (pronounced “Shawnz”), 33, said Friday that his background in public policy – extending from a degree in political science from UC San Diego, to community-building work in Cape Town, South Africa, to eight years with the State Legislature – is one reason he is the best candidate for the job.

“My experience is in public service,” Schanz said. “I live it every day. I understand it, and I understand what it takes to make good policy. City Council is, first and foremost, a policymaking body.”

For a self-described “hometown boy” who spent his younger years in the same Land Park house his grandmother grew up in, Schanz said he knows Sacramento and the fourth district intimately.

It’s that personal relationship with the town he loves, Schanz said, that gives him the drive to make it a city to be proud of.

“We are always saying, ‘if we have this one thing, then we’ll be a real city,’ or ‘if we only had this other thing, we’d be a real city,’ ” Schanz said. “Well, we are a real city already. Now let’s build up our city and make it a place to really be proud of.”

To do that, Schanz said, Sacramento needs efficient basic services above all else.

“When things are challenging fiscally, you have to pay attention to the basics,” Schanz said. “Public safety, police, fire, garbage service, parks, water service – we need to make sure we can maintain those basic functions,” Schanz said.

As a City Council member, Schanz said he would like to see the budget process emphasize basic services first before looking to less critical areas – such as how to pay for a sports and entertainment complex.

“Would I love to see a stadium anchor all the new development that will happen in the railyards? Yes,” Schanz said. “Do I want a vibrant and alive downtown? Absolutely.

“But, we are talking about closing public pools, and parks that are not being maintained and not knowing if police or fire trucks will show up in an emergency. Am I willing to sacrifice public safety or public services? No, I’m not ready to go there,” Schanz said.

U.S. Army Sgt. Aaron Crouch, 33, said he has known Schanz since the first day of senior year at C.K. McClatchy High School. Crouch said Friday that Schanz has always been a man of passion for helping people – even in his younger days.

“(Terry) has a huge heart, and he is unrelenting,” Crouch said. “He has this desire to lift all ships, starting from the bottom and working his way up. He’s all about making life better for everyone.”

Crouch said that when Schanz traveled to South Africa, he went to see what life was like somewhere completely different that what he knew, to get a sense of reality and contrast.

“That’s just one example of how he goes the extra mile to get a new perspective,” Crouch said.

Although Schanz said he has always had an interest in public service, Crouch said Schanz never set his sights on a higher office.

“People kept telling him he should run for office – president, even,” Crouch said, “but he has always wanted to stay local and help the people around him. He has no visions of grandeur.”

Listening to the people he would represent is the backbone of his campaign, and Schanz said all of his fundraising will happen from a “boots on the ground” effort: small-dollar fundraising events and plenty of knocking on doors and meet-and-greets at small businesses in the district.

“When people make even small donations to a campaign, they take ownership, in a way, of the candidate and of the issues,” Schanz said. “Come meet me. Meet my dogs. If you want to make a donation to my effort, that’s great – but I want you to know who I am, too.”

Schanz will face at least three other candidates in the District 4 City Council race, including attorney Phyllis Newton, architect Joe Yee, and local policy advocate Steve Hansen.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Editorial Note: A correction was made to this story after it was published: Schanz grew up the same house that his grandmother lived in.

Ashby selected as new vice mayor

2012-01-06T04:43:32Z

The City Council selected a new vice mayor Thursday: City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby will be running the show this year when the mayor is unavailable.

City Councilman Steve Cohn nominated Ashby for vice mayor, saying it has been the council’s tradition to have the most senior council member who has not already served as vice mayor hold the position.

Ashby was elected to the District 1 council seat in 2010. She has just one week seniority over Councilman Jay Schenirer.

“There are more good reasons to nominate her than just tradition,” Cohn added. “She always smiles, and she’ll do a good job of running the meetings.”

Ashby said she’s honored to hold the vice mayor’s seat, regardless of the reason.

“It’s a real honor to serve Sacramento any way that I can,” Ashby said. “I’ll be honored to hold the vice mayor’s seat for always smiling or having good shoes or seniority or whatever reason you choose. Thank you for this.”

The title of vice mayor does not come with an increase in pay, according to Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno, but it does bring the responsibility of presiding over council meetings in the mayor’s absence.

City Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell held the vice mayor position in 2011 and – looking back at Mayor Kevin Johnson’s attendance record – out of 48 scheduled council meetings, she sat in for the mayor nine times last year.

Vice Mayor Pannell was also acting mayor when Johnson traveled out of town for city or personal business – once or twice a month on average, according to Joaquin McPeek, the mayor’s press secretary.

Mizuno said the selection of a vice mayor happens like anything else at a city council meeting – a motion, a second and a majority vote – however, the Council Rules and Procedures prohibit the mayor from participating.

The vice mayor serves for a one-year term, and there have been 30 vice mayors on the City Council in the past 40 years. Eight times in that span a single person held the spot multiple times.

Mizuno said there are no restrictions against consecutive terms. Since 1970, however, it has only happened once: Michael Sands held the post for five years running, 1971 to 1975.

In addition to Pannell, current council members who have served as vice mayor include Cohn (1998, 2008), Sandy Sheedy (2004), Rob Fong (2006) and Kevin McCarty (2007).

Read the Council Rules and Procedures (adopted September 2010) HERE.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Redevelopment agencies lose in the courts

2012-01-05T03:54:12Z

In what has been called a David versus Goliath victory, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday in favor of Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to disband redevelopment agencies in California, and opponents of redevelopment in Sacramento wasted no time to celebrate the success.

“After years of opposition to redevelopment activities, the abuse of government power and confiscation of property for private use, our day finally came,” Moe Mohanna, a local real estate developer, said Tuesday.

The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday to uphold the redevelopment “elimination” bill, but struck down the bill that would have allowed agencies to make “continuation payments” to stay in business.

The two bills were passed as part of the 2011 state budget and caused a flurry of activity for redevelopment agencies across the state.

The California Redevelopment Association and the League of California Cities quickly challenged the new laws in court.

Meanwhile, redevelopment agencies got to work coming to terms with the possibility that they would have to either “opt in” to a new program – which would require annual payments in the millions of dollars – or submit to having their agencies phased out permanently.

In Sacramento, the City Council and the county Board of Supervisors chose to keep the Sacramento Housing and Revelopment Agency active by agreeing to the required “continuation payments” outlined in the legislation.

If the court had upheld both bills, the SHRA would be preparing to make the first of those payments due in 2012 – an estimated $22 million total – to keep the SHRA going.

The ruling to uphold the elimination bill, however, is more than a game-changer for redevelopment agencies – it’s a game-ender.

“We’re shocked,” La Shelle Dozier, executive director for the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency said Wednesday. “Obviously this is not the outcome that the agency was hoping for.”

Dozier said the SHRA sees the court ruling as one of the “worst possible scenarios” – and one the legislature never intended.

“There was never any anticipation that over 400 agencies would have to unwind over night,” Dozier said. “It was anticipated that some (agencies) would opt to dissolve, but some would opt to continue activities – which is what we had opted to do.

“I think the severing of the two bills in the court was a huge blow to redevelopment agencies,” Dozier said.

Sacramento projects stalled by the legislation while the courts were sorting things out now come to a screeching halt – including the affordable housing portion of the 65-acre Township 9 project and the remaining phases of the Paso Del Nuevo housing project.

“The issue is that, even if the deadline (to dissolve) is extended (by the legislature), there will be a stay on redevelopment activities,” Dozier said. “I don’t anticipate that they will allow us to move forward on any projects while they are figuring out a new redevelopment plan for the state.”

Now that the decision has been handed down, redevelopment agencies will start the process of dissolving – but leaders at the the California Redevelopment Association (CRA) and League of California Cities said Thursday they aren’t finished fighting yet.

The (California Redevelopment Association) and the league vowed to work with state legislators immediately to develop legislation to revive redevelopment, Kathy Fairbanks, California Redevelopment Association representative, said in a press release Thursday.

Opponents of redevelopment agencies see the court ruling as a step in the right direction for the state and for Sacramento, Mohanna said.

“Our neighborhoods, our schools, our police department and many other governmental agencies will now have more funds to provide essential services for our community,” Mohanna said, “rather than a few select private developers that play the game with redevelopment money.”

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Workshops provide information about utilities rate hike

2012-01-05T03:06:47Z

The first of a series of informational workshops about proposed utilities rate hikes took place in the lobby of City Hall Wednesday where attendees walked away with a personalized report on what the new rates will look like on their own utility bills.

“It’s an opportunity for people to come in, ask all the questions they want and really become informed about the proposal,” Jessica Hess, communications specialist with the city Utilities Department, said Tuesday.

The workshops are set up in an open house forum with information booths staffed by Utilities Department engineers, regulatory compliance specialists and field crews that respond to customers.

The Utilities Department’s proposed three-year rate increase for water is 10 percent per year, and for wastewater it’s 16 percent the first year, 15 percent the second year and 14 percent the third year.

Rate increases would go into effect on July 1 each year, if they are passed.

According to Utilities Department staff, the proposed rate increases will up the average customer’s monthly utility bill by about $5.80 the first year, $6.35 the second year, and $6.91 the third year.

That’s a total increase of about $19 per month over a customer’s current bill by 2014 – a $228 annual cost bump after three years, according to Hess.

The majority of the funds raised by this rate increase will be dedicated to funding projects necessary to meet state requirements and to start replacing the city’s aging infrastructure, according to Dave Brent, interim director of the city Utilities Department.

“A significant amount of the city’s water and sewer infrastructure is approaching or exceeding 100 years (old),” Brent said Wednesday.

"Reinvestment in these systems is necessary to assure reliable water and sewer services and to comply with state and federal regulations,” Brent said.

One booth at the workshop offered information about regulatory compliance – and someone to explain exactly what regulations the Utilities Department must satisfy and how.

Another booth provided information about programs to get the city’s water and sewage system to meet higher industry standards.

“At our current rate of investment in our infrastructure,” said ~~Bob~~ Bill Busath, interim division manager of engineering services division, “we would be replacing our sewer and water systems every 600 years. The industry standard is every 100 years.”

Yet another booth at the workshop provided detailed background information on how the rate proposal was developed and how it will affect individual rate-payers. At this booth, people can get a personalized report that estimates what their utility bill will look like if the rate increase proposal goes into effect.

“At the end of the day, whatever decisions are made by City Council and our community,” Hess said, “our main goal is that we want the community to feel like they are making an informed decision.”

Hess said that more than 30 people visited the workshop’s booths by noon Wednesday, and she was hopeful that more would take advantage of the opportunity to get information before the workshop ended.

Rose R., a homemaker from Sacramento who attended the workshop Wednesday, said she was glad she went – but not excited about the information she received.

“By 2014, I’ll be paying $130 a month,” Rose said. “I paid $64.08 a month in 1996. How are people on fixed incomes going to pay that (increase)? It’s too much. I went to (Mayor Kevin) Johnson and the City Council last time to tell them it’s not right, and I’ll go again.”

Another resident who came to the workshop, who asked to be identified only as Martha, said the information she got solidified her opposition to the rate increase proposal.

“I’m objecting to this increase because it is so much,” Martha said. “I have to buckle under. I know they want to fix and replace sewage lines, but that’s an awful lot of a (rate) increase. When you have a lot of money in your pocket you aren’t as thrifty as you are when you only have a little bit like me.”

Hess said that some who came to the event expecting to oppose the rate increase walked away with a different point of view.

“They thought they weren’t going to like it at all,” Hess said, “but after talking about it with (department staff), they left with a better understanding of why it’s important. That’s what we want – for people to be informed.”

Three more workshops are planned at different locations around the city, and the same information will be available at each workshop:

January 12
5 - 7 p.m. at the School of Engineering and Science, 7345 Gloria Drive

January 18
5 - 7 p.m. at the South Natomas Community Center, 2921 Truxel Road

January 19
6 - 8 p.m. at the Clunie Community Center, 601 Alhambra Blvd.

The Utilities Rate Advisory Commission will hold a public hearing on the rate increases Jan. 25 at City Hall. Hess said the commission might make a recommendation to City Council to move forward with the rate increases, or it may suggest alternatives.

Any recommendation to the council will be heard by mid-February, Hess said, and council will make the final decision.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for the Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Editorial Note: A spelling correction was made to this article after it was published. Bill Busath is the division manager of engineering services division, not Bob Busath.

Johnson's personal scorecard for 2011 resolutions

2012-01-04T01:46:27Z

Mayor Kevin Johnson’s 2011 New Year’s resolutions included bringing labor and business together, keeping the Sacramento Kings in Sacramento and – as Johnson sees it – his final scorecard tallies seven successes, one fail and two goals “still in progress.”

In a blog post from Dec. 31, Johnson listed 10 resolutions for 2011. At a press conference Tuesday, Johnson tallied up his successes and his not-quites:

1. Bring business and labor together to create jobs and grow the economy – Johnson said his commitment to “work with business and labor to improve the economy” was realized in 2011 in the way that representatives from both sides were “front and center” in teams working on developing a new entertainment and sports complex, and in efforts to “green” the city.

“I think if you asked labor (representatives), they would say ‘home run,’ ” Johnson said. “We did a good job creating an environment that welcomes business and labor to work together.”

2. Go green – Pointing to his Greenwise Initiative efforts and a $100 million investment from Ygrene Energy Fund for green retrofit of city buildings, Johnson said he counts this one a success.

3. Stand up for students – Johnson said that his Stand Up initiative has seen much success in 2011, especially with the start of the third-grade reading initiative.

“We’ve shown how important education is,” Johnson said. “We are going to keep that going.”

4. Keep our neighborhoods safe – Despite law enforcement layoffs from budget cuts, Johnson said crime rates have decreased in some areas of the city – but there are still challenges for public safety that need to be addressed.

“Ultimately I don’t feel like we are doing all we can to be proactive, because we have less officers on the street,” Johnson said, “but we did great work with creating a gang summit and coming up with a comprehensive plan to really combat some of our challenges with gangs, and we got a couple of grants that allowed us to restore some officer positions.”

5. Show the Governor around town – With the future of redevelopment in jeopardy in 2011, Johnson said he wanted to be "first in line" to give Governor Jerry Brown a personal tour of some of the larger projects in the downtown core to emphasize the importance of redevelopment to the economic growth of the city.

“(Brown) is a big supporter of K street and the projects we are trying to do,” Johnson said, “but it didn’t quite happen. The effort is still in progress.”

6. Keep the Kings – Johnson said this is a big yes for 2011. Although the Kings did stay in Sacramento in 2011, Johnson acknowledged that the fight is still on to keep them here longer – and a large part of that fight that will be helped by the arena effort.

7. Build strong relations with council colleagues – this resolution remains “in progress,” Johnson said. It takes time to forge new relationships, and Johnson said he is committed to the process from year to year.

8. Spend more time in the community – “Success,” Johnson said. “We did more town halls, more neighborhood associations, more knocking on doors this year.”

9. Run in one race per month – Johnson said he ran nine races in 2011, including the Shamrockin’ 5K in March and the Run to Feed the Hungry on Thanksgiving Day. But nine is not "one per month," so this goal was a not-quite for Johnson.

10. Stay bold – “Absolutely,” Johnson said. “C’mon – it’s in my DNA. I couldn’t do things any other way.”

How do you think the mayor did in meeting his goals for 2011? Let us know in the conversation below this article.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

The Sacramento Press on 'Insight'

2012-01-04T01:10:43Z

On Capital Public Radio’s “Insight” program on Tuesday, host David Watts Barton and I talked about new laws in effect for the new year, businesses scheduled to open in the near future, the upcoming elections and other local issues.

The beginning of the year typically brings in a number of new laws, and 2012 is no different. Some of the notable changes include mandatory child booster seats in cars for kids under age 8 or shorter than 4 feet 9 inches, the banning of openly carrying unloaded handguns and a new law that states police can no longer impound a vehicle at a DUI checkpoint if the only offense is the driver not having a license.

Click here to read about those and other laws that went into effect Sunday.

Also new this year will be several businesses. A sports-themed restaurant and bar, Mongolian food’s arrival on the grid and a new bicycle share program have all been covered by The Sacramento Press in the past and will soon be open for business in the central city.

To read about some of the new businesses coming in the next few weeks and months, click here.

If the mayor’s office has its way, it won’t be business as usual in Sacramento’s political future. A charter reform proposal could be on this summer’s ballot, and it would reshape the way Sacramento’s government works. An executive – or “strong” – mayor, an independent redistricting commission and an ethical review process are all parts of the reform measure being discussed at City Hall.

It’s a big year for Mayor Kevin Johnson, as he and the City Council members from even-numbered districts campaign to keep their seats in this year’s elections. While some districts – including District 4, which covers the central city – are full of competition, others currently only have a couple candidates, and Kevin McCarty currently has no challengers to his District 6 seat. But the deadline to enter the political race isn’t until March, so the competition could heat up even more.

One of those in the running for a City Council seat is Rob Kerth, former executive director of the Midtown Business Association. The MBA position was filled by Elizabeth Studebaker on Monday, and The Sacramento Press will follow up with her to learn what plans she has in store for Midtown.

The California Supreme Court’s upholding of Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to eliminate redevelopment agencies – and its dismissal of legislation that would allow them to continue with significant payments to the state – mean many projects in blighted areas of Sacramento won’t get done, and those that haven’t been finished might be in jeopardy too. Look for Sacramento Press reporter Melissa Corker’s latest update on redevelopment Wednesday.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

A look ahead: Elections in 2012

2011-12-31T03:11:26Z

With four council districts and the mayor’s seat up for grabs in 2012, the upcoming elections may bring new faces to City Council and – potentially – significant changes to the way Sacramento’s government operates.

Although there is still time for new candidates to emerge, here’s a look at the election landscape for Sacramento, so far.

When Mayor Kevin Johnson announced in September that he is running for reelection, he had no opponents and enjoyed the endorsement of both Region Builders – a building industry coalition – and the Sac Metro Chamber political action committee.

In November, local tax preparer and community activist Edgar Hilbert announced his candidacy for mayor and a desire to bring “fresh leadership” to the city.

Garcia has since taken himself out of the mayoral race, saying other business prevents him from focusing on an election.

City Council elections are held every two years, and elections rotate between all even-numbered districts and all odd-numbered districts. In 2012, council district seats 2, 4, 6 and 8 are up for grabs.

For District 2, incumbent Sandy Sheedy – who ran unopposed in the 2008 election – will face four opponents.

Former Obama campaign organizer Kim Mack announced her candidacy for District 2 in October, but the announcement was quickly met with criticism stemming from a political campaign incident from 2008.

Rob Kerth, former executive director of the Midtown Business Association, said he left the MBA to focus on his bid for City Council – a position he held from 1996-2000.

Del Paso Heights businessman and developer Allen Wayne Warren talked abut running for District 2 in September and officially kicked off his campaign Dec. 19 at a fundraising event at a bookstore in North Sacramento.

Mack, Kerth and Warren are joined in the race to take Sheedy’s seat by political newcomer Sondra Betancourt.

Betancourt, a community leader and former human resources manager for the state, said Dec. 20 that she is a good fit for City Council because she “sees the big picture” for the city, and it would serve the city well to “have fresh eyes on issues.”

In a surprise turn of events for District 4, incumbent Rob Fong announced he will not be running for reelection, leaving the race for his seat wide open.

So far, three candidates have announced their intentions to run for District 4: community activist Steve Hansen, attorney Phyllis Newton and current Planning Commission Chairman Joe Yee.

Hansen was a member of the Citizens Advisory Committee on Redistricting during the 2011 redistricting effort and was criticized for anonymously submitting a redistricting map to City Council while active on that committee.

In the District 6 race, incumbent Kevin McCarty appears to be the only name on the ticket – at the moment.

Candidates from ~~District 2~~ District 4 have until March 14 – and candidates from District 2, 6 and 8 have until March 8 – to file a notice of intent to run for office, so there is still time for someone to step up to oppose McCarty.

Incumbent Bonnie Pannell, District 8, has been on the City Council since 1998 and was reelected to the seat three times – twice running unopposed.

In 2012, she will face NAACP chapter President Betty Williams, who filed an intent to run but has not formally launched a campaign. Williams told The Sacramento Press last week that she expects to make a formal campaign announcement in mid-January.

In addition to the mayoral and council seat races, supporters of a strong mayor initiative announced plans to put a charter reform measure on the ballot – called the “Checks and Balances Act of 2012.”

A poll released Tuesday indicates wide support of the charter reform initiative, but the poll has come under fire for not having been released to media for detailed analysis.

A similar initiative to change the city charter from a council-city manager form of government to a mayor-council format – known as “strong mayor” or “executive mayor” – was discussed in 2010 but did not get on the ballot that year.

With the primary election coming in just six months, various associations, union interests and the faith community have started announcing candidate endorsements.

The Sacramento Central Labor Council began its endorsement process early for the 2012 election season – in part because so many incumbents were running that opposition would be easy to gauge, according to labor leader Bill Camp.

There will be many opportunities for change for Sacramento in the upcoming elections. The Sacramento Press will report regularly on the candidates, the campaigns and the issues as the drama unfolds in 2012.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacarmetno Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Editorial Note: A correction was made to this article after it was published. The incorrect information was struck out and the correct information added.

2011: The year at City Hall

2011-12-30T06:20:29Z

Sacramento City Council members had their hands full this year – from balancing the budget to redrawing district lines to a citizen uprising that found its way to the doors of City Hall.

Here’s the city government year in review.

CITY MANAGER DRAMA
The year started off with interim city manager Gus Vina not being promoted to the open city manager spot. Vina replaced previous city manager Ray Kerrige when Kerrige resigned in February 2010.

Vina resigned two months later – just a few weeks before the budget was due to the City Council. He later became the city manager of Encinitas.

The City Council was criticized for making decisions about the city manager position in closed sessions before voting not to promote Vina and instead open a national search.

City Council members stalled the search for City Manager saying they wanted to define the qualities they were looking for in the next person to fill the job. Two weeks later, they announced the qualities and the search continued.

The door was open for a new city manager, and while the nationwide search was ongoing, what Sacramento ended up with was not one but two interim city managers: Bill Edgar and Betty Masuoka.

Edgar and Masuoka followed through with the budget plan and presented it to the City Council on time.

As the city got closer to finding its next city manager, Mayor Kevin Johnson expressed disappointment about the search process, saying he felt “the pool of candidates wasn’t as deep” as he would have liked.

By August, Sacramento had a new city manager – John Shirey, former head of the California Redevelopment Association.

Shirey’s three-year contract included a $258,000 base salary – a 16 percent increase in salary over the previous city manager – making him the highest-paid in city history and the first to receive a labor contract.

BUDGET BLOWUPS
The budget process was complete by the time Shirey took his seat at the dais alongside City Council members.

The 2011 budget brought more challenges to face, including a $39 million budget gap.

After months of discussions and negotiations with unions, advocacy groups, public comment and hours-long council meetings, a budget was finally passed.

The new budget included severe cuts to fire and police personnel and city employees – as well as the closure of community centers and public pools.

REDISTRICTING: MAPS AND MAYHEM
As if there wasn’t enough going on in City Hall with the annual budget process, 2011 brought redistricting – a redrawing of council districts that happens every 10 years.

This time, the mayor and City Council appointed a Citizens Advisory Redistricting Committee to do the heavy lifting of vetting a variety of proposed district maps.

After months of review and discussion, the committee presented a group of four maps for the council to consider. From there, the discussions and map revisions really took off.

One unexpected twist to the redistricting drama came when one map was revealed to have been anonymously submitted by advisory committee member Steve Hansen.

Discussions heated up further when two council members – Steve Cohn and Sandy Sheedy – submitted their own map for the council to consider.

A week later, Cohn submitted yet another map, a hybrid version of Cohn and Sheedy’s previous submissions, this time called “Neighborhoods 2.0.”

A boundary dispute between council districts 5 and 6 over which district would contain the UC Davis Medical Center and Sacramento High School created a huge outcry from residents.

In the end, after six months and a grand total of 45 map versions, a final map was selected and approved by City Council, and new district lines went into effect on Oct. 6.

REDEVELOPMENT
With the passing of the state budget in July came big changes for the way redevelopment agencies are allowed to work in California.

Cities throughout the state are given an option to “buy in” to a new redevelopment plan – which would require large annual payments to the state from local agencies. Sacramento decided to go along with the plan and keep the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency alive.

Other cities wouldn’t go down without a fight, and a lawsuit was filed against the state by the California Redevelopment Association. While the case was pending, the court issued a temporary reprieve so cities did not have to make the required “opt-in” payments until a decision was made.

Some redevelopment projects that were moved ahead in 2011 in Sacramento included a revamp of K Street, the La Valentina project and housing projects in the south area of the city.

OCCUPY SACRAMENTO: CITIZENS TAKE A STAND
What started on Wall Street in New York as a citizens’ uprising against corporate greed in America became a nationwide statement of discontent from coast to coast.

When the first Occupy Sacramento protesters stepped into Cesar Chavez Plaza on Oct. 6, it was unclear how long they would stay – or what their message was going to be.

Quickly, the calm protest of Sacramentans showing solidarity with other Occupy movements was stunted by a city park curfew ordinance that prevented protesters from remaining in the park overnight.

Protesters were arrested – more than 100 in October alone – and the uprising was strengthened by a common goal: get the city to make an exception to the rule.

Over the next 10 weeks, large numbers of Occupy protesters spoke at the public forum of City Council meetings to ask the city manager and City Council to allow the group to remain in the park to continue to exercise its First Amendment rights.

Protesters who had been arrested – including war veteran mom Cindy Sheehan – had their day in court, and charges were dropped against many.

Meanwhile, attorneys for the Occupy group filed suit in federal court against the city claiming First Amendment violations, and some Occupiers moved the protest to the lawns at City Hall.

As the year came to a close, the number of Occupiers dwindled at Cesar Chavez Plaza, but the movement was not disbanded completely. A lawsuit is still pending in federal court, according to attorney Mark Merin, one of the representing attorneys.

Despite the ups and downs at City Hall this year, more change and drama is expected in 2012. Between elections and yet another budget – and the ever-present discontent bubbling just under the surface from events in 2011 – the new year is bound to be worth watching.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Homelessness in Sacramento: A look back at 2011

2011-12-30T04:59:18Z

From head counts and courtroom drama to Winter Sanctuary and SafeGround – homelessness remained at the top of the list of issues in Sacramento in 2011.

Despite data showing the number of homeless in the county had declined over the past year, there were still many people sleeping on the streets each night in 2011.

Local charity groups and community service programs struggled through the year to provide for the homeless – including an increasing percentage of families – many of whom were homeless for the first time due to fallout from the housing and mortgage crisis.

The alleged mishandling of homeless individuals’ personal property as police enforced city anti-camping laws resulted in a lawsuit filed by local civil rights attorney Mark Merin on behalf of the homeless.

As the lawsuit made its way through the halls of justice, another fight was brewing over creating “safe ground," a place for homeless people to call their own – if only temporarily – while they worked toward securing permanent housing.

Community events held in 2011 designed to raise awareness of homeless issues included a SafeGround Jubilee, and a workshop for City Council members to discuss ways to provide such a safe ground area for homeless.

Jennifer Lystrup, a teacher of social justice at Christian Brothers High School, created a documentary series on homeless youth, and artist and filmmaker Costa Mantis created the film series “Searching for Safe Ground,” revealing the daily struggles of being homeless in Sacramento.

In September, the court in the homeless class action suit decided in favor of the homeless plaintiffs, but the city appealed the decision, and the case is still pending.

Without a tent city to return to each night, and without a safe ground option, many homeless people set up tents on the edges of the American River Parkway – which was at odds with the city’s anti-camping ordinance, and rangers soon moved in to oust the homeless “campers.”

As winter approached, faith-based organizations came together with the nonprofit agency Sacramento Steps Forward to provide the Winter Sanctuary program for the second year, offering shelter for the homeless during the coldest part of the year.

The program – which provides shelter from Thanksgiving to March 1 at an estimated cost of $150,000 – lacked adequate funding, and the program was in jeopardy of not being able to open.

With the help of numerous donations from local businesses and individuals – and a last-minute $75,000 donation from Wells Fargo – the program opened on Dec. 1.

At the end of December, the winter shelter program was expanded, thanks in part to efforts by City Council members Steve Cohn, Jay Schenirer and Angelique Ashby, and requests for increased local donations to open more doors to the homeless.

Homelessness has been a hot topic for local government for many years, and despite minor upturns in the economy of late, it is an issue that does not appear to be going away anytime soon.

In November, the City Council started developing a plan to address homelessness from a regional standpoint – to include city, county and regional resources and leadership in solving the issue.

Perhaps 2012 will bring greater security – whether it’s “safe ground” or more transitional housing or enhanced services – for those struggling in the city without a permanent place to live.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

2011 recap: The fight to keep the Kings in Sacramento

2011-12-29T05:17:22Z

The question of whether Sacramento will get a new sports arena heated up this year, as Sacramento Kings owners threatened to relocate the team to Anaheim and potential arena sites – such as a land swap with Cal Expo – came and went.

Despite an emotional rollercoaster ride for Kings fans this year, supporters of the team refused to throw up their hands in defeat. Here’s what 2011 looked like from the bleachers.

As plans for a land swap between the state fairgrounds at Cal Expo and the current Natomas arena site fell through, a task force appointed by Mayor Kevin Johnson recommended that Sacramento developer group ICON-Taylor explore the viability of building an arena in the downtown area.

Business leaders from the Natomas Chamber of Commerce wanted the City Council to reject the task force recommendation, saying they felt Natomas was “fighting an uphill battle” against losing the then-named Arco Arena as the Kings’ home turf.

The owners of the Sacramento Kings, the Maloof family, confirmed suspicions that they were considering relocating the team to Anaheim by requesting a filing extension with the NBA to give the owners until at least April 14 – the day after the Kings season ended – to make a decision.

The NBA granted an extension to 5 p.m. May 2, and Kings fans went into overdrive to convince the Maloofs that the team should stay put.

Between a grassroots “Here We Stay” campaign, “painting the town purple” and sold-out games, there was little question of the importance Sacramentans placed on keeping the Kings in town.

Still, negotiations between the Maloofs and the city of Anaheim seemed to be well under way – until problems with financing emerged.

Anaheim was reportedly making plans to issue $75 million in lease revenue bonds to entice the team to move, but Sacramento city officials intervened, saying that the Maloofs would first have to repay $77 million in bond debt to Sacramento.

A private group successfully halted the issuance of the Anaheim bonds, and Billionaire Pittsburgh Penguins co-owner Ron Burkle stepped up with plans to buy the Sacramento Kings from the Maloofs to keep the team in Sacramento.

Just before the final filing deadline to officially request relocating the team, an NBA relocation committee came to town and took over the Kings offices to study the possibility of keeping the Kings in Sacramento. The committee was welcomed with open arms – and plenty of purple.

At almost the same time, tribal leaders from Thunder Valley Casino pledged $1 million toward the effort to stop the Kings from moving to Anaheim, bringing the total of business pledges to keep the Kings in Sacramento to more than $10 million.

In addition to business interests, retired Kings player Chris Webber pledged his support – along with additional financial backing from private investors – to keep the effort going.

Finally, on the day of the filing deadline, the Maloofs announced they would not move the Kings out of Sacramento – this year.

The question of an adequate arena was still open, however, and NBA officials said they would support the team moving next year if a new arena could not be built to replace the Kings’ current facility, Power Balance Pavilion.

After a huge push for ticket sales to the next season, the Maloofs asked Johnson to stand in for them at the NBA draft lottery in New Jersey.

In June, with four months before the start of the 2011-12 basketball season, Kings supporters got down to business formulating a plan for a new arena – this time, with the help of a coalition of interested parties from business, sports, finance and development sectors.

The coalition – called the “Think Big” committee – worked on a self-imposed 100-day deadline to come up with a “menu of options” for financing a new entertainment and sports complex to be built at the railyards site downtown.

The Think Big committee released a series of reports over the 100-day period that discussed financing options including strategic use of public land, user fees and leasing the city’s parking system.

Two opinion polls surfaced – one commissioned by the Think Big committee and one by City Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy – to gauge public support of a new sports and entertainment complex. Despite the opposing results of the polls, Johnson and members of the Think Big committee continue to pursue a plan to build an arena and keep the Kings in Sacramento.

The latest aspect of the financing plan – leasing the city’s parking system to a private operator for an up-front lump payment to get construction under way – is in the earliest stages.

What’s next for the Kings and the city of Sacramento?

2012 promises fervent action on the part of supporters, developers and the entire Think Big committee to have a solid arena plan in place before the March 1 deadline for Kings’ owners to once again attempt to relocate the team.

Meanwhile, Kings fans are filling seats for games, staying positive and hanging on for the final loop-de-loop of this wild ride.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

The highs and lows of medical marijuana in 2011

2011-12-29T04:35:45Z

In 2011, medical marijuana dispensaries in Sacramento city and county went from being barely legal to riding a wave of potential for acceptance – but in the end, saw the future of their operations heavily scrutinized or banned outright.

Here’s what happened on the medical marijuana scene this year:

In February, medical marijuana dispensaries in the city were lining up to complete a permit application process that would allow a limited number of facilities to operate within city limits.

Pot shops that didn’t apply for the proper permits – or had applications denied through the process – were shut down by city code enforcement.

Once the application deadline passed for the first part of a two-part process, 39 dispensaries were left in the running for a permanent place on the Sacramento scene – while many others withdrew from the city limits to operate within the county, where restrictions were scarce and permits nonexistent.

As the county became aware of the proliferation of dispensaries within its boundaries, county leaders opened the door to regulating medical marijuana.

In August, medical marijuana awareness among the public reached a peak in Sacramento when the inaugural Hempfest Sacramento took place at an RV park and campground in Sutter County.

Despite dispensary operations gaining some favor with the city, dispensaries in the county continued to run afoul of laws that didn’t include any zoning regulations to protect them, and many dispensaries were shut down by the county.

In June, the federal Department of Justice sent a memo to state attorneys general stating that the federal government would enforce its marijuana prohibition laws – despite any state laws to legalize the drug.

In response, the City Council reviewed its permit application process and put a “freeze” on all dispensary applications until it could be determined that dispensaries could somehow operate legally under state law while still being at odds with federal law.

At the county, instead of pursuing an ordinance to allow special permits for medical marijuana dispensary operations, officials switched gears and moved to reinforce county codes that prohibit any “activity that violates federal or state law in any way” – essentially solidifying an all-out ban.

Dispensary operators and city residents weighed in on the ordinance freeze in the city, with public opinion being fairly evenly divided between support and opposition of keeping dispensary operations legal.

At the start of the year, medical marijuana dispensaries enjoyed a wide berth from the city to advertise in newspapers and on billboards, and pot shops openly operated throughout the city.

As the year draws to a close, however, many have turned to a more low-key approach to doing business while federal and state governments iron out their legal wrinkles.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Mayor: City is at 'critical juncture' on the road to new arena

2011-12-28T01:41:33Z

Mayor Kevin Johnson spoke confidently Tuesday about the possibility of a new entertainment and sports complex becoming a reality for Sacramento – despite the challenges ahead.

“We are at a critical juncture in this process,” Johnson said. “On the court, our team needs to play well. Off the court, I feel good about the progress we’re making on the new entertainment sports complex and the financing.”

Johnson said that – on the public side of the equation – the city is moving forward with its “due diligence” on a plan to lease out the city parking system as part of the financial plan for a new arena.

“On the private side,” Johnson added, “AEG and ICON and all those folks are doing their part, and we are in negotiations now with the NBA and the Maloofs and all the parties involved. We’d like to be in a good position by the March 1 deadline.”

Proponents of a new sports and entertainment complex have until March 1 to solidify a plan to finance the new arena or the Kings owners will have an opportunity to file a request with the NBA to relocate the team.

At the Dec. 13 City Council meeting, Johnson and council members voted to gauge the interest of investors – through a process called “request for qualifications” – in taking over the city’s parking system as a key component of the finance picture for a new arena.

The RFQs were scheduled to be sent Dec. 22, but city consultants suggested holding off until after the new year, creating a delay in the process.

Johnson said that, despite the RFQs being issued later than expected, he has been assured by the city manager’s office that the delay will not affect the city timeline in a significant way.

“I was a little disappointed because I thought we could get (the RFQs) out even with the two weeks (of holidays) so people would know how things are going,” Johnson said Tuesday, “but I’ve been assured that it won’t slow us down at all.”

Once the city receives responses to the RFQs, the city manager and the City Council will have a better idea of how much the city’s parking assets may net. The initial analysis of the plan to lease the parking system showed a range of $170 million to just over $240 million.

Johnson said Tuesday, however, that he believes the gain from the parking assets for the entertainment and sports complex financing plan may be larger than anticipated.

“It’s not deeply rooted in science or empirical data,” Johnson said, “but I do think we can come in higher than we think – and that’s just my gut feeling.”

Johnson said he thinks the city and Kings fans have come a long way from April 13, when it seemed the Kings were about to play their last game in Sacramento.

“I think we are going to get it done, but there’s work to do,” Johnson said. “It’s going to be very challenging, and there are lots of moving parts (in the process), but I think council will step up, the NBA will step up and we will be able to create a win-win-win for all parties.”

The push for a new sports arena has been ramping up since the Sacramento Kings owners, the Maloof family, announced earlier in the year that they might move the team to Anaheim.

The Sacramento Press will take a more in-depth look Wednesday at how Sacramento has faced the possibility of losing the only major professional sports team in the city.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for the Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

No swap for Sac High and West Campus – for now

2011-12-23T02:28:05Z

The potential West Campus/Sacramento High School “swap” is off the table, but the budget and facility use problems that spurred the proposal still exist – leaving open the question, is this really the end of the conversation?

“We have serious issues as far as our budget goes,” Sacramento City Unified School District trustee Patrick Kennedy said Monday. “We’ll have to look at all of our facilities. I won’t say there won’t be discussions of (school) closures in the future.”

In an effort to save money and make more efficient use of district facilities, the SCUSD board recently considered swapping two school programs – the charter school program at the Sac High campus and the program at the West Campus facility.

After much debate and community outcry, the proposal was tabled at the Dec. 6 school board meeting. No date was set to continue the matter at future board meetings – but it remains an open possibility for future consideration.

As the school district budget troubles continue, so will the need to consider cost-cutting alternatives such as school closures or program consolidations.

It is a possibility that Kennedy said is unlikely to be successful, however.

“I can speak for myself, not the board, in saying I feel confident that in the long term I don’t see anything happening as far as a move (for either campus),” Kennedy said.

The school district has been plagued with budget shortfalls for the past few years, and last year, the district faced nearly $18 million in cuts to the budget, resulting in class-size increases, a reduction of school counselors and nearly 350 staff layoffs.

One of the ways board trustees considered saving money was closing schools that were operating at low capacity or combining programs at under-utilized facilities into a single program. The West Campus/Sac High swap proposal was intended to be part of those cost-saving measures.

Although the issue of a potential swap appears to be resolved, Kennedy said the budget issues for the district are not – and that may mean more painful cuts for area schools in the coming year.

“We need to take care of our long-term viability for the next few years,” Kennedy said, “So, we expect there will be another round of cuts next year. We are looking at everything – we’ve even opened up the contracts with our unions to see about getting concessions there.”

For administrators at St. Hope – the organization that runs the charter high school program at the Sac High facility – the potential for the school board to move the charter program is a constant threat, regardless of the most recent board action to table the idea, because the school has a short lease agreement for the facility.

“When a (school) charter is granted, they usually get a five-year (facility-use) lease,” said Mayor Kevin Johnson, who founded St. Hope. “It is frustrating that we’ve been given only 1-year leases, where other charter schools got two years or longer.”

The school board determines which facility the charter can use and the term length of the agreement.

According to the district website, there are currently eight independent charter schools in the Sacramento City Unified School District, and two of those are operated by St. Hope.

Of those eight charter schools, five have two year facility agreement terms, and one has an agreement in perpetuity – it remains in effect for the life of the charter.

The two charter schools operated by St. Hope have one year lease agreements.

“What we are looking for is stability so the question doesn’t come up again next year and the year after and so on,” St. Hope schools superintendent Jim Scheible said Thursday.

“People want to be secure in knowing where their kids will go to school for the long term,” he added.

Scheible said St. Hope started the process for the annual renewal of its facilities use agreements with the district in November, and the agreements will be discussed at the Feb. 2 school board meeting.

If the school board agrees to multiple-year lease agreements, Scheible and Johnson both said that would lend important stability and security to the programs – and take some pressure off administrators.

“Why would you not want to give a successful program the stability and security they need to keep functioning?” Johnson asked. “Other places could learn from (the program) and then, hopefully, duplicate the success.”

City Councilman Jay Schenirer, the council representative for District 5 where Sac High is located, said Wednesday that he hopes the notion of a campus swap is off the table for good.

“They are talking about the two highest-scoring high schools in the area,” Schenirer said. “My hope is that they would leave it alone and let the schools do their business.”

Schenirer said a long-term facilities agreement would help stabilize the programs and allow administrators to focus on a more important work: the education of kids in the district.

“Having to fight that fight every year and worry about it – it’s time off task,” Schenirer said. “Their task is really about educating young people. The more time they have to worry about facilities, the less time they have to spend on the education aspect of their work.”

Scheible said the goal should be to work in partnership with the school district to get kids the best education possible, adding, “If we work in collaboration, we can come up with a good compromise that will benefit everyone.”

On Dec. 6, we asked our readers “What should the SCUSD board do about a West Campus/Sac High swap?” 482 people voted and here are the results:

Leave both campuses as they are – 399 votes
Make the swap and add a comprehensive high school – 61 votes
Put it to a vote in the district – 7 votes
Make the swap, but wait until the current students have graduated – 6 votes

Nine voters chose “Other” and gave the following responses:
“Make the swap period!”
“Make the swap next school year”
“Provide all children with modern, high quality facility they need to learn”
“Improve West Campus and leave Sac Charter alone”
“Leave them as they are separate schools”
“Leave both campuses as they are and look for an alternate site for WC”
“Build another school for West Campus”
“Put both schools at the Sac High location”
“Leave Sac High and move West Campus to one of the ‘adult’ school locations”

The SCUSD board meets on the first and third Thursdays of each month. Meetings are held at the Serna Center Community Room at 5735 47th Ave.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Mayor's office unveils proposed charter reform measures

2011-12-22T04:56:11Z

An executive mayor, an independent redistricting commission and new ethics and transparency guidelines were the highlights of a new plan to reform city government introduced by representatives from the mayor’s office Wednesday.

“This (proposal) represents how to fundamentally restructure how City Hall works,” Kunal Merchant, chief of staff to Mayor Kevin Johnson said Wednesday.

Merchant said the new charter reform proposal is based on previous reform ideas and represents three years of discussion with members of the public and city and community leaders throughout Sacramento. The proposed legal language was prepared by Nielsen Merksamer Parrinello Gross & Leoni – a local law firm that specializes in government, political and initiative law.

“You can’t just let one group of people have all the power,” Merchant said. “There needs to be checks and balances. There needs to be accountability and transparency in Sacramento.”

The mayor had prior commitments that prevented him from attending the press conference, Merchant said, but the charter reform proposal "goes beyond the mayor," he added.

Some of the significant reforms in the proposal – called the Sacramento Checks and Balances Act of 2012 by supporters – include:

* an executive mayor who proposes the city budget and has limited veto authority
* an independent city council presided over by a council-selected president. The council would have authority to override mayoral vetoes
* a code of ethics for city officials and a citizen’s ethics committee to lead an ethics review every two years
* voter approval of salary raises greater than 5 percent in any year for the mayor and council members
* “sunshine ordinances” that require key public records (including council votes, budgets and audit information) to be immediately available after council takes action

For the city charter to be changed, the state constitution requires an initiative to be placed on the ballot by the City Council for a public vote – something the City Council has previously been hesitant to do.

A “strong mayor” initiative was considered in 2008 after Johnson was elected as mayor, but that proposal faced steep criticism – and a lawsuit against the city initiated by local labor leader Bill Camp. The initiative ultimately failed to reach the ballot for 2010.

Now, three years after Sacramento was introduced to the notion by Johnson and his staff, the newest version is being touted as a more thorough and more responsible proposal.

“This is arguably the most important potential vote facing people in the coming years,” said Jeff Dorso, a local attorney and member of the coalition that supports the charter reform measure.

“It’s put together with public input and reflects a lot of the positive changes that have been requested,” he added. “It deserves to be weighed by the voters in 2012.”

Merchant said that, over the past three years, the mayor’s office has received many phone calls and emails from city residents with ideas, suggestions and critique of previous charter reform measures. That public input was considered in the creation of the new reform measure, Merchant said.

Supporters from local business groups, a local law enforcement union and building and development organizations spoke at the press conference Wednesday to encourage the City Council to allow the proposal to go to the voters in June.

“Just let the people have their say on the matter,” Pastor Darryl Heath of St. John’s Missionary Baptist Church said Wednesday. “That is true democracy. That is what we want. Just let the people vote on it.”

Heath said that members in the faith community have been disappointed by the conduct of the City Council, and the time has come for a change.

“The time has come for a city governed by one vision,” Heath said. “Right now we have eight visions for one city – we can’t work with a monster with so many heads.”

The new proposal would also change the way the city handles redistricting – the process of redrawing district lines to equalize population among the districts – which happens every 10 years.

The most recent redistricting process ended in September after months of discussions and recommendations by a citizens advisory committee, and resulted in new boundaries for city council districts that were largely drawn – not by the advisory committee – but by council members themselves.

The process was highly contentious among residents and council members alike and led to hundreds of residents speaking out at council meetings over the course of eight weeks.

With the new charter reform proposal, redistricting would happen under the authority of an independent redistricting commission whose decisions – unlike those of the recent Citizens Advisory Committee – would be binding.

Merchant said that the most critical aspect of the charter reform initiative is that voters will have the opportunity to vote it into place, and they will have the ability to reconsider the reform measures after eight years.

If city voters do not re-confirm the charter changes at the November 2020 election, Merchant said, then the reform package sunsets – it would be automatically repealed – at the end of December 2020.

“That gives voters the chance to make sure (the changes) are working for them,” Merchant said. “It gives a little time to see if the city has benefited from the changes or not. Either way, it’s up to the voters.”

The full charter reform proposal can be read here.

Merchant said City Attorney Eileen Teichert is reviewing the legal language of the Checks and Balances Act and will give an analysis of the proposal to the City Council at its Jan. 17 meeting.

Council members have until Feb. 28 to put the initiative on the June ballot.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter with The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Betancourt runs for District 2 seat on City Council

2011-12-21T02:09:04Z

Community leader and former human resources manager Sondra Betancourt joined the race for City Council District 2 this week, ready to face a growing field of competitors including business leader and former City Councilman Rob Kerth and incumbent Sandy Sheedy.

Betancourt, a second-generation Sacramentan, said she remembers when the north area of the city was vibrant with many active businesses, churches, schools and neighborhood associations. It is something Betancourt said she would like to see revived not just in her district but throughout the city.

“I see the big picture for the city,” Betancourt, 59, said Monday. “We need to grow and be inviting to businesses, but it has to be smart growth. It has to be done in a way that benefits the whole city.”

Betancourt said that, in addition to encouraging smart growth for the city, her priorities on the City Council would include a focus on public safety and education.

“If we asked anyone in the city, ‘Do you feel safe to go for a walk outside your door?’ I don’t think people would unanimously say, “Oh yeah, I could do that,’ ” she said. “If people don’t feel safe in their city, why would they want to be here?”

Education opportunities for the city’s youth – especially raising literacy levels – is a vital component of a strong city, she added.

“There is so much talent in our community, and we should be encouraging that from an early age and developing it,” Betancourt said. “It starts with elevating the level of literacy in our schools.”

She commends the mayor for his Stand Up initiative, and said she hopes to support the effort and expand it – along with similar programs that benefit youth in the city – if she is elected to the City Council.

“I would never say (Sheedy) hasn’t had some accomplishments during her tenure,” Betancourt said, “but I think it serves the city to have fresh eyes on issues. I think it’s time to ask, ‘How can we make things better?’ ”

Betancourt brings to the race 38 years of experience with the State Personnel Board and the Department of Transportation – positions that required extensive knowledge of government organization and an eye for finding the right “fit” for any position, Betancourt said.

“I think I am a good judge of character,” Betancourt said, “and I know what it means to develop and implement policy.”

“She has the community in mind in everything she does,” Judy Kovanda, former Sacramento Community Service Officer, said Tuesday. “She has basically been a public servant her whole life, and she has fought hard to get things done in her neighborhood when elected officials have ignored the community.”

Kovanda a 16-year veteran of the Sacramento Police Department, has known Betancourt through her community work as president of the Ben Ali Neighborhood Association.

“The businesses in the area love her, and the residents love her,” Kovanda said. “She is dialed in to what is going on in the city, and what is important to her is simply what is important to the city in general, not just her community.”

Sheedy could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Betancourt will make her official candidacy announcement Wednesday and said she plans to begin fundraising immediately.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Pres. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Allen Wayne Warren Launches Campaign for City Council, District 2

2011-12-20T00:12:11Z

Allen Wayne Warren announced his candidacy today for Sacramento City Council, District 2, at a large community gathering held at Carol’s Books in Old North Sacramento.

In announcing his run for City Council, Warren was joined by his wife and three children, mother, extended family, and 200 longtime friends and supporters.

In comments to the crowd, Warren declared his intent to tackle some of the problems that have plagued the 2nd Council District for years:

“Despite the good work of so many neighborhood groups and non-profits, and the businesses who have made commitments to these neighborhoods, District 2 still faces many challenges. We are plagued by high unemployment, struggling schools, and a lack of vital city services.

“We are making progress, but we are not there yet.

“From the day I take office, I will work tirelessly to create jobs and more opportunities for District residents; encourage education partnerships to ensure our kids are prepared to fill the jobs of today and tomorrow; and tackle the problems of crime, drugs and gangs with a multi-pronged program that focuses not only on locking up criminals, but addresses the root causes of crime with after-school programs, more jobs, and a focus on support for families.”

Warren grew up in District 2 and has long been active in the business community there. His business, New Faze Development, is located on Del Paso Boulevard in Old North Sacramento, and his extended family and childhood friends are spread throughout the district.

Joining Warren on stage at his announcement – in addition to his mother, wife and three children - were:

• Adrian Perez, Owner, Pop-9 Communications
• Brooke Preston, Owner, The Green Boheme
• Dr. Kadhir Rajagopal, one of only five “California Teachers of the Year” for 2011
• Jim Loehr, Allen’s elementary school basketball coach
• Pastor Ronnie Walton, Jubilaire Evangelistic Ministries

According to Perez, “Allen Wayne Warren embodies the spirit and leadership we need on the City Council. From his work in the community to his commitment toward creating jobs and opportunity, he has my support.”
For more information about Allen Warren, and photos from the event, go to www.warrenforcitycouncil.com.

Disclosure: Our firm is working to elect Allen Warren.

Key development and growth in the south area in 2011

2011-12-17T01:37:40Z

This has been a big year for Sacramento and especially for South Sacramento, where development projects flourished and neighborhoods saw improvements on nearly every corner.

“No one hears about South Sacramento unless there’s been a murder or a shooting,” said City Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell, who represents south area neighborhoods in District 8. “We have so much more going on, though.”

Pannell has represented one of the two southern-most districts of the city since 1998, and in those 12 years she has been behind projects ranging from neighborhood beautification to housing to commercial development.

“There was nothing at Freeport and Meadowview when I came on (to council),” Pannell said. “Now there’s the Home Depot, IHOP, Wendy’s and the new Walgreens right there.”

There will soon be a new veterinary hospital, too, Pannell said, and more new retail to come in the next year.

At the beginning of 2011, Pannell’s goals for her district included installing decorative fencing along Mack Road at Center Parkway to increase pedestrian safety, developing a regional sports complex at Luther Burbank High School and work with the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency to build or refurbish housing in the area.

All of that has been accomplished, Pannell said – and always with strong community involvement.

“My communities are excited about all of the work,” Pannell said. “They are involved in all projects, from beginning to end.”

Jesse Reese, president of the Meadowview Neighborhood Association, said Friday that Pannell and her staff have been receptive to the association’s input over the years.

“We try to get things built around the types of design that we want to see,” he said. “If we need a restaurant or a grocery story, we put it out there (to Pannell).”

In addition to regular contact with Pannell, Reese said his and other associations in the district meet once a year with Pannell and developers and show them land and areas for potential development.

“We are looking for anything that will enhance the area,” Reese said.

Two things that the area needs are coming very soon: a grocery store and light rail.

A new Fresh & Easy grocery store will soon be under construction at the corner of Mack Road and Franklin Boulevard, Reese said. The South Line extension of light rail is almost completely funded, and ground has been broken for the garage that will mark the end of the line at Cosumnes River College.

Having light rail access to the south area will be an important improvement for the community, Reese said.

“(Light rail) will allow a way (for people) to get to some of the places that are being developed,” Reese said. “If you want to talk about minimizing your carbon footprint, it helps to get people out of cars.”

For a district that has seen the second-highest growth in the city over the last decade in terms of population – Natomas takes first place – the changes in the area haven’t seen much fanfare outside the district, Pannell said.

But that is going to change in 2012, Pannell said – especially when the 960-acre Delta Shores development gets under way.

This housing, retail and commercial center has been in the works for a few years, and the key to getting the first brick laid, Pannell said, is getting the Cosumnes River Boulevard-to-Interstate 5 interchange approved.

The item is expected to be on the City Council agenda in early January and, once approved, it will be a tremendous step in the right direction for a very large project in the south area, Pannell said.

“If we can get the interchange started,” Pannell said, “the developer will start the construction of 1.4 million square feet of commercial property.”

“And when it’s open for business, that means jobs, jobs, jobs,” Pannell said.

Delta Shores could break ground as early as March, and the South Line RT project is expected to be started early in 2012 as well, Pannell said.

“We’ve gotten things done and we’ve involved the community,” Pannell said, “But there’s always more work to do so we’re just going to keep plugging along.”

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Naughty or Nice: If you were Santa, how would City Council fare?

2011-12-15T07:24:48Z

As the song goes, Santa’s making his list, checking it twice and deciding who gets cool goodies and who gets lumps of coal.

Between the budget, redistricting and facing dissatisfied citizens who took over a city park in protest, the City Council has been busy this year, so The Sacramento Press made its own “naughty or nice” list.

If you were Santa, how would City Council fare? Here’s our list for 2011.

Mayor Kevin Johnson: NAUGHTY
Sure, he led the way to advancing green technology in the city and supported a citizens advisory committee’s effort to redistrict the city.

But being absent for 10 City Council meetings in a single year? Tsk, tsk, Mr. Mayor.

(And we’re not bitter about not being invited to the wedding – we just really love wedding cake.)

District 1 Councilwoman Angelique Ashby: NICE
Between town hall meetings to discuss arena options and pulling neighborhoods together to search for a lost teen, Ashby found time to save a local parks program from being cut – and take on Congress for funding approval of levee improvements.

Of course, bringing Santa to Natomas on a fire truck for the first time in city history didn’t hurt her “nice” standing, either.

District 2 Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy: NAUGHTY
Two words: Arena poll. Oh, and two more: Sheedy map. It’s commendable to put voters first, but Sheedy lacks consistency. Telling voters they know what’s best for an arena, but not how to draw their own district boundaries sends mixed messages.

Kudos for keeping a popular teen center going for a third year, though – Santa wants kids to have a safe place to gather and play – and for taking over the Del Paso certified farmers market in the district to keep people eating their veggies.

Still, Sheedy gets coal in her stocking this year.

District 3 Councilman Steve Cohn: NAUGHTY
His work to develop a plan for Sacramento’s rail and transit future is bringing the city closer to becoming a true “intermodal hub” of the north state and if Cohn had his way, sleighs would be allowed on K Street – which Santa would think was very nice, indeed.

But, weeks into heated debate on redistricting, Cohn surprised the city with a compromise map that both galvanized citizens’ opinions on a sensitive topic, and left a bad taste in their mouths. With that Grinch-like move, Cohn earns a spot on the "naughty" list.

District 4 Councilman Rob Fong: NICE
As the council member voted most likely to play a practical joke by his fellow council members, Rob Fong gets points for best one-liners during a council meeting.

Standing up for the LGBT community as a community of interest during the redistricting process weighed in Fong’s favor this year, as well as his support of charitable organizations like Jumpstart 21.

We think Santa would agree that a guy who isn’t afraid of a little three-on-three basketball against local civic leaders falls squarely on the “nice” side of the page.

District 5 Councilman Jay Schenirer: NICE
Although Schenirer found himself in the middle of some battles in 2011, including redistricting struggles and unpopular budget decisions, he bucked up and trudged on in his first year on the City Council.

Schenirer helped bring a new community garden to area residents and offered to subsidize the first year of rent on garden plots for people who couldn’t afford their share. He also spearheaded the five-part “Way Up” initiative that is primed to be a model for building communities throughout the city.

For all that Santa-like generosity, Schenirer gets his name on the “nice” list – and a big mug of eggnog.

District 6 Councilman Kevin McCarty: NAUGHTY
When does Oak Park stop being Oak Park and start being Elmhurst? Somewhere along Stockton Boulevard, McCarty said during the tumultuous redistricting debacle this summer.

Santa would give a cheer for McCarty’s efforts to keep city pools open during the summer despite huge budget cuts to the parks department, and being a proponent of solar energy and “greening” city buildings gets a big ho, ho ho!

But when a whole community spends five weeks protesting a four city-block line adjustment, all the candy canes in Colonial Heights won’t make a sour move any sweeter.

District 7 Councilman Darrell Fong: NICE
The budget cycle was tough this year, and when it came down to brass tacks, Darrell Fong risked the wrath of his police brethren and voted to make cuts to the Police Department – including the layoffs of nearly 80 sworn officers – in favor of balancing the city budget.

Call him Scrooge if you will, but Fong declined his City Council salary and recently voted against pursing a lessee for the city’s parking system because it doesn’t seem fiscally responsible.

For his concern for taxpayers’ pocketbooks, Fong’s name goes on the “nice” list (but parking enforcement may still ticket his sleigh.)

District 8 Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell: NAUGHTY
Budget debates and the quest for the perfect redistricting map is enough to fray anyone’s nerves, but Pannell’s, ahem, “spirited” debate with audience members – and at times, the mayor – at City Council meetings this year earns her a bit of coal.

Yes, Pannell helped her district get much-needed development – including a new pet hospital and long-awaited grocery store – and valuable infrastructure improvements are on the horizon for the area.

Still, Pannell will need a little sugar to go with her “spice” if she wants to make the “nice” list in 2012.

City Manager John Shirey: NAUGHTY
Shirey has been in the big chair for four months now, and the city still doesn’t have a tidy budget, a full police force or flying cars. We expected more from a man who took the state to task for shredding redevelopment agencies.

On the other hand, Shirey did start restructuring his office to streamline operations, and he led the way in city pension reform by being first in line for administrators to pay a portion of their own retirement.

Still, we think Shirey can do more for our fair city. We hope you pull that Superman cape out of the closet and get down to business in 2012 – but for this Christmas? Coal.

Tell us what you think: Have City Council members been naughty or nice this year?

Council agrees to seek lessee for city parking operations

2011-12-14T07:39:27Z

The City Council voted 7-2 Tuesday to pursue an agreement that could potentially bring in $250 million for a new arena by leasing the city’s parking system to a private operator.

“This is just one piece – a very important piece – in our ability to build an entertainment sports complex,” City Manager John Shirey said Tuesday.

Council members Darrell Fong and Sandy Sheedy were the only “no” votes.

A recent analysis of the city’s parking system concluded that the city could lease the parking system to a private operator for 50 years – releasing all revenue and control of the system for the life of the lease – and receive an up-front lump payment of nearly $250 million.

With an ongoing city budget shortfall of more than $20 million, a lump sum of more than 12 times that amount is appealing – but some council members expressed concerns.

Fong said he sees Sacramento carrying the biggest burden to get an arena financed, but he wants other cities in the region that will benefit from the arena to pitch in, too.

“I’d like (Sacramento) to make a real effort to see which other cities in the region would be our partners and would contribute to this in a real way,” Fong said.

“I just wonder why other cities in the region aren’t looking at monetizing their parking, or selling surplus land.” Fong said. “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. We aren’t going to get anywhere without some real contributions from our partners.”

Sheedy asked staff to come back to the council in February with a measure to put on the June ballot for the voters to decide of they want the city to pursue a lease of the city’s parking system.

“We cannot continue to ignore the voice of the voters,” Sheedy said. “We are just sitting here not paying attention to that elephant in the room.”

According to a city staff report, a private operator does not face the same political constraints in raising parking rates or extending chargeable parking hours.

A private operator could also reduce staffing or employee benefits – a concern voiced at the council meeting by labor representatives.

“Some call it ‘monetizing parking’,” said Steve Crouch, district representative for the Local 39 labor union. “We call it stealing from the public treasury to fund an arena for the Maloofs.”

Crouch said letting go of parking revenue for years to come would deepen the city’s budget hole, forcing additional cuts to police, fire, parks and community centers.

“The numbers just don’t add up,” Crouch said. “To move forward with this absurd concept of financing is a mistake.”

Kunal Merchant, chief of staff to Mayor Kevin Johnson, said Tuesday that concerns about staffing, rates and other nuances of a lease would be hammered out once potential operators have expressed interest in taking over the city’s parking system.

The city’s parking system includes 7,200 spaces located in seven parking structures, 5,500 on-street metered spaces and revenue from parking citations from the city’s enforcement program.

With the council’s vote Tuesday, staff will start a “request for qualifications” process to gauge the interest of potential private operators.

“(RFQs) ask potential private operators, ‘Are you qualified to take over our parking, and what are you willing to pay?’ ” Merchant said.

Once interest is established, Merchant said, then the process moves forward to gathering proposals and looking for the best lease agreement for the city.

“If (a lease bid) makes economic sense, then the city should do it,” Merchant said. “If not, then, no, it shouldn’t.”

Merchant said it’s too early in the process to determine what the final terms of any parking lease might contain.

Dangberg told council members that RFQs will be sent out by Dec. 22, and responses will be expected by the third week in January.

City staff will return to council in February with recommendations for possible bid proposals, Shirey said.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Flood control for Natomas is one city focal point for 2012

2011-12-13T03:38:41Z

Flood protection – particularly in the Natomas area – is a top priority for the city going into the new year as the City Council Law and Legislation Committee approved the city’s legislative priorities at last week’s meeting.

“I wonder what New Orleans’ priorities were a year before Hurricane Katrina hit?” asked City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby Tuesday. “Was it working on that levee? Probably not.”

Ashby’s District 1 includes the Natomas Basin – an area surrounded by 42 miles of levees and vulnerable to floodwaters.

There has not been a significant flood in the Natomas Basin since the levees were constructed in the late 1800s, Rick Johnson, executive director of the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency (SAFCA), said in an email Monday.

However, the Natomas levees nearly failed in the flood of 1986.

“Fortunately, emergency repairs averted a major catastrophe,” Johnson said.

That event led to a review by the Army Corps of Engineers that downgraded the level of flood protection for the area and made Sacramento second only to New Orleans in its vulnerability to a catastrophic flood.

Between 1990 and 1997, SAFCA, the Army Corps of Engineers and the State Reclamation Board made major improvements to the levees, Johnson said, but even stricter federal safety standards were adopted in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) remapped the Sacramento region in December 2008 – showing the Natomas basin to be within the 100-year floodplain – and a moratorium was placed on construction in the basin.

It also mandated area homeowners buy flood insurance, which can cost up to $1,300 a year, according to a press release from the office of Congresswoman Doris Matsui.

In order to get the moratorium removed so building and development of the area can resume, SAFCA began construction of the Natomas Levee Improvement Program.

“By the end of (2011), SAFCA will have completed approximately 50 percent of the (levee) project,” Johnson said. “This includes 18 miles of levee improvements along the Natomas Cross Canal and Sacramento River east levee.”

The total project cost is estimated at just under $1 billion, according to the 2011 District Annual Report from Ashby’s office.

In order to be eligible for federal dollars for the project, a portion of the cost had to be paid for with funds from state, county, city and local sources.

“The residents in Natomas have taxed themselves twice to bring in their local matching funds,” Ashby said.

Natomas property owners agreed to taxes in April 2007 and again in April 2011, Johnson said, bringing in $160 million.

All totaled – state, county, city and local funding sources – $510 million of the $1 billion estimated project cost has been collected so far.

“All we need now is the federal portion,” Ashby said.

In January, Matsui introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that would authorize additional construction work on the levees in Natomas.

The tricky part is, Ashby said, that the federal government will not authorize the funds because, as the legislation is written, it is considered an “earmark” – and earmarks have been prohibited in the House of Representatives.

Earmarks are funds that benefit a single congress member’s district.

“Post-Katrina, the federal government spent $15 billion to repair New Orleans levees,” Ashby said, “and tens of billions of dollars more to make repairs afterward to roads, schools and buildings – New Orleans to this day is not the same."

Natomas is asking for less than 3 percent of that cost to prevent a Katrina-type disaster in Sacramento, Ashby said.

Because of the mandatory flood insurance for Natomas homeowners, Ashby said that 100 percent of the people would have a claim to rebuild their home in the event of such a disaster.

“You’re talking about a lot of homes – expensive homes – a lot of people and a lot of businesses,” Ashby said. “We’d be looking at hundreds of thousands of (insurance) claims.”

In order to prevent all of that, Ashby said, all we need is to finish a levee.

Typically, the Army Corps of Engineers is the lead in constructing flood control projects, Johnson said. The Army Corps of Engineers currently estimates that – once the project is federally authorized – the work on the Natomas levees could be completed by 2019.

The timing of when the corps can fully complete the project will depend on when federal authorization is obtained, Johnson said.

Although the moratorium would be lifted with the authorization, mandatory flood insurance will remain in effect until the project is 100 percent complete.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twiter @MelissaCorker.

False alarms get more costly for residents, businesses

2011-12-08T04:16:05Z

Sacramentans who protect their homes and businesses with fire and burglar alarms may soon pay more for chronic false alarms and see alarm permit fees nearly triple.

The Sacramento Fire and Police departments each presented proposals to the City Council’s Law and Legislation Committee Tuesday that would change the current policy on fire and burglar alarm response – and increase penalties for multiple false alarms.

The proposed changes to police alarm response will do two things: require alarm companies to step up efforts to verify legitimate alarms, and change the current three-year permit structure to an annual permit.

The changes to fire alarm response includes incrementally increasing fines for multiple false alarms.

Members of the Law and Legislation Committee unanimously approved both proposals Tuesday.

“This will allow the (Police Department) to focus on legitimate priority needs of the community,” Police Capt. Jim Maccoun told the committee Tuesday.

According to Maccoun, alarm installations throughout the city have increased by 4,000 since 2008, resulting in an increased demand for police services.

At the same time, police staffing has decreased by 29 percent over the last several years.

In years past, alarm companies sent private security personnel to respond when alarms were set off. As the economy shifted, many alarm companies either downsized their operations or moved out of state and eliminated response by private security personnel.

Alarm companies have private contracts with customers but use a public agency to service the contract – transferring the responsibility to respond to alarms to the local police.

Residents who do not have an alarm system essentially subsidize those who do by paying taxes to support the overall costs of police response to alarm calls, according to a police staff report presented to the committee.

Sacramento Police Department has responded to an average of 26,000 calls per year – that’s 72 alarm calls per day – over the last three years. Ninety-seven percent of those were false alarms, Maccoun said.

The report also stated that alarm calls involve a two-officer response and take approximately 40 minutes to resolve – costing the city approximately $3.7 million per year.

On top of the ordinance changes, the Police Department is also changing its department policy to further curtail false alarm responses.

According to Maccoun, right now the department will respond to all alarms. With the new changes, however, after three false burglar alarms in 12 months, the department will only respond after the alarm company has attempted to confirm a valid alarm with the home or business owner.

This “enhanced call verification” means alarm companies will have to make at least two telephone calls to determine whether the alarm signal was a mistake before calling the police: one to the premises where the alarm was activated, and one to an alternate number provided by the residence or business owner.

This will also be the case if any false alarm or permit fees are not paid within 120 days after a resident or business owner is billed.

The ordinance states that violations will be considered a public nuisance, and fines will be between $250 and $25,000 for each day the violation continues, depending on the offense.

The breakdown of the new fees and penalties was not available Tuesday, Maccoun said. A proposed fee structure will be presented to City Council when it reviews the proposal.

For the Fire Department, false fire alarms have steadily risen since 2004 and now make up about 15 percent of total emergency responses, a fire department report states.

A standard fire alarm response typically requires units from three or four fire stations to cover, the report states. False alarms make those units unavailable for actual emergency response.

To curb the amount of false fire alarms, the Fire Department wants to levy penalties for alarm systems that generate multiple false alarms.

The tiered penalties start with a warning notice after the second false alarm in any 12-month period. Fines levied for third and further false alarms were not available Tuesday. They will be made available to the City Council when it considers both the new fire and police changes.

After the fifth false alarm, the penalty includes notice of public nuisance and the possibility that the system may be removed from service by the Fire Department, potentially creating problems for home and business owners in meeting insurance requirements.

Michael Sommerfield, owner of Miosa Couture on J Street, said Wednesday the problem is not the people with the alarms, rather it is the alarm systems themselves.

“It’s the fire department that requires these high-tech alarms,” Sommerfield said. “They insisted on (alarm) systems that don’t work.”

Sommerfield said that he is “all for” minimizing the number of false alarms, but he doesn’t think business owners should be penalized for faulty equipment.

“It’s a waste of taxpayer dollars for (the Fire Department) to come out with 12 guys all geared up,” Sommerfield said. “If they’d let us use $6 Home Depot alarms that actually work, this wouldn’t be such a problem.”

Although City Councilman Steve Cohn voted in favor of the proposed ordinance changes, he expressed concerns about the fee structure.

“I think the first issue is whether to have a fee differential between commercial and residential permits,” Cohn said. “Second, is whether to phase in the increase over a two-year period instead of immediately.

“The problem is hitting people pretty hard all at once,” Cohn said. “We’re talking about almost tripling the fee, not just for violators but for everybody.”

City Coucilman Jay Schenirer, who also was a yes vote on the ordinance, agreed with Cohn’s concerns.

“It’s one more fee increase for people on top of everything else,” City Councilman Jay Schenirer said Tuesday. “We need to look at that.”

Maccoun told committee members that proposed fees would be brought to the full City Council when the ordinances go before them.

If the City Council approves the ordinances, the changes to the current law will become effective 30 days later.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

City supports high speed rail for the north state

2011-12-07T04:49:30Z

The city of Sacramento responded to the recently released California High Speed Rail Authority business plan with a letter of support – and a couple of suggestions for the authority to consider as the project develops.

City Councilman Steve Cohn said Tuesday that the city is in support of the project overall, but Cohn and the council want to emphasize two points: recognition that the high-speed rail project must be phased in, and funding should also upgrade existing connecting infrastructure.

“It can’t all be built at once,” Cohn said at the Law and Legislation Committee meeting at City Hall Tuesday. “The revised business plan does a more realistic job of explaining this phasing process (than the initial plan).”

The new business plan, released Nov. 1 to update the 2009 plan, outlines a “building block” approach to connecting the state’s major northern and southern California population centers with high-speed trains.

By building the project incrementally, the plan states, it allows for completion in stages as additional funding is identified.

Cohn said that, from the city of Sacramento’s standpoint, the 20-year project will need to connect well to local and regional transit services as it unfolds.

Some inter-city connectors will need to be upgraded and expanded – and that will not be cheap, Cohn said.

“So far, only $950 million of the original (Proposition 1A) initiative has been set aside for inter-city connections,” Cohn said. “We think that roughly 10 percent of total spending on high speed rail should go into these inter-city connections.”

With an estimated total cost of nearly $98 billion, that means $10 billion over the life of the project directed at essential infrastructure, Cohn said.

Cohn said that upgrades to inter-city connectors and existing rail lines will go a long way to increasing the overall efficiency of rail travel even before high-speed rail is fully realized in the state.

“If we invest money in the tracks and signal equipment between here and the Bay Area,” Cohn said, “We can reach the Bay Area in less than an hour with the exact trains we already have. Those trains are capable of going over 100 miles per hour. The problem isn’t the train, it’s in the track and signaling equipment.”

Cohn said the infrastructure work needs to be completed alongside the high-speed rail project so that, when everything is connected, it will create a smooth transition.

California voters approved $9 billion of public funding for the proposed high-speed rail project with Proposition 1A in 2008. Additional funding for the project will come from both federal and private dollars, according to the California High Speed Rail Authority.

The rail project is planned to ultimately connect Sacramento to San Diego via 800 miles of track, allowing upwards of 44 million riders annually to travel quickly from place to place.

The initial 130-mile stretch is slated to be built in the Central Valley at a cost of approximately $6 billion – including $3.3 billion in federal funds and $2.7 from state funds.

The estimated total cost of the first phase of the high-speed rail project, which would connect the Los Angeles basin to the San Francisco Bay Area, is $98.1 billion.

According to Lance Simmens, deputy director of communications for the high speed rail authority, construction on the initial segment – the “backbone” of the rail line – should start in late 2012.

The first segment of the rail project will extend from just north of Fresno to North of Bakersfield, and construction is expected to take approximately five years to complete. Work to connect to Sacramento would begin in 2026.

“The backbone (segment of the project) will be available for Amtrak San Joaquin (passenger rail) service,” Simmens said, “but it will not be high-speed rail yet.”

Trains on the initial segment will travel at normal speeds – typically between 80 to 100 miles per hour, Simmens said. True high speed rail is capable of speeds up to 220 miles per hour.

Simmens said that further construction will allow for faster speeds.

“We appreciate that the high speed rail authority business plan acknowledges the need for inter-city upgrades,” Cohn said. “Sacramento shouldn’t have to wait until 2040 to benefit from high-speed rail. We should be benefiting all along the way.”

The letter of support from the city of Sacramento will be sent to the high speed rail authority within the next week.

Read the California High Speed Rail Authority draft business plan HERE.

Explore an interactive map of the proposed high speed rail routes HERE.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

The Sacramento Press on 'Insight'

2011-12-07T02:02:03Z

City Council election drama, a potential swap of high school campuses, new businesses and two Sacramento Press contests were all topics I discussed with Jeffrey Callison Tuesday morning on Capital Public Radio’s “Insight” program.

Elections are quite a ways away, but the District 2 City Council race is already heating up as some accuse candidate Kim Mack of using an email list from her time working on the Obama campaign to push for a Strong Mayor initiative for Mayor Kevin Johnson. Mack denies sharing the email list with the Strong Mayor backers. Read more by clicking here.

Another contentious issue in the city right now has to do with education – more specifically education facilities. The Sacramento City Unified School District board floated the idea of swapping Sacramento Charter High School and West Campus – two high schools that sit about two miles apart. Proponents say moving the public West Campus school to the old Sacramento High School facility – which now houses the charter school – would provide a pedestrian-friendly comprehensive school for the area. Opponents say there is no reason to swap them, and moving schools will only put a different set of students in an inadequate facility.

As the ongoing Occupy Sacramento movement stays in the news, one Sacramento Press reader asked Sacramento Police Officer Michelle Lazark in her weekly column about the difference between camping in Cesar Chavez Plaza and in front of stores for deals. Lazark replied that police enforce the no-camping ordinance on public property, but typically don’t do so on private property unless business owners ask them to or there are “No Loitering” signs posted.

A pair of coffee roasters with about a decade of experience each are opening Insight Coffee Roasters, a new coffee bar and roasting house in Southside Park. The duo plans to focus on sustainable coffee, working directly with growers in Latin America and selling only organic milk and sugar in their drinks.

The old Fog Mountain Cafe business in the City Hall Garage will soon be replaced by a barbecue eatery: Big Joe’s BBQ. Fog Mountain closed in April, and the city forgave some of the lease in order to bring Big Joe’s on as soon as possible.

Bringing as much comedy as drama, Sacra-Melo – a musical theater parody group – opened on the Delta King in Old Sacramento in late September. Actors don’t stay strictly to the script, but interact with the audience and work with piano accompaniment to give a show the owners say is unique in the area.

Finally, a pair of contests on The Sacramento Press gives readers the chance to be more interactive with the site and earn some prizes at the same time. “To Catch an Error” is in its second month and gives readers the chance to help us improve the quality of content on the site. For more information on how you can take part – and win a meal at Zócalo – click here. The second contest is the third annual Journalism Open, which runs for the month of January. Is there something you think should be in the news? You have the chance to put it there and win prizes – with the first place winner taking home $600. For more details and rules, click here.

Looking for a 'win–win' for West Campus and Sac High

2011-12-06T04:07:37Z

The Sacramento City Unified School District board is considering a potential campus “swap” for two central city schools – a move that has stirred up a storm of criticism from parents, students and education advocates in the city.

The proposed swap would move the West Campus High School program from its current 58th Street location to the old Sacramento High School facility and replace it with the Sacramento Charter High School program, which is currently at the old Sac High campus.

Proponents of the swap say the move will allow the popular West Campus program to expand and will create an opportunity to establish a non-college preparatory high school program for students in central city neighborhoods.

Opponents of the swap say the current programs are doing just fine as they are – and where they are – and they have the high graduation rates to prove it.

Ultimately, the final decision rests with the seven-member SCUSD board.

A comprehensive high school is one that offers both general academic courses and specialized trade, and technical subjects but does not necessarily have a college prep emphasis.

If a comprehensive program is established on the Sac High campus along with the West Campus program, the two schools would be independent of each other, yet share the same campus facility.

Proponents of the swap say if the West Campus program – which is currently at capacity and has a long waiting list – is moved to a larger facility, the program will be able to expand. That will give more students an opportunity to take advantage of amenities at the Sac High campus, such as a newly refurbished swimming pool, athletic fields and state-of-the-art science labs.

The current West Campus High facility has 863 ninth-12th grade students enrolled, according to Gabe Ross, spokesman for SCUSD.

The Sac High facility has capacity for more than 2,000 students, Ross said Friday, and currently the charter school has just over 900 students – not quite half full.

“Everyone says (the central city neighborhoods) need a high school,” said Phil Pluckebaum, a project manager for the Public Health Institute and a member of the Sacramento Comprehensive High School Coalition.

“The dilemma has always been, where do you put the school?” Pluckebaum said.

The Sacramento Comprehensive High School Coalition, founded in January, is a group dedicated to establishing a high school to serve the central city area.

The proposal of a campus swap is not a new one – the College Glen Neighborhood Association brought it up in 2003 – but, with recent recommendations from the SCUSD Facilities Reuse and Consolidation Committee, the swap idea was revived and has since been getting a lot of attention.

“The question has been persistent for years,” Pluckebaum said. “It just wasn’t fully vetted before.”

The Committee’s recommendation was not initially a “swap,” board member Patrick Kennedy said Friday, because the district doesn’t have jurisdiction over the charter school program – the board is not responsible for how the charter program expands or if it has a waiting list.

The district does have a legal responsibility through Prop. 39 to provide an “equivalent” facility for the charter school as it would make available for a district school of the same enrollment size.

The West Campus facility appears to satisfy this requirement, Ross said, and that is why it is under consideration as a replacement facility for Sacramento Charter High School, if the SCUSD board decides to move the expanding West Campus program onto the Sac High site.

Pluckebaum said Thursday that the coalition’s focus is on providing a “pedestrian-friendly,” neighborhood comprehensive high school.

“We want a high school fed by neighborhood middle schools to be a place where people can walk and ride their bikes to,” Pluckebaum said.

Mayor Kevin Johnson, who was involved in starting the St. Hope Public Schools at the old Sacramento High School facility in 2003, said at a press conference in November that a campus swap would be a mistake by the school board.

“I don’t think any community wants it to happen,” Johnson said. “The West Campus community doesn’t want to move. Obviously, (the) Sac High campus doesn’t want to move – this is just politics.”

For those who oppose a campus swap, the limited number of neighborhood schools is not the issue – a disruption of two successful education programs is the greater problem.

Keiona Williamson, 17, a senior at Sacramento Charter High, appealed to the City Council Nov. 22 to oppose a campus swap.

“(Sacramento Charter High) has cultivated me and my peers into successful young adults,” Williamson said. “Switching the campuses is not only unnecessary, it disturbs the culture that we have worked so hard to build up. Please don’t mess with success.”

Parents of students told the City Council that they are happy with the schools as they are – and where they are.

“My family purchased a home in Sacramento specifically for the schools we would access,” said Debra Larson, a social worker and parent of a West Campus student.

“I am told that West Campus needs to be relocated to the Sac High campus because West is too old and lacks modern amenities,” Larson, 50, said. “We urge you not to believe that our children want a better school. They love their campus.”

Larson said the idea of swapping campuses because one may be inferior in some way would send the wrong message to students and their families.

“I’m horrified that one group of kids would be forced to move into a space vacated because it isn’t good enough for another group of kids,” Larson said. “I am concerned about the message we are sending to both groups of kids and their families if this happens. It is just wrong.”

Members of the SCUSD board have been working on this and other proposals for increasing efficiency within the district for months, Kennedy said Friday – and the work is far from ended.

“I understand the anxiety these things cause,” Kennedy said. “It’s hard on the schools, and on the community at large. But these are conversations that have to take place to make sure we are doing the right things for our students.”

Still, there is no need to rush to any conclusion about what action the board may take, Kennedy said.

“We are just at the data gathering point,” Kennedy said. “There is a lot of work to be done before we can make a decision.”

Ross said that “design teams” – appointed by the principals of each school and comprised of staff, parents, students and neighbors – are studying the potential benefits and drawbacks of a campus swap.

“The superintendent felt the most prudent effort was to get input from all kinds of affected communities about the prospect (of a swap),” Ross said.

When the design teams send their findings to the school board, Ross said, the board will take a closer look at all options.

“I’m not in favor of moving schools and programs just for the sake of moving them,” Kennedy said. “If you can’t prove to me that we are improving things, then I wouldn’t be in support of it.”

Kennedy said that, whatever decision is made, isn’t going to be made in the next month – but he couldn’t estimate a time frame for a decision.

When the SCUSD board meets Thursday, it will hear an update from staff on all the consolidations under consideration, but the board will not vote on anything.

Ross said that, because there is no specific time frame, the soonest the board could be in a position to vote on the situation is Dec. 14.

“Ultimately it’s an advisory recommendation for the board,” Ross said. “Ultimately it’s the board’s decision.”

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on twitter @MelisaCorker.

Editorial Note: A spelling correction has been made to this story after it was published.

Old questions resurface for City Council candidate Kim Mack

2011-12-03T02:02:33Z

Kim Mack’s announcement to run for City Council District 2 was met with some fallout related to an incident in 2009 that is still on the minds of many in the Sacramento area – an incident that could come back to haunt her in the race to unseat incumbent City Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy.

Mack officially joined the election race in October. Her previous campaign experience included managing a grassroots support effort for the Obama presidential campaign. In 2009 she was involved with the Sacramentans for Accountable Government effort to put a Strong Mayor Initiative on the ballot.

In January 2009, emails in support of the strong mayor initiative were sent to people on an email list that originated from an Obama campaign list. Recipients of the Strong Mayor Initiative emails claimed their personal email addresses were used without permission – and used for a purpose other than what was originally intended.

As that situation unfolded, Mack came under fire for allegedly providing the Obama campaign email list to the Sacramentans for Accountable Government group for their use – a claim Mack denies.

According to Mack, she was asked for access to the list by some members of the Sacramentans for Accountable Government group and she “flat out refused” to provide it.

“I said ‘absolutely not. Respecting people’s privacy is incredibly important to me,” Mack said.

The list of unsolicited emails, she said, could have come from donations records collected as part of the Sacramentans for Obama work – a list accessible to many within the Sacramentans for Obama network.

“Every time someone came into the office they filed out a form,” Mack said. “If they bought a button they filled out a form. A yard sign? They filled out a form – they were all listed as donations.”

The only other person who had the same access that Mack did to the Sacramentans for Obama email list was the data manager she worked with on the campaign, Mack said.

Mack declined to name the person – “not without his permission” – but said she does not believe he or anyone else in the Sacramentans for Obama group had anything to do with sharing the Obama email list.

As evidence that she did not participate in the email sharing scheme, Mack points to the fact that the unsolicited email addresses came from “Friends of Obama” – a name her organization was never called – and that not everyone on the Sacramentans for Obama email list received the Strong Mayor Initiative emails.

“Somebody made an assumption that I gave out the email list,” Mack said. “No one asked me if I did, they just made assumptions.”

Reaction to the unsolicited emails was immediately negative. Some recipients commented on news sites and community forums that they felt their emails had been stolen and that Mack and the Sacramentans for Obama group had acted unethically – if not illegally.

According to Lynda Cassady, division chief of the Advice Unit for the Fair Political Practices Commission, however, email list sharing does not violate any part of the Political Reform Act.

“(The Political Reform Act) has no provisions with respect to how campaigns get email addresses or share them,” Cassady said Friday. “We wouldn’t have any jurisdiction over any complaints about the practice.”

Cassaday said that so-called “robo-calls” are governed by the Public Utilities Commission because they occur over telephone lines. However, she said there isn’t anything in the elections codes to prevent political email spam.

Unsolicited emails – political spam – is not covered in the 2003 federal CAN-SPAM Act (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing), either.

The CAN-SPAM Act – which preempts any state anti-spam laws – was designed to control unwanted electronic mail and applies to “commercial electronic mail messages.” Violations of the CAN-SPAM Act can result in fines up to $16,000 per email violation.

No other federal legislation directly addresses the issue of unsolicited email, according to a January 2003 article in the Duke University Law Review.

“Congress does not address political spam because a law that regulates political speech on the Internet likely would not pass judicial scrutiny,” the article states.

Political emails are considered a form of political speech – something well-protected under the First Amendment. Although courts have approved regulation of similar types of speech, such as commercial spam and prerecorded telephone messages (“robo-calls”), these are distinct from political spam and not considered as setting a precedent for regulation of political email.

The use of email communication in any campaign or political effort is not uncommon. It is a cost-effective means of reaching large audiences, according to Amir Zamanian, regional sales manager for Silverpop, a digital marketing platform that handles email marketing, marketing automations and lead management.

“Generally, if you’re sending email to anyone, they need to have opted-in in some way,” Zamanian said. “The best email marketing results come from sending to a small list of interested people.”

Anytime an individual or organization sends unsolicited emails, Zamanian said, they run the risk of those emails being marked as spam – and an abundance of spam complaints can create problems for the sender.

“Email service providers have thresholds for how many spam alerts a sender can receive,” Zamanian said. “(Organizations) need to keep the spam complaints low and a part of that is keeping the number of unsolicited emails low.”

Zamanian said that, if a sender exceeds those thresholds, service providers may permanently block the sender from sending emails.

Using an email list from one political campaign to support another political issue is not illegal, but could raise questions of ethics.

As the City Council races heat up in the coming months, Sacramento may see more of this.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

New city waste management provider may bring rate increases

2011-11-30T06:18:17Z

The City Council approved a change Tuesday to a controversial waste management contract that decreases the distance city trash travels for disposal, but increases the cost to the city – and, ultimately, to ratepayers.

Council members voted in support of the amended contract with an 8–1 vote. Councilman Darrell Fong voted against the agreement.

The service contract between the city and the current waste management provider, BLT Enterprises, sends 150,000 annual tons of city waste to a landfill in Lockwood, Nevada at a cost of $47.60 per ton.

Under the new service contract, USA Waste (a subsidiary of Waste Management, Inc.) would take the place of BLT as provider, and city waste will be sent to the county-owned Kiefer Landfill in south Sacramento at a cost of $55.85 per ton.

That $8 per ton increase for in-region disposal translates to an estimated $600,000 annual cost increase to the city for solid waste management and disposal, according to Steve Harriman, Integrated Waste General Manager with the Department of Utilities.

“The new agreement does not change any terms or conditions of the original contract,” Harriman said Tuesday, “it only assigns the service contract to a new provider, so those costs would be there regardless.”

The in-region disposal plan was added to the new service agreement as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, fuel consumption and traffic congestion associated with long-haul transfer of waste to Nevada, according to the city staff report.

BLT and USA Waste do not collect garbage on local street routes. Instead they are responsible for moving the collected trash from transfer stations – where the smaller garbage trucks dump it after collection – on to the final destination of a landfill.

The Lockwood landfill is located 15 miles outside of Reno – a 300-mile round trip for trucks to haul city trash for disposal.

The Kiefer landfill is 21 miles from BLT’s transfer facility in Sacramento.

“We will reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent,” Harriman said, “which is 7.1 million pounds annually – a significant amount.”

Harriman said stopping the practice of long-haul trash disposal to the Nevada landfill will also reduce diesel fuel consumption by 500,000 gallons.

“It will keep the revenue local by using the Kiefer landfill and provide for local jobs, too,” Harriman said.

Revenue that keeps local facilities open, Harriman said, is revenue that provides for local jobs.

The original contract was approved by the City Council in November 2010.

At the Sept. 20 council meeting, the City Council considered the change to the service contract, but didn’t take action to approve it.

Instead, the council directed staff to get more information and assurances from BLT and USA Waste on issues related to the new contract, including protection against rate increases.

According to the city staff report, BLT agreed to pay the city a lump sum of $2.1 million as part of the new contract to stabilize monthly rates for residential solid waste customers due to the higher costs of in-region waste disposal.

That amount is estimated to alleviate the need for rate increases for two years.

Opponents of the contract with BLT – and subsequently USA Waste – spoke against the City Council’s action Tuesday during public comment, saying it was a bad deal for the city.

“It’s a horrible deal,” said Craig Powell, president of the local watchdog group Eye on Sacramento. “It imposes rates and fees above market levels and $2 million (for stabilizing rates) is inadequate.”

Powell said the new contract will impose an estimated $50 million burden on city ratepayers over the life of the 20-year contract.

That number represents the difference between what USA Waste pays for trash resources from the city and what they could sell it for at market rate – profit that Powell said the city should keep for itself.

“That’s approximately $500 a year per ratepayer, on average,” Powell said.

Councilman Darrell Fong, who wasn’t on the council when the initial contract was agreed to, expressed a concern that the new contact puts ratepayers at risk for increased fees.

Fong asked, “Past the two years that the $2 million mitigates rates, what will happen for the following 18 years of the contract?”

Harriman said that the goal of the Utilities Department is to keep rates stable “for as long as possible,” but it is the nature of utilities to increase in cost over time.

“Second-guessing what the council decided a year ago is a waste of time,” Councilwoman Angelique Ashby said. “It’s not a question of rather or not the original contract was good. What we have to work with now is a risk assessment going forward.”

Under the new agreement, the city’s solid waste disposal could start going to the Kiefer landfill as early as February.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Johnson: People are ready to talk about strong mayor initiative

2011-11-23T03:22:06Z

The 2012 election cycle is ramping up in Sacramento, and one topic that is sure to be on the table is a strong mayor initiative.

Mayor Kevin Johnson brought the topic to the fore ~~during his 2008 campaign for mayor~~ shortly after his 2008 election win in his race against then-mayor Heather Fargo, but the idea didn’t fly with members of the City Council, and the initiative never got off the ground.

With another mayoral race coming up in 2012, Johnson said he believes the idea of a strong mayor initiative is ripe for ballot consideration once again.

“This is a topic that people are ready to take on,” Johnson said at a press conference Tuesday. “There are many people involved and interested in changing the way things are happening here in Sacramento.”

Johnson announced in September that he will run for a second term as mayor, and one other opponent – Edgar Hilbert – has already stepped up to run against him.

A strong mayor form of city governance is one where the mayor acts as chief executive and the City Council is the legislative body. In this system, which is modeled after the U.S. Constitution’s structure of government, the city manager’s role is eliminated in favor of a chief administration officer appointed by the mayor.

Currently, the city of Sacramento is governed under a council-manager form of governance: The elected body establishes policy that is carried out by an appointed city manager.

The city manager is accountable to the entire council for implementing council policy and for the day-to-day operations of the city, such as preparing the city budget, hiring and firing employees and acting as a technical advisor on government operations.

According to the California City Management Foundation, council-manager government is the fastest-growing form of government in the United States. In California, 31 of the state’s 50 largest cities have a council-manager system in place.

Johnson said he believes people are “convinced” that a strong mayor initiative is necessary after watching the City Council work for the past three years of his term as mayor.

“I’ve been the mayor for three years, and we’ve had four city managers in that short period of time, which is very strange,” Johnson said. “It’s something that is very dysfunctional.”

Sacramento city managers and interim city managers since 2005 have included Ray Kerridge, Gus Vina, Bill Edgar and current city manager, John Shirey.

The strong mayor initiative was controversial from the outset and, despite more than one draft of the proposal, Johnson could not garner enough support on the council to move the initiative forward.

In June 2010, the City Council voted 7-2 against putting a strong mayor initiative on the ballot for the following November. The two votes in favor came from then-City Councilman Robbie Waters and Johnson.

After the proposal was voted down, Johnson said he wouldn’t continue campaigning for the initiative, but would not stop fighting for it – essentially putting the initiative on the back burner.

With the 2012 election forthcoming, however, the issue will likely come up for discussion again, Johnson said.

“I’ve made no secret that I believe we should modernize and improve our form of government,” Johnson said Tuesday.

Johnson said that citizens want accountability and transparency, and that the checks and balances people want are possible within a strong mayor government.

“I think the best goal would be for council to put it on the ballot and allow the people of Sacramento to vote on it,” Johnson said.

Shirey said Tuesday that he’s uncertain a strong mayor proposal will be on the table for the City Council – but if it is, he wouldn’t be interested in playing a role in it.

“The mayor has had that goal for a long time,” Shirey said, “but I don’t know that anyone (on the council) is willing to talk about it.”

Shirey said he believes the council-manager form of government is the best form, but the key to success for a city manager is a City Council that works well together.

“That doesn’t mean they can’t have disagreements,” Shirey said. “It means that, at the end of the day, they work together for the betterment of the city. They don’t make the manager the issue – they make the issues the issue.”

According to Stephanie Mizuno, assistant city clerk, a charter amendment such as a strong mayor initiative could appear on the June ballot in one of two ways: by certified petition from voters, or as a measure initiated by the City Council.

In either case, all initiatives headed for the June 2012 ballot must be filed with the City Clerk’s office by the end of February.

Mizuno said that a citywide mayoral race will incur the initial cost on the June ballot – an estimated $120,000, paid from the city’s election budget.

If a strong mayor initiative – another citywide issue – is added to that ballot, it would cost an additional $21,000. Further initiatives would also cost $21,000 each.

Mizuno said the current balance of the city’s election budget is sufficient to cover the estimated $400,000 cost of the June election, including any potential strong mayor initiative.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Editorial Note: A correction has been made to this story after it was published. The incorrect information has been struck out and the correct information has been added.

City considers consolidating Planning, Design Commissions

2011-11-19T03:39:41Z

In an effort to create greater efficiency and cut costs by more than $25,000 per year, the city will soon consolidate its Planning Commission and Design Commission into one planning/design oversight board.

Members of the Planning Commission heard the latest update Thursday on progress toward consolidating the two commissions. Members did not take any action on the report.

The City Council started looking at the city’s organizational structure in April 2010 after consultants from Management Partners Inc. suggested that city operations could be more efficient – and general fund money could be saved – if some boards and commissions were either eliminated or consolidated.

Two of the bodies that appeared to be ripe for consolidation were the Planning and Design commissions, according to Greg Bitter, principal planner for the city.

While the Planning Commission is in place to review the zoning, parking, site location and other planning-related aspects of proposed projects in the city, the Design Commission reviews the more technical structural, design and aesthetic aspects.

Some members of the commissions have said that consolidating the two bodies would dilute the individual strengths of each commission and valuable facets of review would be lost – but staff feels that can be avoided if the consolidation is handled right.

“The cost savings is expected to be at least $25,000 per year,” Bitter said Thursday, “just from the savings of setup, administration and staff time that two regular meetings require as opposed to one.”

Beyond that, Bitter said there are cost savings from staff time associated with a variety of projects that each commission undertakes each year.

Because the costs vary from project to project, Bitter said he could not give an estimate of the potential savings, other than to say it would be “above and beyond the meetings savings.”

City staff evaluated the workload, staffing and function of both commissions for the period of January 2007 – when the Design Commission became a standalone body – through September 2011.

According to a staff report, the Design Commission workload has dropped since 2007 with only three projects heard in 2010 and only five heard so far in 2011.

Compared to an average of 15 per year between 2007 and 2009 – that’s a 66 percent drop in workload.

Also, because items are often heard at both the Design and Planning commissions, Bitter said there is an overlap that can be reduced by merging both commissions.

Michael Notestine, a member of the Planning Commission since 1987, said Thursday that he supports the idea of bringing the two commissions together, but he sees potential for unintended consequences.

“Right now it makes sense (to consolidate) because business is so slow,” Notestine said, “but what happens when the economy turns? There may be enough activity to warrant separating again. How much trouble will that be?”

Planning Commissioner William Wong said Thursday he is concerned that the functional integrity of each commission might be affected by a combination.

“The work of each commission is different, and the philosophy of each is a little different,” Wong said. “If they were to combine it, you’d have to figure out how to make sure (the new commission) retained the technical expertise of the design aspect and still have the community emphasis of the planning aspect.”

According to Notestine, the ultimate success of a newly formed Planning/Design Commission will depend largely on its composition.

“If there is a formula for a certain number of technical positions on the new commission, then that diminishes the number of public positions,” Notestine said. “As it stands now, planning is oriented toward community needs. We listen to the public, and we learn from the public.”

The current Planning Commission consists of 11 members: eight appointed by City Council members, one appointed by the mayor and two appointed by the Personnel and Public Employees Committee.

The new commission is proposed to have a total of 13 members, which includes nine members selected by council members and four members with specific expertise selected by the Personnel and Public Employees committee.

City staff stated in their report that they felt concerns regarding consolidation could be resolved in the way the ordinance is drafted.

Planning Commission chairman Joe Yee said Wednesday he has complete confidence in city staff’s ability to prepare an adequate ordinance to resolve any issues.

“When you get down to the details (of the city code),” Yee said, “it’s good to have people who have been working with the system and see the pluses and minuses in all of it.”

Once the new commission is formed, it will take on the combined workload of both previous commissions already in progress, along with any new projects.

After the City Attorney’s Office writes the necessary amendments to the city code, a draft ordinance will go to the Law and Legislation Committee for approval and then to the City Council.

Bitter said an ordinance could be at the City Council in January or February.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Planning Commission chair Yee joins District 4 council race

2011-11-18T02:55:43Z

Local architect and Planning Commission chairman Joe Yee announced his run for the District 4 City Council seat Monday, bringing the number of candidates vying for current City Councilman Rob Fong’s seat to three.

Yee, 61, said he decided to run for City Council because he feels he can help the city move forward.

“I want to continue the investment of my time in public service,” Yee said Wednesday. “I have the skills and the interests and, frankly, the emotional investment in the city.”

His “emotional investment” in the city, Yee said, comes from being a lifelong resident of Sacramento, and having attended local schools from elementary through high school before attending college at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Yee, principal architect with the Anova Nexus Architects firm, and his wife, Daphne, have lived in Land Park since 1976. Their 25-year-old son lives with them, and their 30-year-old daughter lives nearby.

In addition to more than 30 years as an architect – he counts among his accomplishments the West Sacramento Library and numerous educational facilities in the Sacramento region – Yee also served for a year on the City Council as an interim city councilman in 2000.

After the late Mayor Joe Serna’s untimely death, Joe Yee was appointed to fill Vice-Mayor Jimmy Yee’s District 4 council seat when Jimmy Yee was selected by the City Council to become mayor (Jimmy Yee and Joe Yee are not related.)

Joe Yee completed Jimmy Yee’s District 4 term and chose not to run for the seat himself at the next election.

“(Joe Yee) is a very thoughtful person,” Charlie Downs, his partner at Anova Nexus, said Thursday. “He does his research, makes informed decisions and has an incredible work ethic.

Downs, senior principal architect and vice president at Anova Nexus, said he and Yee joined forces in 2007 after working on a number of projects together.

Yee said that if he is elected to the District 4 council seat, he wants to focus on business in the city and community engagement.

“We need to see every opportunity to develop business here,” Yee said. “The city evolves – it’s organic in nature – and we need to balance the needs of the community with the needs of businesses.”

By committing time to meet with community groups and organize meetings with interested citizens in the district, Yee said, he will be able to identify “lingering issues” and work with neighborhoods to resolve those issues.

“We have a strong amount of neighborhood involvement in Sacramento – it’s one of our strengths,” Yee said. “There needs to be a sense of inclusion in decision-making and hearing what others have to say.”

As far as the budget is concerned, Yee said there is definitely work to be done – and he’s ready for it.

“As a businessperson, I balance income and expenses and invest in the future,” Yee said. “The city should do that too.”

Yee said input from the community is valuable to validate priorities in the city budget, while making sure to get value from every expenditure.

“Just like any family would in good or bad times,” Yee said, “we have to be careful with the funds that we have. It’s the public trust and public money that we are dealing with.”

County Supervisor Jimmy Yee said Thursday that he fully supports Joe Yee in his run for City Council, and he sees Joe Yee as both well-qualified and competent.

“Judging from my own background in (the) private sector,” Jimmy Yee said Thursday, “I know (Joe Yee) understands the private sector. His background is in planning, and he (previously) served on the City Council – that has given him a broad background of experience for the job.”

Jimmy Yee said that a lot of the decisions Joe Yee had to make while on the Planning Commission were not easy, but Joe Yee handled those decisions well.

“He takes politics out of the decision,” Jimmy Yee said. “I think he’ll handle things on (the City) Council the same way. He’ll have to make decisions that impact one group or another in different ways – there aren’t always win-win decisions and he knows this.”

Jimmy Yee noted that Joe Yee is a very independent person who won’t be beholden to anyone.

“That will be the best qualification for him on the council as a person acting for the city,” Jimmy Yee said. “He won’t favor one party over another.”

One quality that friends and associates agree defines Joe Yee is his thoughtfulness and the amount of deliberation that he gives before making a decision.

“He doesn’t shoot from the hip, and that’s definitely a strength,” Downs said. “(In elected office), you don’t need someone reactive, or who won’t listen to all aspects of a discussion.”

Yee will face at least two other candidates in the race – biotech company regional manager Steve Hansen and local attorney Phyllis Newton.

Hansen said Thursday that he thinks highly of Yee and believes he has served the city admirably.

“I look forward to competing with him for the trust and support of the voters,” Hansen said, “but I’m confident I will prevail.”

The Stonewall Democrats, a local political activist group, recently announced its endorsement of Hansen in the District 4 race.

Newton said in an email statement Thursday that District 4 voters will have “quality candidates” to choose from in this election, and she looks forward bringing her experience in progressive politics, business and “fighting for a good quality of life” to the debate.

“I do not have any illusions about the challenge of this race,” Yee said. “It is going to be work. In order for democracy of the election process to work, you need good people, willing to step up and offer to serve. I believe everyone in this race are good people.”

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Weighing in on the medical marijuana dispensary 'freeze'

2011-11-17T02:01:57Z

With an 8-1 vote Tuesday, the City Council put a nine-month hold on the application and permit process for medical marijuana dispensaries, bringing everything to a standstill.

City Councilman Darrell Fong was the only dissenting vote, citing concerns that proximity of dispensaries to schools and parks is not adequately addressed in the ordinance.

The freeze left some dispensary operators and medical marijuana patients concerned for the future of dispensaries and of the ability to access medicine.

The Sacramento Press asked people for their opinion of the current state of limbo that medical marijuana dispensaries are in. Reactions from Sacramentans ranged from mild to animated – one thing they were not, however, was ambivalent.

Jeanne Larsson, 45, the director of A Therapeutic Alternative, said the City Council made the right decision Tuesday.

“I think it’s fantastic,” Larsson said. “They’re not reacting – they’re not giving a knee-jerk reaction out of fear.”

Larsson said the city and dispensary operators have a lot of time and money invested in the process, and she has nothing but praise for council members for temporarily stepping back from the situation.

“I’m pretty confident they’re going to do the best they can to make it work,” Larsson said.

Katherine Wold, a dental hygienist from Elk Grove, said she believes an effort to shut down dispensaries would be unwise.

“I think it’s ridiculous if you are allowing people to use (marijuana) for medication and don’t allow a place for them to purchase it,” Wold said. “Not everyone wants to grow their own.”

Wold, 36, said she is personally opposed to legalizing marijuana, but said that, if it is legal, it makes sense to provide access to it.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with stopping and taking a closer look at any decision, though,” Wold said. “There’s always time for reflection to make good decisions.”

Some people who spoke about Tuesday’s City Council decision saw a larger issue with medical marijuana than simply a freeze on the permit process.

“I think it’s pretty obvious that once it’s legalized, the penalty for use will go from misdemeanors to felonies,” unemployed Sacramento resident Jay Cameron said. “It used to be just a little dispute, but now it’s a battleground for police and sheriffs.”

Cameron, 48, said that, since medical marijuana is such a “big moneymaker,” he believes it will become another way for the criminal justice system to profit.

“That’s the whole reason to get all those (dispensaries) shut down in town,” Cameron said. “It’s a moneymaker for the police who make arrests – they just need to get more bodies in their cells and more tickets to be paid.”

Between “big pharmaceutical companies” and “competing” police and sheriff forces in the city, Cameron said, “medical marijuana and dispensary operations are all about money.”

Joe Cole, a local printer account representative, said the subject is something he feels passionate about.

“I think (dispensaries are) being used more as a way to get marijuana through legal channels than just to get medicine,” Cole, 54, said. “There could be a better way (to get medical marijuana), but I don’t think these dispensaries are the way to do it.”

Cole said he feels an outright ban on dispensaries would be a better way to handle the current situation unless medical marijuana is fully legalized. In that case, Cole said, it should be dispensed through doctors, hospitals and pharmacies.

“I think the doctors (prescribing marijuana) right now are in cahoots with the dispensary operators,” Cole said.

Gary Harris, 27, said his father is a medical marijuana user who has seen positive results from the use of cannabis, so he has a personal interest in the subject.

Harris, a salesman at a local bed store, said that he believes the city would make a mistake to shut dispensaries down, so taking a “wait-and-see attitude” is a good idea.

“If you close down legal dispensaries and force (marijuana sales) underground, you put money into the hands of the guys with guns and grenades,” Harris said. “That policy won’t work.”

Harris said he’d like to see the situation resolved between the state and the federal government over medical marijuana.

In the meantime, Harris said, “the best course of action is no action.”

What is your opinion about medical marijuana dispensaries in the city? Should they be allowed to operate and be regulated? Or, should Sacramento follow in the footsteps of neighboring communities – like Elk Grove and Rancho Cordova – and move toward a complete ban on dispensaries?

Make a comment below this story – we’d like to hear from you.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

City attorney drops Occupy arrest charges

2011-11-17T00:59:28Z

The City Attorney’s office released a statement Wednesday saying charges against some of the people arrested for violating park curfew hours at Cesar Chavez Plaza will be dropped and the cases dismissed “in the interest of justice.”

City Attorney Eileen Teichet said in a press release that a limited number of cases against people charged with only one violation of the city code would be dismissed.

“After evaluating the facts of each case and criminal history of each defendant,” Teichert said in the press release, “the City Attorney’s office has determined that the arrest and jail time that each dismissed defendant served achieved the People of the State of California’s demand for substantial justice.”

Eighty-four people have been arrested since Oct. 6, when Occupy Sacramento began protesting in Cesar Chavez Plaza, and some of them have been arrested multiple times.

According to the statement, the City Attorney’s office will continue to prosecute defendants charged with multiple violations of the City Code related to violations of park curfew at Cesar Chavez Plaza.

Local civil rights attorney Mark Merin filed a lawsuit Nov. 1 in federal court on behalf of Occupy Sacramento, claiming the city has violated protesters’ First Amendment rights by interfering with the group’s freedom of assembly and freedom of speech.

A Jan. 5 hearing is scheduled on the lawsuit in federal court.

In a similar court case, the New York Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that protesters' First Amendment rights did not extend to allowing "tents, structures, generators and other installations" in Zuccotti Park while protesting.

Attorneys for Occupy Sacramento were not immediately available for comment.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Marijuana by the numbers

2011-11-15T04:47:14Z

Under heavy scrutiny from the federal government and an administrative freeze on the city’s permit program, medical marijuana dispensaries in Sacramento could face a full ban – but if Sacramento’s dispensaries are shut down, what happens to the city budget bottom line?

In total, the city has received approximately $1.4 million since the start of the permit process for medical marijuana dispensaries – nearly $1 million from one-time fees – according to Maurice Chaney, Economic Development Department spokesman.

If the city were to ban medical marijuana dispensaries, they could see a potential $528,000 budget shortfall from reduced or eliminated marijuana business operations taxes in the 2011-12 fiscal year.

The rate of the business operations tax levied on dispensaries in the city is 4 percent. This is in addition to California sales tax that all businesses are required to pay to the state franchise Tax Board.

The total amount of revenue projected in the FY 2011-12 city budget from medical marijuana business operations taxes was $1 million. Taxes are paid quarterly, so the Finance Department estimated $250,000 in revenue each quarter of the current fiscal year.

The total first-quarter income to the city from medical marijuana business operations taxes was actually $361,000 – a surplus of $111,000. This reflects revenue received from July 1 to Sept. 30. Data for October is not available yet, Brad Wasson, revenue manager for the city Finance Department, said Monday.

Although the city has recouped the costs of the dispensary program for the initial year, possible budget impacts from a full ban – if one should be instituted in the near future – are hard to speculate, according to city spokeswoman Amy Williams.

“If budget adjustments need to be made in the mid-year,” Williams said, “city staff will make recommendations to the City Council, and they will decide (how to proceed).”

Let’s take a look at the numbers across the board.

How many dispensaries are we talking about?
There were 39 registered medical marijuana dispensaries in the city in 2009. Only registered dispensaries were eligible to apply for the first phase of dispensary operations permits under a city ordinance passed in November 2010.

Each permit cost $5,000. This was a one-time permit application fee and it was only collected until February 2011. After the February deadline, no more initial permit applications were accepted.

The actual number of eligible dispensaries that applied for Phase 1 permits was 35 – bringing in a total of $175,000 in application fee revenue for fiscal year 2010-11, according to Wasson.

There are two phases in the city’s dispensary permit process and the second phase was only open to dispensary operators who satisfied the requirements of Phase 1 – no new applicants could come into the process at that time.

Finance Department staff estimated that, of the 35 dispensaries eligible to apply for the second phase, 25 would complete the application.

The actual number of Phase 2 permit applications received by the Oct. 11 deadline was 29.

How much money does the city receive from dispensaries?
The city Finance Department is responsible for the city’s medical marijuana dispensary operations program at a cost of $315,000 for a single fiscal year, according to Wasson.

Each dispensary pays an annual program fee of $12,600, starting with the submission of the Phase 2 permit application.

With 29 Phase 2 applications submitted, the actual amount of program fee revenue collected so far in FY 2011-12 is $302,000.

In addition to Phase 1 and Phase 2 operating permit applications, medical marijuana dispensaries in Sacramento must also apply for special use permits through the city Zoning Department.

Each special use permit application fee ranges from $15,000 to $22,000, depending on the proposed location for the business and other determining factors, according to Wasson.

Thirty-eight dispensaries applied for special use permits, resulting in $651,000 of one-time application fee revenue for the city so far in FY 2011-12.

Because special use permit applications are one-time costs and this is the first year medical marijuana dispensaries have been allowed to apply for special use permits, Wasson said there was no projection for that revenue in the city budget.

“It’s a process that is already in place in the Zoning Department,” Wasson said. “Every business requiring a special use permit pays these fees, so the budget projection for that department isn’t specific to dispensary special use permits.”

The Finance Department prepares a mid-year budget update for the City Council in February, Wasson said. At that time, the department will make recommendations for any necessary adjustments to the city budget.

“It would be nice to report that we had a surplus (from business operations taxes),” Wasson said. “But at this point, we really don’t know what is going to happen.”

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Phyllis Newton: Candidate for District 4 City Council seat

2011-11-11T23:32:05Z

Land Park attorney and city Design Commission Vice Chair Phyllis Newton is running for the District 4 seat on the City Council – so far a much-coveted seat since Rob Fong declared in October that he would not be running for re-election.

Newton, 55, said she decided to run for the City Council because she feels passionately about the city and has been civically engaged for almost a decade.

“I have watched the City Council very closely and have been concerned about factionalism and the lack of collaboration that I think impedes progress,” Newton said Wednesday.

Newton said she believes she will bring maturity and judgement to the City Council and the ability to work collaboratively with her colleagues.

“I have no interest in higher office,” Newton said. “That’s a very important distinction between me and current council members and possibly other candidates.”

Although Newton has never held an elected position, she said she has served in appointed positions with the city, including four years on the General Plan Advisory Committee – a position she was appointed to by former Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo.

Newton currently serves as the vice chair of the Design Commission, and she is a member of the Green Development Code Users Advisory Group for the city. Both positions are unpaid.

“The push in the city is toward sustainability,” Newton said, “so (the advisory group) looks at ways the city can encourage greener development.”

In addition to owning her own law firm – Law Offices of Phyllis A. Newton – she is the executive director of Miyamoto Global Disaster Relief, a nonprofit organization that provides disaster response and reconstruction services following natural disasters across the globe.

“I am honored to be part of (the Miyamoto) organization,” Newton said. “I refused to take a salary (at Miyamoto) because it’s a brand-new nonprofit in its infancy. It’s very satisfying to work on this project.”

Newton said she will be traveling for Miyamoto to Haiti in February. It will be her first trip in relation to her work with the disaster relief organization.

As the former executive director at American Institute of Architects Central Valley chapter, a professional association of architects, Newton said she gained valuable experience with the unique needs of nonprofit organizations.

Newton grew up in the Bay Area and attended law school in San Francisco, where she met her husband, Michael Carpenter, a contract lobbyist in Sacramento. The family moved to Sacramento 18 years ago, and they have lived in Land Park since 1995.

Some hot-button local government issues for Newton include the budget, job creation and public safety.

“The budget is decimated,” Newton said. “As a council member, you have limited options on the revenue side, so unfortunately you have to spend time making very difficult decisions.”

Newton said it is most important for council members to work collaboratively and strive to reach fair and equitable decisions when working on the budget.

“Cuts may have to be made,” Newton said, “but you have to be able to balance the closure of swimming pools and laying off police officers.”

Every candidate will talk about job creation, Newton said, but her focus is on creating the right environment and culture to bring jobs to the region.

“When someone doesn’t have a job and their house is being foreclosed on,” Newton said, “the ripple effect is wide and deep.”

Newton said the best thing the City Council can do is work to build up an environment where businesses want to locate in the city and stay here.

“Economic revitalization is crucial,” Newton said. “I think the arena would do more to revitalize downtown Sacramento and to revitalize our region than anything else at this point.”

Because the entertainment and sports complex proposal is still incomplete, Newton said it has to be considered conceptually right now. Still, the potential for jobs is significant to Newton.

“The economic engine that the arena represents is so significant that we have to see if we can make it work,” Newton said. “It may never pencil out, but I support the idea.”

Her number one priority for the city is public safety. “We’re talking about impacts to personal safety, property values and more,” Newton said. “Public safety goes well beyond that. It’s the No. 1 issue citizens really care about.”

Newton said there are always difficult decisions that have to be made concerning the police force and fire department and keeping safety a priority, even in a tough economy.

“I have seen many examples of politics before progress,” Newton said. “That needs to stop.”

Kim Anderson, executive director for American Institute of Architects Central Valley chapter, declined to comment on Newton’s bid for City Council. Anderson became executive director of AIA after Newton’s departure in 2007.

“The chapter doesn’t have a policy for endorsement,” Anderson said Thursday. “But we are in the process of evaluating candidates.”

Anderson said the chapter held a candidates forum Thursday that included all of the candidates for District 4 – including a newcomer to the race, local architect Joe Yee.

Calls to Newton’s campaign managers for comment were not returned by press time.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Dispensary permit process gets a 'time out' from City Council

2011-11-09T06:07:57Z

The permit process for medical marijuana dispensaries came to a screeching halt Tuesday after the City Council adopted an interim city marijuana ordinance that puts applications on hold for nine months.

The unanimous vote to approve the ordinance came as a reaction to recent changes in the federal government’s position on enforcing marijuana regulations.

Greg Bitter, principal planner with the city’s Community Development Department, told council members Tuesday that the city attorney became concerned with the current Sacramento medical marijuana ordinance after learning about two legal situations – a court case in Long Beach and a press release from the four state attorneys general.

The Second District Court of Appeals ruled Oct. 1 that an ordinance in Long Beach – very similar to the one in Sacramento – was preempted by federal law, Bitter said.

“As long as this court case is the published decision, it effectively puts our ordinance at risk,” Bitter said.

The public announcement by the attorneys general stating that they were increasing enforcement efforts in California against for-profit dispensaries also “put cities on notice,” Bitter said.

“We’re not on solid legal ground at this point,” Bitter added.

At the end of the Oct. 11 City Council meeting, Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy requested city staff to draft amendments to the city ordinance in an effort to “buy everyone some time” while the city took stock of the discrepancies between federal and local government enforcement of medical marijuana laws.

City staff took immediate action to freeze the processing of applications for medical marijuana dispensary permits, according to a city staff report, and the interim ordinance is the initial result.

Max Del Real, a lobbyist with California Capitol Solutions, which represents several dispensaries in the city, said Tuesday that all of his clients are committed to working with the city.

“We support the decision to create a time-out as the dust settles on the issue of where the federal government stands on the issue,” Del Real said Tuesday. “Sacramento is not retreating form medical cannabis, nor is it turning its back on a successful (city) ordinance.”

The interim ordinance required a two-thirds vote and was approved in a 9–0 vote.

The City Council also passed formal amendments to the city ordinance to address timing conflicts with permits created by the freeze.

The city zoning code requires applicants for a special permit to be in operation within 90 days from the date the permit is issued. Because of the freeze, however, special permits are not being issued – putting dispensary operators in jeopardy of having their permit applications revoked when the 90 days runs out.

The newly amended ordinance resolves these timing conflicts by extending the previous Oct. 11 deadline to apply for Phase 2 dispensary permits to May 14, 2012, and extending the final permit completion date from Jan. 9, 2012 to Aug. 13, 2012.

The amended ordinance states that any dispensary operator who has already filed a proper permit application – and the application has not been denied – may continue to operate that dispensary without a permit until Aug. 13, 2012 while the application approval or denial is pending.

The amended ordinance doesn’t mean that dispensaries are not subject to the law in the meantime, however.

The ordinance clarifies that continuing to operate a dispensary during the “time-out” period does not automatically entitle the operator to an approved permit or grant the dispensary “legal nonconforming use.”

“Law-abiding collectives and their dispensaries welcome regulation and welcome fee structures,” Del Real said, “because, at the end of the day, they are following the law.”

City Councilman Steve Cohn voted in support of the council’s action Tuesday.

“We could see this going back to the back alleys, and I’d hate to see that,” Cohn said. “Cannabis patients don’t deserve to be treated that way.”

Tuesday’s vote did not come without opposition. Sixteen public speakers commented on the proposed changes, and some asked council members to reconsider the action.

“I know that you see green in all the green of medical marijuana, but I’m asking you to put a stop allowing the dispensaries,” said Greg Foster, 52, a criminal defense attorney.

“I am the parent of a son who started smoking marijuana because of the dispensaries,” Foster said. “I believe the notion of medical marijuana and not-for-profit are a fraud.”

Councilman Darrell Fong said he took issue with how medical marijuana dispensaries are being handled in the city.

“I’m not saying medical marijuana doesn’t have its place,” Fong said, “but federal law does preempt state law, whether I like it or not, and that is my issue.”

Fong said he has received complaints from constituents in his district about the ease of getting marijuana, especially with dispensaries located close to schools and parks.

The current city ordinance sets a distance requirement for dispensary locations of 600 feet from schools and public parks. Federal drug violation guidelines specify a minimum distance of 1,000 feet.

According to Bitter, a majority – 18 out of 28 – registered dispensaries in Sacramento are located within that 1,000-foot boundary.

Del Real said that, despite opposition, the City Council’s decision to temporarily freeze the application process is the right thing to do.

“No one knows what the feds are trying to accomplish,” Del Real said. “The politics – and the practicality – of it is that the city has to extend the deadline to allow for all the permits to continue while they assess where things stand.”

“The city is not pushing the eject button,” Del Real added. “They’re just pushing pause.”

The interim ordinance takes effect immediately. The formal revised ordinance will be adopted by the City Council Nov. 15.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Occupy Sacramento movement expands to City Hall grounds

2011-11-09T01:30:28Z

In the wake of a rejected special permit to occupy Cesar Chavez Plaza 24 hours a day, Occupy Sacramento protesters expanded their occupation to the front door of City Hall, 915 I St., on Tuesday.

“We want to fully exercise our First Amendment right to assemble,” Kevin Carter, 55, a youth volunteer and an Occupy Sacramento outreach coordinator said. “If our grievances are going to be addressed, they need to be addressed right here.”

Protesters packed up some of their canopies, tents and information tables Tuesday and gathered at the front of Old City Hall as well as on the lawns in front of the new City Hall building, immediately behind the older building.

“Our statement is simply this,” Carter said. “If you’re going to deny us our First Amendment rights, then we’re going to come (to City Hall) and make sure you know that we’re not going to go away.”

The permit rejection letter – delivered Monday to local civil rights attorney Mark Merin, who represents the Occupy Sacramento group – stated that the permit application was incomplete when it was submitted.

The letter also stated that if the application is completed later, it will still likely be denied because it has no defined duration, and extension of park hours “is not consistent with the sound use of park resources” and “may be detrimental to the public safety or welfare.”

Protesters were unfazed by the permit rejection, according to Cres Vellucci, a legal adviser for the Occupy Sacramento group.

Instead, it inspired the group to expand its protest base across the street to City Hall, Veluccii said.

“Every code section we’ve seen in our research shows we can be in front of and behind City Hall 24 hours a day, unlike Cesar Chavez park, which has curfew hours,” Vellucci said. “Now (the movement) is out of the curfew section of the code.”

Jack Hart, 22, an unemployed musical theater actor and Occupy Sacramento coordinator, said the protest group is in no hurry to end its occupation at either Cesar Chavez Plaza or at City Hall – and may expand further “if need be.”

Hart said that protesters will attend the City Council meeting Tuesday to make public comment for the sixth week in a row.

Although there is no formal curfew for City Hall grounds, a city camping ordinance is in effect, according to the city code.

The camping ordinance states that it is “unlawful and a public nuisance for any person to camp, occupy camp facilities, or use camp paraphernalia” on any public property. Violations of this code are misdemeanors, punishable by fines up to $1,000 and up to six months in county jail.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

City first quarter finance report: revenues down, expenditures up

2011-11-08T05:38:45Z

After the first quarter of the fiscal year, city revenues are only about half of what was projected, but city finance officials said they aren’t ready to panic yet. The negative balance for the city budget is not just related to lower-than-anticipated revenues – a large part of the imbalance is due to greater-than-anticipated expenditures.

The $812 million city budget is running negative at the moment – “typical” for the first quarter of the fiscal year, according to the most recent report from the city Finance Department.

The first quarter financial report will be presented to the City Council Tuesday.

Of the six main sources of revenue for the city – property tax, utility user tax, sales tax, business operations tax, public safety tax and transient occupancy (hotel) tax – two sources have not been on par with projections made when the budget was approved in June.

Property tax – which at 34 percent of all general fund revenues is the largest source of revenue for the city – appears to be at about 2 percent of projections, but that number can be misleading, according to Dawn Holm, acting budget manager for the city Finance Department.

Property tax revenues are received by the city in late January and late May, so the current report doesn’t reflect revenue beyond June.

Once the city receives property tax revenues in January, the general fund ledger will be adjusted to reflect a new balance.

The new result still may not be as good as was expected when the budget was passed in June, however.

Property values continue to decline at a higher-than-expected rate throughout the state, according to a County Assessor’s Office property tax update given to the city Finance department earlier this month.

Initially, property tax revenues for Sacramento for fiscal year 2011-12 were projected to be close to $126 million – about 1 percent less than the totals received in 2010-11.

Taking into account the county assessor’s projections, though, the actual year-end number could wind up being down 2 or even 3 percent, Holm said.

“It’s really too early to tell with any precision,” Holm said.

The good news is sales tax revenues may take up the slack and balance out the potential property tax shortfall.

According to a city staff report, taxable sales in California are expected to increase by 1.7 percent in 2011, and Sacramento is currently projecting a 4 percent increase over the 2010-11 budget.

Sales tax results that come in better than anticipated will offset the decline in property taxes, according to the staff report.

Four areas of general fund expenditures that are already in the red – and may go deeper – include department spending for fire, police, convention and leisure, and parks and recreation.

The Sacramento Fire Department is facing a projected $2.3 million shortfall by the end of the year due to overtime spending required to restore two formerly browned-out stations and the costs of hiring 27 people as part of a federal grant program.

The city accepted a federal grant that will pay for the new staffers, but grant money doesn’t come in until the positions are filled, Holm said, and when the money does come in, it cannot be used to reimburse overtime spending.

One option the department is considering to manage the budget shortfall is potential funding from Medi-Cal transport reimbursement, which is allowed by the recently passed AB678.

“The alternative would be to direct the department to implement the two additional brownouts again,” Holm said. “We’d still be in the hole, but not as much as we look to be in right now.”

Fire department representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.

The police department’s projected deficit of $3.1 million is due to unfunded employee services benefits, additional overtime because of staffing reductions and unexpected reductions in grant and contract service reimbursements, according to the staff report.

When the Convention, Culture and Leisure Department transfers golf maintenance to a private contractor in January, the city will incur one-time expenses associated with the transfer that had not been budgeted, according to the staff report.

“Part of contracting out (golf maintenance) is going to be letting go of some staff,” Holm said. “When we let go of any employees, we have to pay for unused sick leave, vacation and overtime.”

Holm said those costs are paid out as lump-sum payments to employees when they leave city service.

“That is never budgeted for,” Holm said, “so when you have a large group leaving, it’s a hit to the department.”

In this case, it is a $229,000 hit to the Parks Department budget, according to an Oct. 25 report to the City Council.

Golf maintenance included 58 positions, and contracting out the service eliminates those positions.

Fifty of those positions were filled at the time that the City Council approved contracting out the service.

The city’s fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30. Until this year, the City Council received semi-annual reports from the Finance Department: a mid-year update and an end-of-year final report.

Since coming to the position in September, City Manager John Shirey has instituted a quarterly report to council members to provide the most timely information regarding the city’s current financial condition, Holm said.

“He felt that every six months was just too long,” Holm said. “He wants everyone to have an understanding of where things are going on a more regular basis.”

The next quarterly financial report will be presented to the City Council at end of January or first week in February. Meanwhile, Holm said, department staff will continue to work toward meeting budget goals.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

New mayoral candidate plans to bring 'fresh leadership' to Sacramento

2011-11-05T00:23:24Z

The 2012 race for Sacramento mayor just gained another candidate: Edgar Hilbert.

Hilbert, a tax preparer in Oak Park, said Wednesday that he was motivated to run for office by a desire to serve the Sacramento community in a meaningful way.

“It will be my duty and goal to not just protect the quality of life in Sacramento, but to improve it,” he said in a press release Tuesday.

Hilbert, 45, is married and has three children. He was born in Mexico City and moved to the United States in 1993. He has lived in Sacramento since 2001.

Hilbert’s wife, Leticia, ran for City Council District 5 in the 2010 election, and Hilbert acted as his wife’s campaign manager.

One of the biggest issues that Hilbert said he sees in local government is the need for “fresh leadership” and leaders who listen to the ideas of the people more than simply doing things their own way.

“It is clear to me that the need for a new leadership focused on people is more important now than ever,” Hilbert said.

The city budget, economic development and infrastructure are the three big-ticket items that Hilbert said he wants to focus on as mayor.

Hilbert said his experience on the Oak Park Redevelopment Advisory Committee has given him a good perspective on housing issues in the area, as well as new ideas about how to enhance the economic development of the city.

One idea that Hilbert expressed is turning some of the downtown corridor into a miniature version of Venice, Italy – water, gondolas and all.

“There are a lot of restaurants along there,” Hilbert said. “Wouldn’t it be nice to draw visitors to something interesting like that?”

Hilbert is also no stranger to volunteerism.

For the past nine years, he has been actively involved in raising money for homeless services in his Oak Park community, and he is the coordinator for a youth group at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament.

Hilbert has also served as the executive chairman of California for Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) in 2007 and 2008, assisting low-income individuals with tax preparation, and he is the co-founder of the Stop Human Trafficking Today Pronto effort in Sacramento.

Hilbert is building a campaign support team with an international flair. His team will include advisers from San Diego, Mexico City and Madrid.

“These are cities that are similar to us in a lot of ways, and we can learn a lot from them,” Hilbert said.

“I think people want someone to lead the way,” Hilbert said. “The mayor is there to see that the people are represented.”

“I always try to be balanced and honest and just,” Hilbert said. “In the end, it comes down to what the people want. My goal is to listen to them.”

Marichal J. Brown, co-owner of Master Barber and Beauty Shop in Oak Park, said he has known Hilbert for nearly nine years and he has a lot of respect for him.

“Edgar is an excellent person – a trustworthy person,” Brown said. “When you are in need, he would be the person to call.”

Brown said he and Hilbert worked together on a variety of community projects, including writing for a community newspaper that Brown publishes, The Master Report.

“We have done a lot of advocacy together,” Brown said. “If (Hilbert) is mayor, I think he’ll bring community issues to the forefront.”

Calling Hilbert a “fighter for the people” and “a dependable individual,” Brown added that he has “nothing but praise for him.”

Hilbert will be running against incumbent mayor Kevin Johnson. Johnson’s campaign manager, Steven Maviglio, said Friday that the Johnson camp is ready for the competition.

“The mayor will run a campaign at full throttle no matter who the opponent is,” Maviglio said. “We welcome debate about the issues facing Sacramento.”

Maviglio said that Hilbert will not have an easy race, however.

“Every poll shows that the mayor is extremely popular, and (he is) off to a very strong start in this race,” Maviglio said. “Any candidate will have an uphill battle running against (Johnson).”

Hilbert said that he does not support the notion of a “strong mayor” initiative, preferring instead to negotiate and work with others on the City Council.

“Every one of (the council members) represents a different area of the city, and they know what their area needs,” Hilbert said. “I prefer to talk to (them) about the people in their areas and see how we can work together.”

Another opponent that Hilbert will face is longtime Sacramento resident and previous mayoral candidate Leonard Padilla.

Padilla, owner of Lorenzo Patino Law School in Sacramento, said Friday that he is happy to hear that there will be another candidate in the race for mayor.

“The more the merrier,” Padilla said.

The candidacy filing period for the 2012 city elections opens Feb. 1. Edgar said he will have a campaign kickoff in the coming weeks and then will focus his energies on fundraising for the campaign.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Judge upholds city ordinance in Occupy Sacramento case

2011-11-04T19:14:09Z

Federal Judge Morrison England denied a motion by attorneys for Occupy Sacramento Thursday to order a temporary restraining order against the city from enforcing a parks ordinance that limits park hours.

The motion was filed Tuesday as an emergency request by local civil rights attorney Mark Merin on behalf of Occupy Sacramento in an attempt to prevent the city from arresting protesters who remained in Cesar Chavez Plaza – the site of the occupation since Oct. 6 – in violation of park curfew.

“I’m disappointed in the decision,” Merin said after the ruling. “Obviously, we hoped the judge would see the case differently than he did.”

The restraining order motion was part of a recent lawsuit filed by Merin claiming Occupy Sacramento protesters’ First Amendment rights are being violated because the ordinance prohibits protesters from remaining in the park for 24 hours and unreasonably limits freedom of speech.

England noted before making the ruling Thursday that Occupy Sacramento representatives had not applied for a permit to remain in the park and that detail could be “fatal” to their motion.

“The word permit does not appear in the section of code that relates to park hours,” Merin argued, “and where there is an oblique reference to a permit, the section does not apply to (the Occupy Sacramento) group exercising their First Amendment rights.”

England also said that it had been approximately 25 days since the occupation began and that “on the face of it, (it) would seem to indicate (the motion) was not an urgent matter.”

An attorney for the city, Brett Whitter, argued in court that the city ordinance, which has been in place for nearly 30 years, did not create an unreasonable restriction on protests.

“The regulations are narrowly tailored to accommodate the time that demonstrators would most likely get their message heard,” Whitter said.

Citing a U.S. Supreme court case, “Clark v. Community for Creative Nonviolence” (468 U.S. 288 – 1984), as precedent, England ruled that the city park curfew ordinance was “content-neutral and a reasonable time, place and manner regulation.”

Although the temporary restraining order was denied, Merin said he and other legal representatives will continue to pursue the lawsuit against the city.

The next step in the lawsuit – a preliminary injunction hearing – is set for Jan. 5 in federal court.

More funding for improvements at intermodal facility

2011-11-04T01:35:09Z

The City Council approved $400,000 in funding from new sources Tuesday for upgrades to the Sacramento Intermodal Transportation Facility project, including energy-efficient lighting and new power cabinets that will help reduce air emissions at the new facility.

The project is being built at the downtown railyards and is currently in the first phase of development. City officials say Phase 1 should be completed by mid-summer 2012.

The project is planned to accommodate rail freight movement, heavy passenger trains, light rail transit and intercity and local buses, according to a city staff report. It will also provide facilities for bicycle and pedestrian transportation modes and – potentially – streetcars and California’s high-speed rail.

Last year, original bids for the project made it too expensive, so it was scaled down and re-bid this year. Some improvements that were part of the original project plan were set aside when the project was scaled down.

The new project plan reserved the possibility that those improvements could be returned to the plan if funding was found.

New sources of funding – specifically grants provided through Sacramento Municipal Utility District and a California Air Resources Board program – will be used to return some of those set-aside improvements to the intermodal project.

The anticipated additional improvements include new lighting with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) or walkways, tunnels and station platforms and four wayside power cabinets.

The LEDs will replace the fluorescent lighting in the original project plan.

“There will be more efficient lighting now,” Hinda Chandler, senior architect with the Sacramento Department of Transportation, said Thursday. “The light levels will be better with the LEDs, and the quality is better and brighter.”

Chandler said it will cost less to run the lights at the facility, and they won’t have to replace them as often as fluorescent lighting.

The lighting was budgeted in the project for $150,000, and city staff determined it was eligible for funding through an existing SMUD grant for lighting improvements.

Chandler said that the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA) was awarded funds for the power cabinets through the CARB Carl Moyer Grant Program on Oct. 28.

The original project plan called for eight wayside power cabinets, but when the project was scaled back earlier this year, the number of power cabinets was reduced to four. With new funding, the number of cabinets will once again be eight.

Christine Ragsdale, communications director for the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, said the power cabinets work similar to the way shore power is provided to ships at dock.

The ship – or locomotive in this case – essentially plugs into the power outlet (the cabinet) at the station, and, instead of running on diesel fuel, it is powered by cleaner, less-expensive electricity.

The power keeps train systems operable while they are being cleaned and prepared for the next day’s run.

“These are diesel engines that push particulates into the air,” Tim Taylor, division manager at Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, said Thursday.

“Being able to put (the trains) on shore power has an enormous health benefit to the community and a significant benefit in terms of air quality,” Taylor said.

The additional power cabinets cost $400,000, which would be funded 80 percent ($320,000) by the Moyer grant and 20 percent ($80,000) by CCJPA.

Ragsdale said this is the first time Carl Moyer Grant Program funds have been used for this specific purpose anywhere in the state.

“It’s a very creative use for this type of grant,” Ragsdale said. “When it comes to air quality, you get a lot of bang for your buck by getting trains to run cleaner.”

Nearly three tons worth – in the form of annual emission reductions, according Taylor.

“This is a fantastic project that is very good for our air quality,” Taylor said.

Chandler said the new funding is already being used to order the new power cabinets. The LEDs will be installed at a later time when the project gets nearer to completion.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Council discusses regional approach to addressing homelessness

2011-11-03T01:25:07Z

The City Council is considering whether the city of Sacramento will join in the creation of a public-private collaborative agency to address the problems of homelessness in the region – an issue that does not recognize political boundaries.

Representatives from the city Neighborhood Services Department and the county Department of Human Assistance presented a report to the City Council Tuesday outlining a plan for creating a joint powers authority to align city and county governments with a nonprofit entity.

“The JPA would be the overarching policymaking body,” Sacramento county spokeswoman Kerri Aiello said Tuesday. “Sacramento Steps Forward (a nonprofit corporation) will ultimately be the umbrella over program implementation.”

In any given month in Sacramento, there are more than 3,000 people without homes, according to Ben Burton, executive director for Sacramento Steps Forward. That number includes people in emergency or transitional housing.

Of that number, Burton said more than 1,000 are actually on the street each night.

At one time, the county administered all government-funded homeless programs for the city and county, Burton said, and recent budget cuts have left homeless programs for Sacramento severely lacking in funding.

“When the funding ended, we had to ask ‘what do we do now?’ “ Burton said. “We start looking for additional dollars now.”

SafeGround representative John Kraintz said Tuesday that the goal of the JPA/nonprofit collaboration would be to maximize the ability to secure funding grants from the greatest variety of sources.

“Some programs have to be administered through the government to get public grant funds,” Kraintz said. “And nonprofits have a better ability to get private dollars.”

A nonprofit can access private funding more quickly than government, and some government funding can only be accessed by a government entity like a JPA.

Aiello said that certain homeless dollars – primarily Housing and Urban Development funds – can only be applied for by a government agency, and that would be one role of the JPA part of the partnership.

Another benefit of a combined JPA/nonprofit effort is the ability for many jurisdictions to share data and work together to plan regionally, Derrick Lim, Neighborhood Services manager, said Tuesday.

“It’s still in the conceptual phase right now,” Lim said. “The whole point is to have everyone in every jurisdiction sharing the same information.”

Representatives from regional City Councils and the Board of Supervisors would comprise a JPA Board whose role would be to accept grants that are only available to public agencies.

The JPA Board would award those funds to the nonprofit agency to administer. The JPA Board would also advise on major policy goals and serve as the community’s voice on the issue of homelessness, according to the report.

According to the report to the City Council, the Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance was the primary administrator of homeless programs in Sacramento since 1993. The city of Sacramento relied on the county to coordinate and administer programs on behalf of the city.

By the end of 2010, the DHA no longer had funding available to administer homeless programs as it had been doing, Aiello said.

“Everyone went broke, and the county pulled out of all their homeless projects,” local homeless advocate Tracie Rice-Bailey said Tuesday. “Now they are trying to put together this umbrella nonprofit to find how many ways they can keep roofs over people’s heads.”

In September 2010, the Sacramento City Council and county Board of Supervisors started discussing a conceptual plan to create a new public-private structure to end homelessness.

In March, the City Council approved transitioning the administration of homeless programs in the city away from the county DHA to Sacramento Steps Forward.

Sacramento county DHA staff have been presenting the JPA proposal to other city councils in the county and the Board of Supervisors to get feedback and ideas for the structure of the potential JPA.

“(County Department of Human Assistance director) Paul Lake has been out to Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova, Citrus Heights, Folsom and other areas of the county,” Aiello said.

The response to the idea has been positive, according to Lake.

“Other cities are very enthusiastic and want to move forward,” Lake told council members Tuesday.

Councilman Kevin McCarty said he is in favor of the proposed JPA structure for dealing with homeless issues in Sacramento.

“Bottom line: Regional solutions are needed here,” McCarty said Wednesday. “The more local governments teaming up and partnering to tackle homelessness, the better.”

The initial target date for having a JPA in place was July, but Lake said the date had to be adjusted because they needed more time to allow Sacramento Steps Forward to assume responsibility for managing grants.

“Neither the county nor Sacramento Steps Forward want to transfer responsibility until it can be a wholly successful transfer,” Lake said Wednesday. “We are hopeful that Sacramento Steps Forward will begin assuming (grant responsibility) early in 2012.”

Ben Burton, the new executive director for Sacramento Steps Forward, said Wednesday that this as an opportunity for creating a more innovative approach to homelessness.

“Once the (JPA) program is implemented,” Burton said, “we will put an agenda together to begin regional planning. It will start with an assessment of where we are today.”

Burton said it is essential that the multitude of jurisdictions in the region – cities, counties and private community agencies – start sharing data and local plans to address homelessness issues.

“This type of planning will strengthen our competition for federal dollars to provide services,” Burton said. “It’s cheaper to prevent homelessness than to take someone through the whole system.”

The City Council didn’t take any action on the proposal report Tuesday.

DHA and city staff will take the proposal to the county Board of Supervisors for discussion and feedback in December, Aiello said. A draft JPA agreement is expected to follow soon after.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

FPPC will not open case based on Sheedy poll complaint

2011-11-02T20:24:07Z

Fair Political Practices Commission Enforcement Division Chief Gary Winuk said Wednesday a case would not be opened based on a complaint filed with the FPPC Friday.

The complaint, filed by Robert Langdon, Jr., alleged that Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy violated the Political Reform Act with a recent public opinion poll authorized by her office and paid for with campaign funds.

Winuk sent a letter to Langdon Wednesday stating that “after review of the complaint, the information you provided is insufficient to establish a violation of the act.”

Langdon, a court liaison for Sacramento County Family Court and a Sacramento Kings fan, confirmed Monday evening that he sent the complaint because he felt the poll was “unfair,” and Sheedy’s use of campaign funds to pay for the poll was a violation of “fair practices” in elections.

The letter from Winuk addressed the specific areas of concern in the complaint of misuse of official position and lack of disclosure regarding the use of campaign funds.

“The use of campaign funds to conduct a poll is an appropriate use of campaign funds,” the letter stated. “Additionally, since the telephone calls were not for the purpose of advocating a candidate or ballot measure, no identification by the Sheedy campaign was required.”

Winuk said Wednesday that a copy of both the complaint and the FPPC response would be sent to Sheedy’s office.

After the story was originally reported by The Sacramento Press and picked up by other news media, Langdon said that he received “hundreds of calls and emails” from media representatives.

“I didn’t know it was going to the media,” Langdon said Tuesday.

Langdon said that the FPPC complaint he signed and submitted came to him in an email last week – along with many other political ads, petitions and surveys.

Langdon said Tuesday that he didn’t understand he was completing a formal complaint against Sheedy when he followed the email instructions to print, sign and submit the form.

“I thought it was a petition – I get lots of those,” Langdon said. “I was going through stuff and signed a few things and signed other petitions at the same time.”

Langdon said he regularly signs petitions and political surveys that he receives by email.

“I guess it was just a misunderstanding or something,” Langdon said. “I didn’t know what was going on.”

Langdon said that when he saw the email in his inbox, he showed it to his brother and some of his friends.

“I told (my friends), ‘This looks good. Let’s sign it and keep jobs in Sacramento,’ so my friends signed (forms), too,” Langdon said.

Langdon said he does not know who sent the email to him and he cannot retrieve it because he deleted it last week.

The media attention was more than he bargained for, Langdon said, and he quickly decided to retract the FPPC complaint.

“I’m trying to get the complaint withdrawn,” Langdon said Tuesday. “I sent a letter to the FPPC asking them to drop it.”

Langdon said that although he agrees with the specifics of the complaint, he doesn’t want to be the person who formally makes the complaint.

“I’m not going to be the one guy complaining,” Langdon said. “I just want to have it stopped and let someone else do it.”

Winuk could not confirm Wednesday if the FPPC had received a retraction request from Langdon yet.

Winuk said that, if a retraction request is received, he has the authority to determine if the case would stand on its own merits without a sworn complaint. If the case had merit, Winuk said he could proceed with an investigation.

Langdon said the media fallout has been “a learning experience” for him, and he wants to be more careful about what he does with emails he receives in the future.

“There’s a lot on the Internet,” Langdon said. “It can be good and it can be bad.”

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Sheedy faces allegations of wrongdoing with recent poll

2011-11-01T01:20:23Z

A complaint filed Friday with the Fair Political Practices Commission against Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy alleges election law violations stemming from a recent poll authorized through her office.

The Oct. 24 poll was conducted by a polling firm hired by Sheedy to determine public opinion on potential financing plans for the proposed entertainment and sports complex.

According to the complaint filed by Sacramento resident Robert Langdon, Jr., Sheedy may have violated sections of the Political Reform Act of 1974 related to telephone advocacy and misuse of a public figure’s official position.

“(Langdon’s) allegations are completely without merit,” Joann Cummins, Sheedy’s district director, said Monday.

Langdon is a court liaison for the Sacramento county family court – and a longtime Kings fan, according to his mother, Mary Jo Langdon.

Langdon, 31, alleges in the complaint that, by paying for a telephonic “push poll” with campaign re-election funds and failing to advise the people called that the poll was paid for by her campaign, Sheedy violated the act.

According to the FPPC website, if the FPPC finds a violation, it may issue warning letters, impose fines up to $5,000 per violation or pursue civil penalties.

A “push poll" is a seemingly unbiased telephone survey conducted by a particular candidate or his or her supporters that spreads negative information about an opponent or an opposing issue.

“The poll was unfair,” Langdon said Monday. “(Sheedy) has always had issues with the (Sacramento Kings).”

Langdon said he filed the complaint because he felt the use of campaign funds was a violation of “fair practices” in elections.

The act states that when a political candidate expends campaign funds to pay for a telephone call, a disclosure is required that identifies who (or what organization) is paying for or authorizing the call.

The disclosure must specifically state that the call is "paid for" or "authorized" by the identified candidate, committee or organization.

Langdon’s FPPC complaint states that the text of Sheedy’s poll also fails to mention that it was paid for by her campaign.

By posting the results of the political poll on her official city website, Sheedy illegally used her “official position” in an attempt to foster her re-election campaign, violating the telephone advocacy and misuse of official position sections of the act, Langdon said in the complaint.

Those sections of the act state that public officials cannot use their position to influence decisions that are – or may come – before them in their official capacity by contacting any “member, officer, employee or consultant” of the agency that the official represents.

“Everybody pays for polls with campaign funds,” Cummins said. “Polling is a perfectly legitimate use of campaign funds.”

Cummins said Sheedy put the results of the poll on her official city webpage only after clearing it with the city attorney.

Sheedy and her staff will “take a look at the complaint,” Cummins said.

Langdon included news article from The Sacramento Bee in the complaint as evidence, however, according to Gary Winuk, FPPC Enforcement Division chief, a newspaper article is not considered evidence of a violation.

Tara Stock, FPPC spokeswoman, said Monday that after a complaint is received, FPPC Enforcement Division staff will notify the respondent – in this case Sheedy – within three days.

Sheedy will have 10 days to respond, and a determination will be made within 14 days whether the allegations in the complaint merit a full investigation.

“The length of any investigation will vary from case to case,” Stock said. “Timeframes depend on the specific allegations, the level of cooperation from all parties and whether witnesses need to be interviewed or subpoenas need to be issued.”

Sheedy was elected to the City Council for District 2 in 2000 and retained the council seat through the last two elections. She is up for re-election again in 2012.

Opponents vying for the seat have already come forward, including former Midtown Business Association executive director Rob Kerth and Kim Mack, 2008 local campaign organizer for President Barack Obama.

Local businessman Allen Wayne Warren has indicated interest in running for the District 2 council seat but has not made a formal announcement of candidacy.

Although the FPPC complaint challenges Sheedy’s re-election motives with the recent phone poll, Langdon is not a resident of District 2 and did not file the complaint as a constituent or as a potential opponent.

The FPPC was created by the Political Reform Act of 1974 as the enforcement agency for election laws.

Some areas of regulation that full under the FPPC authority include campaign financing and spending, financial conflicts of interest, lobbyist registration and reporting, mass mailings at public expense and gifts given to public officials.

Read the full FPPC complaint here.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter with The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Kim Mack jumps into City Council race with both feet

2011-10-27T01:11:41Z

Kim Mack said she decided to run for City Council District 2 because she saw a need that hasn’t been filled in her North Sacramento community: responsive leadership.

That isn’t necessarily a dig at the current council member for the district, Mack said Tuesday – it’s a statement of purpose.

Mack, 49, has a long career in government service under her belt, including campaign experience as a field organizer for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign where she was responsible for campaign activities from Bakersfield to the Oregon border.

Mack also worked on local campaigns including Ami Bera's recent run for the 3rd Congressional District and Richard Pan’s successful run for Assembly.

“I believe deeply in grassroots organizing and grassroots activism,” Mack said. “Working on those campaigns proved to me that I was right to believe in that. It showed me that with a little bit of leadership, we can achieve a lot.”

Now, Mack said, it’s her turn to jump into the political arena with both feet.

Although Mack was born in Sacramento, she moved with her parents to Redding as a teen. Mack moved back to Sacramento in 1992 and has lived in District 2 for 13 of the last 19 years.

Vince Mack, Kim’s husband of six years, is a middle school science teacher at Norwood Junior High school who has been teaching in the district for 23 years.

Incumbent Sandy Sheedy will face off against Mack and former Midtown Business Association Executive Director Rob Kerth in the coming City Council election – and more candidates may still enter the field.

“There’s a lot of people that see a vulnerability on Sheedy’s part,” Mack said. “She has not done a lot for the whole of the district. The majority of the district feels neglected, and now there is a resurgence in city activism.”

Mack said grassroots activism is her specialty, and she intends to engage fully in the district to bring people together to discuss community problems and deal with them.

“I am giving full-time focus to my campaign,” Mack said, “and I will be a full-time council person.”

Mack said she thinks it’s important to not be distracted as a council member, so she doesn’t plan to hold another job or serve on other boards or commissions during her time in office, if she wins the election.

“She really knows her community,” said Kimberly Durson, a legal clerk in Grass Valley and a former co-worker during the Obama campaign. “She is emotionally invested in Sacramento and in her neighbors.”

District 2 has large populations of Russian, Laotian, Hmong and African-American families, among others, Mack said.

With so much diversity in a single district, Mack said she feels it is “the responsibility of a leader to create understanding between people in all parts of the community.”

Mack said she wants to go into the community, connect with community leaders and get their input on how they see diverse cultures coming together.

“I want to have an understanding of each culture myself to become a pathway for bringing people together,” Mack said. “I’m not going to presume to know everything about everything.”

Mack said she has strong feelings about some of the policy issues that Sacramento has struggled with recently, including regulating medical marijuana dispensaries, redevelopment, and the recent Occupy Sacramento movement that has been active in Cesar Chavez Plaza for more than three weeks.

“I support the Occupy Sacramento movement,” Mack said. “General citizens need to be given the same consideration as banks have been given.”

However, Mack said she would like to see the movement have “a little more direction,” and for protesters to articulate exactly what they want to accomplish.

“The momentum (the movement) has gained warms my heart,” Mack said, “but now let’s use this strength to make something happen – let’s have a clearer end goal.”

Durson said setting goals and meeting them are Mack’s specialty.

“She is a really good organizer,” Durso said. “She runs a clean campaign – never disorganized or hard to understand what she’s trying to convey.”

Durson said Mack’s ability to work well under pressure will be an asset to her during the upcoming election.

“(Mack) digs in and works through challenges,” Durson said. “She’s been through hard times – her son in the military was deployed to Afghanistan, and she struggled with that. Some things are mind over heart, and she puts her head down and works hard to get through tough situations.”

When it comes to medical marijuana, Mack said she supports the voters’ decision to make it legal in California – as long as decisions about locations of dispensaries are well thought out.

“I support the law, but let’s be smart about it, and let’s be safe about it,” Mack said. “Industrial areas? Fine. Near schools and homes? No. We can be smart about how we approach it.”

Samantha Corbin, a friend who worked with Mack on local campaigns for Ami Bera for Congress and Dr. Richard Pan for Assembly, said Mack is “unique” in her commitment to finding “real solutions to real community problems.”

“She has a skill for helping voters find and tell their stories that makes her a perfect candidate for local office,” Corbin said. “She is a true community advocate.”

Mack said her fundamental priority – outside of restoring pride and empowering the community – is restoring city police and fire departments.

“Public safety is the top priority of municipalities,” Mack said. “I can tell you with 99.9 percent accuracy that I will never vote to lay off police officers and fire personnel.”

“Ordinary people doing extraordinary things.” Mack said that’s her favorite Obama quote – and it is exactly what she sees as the future of District 2.

“It might take more than four years; it might take more than eight years,” Mack said, “but you will see noticeable difference with me in office because there will be someone in the community, working for the community. Good or bad, I‘m not afraid to walk on those streets.”

Melissa Corker is a staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

SHRA to expand program to buy, rehab and resell foreclosed properties

2011-10-26T07:00:43Z

The City Council unanimously approved a program that allows the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency the ability to grant developers a “first look” at foreclosed properties for rehab and resale in Sacramento's low- and moderate-income neighborhoods – before the properties are put on the open market.

Through the new program – called the Pilot Foreclosed Property Access and Rehabilitation Program – developers can purchase vacant, foreclosed properties at discounted prices and then rehabilitate and resell those properties.

The benefit to developers is the early access to foreclosed homes provided through SHRA, allowing developers to purchase at a price lower than the developer could buy the property on their own.

The benefit to SHRA is the ability to take greater advantage of a resource that allows SHRA to continue revitalizing neighborhoods and providing affordable homeownership opportunities to Sacramento families.

The program will facilitate the rehabilitation of foreclosed, vacant properties for resale to qualifying homebuyers, according to a SHRA staff report.

“It’s designed to let SHRA and developers get a first look at foreclosed homes and buy them at a good price,” said Bill Watson, owner of The Money Brokers in Sacramento.

Watson is also a developer who participated in a similar housing improvement program in conjunction with SHRA that started in 2009 in Sacramento.

“We took houses that were blighted, boarded-up and otherwise not going anywhere,” Watson said, “and we got them fixed up and put homeowners in them.”

Between 2008 and 2010, Congress passed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) and allocated a total of $5 billion for housing programs throughout the nation.

The city and county of Sacramento received a portion of those funds – nearly $40 million, according to the SHRA report to the City Council.

SHRA implemented the Neighborhood Stabilization Program in June 2009 to use those funds for the purchase, rehabilitation and resale of foreclosed properties in targeted areas of the city and county.

The NSP program had limited funding, however. At the end of 2010 – after successfully funding the rehab and resale of more than 250 properties – funding began to run out, and the program slowed.

With the City Council’s approval Tuesday, SHRA can implement a new version of the program that does not require the level of funding that the previous programs required.

According to information from the SHRA website, the program focuses on areas most severely impacted by foreclosures and subprime lending. In weak housing markets, those areas don’t easily recover without some assistance.

The majority of these targeted areas are located in council districts 2 and 8, including the Del Paso Heights and Meadowview neighborhoods.

"I fully support SHRA programs that encourage homeownership," said Coucil member Bonnie Pannell. "It's always a good thing."

Pannell represents counci district 8 which includes a portion of the program's targeted areas.

Under the initial NSP, developers and investors purchased foreclosed properties and SHRA loaned funds for rehabilitation of the properties.

The loans were essentially reimbursements for capital invested by developers, and the program specified that the purchase, rehab and resale of the foreclosed properties could not result in a profit for the developers.

“You couldn’t make a profit, but they paid a developer fee of $30,000.” Watson said. “If (the developer) would have made more (on the resale) in the normal market, too bad. If they would have made less, then $30,000 looked good.”

Under the new program, SHRA will contract with developers to give them access to foreclosed property listings and then facilitate the transfer and sale process between the developers, lenders – but without lending rehab funds.

Developers who are approved for participation in the program will pay an annual fee of $1,000, plus a nominal transaction fee for each purchase. No direct financial assistance will be provided to developers participating in the program.

Watson said the program has “real value” because, not only does it “enhance neighborhoods,” it also requires hiring people at prevailing wage, and giving hiring priority to minority business enterprises – providing much-needed jobs in a down economy.

Watson said a significant restriction to the program is that properties have to be sold to owner-occupants.

“That enhances the curb appeal up and down the block because the owner is out there on Saturday mowing the lawn,” Watson said. “That is a good thing.”

~~Watson said homebuyers don’t have to be low-income, but they can’t exceed a certain level of income.~~

~~“(Buyers) would essentially be working-class folks,” Watson said.~~

The pilot program will go before the county Board of Supervisorsfor approval Nov. 8. If the Board of Supervisors does not approve the
program, SHRA would not implement it in the county.*

After the first year the program is in operation, the SHRA will return to City Council to report on success of the program and to make any recommendations for continuing the program or modifications for improvement.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Editorial Note: Corrections have been made to this story after it was published. Incorrect information has been struck out and new information has been added to the story, indicated by an asterisk.

Council likely to oppose state/federal facility site

2011-10-25T00:44:20Z

The Sacramento City Council is expected to join other local governments Tuesday in opposing an area adjacent to the American River Parkway near the Nimbus Dam as a proposed site for a federal and state joint operations center handling flood control.

Warren Truitt, president of the Save the American River Association (SARA), said the operations center, if built at Nimbus, would be a “visual blight” on the area.

“It’s absolutely outrageous to place this high-security facility next to the parkway,” he said, “and it needs to be in a higher area, not at 28 feet. If the dam were to break, this area would flood along with other residences in that area.”

Currently, three sites are under consideration for the operations center, which will employ about 600 people and open as early as 2015. The other two sites include Mather Field and a commercial center near Kilgore Road and Sunrise Boulevard in Rancho Cordova.

The center will be a partnership between the National Weather Service, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the California Department of Water Resources.

Workers at the center will be tasked with flood management and flood control, as well as emergency management during floods.

“We’re still early in the process. A decision hasn’t been made,” said Russ Grimes of the Bureau of Reclamation. He added that public opinion on the issue will “absolutely be considered.”

A resolution opposing the site adjacent to the American River Parkway is on the Sacramento City Council’s consent agenda for Tuesday, a portion of the agenda reserved for items not expected to be controversial among council members.

Councilman Steve Cohn said putting the three-story, 200,000-square-foot center next to the American River Parkway below the Nimbus Dam is a bad idea.

“The primary purpose of the parkway is recreation and nature, and so we don’t want a real large office structure within it,” he said. “Also, if we really have a major flood, you would want your emergency operations center to be outside the flood zone.”

Sandy Cooney, a spokesman for the Department of Water Resources, said the flood risk at the site is minimal, as it’s outside the 200-year flood protection zone.

“If that area would be in any way at risk for flooding, so too would the entire city of Sacramento,” he said. “The flood would have to be significant and catastrophic.”

He added that all three sites are being considered equally and echoed Grimes’ sentiment that public opinion will play a large part in the decision-making process.

The operations center is nothing new, as it has been located near Watt and El Camino avenues for the past 15 years, Grimes said. It was known at the time that the agencies would expand, and with leases expiring in 2015 and the current space being too small, it’s time for a move.

Several criteria were needed for the placement of the center, including a redundant power supply – power coming from multiple sources – a size big enough to accommodate the employees, a location outside of the 200-year flood plain and, ideally, it would be on government-owned property.

The Nimbus site met all the criteria, as it is on federally owned property, he said. It is bordered by the Nimbus Fish Hatchery, residences and Hazel Avenue.

Sacramento County unanimously adopted a resolution in opposition to the Nimbus site Sept. 20, and the city of Rancho Cordova adopted a similar resolution the same week, said Ted Wolter, chief of staff for County Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan.

“A building three stories tall with security fences and security lighting 24 hours per day is not appropriate for this space,” he said, adding that support from the city of Sacramento would be welcome.

“I think it just shows the region is united,” he said. “While we really want these jobs in the region – they’re there now, we want to keep those jobs – we want them to be compatible with the American River Parkway.”

Truitt said about 300 local residents and parkway users came to a Sept. 22 public meeting at the Sacramento State Aquatics Center on nearby Lake Natoma in opposition of the Nimbus site.

He said the other two sites under consideration are adequate, and SARA will continue to work with government officials to try to keep the Nimbus site from being chosen.

Sacramento City Councilman Jay Schenirer said the city is aiming to join with the county in opposing the Nimbus site even though it doesn’t fall within the city because it is a regional issue.

“I think if you look at the parkway and kind of Sacramento’s role, we have a lot of residents that use it,” he said. “I’m actually on the parkway every weekend. I think it’s a wonderful place to get away from everything, to enjoy the natural beauty Sacramento has. Putting something like that on there changes the focus.”

Though Sacramento might oppose the site, the city has no direct power the site, as it is federal property.

Cooney reiterated that the process is in its very early stages, and no decisions have yet been made.

“There are all kinds of discussions happening about the three different sites,” he said. “The comments people make are critically important to this process.”

To view the public website for the environmental process of the center, click here.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Bus tour shows off south area development

2011-10-21T02:12:03Z

District 8 City Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell hosted a bus tour Thursday highlighting recent redevelopment efforts and future growth opportunities throughout the district with a group of developers, real estate brokers and city employees – along with a few district residents and neighborhood association representatives.

“This is going to be a tour of opportunities,” said City Manager John Shirey at the start of the tour. “We’ve got a good future for this district.”

The Meadowview and south city areas have seen the second-greatest rate of growth in all of Sacramento, second only to North Natomas in District 1, Pannell said.

“We have had a lot of growth (in District 8),” Pannell said, “and we still have more land to be developed. We’re going to be looking for new projects – so developers on the tour, pay attention.”

Some of the economic development successes highlighted on the tour included a $350 million expansion of Kaiser Permanente, a new 20,000-square-foot Valley Hi/North Laguna public library, new recreational amenities with three new parks and the Phoenix Park development – a project completed in conjunction with the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency.

“One way we can get through our financial difficulties in the city is to grow our way out,” Shirey said. “I see the positives all around now. We’ve got something good started, and we can build on that.”

David Kwong, city planning director, pointed out on the tour more development activity at Meadowview Road and Freeport Boulevard, including a new Walgreens and a 20,000-square-foot veterinary hospital.

Kwong also noted the future site of a Fresh and Easy grocery store – something residents in the south area want and need but have very few of, according to Pannell.

“Meadowview really needs a grocery store,” Pannell said. “They’ve been talking about a grocery store for 13 years, and (the future Fresh and Easy) is the closest we’ve come.”

Pannell said residents often have to drive nearly two miles to the nearest store, and that creates a real challenge for people.

Nehla Buchanan, 46, a caregiver with the state of California, has lived in Pannell’s district for about a year. Buchanan said she moved to the Meadowview area because housing was affordable and there was a good opportunity for home ownership.

Buchanan’s neighborhood is adjacent to the future site of the planned Delta Shores development – an 800-acre mixed-use project that will include retail shops, single-family and multi-family housing, and office and commercial uses.

The project will also include at least one grocery store, according to Jain Wager, a developer with MerloneGeier Partners, the developer of Delta Shores.

“I love the Delta Shores development,” Buchanan said. “I can’t wait until they start building over there.”

Buchanan is part of the Meadowview Neighborhood Association, and the group has held numerous meetings with Pannell and city staff to give input into the many changes happening in the district.

“We’ve worked with Ms. Pannell specifically on improvements in our neighborhood, and it’s been so helpful,” Buchanan said. “We will continue to give our input to new things that are happening here.”

Jesse Reese, president of the Meadowview Neighborhood Association, has been a community activist for more than 35 years in the south city area.

“It’s good to see us grow,” Reese said. “It’s inspiring to see things that we’ve worked toward for a very long time finally happening.”

Reese said that, when the idea for Delta Shores was first discussed nearly 30 years ago, the developers at the time wanted to open “another Mack Road” with nothing but apartment complexes, Reese said.

“We wanted more of a development than that,” Reese said. “We now see (developers) MerloneGeier doing something better and hearing what (neighborhood associations) have been wanting.”

Reese said that, as the area develops more, he and the MNA will continue to reach out to City Council to make sure the issues that concerned neighbors want addressed don’t get lost in the shuffle.

City Economic Development Director Jim Reinhart said that, over the past five years, south area neighborhoods have experienced a real growth spurt – but it’s gone “unnoticed” for the most part.

Pannell said south area development has been largely ignored because downtown and North Natomas have been getting the lion’s share of attention at City Hall.

“We have a ton of land that needs to be developed,” Pannell said. “So, we’ve been quietly developing small plots, plugging along and hoping that one day someone would notice.”

The bus tour was the second one in four years that Pannell has hosted. The next one won’t be planned for another two or three years, she said, to allow time for “even more growth and development to show off later on.”

“Even though we still have a lot of vacant land, we have done a lot,” Pannell said. “And we’ll do even more before the next tour.”

Pannell said she hopes to see a new, 200-plus-unit senior center that is in the planning stages get approval in time to break ground next summer.

“I want the light rail South Line to start next year,” Pannell said, “and the Cosumnes River Boulevard connection (between Interstate 5 and Highway 99) to happen next year, too.”

Gwendolyn Feathers, 67, a resident of the district since 1988, said she has seen a lot of the growth and development projects going up in the district, but this was the first bus tour of the area that she has been on.

“I’ve learned so much today,” Feathers said. “We have really been building up in the area – it’s exciting.”

Although City Council approval is in place, the Delta Shores development does not yet have a planned construction start date, according to Wager.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Council gives go ahead for study of 'neighborhood friendly' river crossings

2011-10-20T00:58:26Z

The City Council unanimously gave the go-ahead for a feasibility study of seven potential river crossing locations Tuesday and accepted a definition for “neighborhood-friendly bridge” that will set the parameters for design of those bridges.

“This has been a long time coming for both communities,” West Sacramento Mayor Chris Cabaldon said at the Sacramento City Council meeting. “We obsess about the boundaries between the two cities, but the economic vitality, cultural vitality and the urban agenda for both of our communities will be enhanced by being better connected.”

Location details of potential river crossings can be found here.

There are currently three major bridges crossing the river between Sacramento and West Sacramento: Pioneer Bridge, Tower Bridge and I Street Bridge.

That’s not nearly enough to efficiently handle the amount of current traffic, say project planners – let alone any increases in traffic flow that may be the result of building a new entertainment and sports complex in the future.

“Sacramento is underserved by its current connections,” said Ryan Moore, senior engineer with the Sacramento Department of Transportation.

Moore said the limited connectivity across the river creates over-abundant traffic on all of the existing bridges. Also, the three current bridges don’t fully comply with current design standards making non-vehicle uses more difficult – and making the bridges vulnerable during natural disasters or earthquake.

Moore asked council members to allow staff to seek funding for a feasibility study of seven potential river crossing locations. Moore said a feasibility study would allow city staff to find the “greatest amount of benefit” for both Sacramento and West Sacramento.

“It doesn’t commit us to any particular location,” Moore said. “It’s just an evaluation of all the possible locations.”

According to a city of Sacramento staff report, the cities of Sacramento and West Sacramento shared the cost of an initial “need and purpose” study for river crossings, and it is expected that the two cities will continue to work together on future aspects of the project.

The majority of costs involved in a feasibility study are fixed, regardless of the number of crossing locations evaluated, according to the staff report.

Jerry Way, Sacramento’s transportation director, said that “for the cities of Sacramento and West Sacramento to do their due diligence,” the total cost for an evaluation of seven crossing locations is estimated to be between $600,000 and $850,000.

Funds have not been committed for future phases of work, Way said.

Sacramento City Councilman Rob Fong, who represents District 4, where all of the potential river crossings are located, said Tuesday that he is exciting about the possibility of opening more connections with the city of West Sacramento.

“We can’t overstate the importance of connectivity,” Fong said. “It creates economic development opportunities.”

At the July 19 Sacramento City Council meeting, city staff presented council members with a “Need and Purpose Study” for potential river crossings to connect Sacramento to West Sacramento.

One point of contention with council members at that meeting was the term “neighborhood-friendly” bridge.

All of the council members agreed that this was the type of bridge everyone would want, but they disagreed on how to define that term in a way that satisfied each council member’s ideal.

The definition that city staff brought back to council Tuesday – and which was accepted by council members in their final vote – outlined a “neighborhood-friendly” bridge as:

* Primarily serving short local trips.
* Serves all users – including motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians, low-energy vehicles and public transit riders.
* Architecturally pleasing and contextually appropriate aesthetics and dimensions for adjacent neighborhoods.
* Does not require widening of the approaching roadways just to accommodate bridge flows.
* Designed with a target traffic speed equal to or less than the roadways approaching the bridge.
* Does not connect directly to streets that are primarily residential.

Fong told council members that he was satisfied with the new definition and felt it would work well with both cities.

“One thing I was worried about (with a potential new bridge) was the scaling,” Fong said. “We don’t want a massive, overwhelming bridge. The good citizens of West Sacramento also want neighborhood-friendly bridges.”

Councilwoman Angelique Ashby, who – until the recent redrawing of district lines – represented one area where a new crossing is being considered, said that she also supports the idea of moving forward with a feasibility study.

“We need to get it right, and we need to get it done,” Ashby said. “This is a great time for us to study all of our options. (New river crossings) will help us with jobs, with public safety and with routes in and out of our communities.”

Some members of the public who commented at Tuesday’s council meeting were critical of the crossing locations selected for study. One speaker approached the podium with “an offer I hope (the council) cannot refuse.”

“You have before you a proposal to study seven bridges at a cost of almost $800,000,” said Jim Randlett of the Sacramento River Crossings Association.

“I propose that you limit the study to just three possible locations – the downtown section to connect Sacramento to West Sacramento – thereby cutting the cost in half and saving $400,000 for the two cities.”

Randlett said that the downtown locations make the most sense because they are in “a central place between the two cities” – an area that is the proposed site for a new entertainment and sports complex and a major transportation hub for Sacramento.

The other four locations, Randlett said, either already have a crossing or are not sufficient for “pushing thousands of (commuting) cars through.”

Calling Randlett’s offer “fetching,” Fong said the cost of a complete study on all seven potential locations would be money well-spent because it would allow the City Council to “make a well-informed decision” about any future river crossings.

“This literally is a go-ahead to spend the money and do the study,” Fong added.

To fund the feasibility study, Moore said he and his staff will look for opportunities for federal grants, Sacramento Area Council of Governments grants, funds from the Sacramento Transportation Authority and possibly Measure A tax revenues.

Measure A (2004) created a quarter-cent sales tax for transportation projects in Sacramento county.

Moore said the feasibility study may take between 12 and 18 months, including finding a consultant, competing traffic analyses, coordinating with regulating agencies – Coast Guard, California Department of Fish and Game and others – as well as public outreach to residents and business owners in the areas that would be affected most by the construction of a new river crossing.

Meilssa Corker is a Staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

'Occupy' protesters bring their message to City Hall once again

2011-10-19T06:04:15Z

Occupy Sacramento protesters told City Council members Tuesday in no uncertain terms – “Tyranny.” “Unconstitutional.” “Treason.” – that their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and assembly are being violated by an ordinance that prohibits overnight camping in city parks.)

“We should not be here to teach you about the Constitution,” said Sacramento resident David Witkin, 28. “We are here to tell you what your constituents want.”

Protesters who have taken over Cesar Chavez Plaza for nearly two weeks showed up in force at City Hall Tuesday to ask council members – again – to consider an exception to the law allowing them 24-hour access to the park.

“The Constitution wasn’t drafted only during business hours,” said Sacramento resident Christina Kay Plumb, 25. “We need to occupy this park day and night to get officials to think about the issues day and night.”

Eileen Teichert, city attorney, told council members that the rights to freedom of speech and assembly are protected by law and honored by the city – but it’s not an “unfettered right.”

Teichert said there is longstanding precedent allowing government to exercise its police power to set “reasonable time, place and manner restrictions” on the use of its parks and other public facilities.

Vacaville resident and mother of a soldier killed in Afganistan Cindy Sheehan urged council members to consider the protesters’ requests for action.

“This movement is growing, and it’s not going to go away – no matter how much it is suppressed,” Sheehan said, “so you might as well start supporting it.”

The current camping ordinance states that Cesar Chavez Plaza – like all parks in the city – is closed from “dusk to dawn.”

Mayor Kevin Johnson said at a press conference Tuesday that he “wholeheartedly” supports the efforts of the Occupy Sacramento movement, but he feels the limits in the city ordinance are appropriate.

“I don’t think it is in our best interests to remove the existing ordinance,” Johnson said. “That’s my perspective, but I’m just one vote out of nine on the council.”

Johnson said the time limitations of the camping ordinance provide “ample time” for protesters to be speak and be heard.

According to a city staff report, an extension of park hours – or a temporary “exception” to the ordinance – would open the possibility of setting a precedent for exceptions to the rule.

Sacramento resident and Occupy Sacramento participant Anthony Gallardo, 27, said Tuesday that the group isn’t trying to “take over the park” to have a place to go camping.

“We are just trying to occupy it – to just be there, 24/7 and say our message,” Gallardo said.

Sacramento Police Chief Rick Braziel told council members that, despite the posted “dusk to dawn” park closure, the police department has allowed protesters to remain in the park until 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and until midnight on Friday and Saturday.

But that’s not 24-hour access – and therein lies the problem for Occupy Sacramento organizers and protesters.

“It’s not about the five hours or six hours (that the park is closed). It’s much bigger than that,” Gallardo said. “The Constitution gives us the right to peaceably assemble. It doesn’t specify a time or a place. This is about our freedom of speech and freedom to assemble.”

Braziel said there has been average of 40 to 250 protesters each day at Cesar Chavez Plaza.

Between Oct. 6 and Monday, the police made 58 arrests for unlawful assembly while participating in the Occupy Sacramento protests. Thirteen people have been arrested more than once.

According to Braziel, all of those arrests were peaceful, and none of them resulted in injury.

Organizers of Occupy Sacramento initially said local protests would come to an end on Oct. 15. Three days later, protesters remain at Cesar Chavez Plaza, with no new target ending date in sight.

“This event is set for an indefinite period of time,” said Sara Beth Brooks, 26, one of the Occupy Sacramento organizers. “We believe that limiting the time we can protest is an affront to our First Amendment rights.”

The occupation of Cesar Chavez Plaza has so far been peaceful, and Gallardo and Brooks said that is how it will stay.

“No violence, no threats of violence, no drinking, no drugs and no sexual harassment – those are the core values of this group,” Gallardo said. “If we all lived by those rules, it’d be a perfect world.”

More than an hour into public comment, the City Council had not yet taken any action on the item.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

The Sacramento Press on 'Insight'

2011-10-19T01:22:09Z

During The Sacramento Press’ spot on Capital Public Radio’s “Insight” Tuesday morning, host Jeffrey Callison and I discussed the Occupy Sacramento movement, early turns in the upcoming City Council elections, a design competition for Capitol Mall and the arrival of a sailing vessel in Old Sacramento.

With the Occupy Sacramento demonstration well into its second week, protesters are upset that Cesar Chavez Plaza is closed from 11 p.m. - 5 a.m. due to a city ordinance. Sacramento Police Department spokeswoman Laura Peck said Monday that 58 arrests have been made, and the City Council plans to decide whether to allow the protesters to stay in the park after hours, after they went to City Hall last week.

More city politics have been in the news lately, with City Councilman Rob Fong announcing last week that he will not seek another term, instead pursuing a career as a lobbyist. Shortly after the announcement, Steve Hansen, a local activist, announced he will run for the District 4 seat. This will be the first election since District 4 took over most of the central city, which was previously split between three districts.

The former Red Lotus spot on J Street in Midtown has a new tenant, with January being the earliest possible opening date. The currently unnamed business will be a 50/50 mix of restaurant and bar, and it has a special incentive for employees: They will be given a share of the profits.

A few blocks down J Street, the owner of Thai Basil and the upstairs Level Up Lounge wants to add a second-floor deck area so people in the lounge will not have to go down to the street level to smoke, and the deck will also serve as a more permanent roof over the patio seating at Thai Basil. Neighbors raised concerns about added noise, but the Planning Commission approved the project on Thursday.

Federal prosecutors in Southern California have announced that they will go after print, TV and radio advertising for medicinal marijuana, and some Sacramento publications, notably Sacramento News & Review and The Sacramento Bee, have carried those advertisements. SN&R was able to hire more reporters within the past year due to the ads even as general advertising revenues fell across the industry. The Sacramento Bee recently announced its decision to start carrying them. The Sacramento Press has previously reached out to medical marijuana dispensaries for advertising but did not run any advertisements from them. For a timeline on medical marijuana issues in California, click here.

Sacramento received 48 submissions that met the criteria for its Catalyst Capitol Mall Design Competition, which was held to bring international attention to the section of Capitol Mall between Tower Bridge and 10th Street as the city looks for a “big idea” for the space after the state relinquished control of it in 2006. A jury selected the winners, which will be announced Nov. 9. The public can weigh in on the designs as well by clicking here and following the link to the voting page.

Anyone wanting insight into merchant sailing in the 18th century can visit the tall ship Hawaiian Chieftain, docked in Old Sacramento near Tower Bridge until mid-December. Visitors can tour the ship, where crew members will be standing by to answer questions and give history of an era gone by.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Local historian Burg appointed to Sacramento Heritage board

2011-10-18T04:03:49Z

Local historian, author and preservation buff William Burg was appointed Tuesday to the Sacramento Heritage, Inc. Board of Directors – an organization dedicated to preserving and promoting the rich history of Sacramento.

It comes as no surprise that Burg should be interested in the position: With three published local history books under his belt, a degree in public history from Sacramento State and years on the boards of both the Sacramento County Historical Society and the Sacramento Old City Association – history is what Burg is all about.

“Public history is for historians who do things other than teach,” Burg said Monday. “It’s for historians working in museums, archivists – anyone interested in the field of historic preservation.”

Sacramento Heritage provides grants and loans to historic properties, conducts historic property surveys and has produced walking tour brochures of many of the city’s historic districts.

Burg said that he wanted to join the Sacramento Heritage Board of Directors because the organization works directly with the city to promote what he refers to as “heritage tourism” – tourism based on the history of a city more than on the entertainment or recreation possibilities.

“Heritage tourism is really important,” Burg said. “Cities with a rich heritage tourism program are beneficial to the local economy.”

Burg said heritage tourists typically stay longer and spend more money in a community than the average tourist.

Heritage tourism can be a big draw to a city, Burg said – if people know what a city has to offer.

“People who want to explore (this) city’s history will usually go to Old Sacramento,” Burg said, “but (they) may not go past I-5 and just don’t know that there are interesting older neighborhoods in the city.”

Another reason for joining the Sacramento Heritage Board of Directors, Burg said, is that he wants to be a part of the work that it does promoting adaptive reuse for old city buildings.

Essentially, instead of using “virgin” resources in construction, adaptive reuse makes the most of what is already there, creating more efficient redevelopment of old buildings.

“Fixing up old buildings creates more jobs per dollar than building new buildings,” Burg said.

According to Burg, in new building construction projects, materials account for half of the cost, and labor accounts for the other half.

In adaptive reuse, the division of cost shifts to two-thirds for labor and only one-third for materials – that means more jobs in the community and a more positive economic effect, Burg said.

“We do have a lot of valuable resources in the city that (are) worth showing to people, and people want to see (them),” Burg said. “These are proven ways to increase jobs and boost our economy.”

Peter Keat, owner of Time Tested Books on 21st Street in Sacramento, has known Burg for more than a decade – some of that time as customer, other times as an author discussing his books on Sacramento history – and Time Tested carries copies of Burg’s books.

“He will be an excellent addition to the (Sacramento Heritage) board,” Keat said. “He is very knowledgeable and well-informed about the history of Sacramento.”

Burg published his first Sacramento history book, “Sacramento’s Streetcars,” in July 2006.

He followed “Streetcars” with two more books, “Sacramento’s Southside Park” in September 2007, and “Sacramento: Then and Now” in September 2008.

Keat said Burg has participated in the store’s monthly Living Library presentations, most recently discussing architecture in the city dating up to the 1930s.

The Living Library is a series of discussions and presentations featuring local artists, historians, writers and other commentators on culture in Sacramento.

“(Burg) will work well in the team environment of a board,” Keat said. “He is very easy to work with.”

According to Katia Ligaiviu, deputy city clerk, Sacramento Heritage and its nine-member board of directors were established by a City Council resolution in 1975. It was established as a 501(c)3 nonprofit to implement a yearly program that would provide for the preservation of architecturally and historically significant buildings in Sacramento.

Roberta Deering, senior planner with the Community Development Department, said Monday that, most notably, Sacramento Heritage established an official Historic Properties Plaque program and two new walking tours for the downtown area, “with more coming in other areas of the central city soon.”

The historic plaque program is designed to officially recognize designated historic homes and landmarks within the city of Sacramento.

Burg is replacing previous board member Marc De La Vergne, who maxed out his term and vacated the position in November 2010.

The Sacramento Heritage board meets monthly, and there is no compensation for any position on the board. Burg’s first meeting as a Sacramento Heritage director will be in November.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MeissaCorker.

Hansen throws his hat into the ring for District 4 Council seat

2011-10-14T00:59:26Z

Local community activist Steve Hansen announced Thursday that he will run for City Council in 2012, seeking the District 4 council seat currently held by Councilman Rob Fong, who announced Wednesday that he will not seek another term.

At the moment, he is the only horse on the track for District 4, but Hansen said he knows others may join the race.

The lack of – or potential for – other candidates wasn’t part of his decision to run, however.

“I decided to run regardless of other potential candidates,” Hansen said. “I think competition is a good thing, and I hope for a constructive conversation during the race.”

Hansen, 32, is a senior regional manager at Genentech, a biotech company, and a community activist. Hansen has been associated with the Downtown Sacramento Partnership since 2009, and was involved in the redistricting effort as a member of the Citizens Redistricting Advisory Committee for Sacramento.

Hansen said he wants the election to be an opportunity to talk about things important to the community – starting with jobs and homelessness in the downtown corridor.

“We have a shrinking tax base, so our economy is in trouble,” Hansen said, “and homelessness in the city isn’t just a social problem, it’s an economic problem. These are hard issues, and we have a responsibility to deal with the hard stuff.”

The goals that he wants to achieve are nothing new to the city, Hansen said, but he wants to pick up where others have left off and build some momentum for positive changes.

“I hope people have high expectations of me, because I want to live up to high expectations,” Hansen said. “We could set the bar low, but that doesn’t help anyone.”

Rosanna Herber, president of the Sacramento Rainbow Chamber of Commerce, has known Hansen for nearly 10 years through his activism in the LGBT community.

“Steve (Hansen) is one of the brightest people that I know,” Herber said Thursday after learning of his candidacy announcement.

“He is very passionate about whatever he gets involved in, and I can say with certainty that he will take this campaign very seriously,” Herber added.

Herber worked with Hansen on developing a redistricting map during the summer and said that Hansen’s commitment to the process was unwavering throughout.

“He really did help us with the linkages to Equality California and the redistricting partners that put data together to show where supporters of the LGBT community live,” Herber said.

Equality California is a nonprofit civil rights organization that advocates for the rights of LGBT people.

Hansen has the support of Herber and many from the LGBT community, Herber said, because of his active involvement in community issues.

“With (Hansen), you have a seasoned community activist who knows the political game and knows the politics of running for a seat,” Herber said. “There is no question that he will have a strong chance of getting elected.”

Although Hansen has been active in the Sacramento LGBT community by working with the Rainbow Chamber to develop a new district map during the recent redistricting process, he said he is not running as “the gay candidate,” nor does he have a “gay agenda.”

“There’s nothing gay about jobs,” Hansen said. “There’s nothing gay about homelessness – we have challenges (in Sacramento) that are unrelated to my being gay.”

Hansen said he feels Sacramento is “a very thoughtful city” and its citizens are committed to equality.

“There is no such thing as the ‘gay ticket’ in any race,” Hansen said. “It just isn’t relevant.”

Luis Sumpter, president of the Alkali Flat Neighborhood Association, said Thursday that he’s excited about Hansen’s candidacy.

“(Hansen) lives in the neighborhood, and he’s actively involved as a resident,” Sumpter said. “I think he’ll be a really good candidate.”

Sumpter noted Hansen’s involvement in efforts to unify downtown and Midtown into a single district during the redistricting process and said he’ll be interested to hear Hansen’s election platform.

Not everyone is following the Steve Hansen bandwagon right out of the gate, however. Some business leaders acquainted with Hansen declined to comment on Hansen’s announcement, saying it’s too soon to endorse any candidate.

Hansen said this doesn’t surprise him.

“Everyone should make (his or her) own decision,” Hansen said. “I think there is no one that should be taken for granted, and no support that I shouldn’t earn.”

Hansen is putting together the infrastructure of his campaign – starting with a campaign committee (“Steve Hansen for Council 2012”), a website and new Twitter account – and he expects to start fundraising in the weeks to come.

“It’s easy to be against things, especially in hard economic times,” Hansen said. “I want us to start talking about what we’re for and how we’re going to support what we really believe is good for the city.”

In every election, there is political drama, and Hansen said he is prepared for anyone looking for skeletons in his closet.

“There really are none,” Hansen said.

Hansen said he has a few things in mind for the future of District 4, but said the current council member has done good work that Hansen won’t minimize.

“(Rob) Fong has worked hard to do some really good work over the years,” Hansen said. “He really put a lot of energy into the arts, and our arts are in a fragile place. His kind of day-in and day-out work doesn’t get headlines, but it’s so important. I want to keep that going.”

The official candidate filing date is Feb. 1. Until then, Hansen said he is going to be working on organizing his campaign and building support for his candidacy.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento press. Followher on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Feds crack down on medical marijuana dispensaries

2011-10-13T06:28:10Z

Local medical marijuana dispensaries recently came under fire as the federal government began cracking down on illegal marijuana growing and dispensing operations across the nation.

But wait – medical marijuana is legal in California, right? Yes and no.

In the wake of a June 2011 memo sent to state attorney generals from the Department of Justice warning of the federal government’s intention to shut down illegal marijuana operations, there have been numerous raids on dispensaries in California.

Some local operators have received warning letters that they may be next.

“Joanne,” a dispensary operator in Sacramento who wants to remain anonymous, said Wednesday that local operators have always known the federal government might intervene.

“There’s never been a promise that it wouldn’t happen,” Joanne said. “Everyone is on high alert now.”

Under federal law, the production, distribution and use of marijuana for any purpose is illegal.

Exceptions have been made, however.

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed the Compassionate Investigational New Drug Study program allowing a select handful of patients to use marijuana for medical purposes.

The program was closed to new applicants in 1992, largely due to a huge increase in applications from AIDS patients. After the program was closed, 13 patients already in the program were allowed to continue. Of those, four currently remain on the program.

In California, a statewide voter initiative – Proposition 215, known as the Compassionate Use Act – was passed in 1996 by 56 percent of the voters, allowing medical access to marijuana for seriously ill patients.

As of 2011, 16 states have medical marijuana laws on the books that recognize a medicinal value for marijuana. California is one of them.

Despite state laws popping up across the nation, the federal law has remained unchanged – marijuana use for any purpose is still illegal.

In 2007, as Barack Obama was campaigning for president of the United States, he stated his support of legalization of marijuana for medical purposes. However, until it was legalized, Obama said, he wouldn’t use federal resources to enforce the federal law.

A memo from the Department of Justice followed in October 2009, reiterating that the DOJ wouldn’t focus federal resources on prosecuting “individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws” for the medical marijuana use.

Although the memo did not “legalize” marijuana, it opened the floodgates for dispensary operators to open shop in states that had laws on the books allowing medical marijuana use.

Max Del Real, a lobbyist for the Sacramento Alliance of County Collectives (SACC), a medical cannabis trade association, said in a July interview that there were approximately 45 to 65 medical marijuana dispensaries operating in Sacramento county at that time – but that number was just an estimate since none of those operations were permitted through county administration.

According to a city staff report, when the city enacted its medical marijuana ordinance in November 2010, there were already 39 registered medical marijuana dispensaries operating in the city.

A new influx of dispensaries – including some large-scale, industrial marijuana cultivation centers with revenue projections in the millions of dollars – quickly caught the attention of the DOJ.

In an attempt to curtail this potential profiteering, U.S. Attorney General James M. Cole released the June memo stating that the DOJ would use federal resources to prosecute illegal marijuana cultivation, distribution and use – including marijuana for medicinal purpose.

“The Ogden (Memo) was never intended to shield such activities from federal enforcement action and prosecution, even where those activities purport to comply with state law,” Cole stated.

Hence, the DOJ was essentially saying that state laws regarding the legalization of medicinal marijuana are irrelevant when it comes to the prosecution of marijuana growers, sellers and distributors.

Ryan Landers, director for the American Alliance for Medical Cannabis, said he disagrees with the DOJ’s stance on medical marijuana, calling the recent enforcement actions of the Department of Justice “heavy-handed” and unnecessary.

“The genie’s out of the bottle, and the Feds are trying to shove it back in,” Landers said. “We could achieve the same thing through regulation instead of direct attack.”

Despite the recent focus on prosecuting dispensaries by the federal government, Sgt. Andrew Pettit, Sacramento Police Department spokesman, said that the department isn’t “cracking down” on dispensaries.

“We don’t have a narcotics team,” Pettit said. “Our concern with (dispensary operators) is only that they follow the regulations.”

Pettit said the department has specific protocols to follow when an operator is in violation of any local ordinance, and police officers will turn those cases over to the District Attorney.

Joanne said that it’s the “opportunists” that break the rules, doing harm to the industry and harm to the patients.

“There some bad apples out there, yes,” Joanne said. “But it isn’t the industry as a whole. The few that break the rules make the rest of us look bad.”

Still, Joanne said the DOJ raids are not necessarily a bad thing.

“It’s going to be a good thing when the dust clears,” Joanne said. “It will make the industry better, and the grey areas a little less grey.”

Calls for comment to the Department of Justice and the state Attorney General’s Office were not returned by press time.

MEDICAL MARIJUANA TIMELINE
1978 – Federal court rules in favor of a glaucoma patient’s use of medical marijuana in Randall v. U.S.

1978 – President Jimmy Carter signs the Compassionate Investigational New Drug Study program

1992 – President George H. W. Bush closes the CIND program to new applicants. Only four individuals remain in the program.

1996 – California voters pass the Compassionate Use Act (Proposition 215), legalizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

2001 – U.S. Supreme Court rules that state and federal laws do not need to conform with each other.

2007 – Presidential candidate Barack Obama states support of medical marijuana legalization, and assures voters he will not use any federal resources to enforce the current federal law.

2008 – The California legislature passes Senate Bill 420 (SB420), instituting a statewide medical marijuana ID card program.

2008 – Attorney General Jerry Brown clarifies state medical marijuana guidelines, requiring dispensaries to become collective nonprofit organizations.

May 2009 – The city of Sacramento enacts an ordinance to allow dispensary operators to apply for special operating permits within the city.

October 2009 – The Ogden Memo is released from the Department of Justice reiterating that federal resources will not be used to enforce current federal laws against medical marijuana users.

June 2011 – The Cole Memo is released from the Department of Justice stating that federal resources will be used to enforce current federal laws prohibiting marijuana production, distribution and use.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Occupy Sacramento protesters want exception to city camping law

2011-10-12T05:42:42Z

After 35 arrests in six days for violating a city camping ordinance, a group of Occupy Sacramento protesters marched to City Hall Tuesday to ask City Council members for an exception to the law so they can have 24-hour access to Cesar Chavez Plaza for peaceable demonstration.

“This is a fundamental constitutional issue,” said Sacramento resident David Whitfield, speaking on behalf of Occupy Sacramento. “Individuals are exercising their First Amendment rights, and no legislative body can abridge those rights.”

Demonstrators representing a wide range of ages and walks of life have gathered for more than six days in Cesar Chavez Plaza at Ninth and L streets to participate in the Occupy Sacramento movement.

The movement, which includes public protests, marches and organized demonstrations, began as a “show of solidarity” with similar protest movements that have cropped up across the nation in recent weeks, said Sara Beth Brooks, one of Occupy Sacramento’s coordinators

The effort calls for demonstrators to “occupy” a public space continuously during the protests – but, by doing that, Sacramento demonstrators have run afoul of a city ordinance prohibiting overnight camping in public parks.

The ordinance was enacted to keep public streets and parks “clean, sanitary and accessible” to residents and the public at large, according to the city code.

Brooks said that participants in Occupy Sacramento are not camping, however – they are exercising their First Amendment right to “peaceably assemble.”

And they will continue to exercise their right, Brooks said, “indefinitely.”

“There is no set end to the statement we are making,” Brooks said. “We are committed to seeing this through and having our voices heard.”

More than 300 people attended the council meeting Tuesday. Fifteen people spoke during public comment at the meeting to describe the nature of the occupation demonstration and to ask for an exception to the law.

According to the city code, the city manager may issue a temporary permit to allow camping on public property in connection with a special event. The code does not specify a maximum length of time for the exception to be valid.

According to police spokesman Andrew Pettit, interactions between police officers and the demonstrators over the past week have been “peaceful,” and the demonstrators have been “very cooperative.”

“The purpose of this (occupation) has been educational awareness,” said Ari Rashid, one of the coordinators of the Occupy Sacramento movement. “We want to discuss the issues that plague our society and our nation.”

Rashid and other speakers told council members that the extended demonstration has been carried out peacefully and largely without incident.

“We are not a public nuisance,” Rashid said, “and we are nothing less than peaceable. We want to keep the occupation going in Cesar Chavez park.”

Brooks said in an email Tuesday that 20 protesters were arrested Thursday, one on Friday and 14 Saturday.

All were arrested for unlawful assembly, Brooks said.

“This is the first time in my 24 years of life that I’ve experienced direct democracy,” Rashid told council members. “These (protests) are happening because people feel like they aren’t being heard. I’m here tonight to be heard.”

Councilman Steve Cohn told audience members that he had visited with demonstrators at Cesar Chavez Plaza on Monday evening, and he noted that the group was “definitely peaceful.”

The City Council could not take action on the request for an ordinance exemption at Tuesday’s meeting because it was not an item on the agenda. If the council took any action without proper public notice, it would be a violation of the Brown Act.

Eileen Teichert, Sacramento’s city attorney, confirmed that the city manager has authority to grant an exception to the camping ordinance, however, it would still be an action requiring public notice.

The Brown Act requires that the public is notified at least 72 hours in advance of council meetings which matters will be on the agenda for that meeting.

Cohn asked city staff to add an item to the next council meeting agenda to discuss changing the current policy on camping as an exception for this demonstration.

“Demonstrations are happening in Seattle, Portland, San Diego and Washington, D.C.,” Cohn said. “I feel like this city ought to be able to figure out how to make this work, too.”

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Sacramento leaders learn from New Orleans tour

2011-10-12T00:52:54Z

A delegation of Sacramento business and political leaders returned from a four-day tour of New Orleans with fresh insight into what it takes for a city to recover and thrive after a disaster, including improving transportation methods, sustainable housing and flood protections.

“New Orleans had a unique opportunity to reinvent itself because of all the investments made there after Katrina,” City Councilman Kevin McCarty said Tuesday. “We need to look at how we can reinvent ourselves here, too.”

On Tuesday, Council Members Angelique Ashby, Steve Cohn and Kevin McCarty and Mayor Kevin Johnson shared the lessons learned from the people in New Orleans about methods of recovery the city has used to rebuild itself after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005.

“(New Orleans) Mayor (Mitch) Landrieu is a vibrant, energetic mayor,” Johnson said, “and he is an excellent example of the focus it takes to turn things around after a disaster. We went (there) to learn from the work they have done in New Orleans.”

Johnson, Ashby, Cohn, McCarty and 85 other delegates joined Maggie Townsley, public policy vice chairwoman for the Sacramento Metro Chamber, for the chamber‘s 13th annual study mission in Louisiana last week.

The study mission is a program the Metro Chamber develops every year to provide a learning experience for delegates about the challenges faced by other regions and how they successfully manage those challenges for long-term regional prosperity, according to the chamber website.

“We represent about 170,000 employees in the Sacramento region,” Townsley said. “One of the key things we do is partner with government and nonprofit organizations to further specific objectives for the region.”

Some of the objectives highlighted on this year’s study mission include improving city transportation, public housing and flood control.

Delegates on the tour had the opportunity to meet with Landrieu and other civic leaders and came away with ideas for improving Sacramento and the region.

“It’s been six years since New Orleans was hit by Hurricane Katrina,” Ashby said Tuesday, “but the devastation from that event was widespread, and you can still see it.”

Ashby said that one thing that struck her was that the flood waters during the hurricane reached nearly 20 feet in height.

“Should our levees break in Natomas,” Ashby said, “we could be as deep as 33 feet. We can’t let that happen.”

Ashby said it is necessary to improving flood protection for the region, including having the levees in her district certified by the federal government for improvement funding.

One thing McCarty said he found fascinating in New Orleans was how they are rebuilding their public housing.

“One in five kids lives in poverty,” McCarty said, “and many times those families are isolated in neighborhoods divided from economic development and grocery stores and other public investments that improve the neighborhood.”

McCarty said one thing that the city of New Orleans has done to “reinvent” the city’s public housing is taking down old units and rebuilding them as mixed-income units.

“They are making sure they have (an economic) blend to bring in development opportunities,” McCarty said. “That is something we are going to look at for some of our neighborhoods here in Sacramento.

McCarty said that neighborhood housing and development, especially for low-income populations, should be a priority for Sacramento.

Representatives from the Sacramento Metro Chamber are preparing a report about the study mission and said they expect it to be completed sometime next week.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Kerth leaves MBA to focus on City Council run

2011-10-11T01:00:12Z

Rob Kerth is stepping down from his position as the Midtown Business Association’s executive director to focus his attention on a run for a City Council seat in 2012.

“It’s like climbing a mountain,” Kerth said Monday of his departure from the MBA. “Once I’ve done what I needed to do, then I need to go find a new mountain.”

The Midtown Business Association is a nonprofit organization that started in 1983. According to the MBA website, the goal of the organization is to “improve Midtown Sacramento through public maintenance, marketing, business advocacy and economic development.”

Kerth was hired as Executive Director in July 2008.

He said in an email that his official last day as executive director is Friday, but he plans to continue working with staff and consultants during the transition to “ensure the continuity of MBA's programs, such as Second Saturday (Art Walks), Midtown Cocktail Week, and graffiti and litter cleanup.”

“I want to help the association continue programs that are in place,” Kerth said, “and there are some things that haven’t yet been instituted but are under way that I want to still lend a hand with, too.

“One of the things I’ve enjoyed the most about Midtown are the wonderfully creative people here,” Kerth said. “They are always on the cutting edge, making things happen.”

Kerth said he is looking forward to running for City Council because, since his last term as a City Council member (1996–2000), he has “so many new experiences” under his belt.

Kerth will run against Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy for the District 2 seat in the primary election in June.

“I know all sorts of new ways to get things done for people,” Kerth said. “North Sacramento has a lot of potential, and it’s exciting for me as I look forward to helping this district thrive.”

Kerth said he will formally announce his bid for City Council Nov. 4 at the official reopening and ribbon cutting for the Iceland ice-skating rink.

Jimmy Johnson, co-owner of Zócalo restaurant in Midtown and 2011 president of the MBA, said Kerth’s stepping down is not a sudden action.

“The final decision was made last Friday,” Johnson said, “but (Kerth) has been involved in the transition process for the past few months.”

Johnson said the organization has hired a consulting firm to assist in conducting a nationwide search for Kerth’s replacement.

The salary for the new executive director has not been confirmed, however it will likely be in the range of Kerth’s former annual salary of $90,000, Johnson said.

Kerth isn’t the first to exit the ranks of the MBA in recent months. In September, the MBA announced that Aja Uranga-Foster, assistant director of the MBA, is leaving the organization Nov. 1.

Johnson said the MBA’s board of directors has not made any decision about filling the Assistant executive director position yet.

“Amber (Schmaeling, marketing and outreach manager) is going to step up as program director,” Johnson said, “and we may get her a little help, but we aren’t focusing on that position just now.”

Instead, Johnson said, the organization is focusing on its Property Business Improvement District (PBID) renewal, which is coming up in January.

The search for a new executive director will take about three months, Johnson said, and the MBA expects to have the position filled by Jan. 1.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Labor council starts 2012 campaign endorsement process early

2011-10-07T01:12:41Z

In an unusual move, the Sacramento Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO began its endorsement process for upcoming Sacramento City Council races four months earlier than in previous election cycles – this time, eight months ahead of the June 2012 elections.

“The redistricting process stirred up a lot of interest in people, especially about who is running the city,” said Bill Camp, labor council executive secretary. “If people are interested, that makes this the best time to endorse (candidates).”

As part of the labor group’s stated goal of “promoting a voice for workers through active participation in the political process,” the labor council endorses candidates for office in every election year, according to labor council office manager Georgie de la Huerta.

The labor council represents 107,000 union members from 90 unions, de la Huerta said.

The labor council’s decision to start the process early is not common in Sacramento politics – particularly since the filing period for candidacy doesn’t open until Feb. 1.

Rich Schmiedt, president of Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522, said his organization has not yet started its campaign endorsement process.

“We don’t see any benefit to starting as early as October,” Schmiedt said. “It’s too early for us – we don’t even know who all the candidates are at this point.”

Schmiedt said that Local 522 will begin discussing a timeline for considering candidates in late November.

For Camp and the labor council, however, people who are “serious” about running for a city council seat will not wait until the filing period to make their intentions known, Camp said.

“If you’re taking a lot of time fooling around about making a decision to run, then you’re not serious,” Camp said. “If you’re not serious, then (we) don’t want to interview you. We only want to talk to (candidates) who need and want support.”

The endorsement process begins with a 13-page candidate questionnaire sent to all incumbents and potential candidates that the labor council becomes aware of, according to Camp.

“We make it as public as possible,” Camp said. “We’ve done the best we can to reach out to everyone who has surfaced, but we can’t find people that hide.”

Labor council staff confirmed Thursday that, so far, invitations to participate in the endorsement interview process were sent out to City Council members Sandy Sheedy, Rob Fong, Kevin McCarty and Bonnie Pannell – the incumbents for Districts 2, 4, 6 and 8, which are the four council seats open in 2012.

Questionnaires have also been sent to Kim Mack, a candidate for District 2, and Allen Warren, a potential candidate for District 2 who has not yet made a formal announcement of candidacy.

Once candidates submit a completed questionnaire, the labor council schedules an interview between the potential candidate and the labor council’s committee on political education.

The 20-member committee sits as a panel to interview one candidate at a time. With four City Council seats open in the 2012 election, Camp said interviewing potential candidates for four seats will be an all-day event for the reviewing committee.

After all interviews are finished, the committee sends recommendations for endorsements to labor council union delegates for consideration.

The number of delegates each union sends to Sacramento is determined by the size of the union membership. De la Huerta said the delegate group averages between 60 and 80 members.

For any candidate to receive labor council endorsement, a favorable vote of two thirds of the delegates at the meeting is required, de la Huerta said.

McCarty confirmed Thursday that he is running for re-election in 2012, and he will be participating in the labor council interview and endorsement process.

McCarty received labor council endorsement in previous races, however, there’s no guarantee that the group will support him again this year.

“In past elections, I have received their endorsement,” McCarty Said. “But also in a past election, I did not receive their endorsement.”

McCarty said that, although it’s still early in the game, he has several campaign endorsements – including State Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, several District 6 neighborhood association presidents and several current City Council members.

Pannell, the current District 8 representative, said Thursday that she has received the labor council questionnaire and she also plans to participate in the endorsement interviews.

Pannell said she already has other endorsements for her 2012 re-election campaign, but will wait to announce them at a fundraiser she’s hosting in November.

Calls for comment from other incumbents and potential candidates were not returned by press time.

De la Heurta said that none of the candidate questionnaires the labor council sent out have been returned yet.

The labor council will conduct candidate interviews Oct. 17 in Sacramento. Union delegates will meet Oct. 18 to make their endorsement selections.

Endorsements will be announced at the labor council’s Annual Salute to Labor dinner Oct. 27. Camp said approximately 600 to 700 people are expected to attend the private event.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Del Paso Heights businessman considers Council seat in 2012

2011-10-01T01:11:34Z

With the 2012 election cycle right around the corner, Allen Wayne Warren is giving serious thought to whether now is the time to throw his hat into the ring for the upcoming City Council race for District 2.

Warren, 47, is a local real estate developer who grew up in Del Paso Heights. A graduate of Grant High School, Warren went to College of the Siskiyous in northern California and went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in political science and business administration from California State University Hayward (now CSU East Bay).

He comes from a tight-knit, hard working family who gave him the foundation for success, Warren said Friday.

“My mother always said, ‘you’re going to college,’ ” Warren said. “It was important to her that I followed through with that.”

After college – and a brief stint as a Wall Street investment broker – Warren returned to his hometown and Del Paso Heights with the idea that he needed to be an example for other young men and women in the area.

“When I was growing up here, things were so different,” Warren said. “There were parks to go to, and people picnicked together and the people in the community felt like they knew each other.”

Times have changed, Warren said, and in 1996 he saw a need to bring his development company, New Faze Development, to Del Paso Heights.

“I have a lot invested in this community – personally and financially,” Warren said. “I brought my offices here because I wanted to do something visible that would be a symbol of the possibilities for our youth.”

Warren’s company developed a number of housing sub divisions in Del Paso Heights, including single-family homes for people in the $18,000-to-$20,000 income range, and Del Paso Nuevo, a housing development of 77 single-family homes and two parks.

New Faze Development was also the developer and construction contractor for the Sacramento Urban League building, a prominent building in the Del Paso Heights community that is built on land Warren donated to the project.

Giving back to the community has been Warren’s mantra for many years, and those around him say his contributions have had a positive impact on the community.

Randy Orzalli, a retired educational administrator, worked with Warren on the founding board of Grant Community Charter Schools (now Gateway Charter Schools) in the early 1990s.

Orzalli described Warren as a man of “very high integrity” and “deep commitment to the community” Friday.

“(Warren) is from the community and is anxious to give back,” Orzalli said. “He has done a lot for himself and could be anywhere he wants to be, and he chose to come back (to Del Paso Heights).”

It is that sense of belonging to – and a responsibility for – the community that would make Warren a good candidate for City Council, Orzalli said.

“He is accessible, and always clear about his mission,” Orzalli said. “With (Warren) it was always, ‘How does this benefit the kids in our community?’ ”

Orzalli said that the nearly 4,000 students in the now-successful Gateway Charter Schools is a result of collaborative efforts by him, Warren and the founding board at Grant Community Charter Schools.

Although Warren has not made a formal decision to run for City Council, he said he is “taking it very seriously,” and reaching out to business and community leaders in the district for support.

“A City Councilperson can have an effect (on the district),” Warren said, “but it requires collaboration, prioritization, and having enough support to move on those priorities so you can move on those issues.”

If he runs for the District 2 council seat, Warren said he wants to focus on three very important issues: jobs and employment opportunities, public safety, and improving schools and education opportunities.

“Del Paso Heights looks better today that than it used to and I’m glad to be a part of that,” Warren said, “But we need more. We need a grocery store. We don’t really have any retail to speak of. We need jobs in the worst way.”

If Warren decides to run for office, he will have until March 9 to file the necessary paperwork, according to Alice Jarboe, Assistant Registrar of Voters for Sacramento county.

“This isn’t personal – it isn’t about me,” Warren said of his potential candidacy. “There are real people who have real needs and real issues, and that’s what I’d like the campaign to be about.”

Sandy Sheedy currently holds the council seat for District 2 – a seat she has held since 2000. Sheedy ran unopposed for re-election in 2008.

“If and when I make a formal decision,” Warren added, “my campaign will be about making this community reach its potential. It will be about giving people a sense that we can do these things!”

Jarboe said the primary election is June 5. If there is no clear winner in any of the races for City Council seats, then the top two candidates for those unresolved seats will have a runoff election at the general election on Nov. 6.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

City vending machines to have healthier choices soon

2011-09-28T06:38:33Z

The City Council unanimously approved a recommendation Tuesday to develop a vending machine nutrition policy that requires at least 50 percent of products sold in machines in city-owned facilities to meet an approved healthy requirement.

“I think it’s something that’s necessary,” Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy said Tuesday. “It would be nice to have better choices at community centers where our kids are. I think this is something our communities need.”

The new vending machine nutrition policy will set parameters for sodium, sugar and calorie content of food and beverages available in all vending machines. It would also require beverage choices to include ample variety of water, low-fat milk and soy milk, or other similar dairy or non-dairy milk.

The policy will allow soda, sports drinks and diet sodas to be sold from vending machines, but still “ensures the public and employees have access to healthy vending alternatives,” said Mark Prestwich, special projects manager for the city manager's office.

Approximately 50 city operated vending machines are located in city community centers, corporate yards/office facilities, the city marina and city parking lots or garages, according to the staff report.

Prestwich said that two-thirds of vending machines are in city-owned facilities that are not accessible to the public. Parking garages and community centers take up the remaining third.

In July, the City Council joined the California League of Cities in a Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) cities campaign. One of the goals of the HEAL campaign is to support employees in evaluating food choices by providing healthy food alternatives in vending machines located in city-owned or leased facilities.

Prestwich told council members that developing a nutritional policy for vending machines would be a step toward reaching that goal.

“Cities and residents are facing increased health care costs and diminished quality of life due to the epidemic of obesity and being overweight,” Prestwich said. “A healthier nutritional policy (for vending machines) will help promote public health.”

City staff outlined out vending machine nutrition policy alternatives ranging from “no policy” to a “100 percent healthy content” policy for council members to consider.

A 100 percent policy would require that all products in vending machines meet the set healthy requirement. No soda or sports drinks could be included in the selection, however zero-calorie diet soda and diet sports drinks could be included.

“I think we’ll be moving in the direction of making sure our vending machines have healthier options, even if we aren’t going cold turkey and going with a 100 percent healthy policy,” Councilman Kevin McCarty said.

Council woman Bonnie Pannell said she supported a 50 percent policy because it is “a fair compromise” between “doing nothing and going all out.”

Councilman Steve Cohn said a 50 percent policy would “create real choices” where he feels none currently exist with vending machines.

“I don’t see ‘choices’ in those machines,” Cohn said. “Cookies and soda and sugar drinks – it’s a choice between a lot of sugar and way too much sugar. That’s not a choice.”

One opponent of the measure told council members that making food choices a policy issue would inhibit consumers’ freedom to make their own decisions.

“People should be able to choose whatever they want to drink or whatever fits their needs,” Sacramento resident John Swain said.

Another opponent said creating a nutritional policy for vending machines would limit the flexibility for vending operators to offer products of their choice.

“We believe that the ability to choose should rest with our consumers, not be mandated by policy,” said Gary Watson, a Coca-Cola Bottling Company representative.

Councilwoman Angelique Ashby agreed.

“I think these things should be consumer-driven,” Ashby said. “It’s really about access. The decision lies with the person who is putting their money into the machine.”

Ashby said that Sacramento is “leading the way” to making sure people have healthy options, but she didn’t want to create a policy that would tell people what they could or coulnd’t spend their money on.

“We are looking for balance here,” Ashby said.

Prestwich said that pursuing a new vending agreement for city-operated facilities would also allow the city to reduce energy usage and incorporate technological advances such as the ability to pay with debit and credit cards.

The city pays the energy costs of machines placed in city-operated facilities, Prestwich said, and this would be an opportunity to reduce energy usage by implementing a requirement that any new machines have an Energy Star certification.

New vending machines with Energy Star certification are up to 50 percent more energy efficient than standard machines, according to the staff report.

State legislation passed in 2005 (SB12 and SB965) that raised food standards and mandated compliance to higher-standard nutritional policies for schools throughout the state.

Although only vending machines placed at schools fall under the mandate of those laws, many cities that have adopted nutrition policies for their vending machines voluntarily set SB12 and SB965 as the standard to meet in their policies – regardless of the machine location.

Sacramento’s new nutritional policy for vending machines in city-owned facilities will fully satisfy the requirements of SB12 and – because it allows sodas and sports drinks along with other healthier choices – will partially fulfill the requirements of SB965.

The City Council directed staff to write a nutritional policy as a standard for all vending machines at city-owned facilities and to issue a request for proposals for new city vending service contracts.

Staff will review proposals they receive and bring a recommendation to the City Council for approval.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacrameto Press. Follow her on twitter @MelissaCorker.

Pastors remain on task, city council hopefuls interviewed

2011-09-23T05:33:02Z

Sacramento, CA | Area Pastors promissed to remain on watch, holding current city council members and hopefuls accountable.

Area pastors remain on task as promissed, holding both current council members and June 2012 City Council hopefuls accountable. Today, Allen Warren (running for the district 2 seat), and Betty Williams (running for the district 8 seat) were interviewed by a large constituency of area pastors.

Both hopefuls shared their backgrounds, qualifications, goals and priorities and then were asked tough and challenging questions and quizzed by the pastors. Warren and Williams were interviewed and "put on the hot seat" seperately by the group of pastors.

Sharing his background and qualifications with area pastors, Allen Warren, who intends to run for the district 2 seat, shared how his life was set for pro baseball with the New York Yankees when his carrer path took a drastic change. He found himself on Wall Street being trained and groomed with a large financial agency and then further into business. Warren stated that job creation is a top priority on his agenda.

Warren stated that he had not inteded politics to become a carrer choice for himself, but with the currentl lack of leadership he feels he had to step up. He promissed pastors that he is prepared to "stay the course".

Betty Williams, with a long diverse tenure in many upper level positons with the NAACP and long time community advocate, stated that crime and education top her list of priorties. Under incumbant, Bonnie Pannell's watch, Sacramento Police Chief, Rick Braziel, has indicated publicly that district eight's Meadowview area has become the worst crime ridden area in the city, Williams stated. Already on advisory counciles with the Sherrif and Police Chief, the Meadowview area is high on Williams radar for crime reduction.

Williams also advised the pastors that she has hired Sam Walton, the late Sam Pannell's campaign manger to manage her campaign. When asked what defines the difference between Pannell and herself, Williams emphatically stated, "My leadership is stronger than Bonnie Pannell's." Williams stated that she has already received endorsements from Mayor Kevin Johnson, Jay Schenirer and Willie Brown among others.

Moderator, Pastor Darryl Heath, made it very clear to both contenders that "there is no quid pro quo here". He was careful to state that the pastors are not promissing their vote and are not expecting anything in exchange. He stated to both that "the only thing we want from you is for you to do your job with integrity and honesty."

The pastors have promissed current and future council membes to have at least one represenative present at every council meeting and to remain on watch for the city as a whole.

Disclosure: I am an area pastor and affiliated with the pastor's newly formed watch group, CYHU- Can You Hear Us Now

City appeals decision in homeless class action suit

2011-09-23T02:50:07Z

On the same day that activists and supporters rallied together for homeless rights at the Safe Ground Jubilee, attorneys for the city of Sacramento were busy filing a motion to appeal a Federal Court decision in a contentious homeless class action lawsuit.

“Our rationale for appeal is based primarily on procedural and evidentiary rulings that came up in the trial,” Brett Witter, supervising deputy city attorney for Sacramento said Thursday.

The motion for appeal was filed Sept. 14 in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals by attorney Chance Trimm, on behalf of the city.

According to court documents, the city is appealing a May 24 Federal Court decision that found the city liable on two of six claims by plaintiffs that the city “had a custom and practice of violating (plaintiffs’) constitutional rights concerning their personal property.”

(Read court documents on Lehr v. City of Sacramento HERE.)

“We’re not appealing the jury’s decision,” Witter said, “instead, we’re challenging the way the evidence was presented to the jury.”

Witter said that, among the issues brought up in the city’s appeal is an amendment made to the plaintiffs’ complaint late in the game.

“(The amendment) came literally a couple of weeks before the trial,” Witter said. “We felt the late amendment was inappropriate. That’s just one of the problems (with the trial) we want to discuss.”

Mark Merin, the attorney representing the homeless class action group, said Wednesday that the city has no basis for the motion to appeal.

“An appeal can only happen after a final judgement,” Merin said. “In this case, there hasn’t yet been one.”

Because the jury decided the city is liable but hasn’t set damages yet, Merin explained, the case is not considered “final” or completed.

Merin filed a motion with the court on Sept. 20 to dismiss the appeal for “lack of jurisdiction.”

The homeless class action against the city began in 2007 when Merin, representing homeless individuals, filed suit in Sacramento Federal Court alleging that homeless plaintiffs’ belongings were illegally taken and thrown away by Sacramento police officers between August 2005 and May 2009.

Once the court made its decision in May 2011, Merin said, the next step should be negotiating a claims procedure to compensate individuals for damages and property loss.

“It’s not just compensation for the actual property,” Merin said. “It’s also loss of use of property. The (class action petitioners) are also entitled to damages for the violation of their rights.”

Merin said there isn’t any way to accurately estimate the final amount of damages, but he estimates the amount may be as much as $1 million or more.

“As long as the case is unresolved, it has a real impact on the many homeless people in Sacramento,” Joan Burke, director of advocacy for Loaves & Fishes, said Thursday.

Burke said that more than 1,000 homeless people in the city are forced to sleep outside every night because there is a lack of shelter space available.

“Anyone forced to sleep outside is subject to arrest,” Burke said. “When people are arrested, they have to worry about their stuff.”

Typically what people have with them when they are living outside, Burke said, are “survival items” – such as clothing, eyeglasses or medical prescriptions – or more sentimental items like photographs and family mementos.

“When you have to minimize what you carry around,” Burke said, “you get it down to what is really most important to you.”

In June, the city filed additional motions for summary judgment – to essentially “cancel” the jury decision – as well as a motion for a new trial.

Both actions were denied by Judge Morrison C. England, Jr., the presiding judge of the case, on Aug. 15.

“(The City) has done all they can to delay the reckoning,” Merin said, “and it just won’t work.”

Witter said that, if the appeal is denied, city attorneys will go back to the City Council to get direction on what to do next.

Merin said he expects the court will make a decision on the motion to dismiss by the end of October.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

New Council District Boundaries: Effective October 6 - Community can now view online boundary changes by address

2011-09-15T18:49:50Z

On September 6, 2011 City Council approved new Council district boundaries for the City of Sacramento. The new Council district boundaries will be effective October 6, 2011.

The City has developed a tool available to the community that allows individuals to enter any address within the City limits and get the current district and the new district for that address. The tool is available on the City’s main website at http://www.cityofsacramento.org/.

A map of the new districts and the staff report with the adopted ordinance are also available on the City’s redistricting website at www.cityofsacramento.org/redistricting.