Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "rob fong"

The Claw to cut back street sweeping

2012-12-05T16:57:23Z

The yellow street sweeping Claw will be less active in the coming months, as the Sacramento City Council approved changes Tuesday to modify its green waste collection services.

Recyclables will also be collected every two weeks, and residents will be able to place green waste in a bin instead of the street, according to the online video of the meeting.

Bike advocates at The Sacramento Area Bicycle Coalition had voiced support for the cutback in the Claw because the leaf and lawn waste piles residents leave by the street for pickup are often directly in bike lanes, can be difficult to see at night, and can force bicyclists to weave into traffic.

Councilmember Rob Fong asked the city integrated waste general manager how the needs of Midtown and downtown would be met, as the areas receive heavy leaf fall in autumn and winter.

“To be fair, I think Midtown, downtown will be our biggest challenge,” Steve Harriman said. Harriman went on to say the city will assign a specific supervisor to deal with those areas, and while there will be space issues (for all the leaves and green waste), he was confident the program would work.

When pressed by Fong, Harriman said the city would be open to establishing a specific district to get more green waste pickup in the future.

And according to a Sacramento Bee article, the recycling changes will save the city $1 million a year. Currently recycling is collected every week; the changes would go into effect July 1.

The green waste collection changes come after voters narrowly approved Measure T, which allowed the council to repeal an old law that didn’t allow the city to require green waste bins. The Claw will be used less with the approval of Measure T, The Bee reports, however will remain active during the leafier months of November, December and January.

Green waste rates will decrease by $3.36 a month when the transition to bins is made; a second bin will cost $3.34, The Bee reports.

VIDEO: City Council gets an earful on plan to demolish public housing

2012-11-21T12:30:49Z

After hearing loads of complaints from residents, the Sacramento City Council moved Tuesday to slow down a drive to demolish public housing projects in the Marina Vista and Alder Grove neighborhoods and replace them with a mixed-income commercial development.

City Councilman Rob Fong, who represents the area, had pushed the project, and said he saw the mixed-income development as a way to create a more integrated community and improve conditions at a nearby school, Jedediah Smith Elementary.

Residents, most of whom were from the adjacent community of Land Park, lined up to speak against the proposal during the public comment period, with many raising concerns about what they perceived as a lack of community involvement in the planning process.

This video depicts some of the opposition speakers and segments of Fong's response:

“The community has not been involved, we have not been asked to participate,” said resident James McMurray. “...There are so many questions, and I don’t understand what it has to be expedited. Nobody’s been able yet to tell me why it’s being expedited.”

Fong said he understood residents' frustrations.

“I am completely sympathetic to everyone who got up here and said, ‘We didn’t know about this,’ you know, ‘What’s the hurry?,’" he said. "We have not done a good job. If you’re all saying that we’ve obviously failed, the process has failed you, and we need to think about redoing the process.”

The Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency owns the land, and requested that the council authorize it to begin negotiations with a private firm that would oversee the development. Instead, the council unanimously approved a motion by Fong to direct the SHRA and city staff to develop a more inclusive process.

“I would like the city manager to sit down with La Shelle (Dozier) and her staff, housing authority, to find out if there’s a better process that you can come up with that achieves the goals that I’ve been talking about—that’s inclusive, that looks at the whole picture,” Fong said.

The new plan will likely be brought in front of the council on Jan. 8, according to Vice Mayor Angelique Ashby.

For more on the proposed development, read the feature article published Monday in The Sacramento Bee.

Community and business reaction to new Downtown Plaza ownership

2012-08-16T00:39:16Z

When news broke that San Francisco-based JWA Ventures now owns Downtown Plaza, reaction in the Sacramento business community varied from excitement to skepticism.

Downtown Plaza has struggled in the current economic climate, but Sacramento business and development leaders are optimistic that the new owners can turn the tide for a property that is one of the largest tax generators in the city.

“They want to take a look at what exists and position the plaza as a traffic generator for the downtown,” Downtown Sacramento Partnership Executive Director Michael Ault said Wednesday. “They seem ready to reinvest in the city and make the center much more relevant than it has been.”

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson called the purchase by JWA Ventures an “unprecedented win for the city,” at a press conference Wednesday.

But not everyone who heard the news was quite so optimistic.

“JWA has their work cut out for them,” Tony Bizjak reported in The Sacramento Bee.

Here’s the buzz on the sale of Downtown Plaza in social media today:

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

K9 Unit heroes honored at Sacramento City Hall

2012-08-15T14:12:53Z

Bodie isn’t your average, gun-toting, badge-wearing police officer – he doesn’t carry a gun at all – he’s a member of Sacramento Police Department's canine team and he and his partner, Officer Randy Van Dusen, were honored at City Council Tuesday for their heroism and service to the city.

“The public support of K9 Officer Bodie has been tremendous, and I am proud to be a part of recognizing his bravery,” City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby said Tuesday.

Ashby presented Bodie, Van Dusen and Officer Adam Cunningham with a ceremonial resolution commending them for heroic actions and service to the city.

Bodie made headlines in May when he shot in the line of duty while in pursuit of a robbery suspect in Land Park. The incident occurred near Crocker-Riverside elementary school in the neighborhood and Bodie is credited with preventing the suspect from entering the school grounds, according to a press release.

Bullets ripped through Bodie’s jaw and right front paw, and he lost a lot of blood before his handler, Van Dusen, could get him to a veterinary hospital for treatment.

The shooter was shot and killed by Van Dusen while attempting to flee, according to police reports at the time.

Tuesday night’s honor came in the way of a ceremonial resolution from the City Council that said, in part, “The city of Sacramento honors you for your service, and we thank you very much,” and a check in an undisclosed amount from council members to help with Bodie and Van Dusen’s expenses during Bodie’s recovery.

“We are honored to be here tonight,” Van Dusen told the council. “It shows a good thing came out of a bad situation. Adam (Cunningham) and I are both honored to work in the city of Sacramento and for the citizens of Sacramento. We feel very lucky.”

Bodie made no comment, but quietly accepted the dog treats Ashby offered from the dais.

After the shooting In May, Bodie spent eight days in intensive care at VCA Sacramento Veterinary Referral Center before being sent home with Van Dusen to recover for another several months.

K9 police supporters and dog-lovers from throughout the region who heard about the incident donated nearly $30,000 to help pay for Bodie’s medical bills and his follow-up therapy. Bodie is expected to return to full duty in a few months, according to the Sacramento Police Canine Association Facebook page.

Eight officers and one sergeant and their canine partners make up the Sacramento Police Department K9 Unit, according to the association. The unit supports police patrol operations and other investigations and SWAT. Currently, there are eight German Shepherds and one Dutch Shepherd on the K9 unit.

Bodie is only the second K9 officer in Sacramento Police Department history to be shot in the line of duty. The other K9 officer, Bandit, was shot in March 2010 and returned to duty after a full recovery.

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

Decisive meeting for food truck ordinance negotiations on Friday

2012-07-19T03:06:11Z

It’s crunch time for the negotiations over a new food truck ordinance: The city, food trucks operators and restaurant owners will hold what all parties see as a potentially decisive meeting Friday.

Brad Wasson, manager of the city's revenue division, will present a proposal with the hope of obtaining approval from both parties.

“We've put together a kind of straw man proposal for them to look at,” Councilman Jay Schenirer said. “My hope is that it's something they could both live with, and if so, we figure out how to go forward and implement it."

Under the current Sacramento city code, food trucks can stay on the street until 6 p.m. in winter months and 8 p.m. in summer months with a 30-minute parking limit, which includes preparation time. Food trucks are also not allowed to park on private vacant lots or next to parking meters.

Chris Jarosz, co-organizer of the NorCal Food Trucks coalition and owner of Wicked ’wich, said the trend of food trucks run by chefs is a relatively new concept to Sacramento, since most of these trucks emerged about a year ago. He said the current law reflects the needs of more traditional food trucks.

NorCal Food Trucks met with Schenirer and Councilman ~~Darrell~~ Rob Fong twice recently.

One idea that has been a focus of the negocations has been developing dedicated spaces for mobile food vendors called “pods.”

Past discussion topics have included giving food trucks more time to park on the street, extending the curfew and giving food trucks the ability to park on private property with the consent of the owner.

Keith Breedlove, owner and chef of Papa Dale’s Drivin’ Diner, said his top concerns are curfews and permitting access to meter parking and private property.

“Private property is the really big one,” he said. “If someone wants to invite us to park at their lot, we can’t really, and that’s a consumer saying we want you here, and we can’t access it.”

Jarosz said that NorCal Food Trucks believes that regulations are necessary because, like in any business, there are “bad actors” who try to take advantage of a situation.

“We feel that having some regulations in place to protect both restaurants and food trucks is a good thing,” he said.

Breedlove said that the restaurant owners who attended the last meeting with the council members were very pro-food truck.

Executive Chef and co-owner of the Paragary Restaurant Group Kurt Spataro said that he is generally supportive of the idea to revise ordinances and plans to listen in on the discussion July 20.

“I’m basically supportive of the idea, and I like the concept of entrepreneurship and bringing more people in the food business and the restaurant business,” he said. “There just needs to be some parameters set, and we’re in the process of doing that.”

Schenirer said they hope to have a more defined plan by Friday afternoon.

“If it's a positive meeting, then I think we're on a roll, but if not, then frankly I'm not sure where we will go with it," he said.

Magpie to open new location, The Beat record store may move

2012-06-26T13:41:57Z

Welcome to the beta-test of the Sac Press news blog, where we tell you about articles that we're working on, found interesting, or otherwise thought you might want to know about today. As is always the case here at Sac Press, suggestions are welcome.

[Update: 1:16 p.m]

Magpie Cafe is opening a new location at 14th at O streets and Owners Janel Inouye and Ed Roehr tell Sac Bee the spot will be an "annex." Details are scant, and the owners are tight-lipped about their plans, but suggested we follow-up in a month. We will.

The Beat record store at 1700 J St. is nearing the end of its lease and may have to move, according to the Business Journal. Nothing has really happened yet in this story, but as the article notes, the downward trend in the music industry may makes it difficult for a store that specializes in used vinyl records to stay at such a prime location. We're looking for people who have personal memories or stories to tell about the store – if that sounds like you, consider posting or join the conversation below this article.

[Orginal post: 6:41 a.m.]

The "Wake-Up Call" : 5 items on the horizon today in Sacramento:

BREAKING... Stockton to take up bankruptcy budget plan.

SAC CITY COUNCIL REDUX: Look for discussion about regulating gun stores, raising ambulance fees, repealing Measure A (the law regulating solid waste pickup in Sacramento), letting residents take their yard waste (read: leaves) to the dump with a coupon and an ordinance to put the kibosh on false burglar alarms at tonight’s City Council meeting. The meeting starts at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 913 I Street.

FOOD TRUCK TALKS: City council members Jay Schenirer and Rob Fong have been coordinating talks between food truck operators and restaurant owners about relaxing the city's food truck regulations, with a potentially important meeting in the works for sometime next month, say all the parties involved.

No definitive progress to report so far – other than the fact that food truck operators and restaurant owners are meeting face-to-face, which is its own form of progress. We'll publish an interview with Schenirer later today.

FULLY BAKED?: A state assemblyman cancelled a vote on proposed medical marijuana legislation yesterday because the bill isn’t fully cooked. Will more time really mean better legislation? Or, is the legislature fooling itself – and spinning its wheels – by pursuing regulation of a drug the feds have already said they won’t allow? Sac Bee Capitol Alert has the story.

GREASE IS THE WORD: Welcome to Rydell High, 1959. You’re in for some fun with the Greasers, slumber parties, sock hops and plenty of singing and dancing as one of Broadway’s longest running hits comes to Sacramento at the California Musical Theater for a one-week run, Tuesday through July 1. Stay tuned for a Sacramento Press review of opening night.

A GOOD READ: If you ride bikes for long enough in a major city, you will inevitably get one stolen, or at least know someone who has, but you probably won’t ever meet anyone like Jody Rosen, a music critic for Slate magazine who managed to marshal Twitter to recover his stolen bike in New York City via #Crowdsourcing. If you want to pull this off, it helps to have a bike with really distinctive features, like the big fat “white brick” tires on Rosen's cruiser.

This "wake-up call" list was co-produced by Sacramento Press Staffer Melissa Corker, who is most definitely going to the opening night of Grease.

Southside Park Pool is OPEN! (Photos)

2012-06-17T02:31:36Z

With a bit of fanfare, Catherine O'Brien thanked the people and businesses for making the opening of Southside Park Pool happen.

Among them were Southside Park Neighborhood Assn (SPNA), City Park and Recreation Director Jim Combs, City Councilmember Rob Fong, City Manager John Shirey, YMCA CEO Jay Lowrey and Parks & Recreation Commissioner Jay Hansen.

She said "Thank You" to sponsors Southside Motors, Inc, Thomas Advocacy Group, Inc, Southside Park Co-Housing and Geremia Pools, Inc.

After the thanks and congratulations concluded many took the plunge into the pristine-looking pool.

Here's those in Michael Phelps mode:

To read Melissa Corker's preview of the pool opening - <<<CLICK HERE>>>

Party at the pool: Southside Park Pool opening celebration Friday

2012-06-14T19:01:48Z

Cool blue water will be ready and waiting for swimmers at the Southside Park Pool grand opening party Friday – and one lucky swimmer will win the privilege of taking the first plunge in the pool since 2010.

“The pool has just been filled, so it’ll be nice and cool for everyone,” Southside Park Neighborhood Association member Catherine O’Brien said Thursday.

O’Brien and a group of her neighbors banded together in March to get the Southside Park Pool opened because it was not included in the recent Save Mart Save Our Pools Campaign, which raised $1 million to keep six other city pools open for the summer.

In May, an agreement was reached between the city of Sacramento and the YMCA of Superior California allowing the YMCA to operate the pool from June 16 through Labor Day. The pool will be available for swim lessons, open swim times and event rentals through the summer, according to the YMCA website.

“This is a great example of community partners working toward a common goal that benefits our most important citizens: our kids,” City Councilman Rob Fong said in his district newsletter for June.

The event starts at 6 p.m., and O’Brien said party organizers aren’t sure how many people will attend, but they expect to be hosting a full house – especially with temperatures expected to hit 100 degrees Friday.

“The word has definitely gotten out about the pool party, and we’re ready for it,” O’Brien said.

Tickets to the event are $10 per person at the door, and children under 12 can enter free. Entry includes a raffle ticket to win the privilege of the first plunge – and swimmers will want to be on time for the 6:15 p.m. drawing, O’Brien said.

“It will be hard to make anyone wait to get into the pool, especially the children,” she said.

Proceeds from the pool preview party will help keep the Southside Park Pool open for the summer. Party snacks are being provided by Southside Park neighbors and a no-host after party will be held at Vallejo’s restaurant at Fourth and T streets, O’Brien said.

Registrations for swim lessons at Southside Park Pool are open on the YMCA’s website or by visiting the YMCA at 2021 W St. in Sacramento.

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

Winners and losers in this year’s Sacramento city budget

2012-06-13T18:48:50Z

The City Council passed its final budget Tuesday night by a vote of 8-1 on the heels of an unexpected announcement by City Manager John Shirey that tentative agreements had been reached with three city unions.

The agreements with Stationary Engineers International Union Local 39, Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522 and Sacramento City Exempt Employee’s Association could reduce the city’s budget gap by nearly $8 million and prevent more than 100 layoffs.

The details of the agreements have not been released, but the main issue in contention between the city and the unions is the amount of money employees contribute toward their retirement funds, and it's likely the agreement has increased what the union members will be required to pay.

The final city budget includes $15.7 million in cuts, eliminates 285 of the city’s 4,077 staff positions and includes a budget amendment requiring labor unions to bring formal concession agreements to the City Manager by June 30 or accept layoffs.

That became the sticking point for Councilwoman Angelique Ashby, who said she thought the move was too hasty because it would prevent council members from participating in continued negotiations.

“I don’t like this strategy,” Ashby said before the vote. “I don’t like taking the council out of the game.”

Councilman Rob Fong wanted to move forward with the budget vote, he said, because the city manager, city staff and council members had done all they could.

“We already have a very tough and challenging economic environment, and we need to work together,” Fong said.

The city budget process was not as volatile this year as in previous years, when hundreds of residents attended each budget hearing to voice their concerns, but it did draw a small but passionate crowd of community members who made their cases for the programs most important to them.

Some decisions were left up in the air as the final budget vote was taken.

YET TO BE DETERMINED
Deferred layoffs: An amendment to the budget lets the city manager defer layoffs until July 31 for unions working to get the tentative labor agreements ratified by their memberships. So far, three labor unions have tentative agreements – but the Sacramento Police Officers Association is not one of them.

If the firefighters union members approve their tentative agreement with the city, it will prevent the layoff of 44 of the fire department’s 590 employees.

19 of the police department’s 536 officers will be laid off with Tuesday’s budget vote. The officers could get their jobs back if the Sacramento Police Officers Association and the city end up with an agreement that's approved by the union membership – but the two sides have yet to even enter formal negotiations.

Mark Gregersen, the city’s director of labor and workforce strategy, said “off-the-record discussions” have been going on for months between union reps and the city, but have not produced any results.

Craig Powell, president of political watchdog organization Eye on Sacramento, said the group that benefits most from the stalemate are the senior police officers and administrators.

“They get to keep their fat-cat salaries and pensions without paying anything into their retirement,” Powell said Tuesday. “The losers are the junior officers and their families, especially those who lose their jobs.”

But Dustin Smith, acting president for the police union, said he feels the union is making a good-faith effort.

“We’ve given about as much as we can as a department, and I don’t know what really there is that’s left,” Smith said.

Potential sales tax increase: City Council members are considering a sales tax increase to generate revenue, but they have said they will not put the measure on the ballot until labor concessions have been fully explored. The council only has until July 24 to make that happen – and it’s not certain the voters would approve a sales tax increase if the measure were to be on the November ballot.

Even with tentative union agreements, however, the budget approved by the City Council Tuesday has left some clear winners and losers.

WHO WON

The outcome of this year’s budget process could have been harsher for many residents were it not for bold public-private partnership moves and the powerful pleas of the underserved.

Swimmers and sunbathers: The city and the YMCA struck an agreement in May allowing the youth organization to operate the popular Southside Park pool during the summer and to offer swim lessons and aquatic exercise classes for community members.

Another six city pools were saved through the efforts of a city-wide campaign with Save Mart grocery stores that raised $1 million.

3,000 disabled teens and young adults who use the Access Leisure program: More than 30 teens, parents and community leaders spoke out against cuts to Access Leisure, which offers social and recreation opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities, and the council listened.

“It was a moving testimony,” Jim Combs, Department of Parks and Recreation director said Friday. “This has been a longtime program with this department; it serves an underserved population. The council was very sympathetic to that.”

The City Council voted to restore $150,000 of the program's regular $200,000 funding, which brings back most of the program’s offerings, but isn’t quite enough to maintain its popular summer camps.

16,000 low-income utility customers: A new rate assistance program will be introduced to reduce monthly utility bill increases by almost 90 percent for the city’s poorest customers.

The program will cost the city $1.13 million, but Shirey said that will be covered by the tax revenue generated by previously approved utility rate increases.

Homeless families and their advocates: The city’s winter shelter program will get $100,000 for an additional 50-70 motel vouchers for families and disabled people who use the program to keep warm and dry when they need it the most.

“This always comes up in the winter, and winter will definitely come again,” Shirey told the council. “I’m just recommending that we put it in the budget now so we don’t have to put in a mid-year adjustment later, like we did last year.”

WHO LOST

Stalled labor negotiations and deep spending cuts left the city’s 4,000 employees with nearly 250 fewer in their ranks and curtailed services for residents. Some of the “losers” from the budget include:

Community art lovers: More than $15,000 in cuts to the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission will result in a reduction of community arts education programs and community outreach.

Homeowners planning renovations and new business owners: $968,000 in cuts and nine staff layoffs in the city’s Community Development Department will slow the planning department application and review process.

History buffs and researchers: $14,000 in cuts and the layoff of a staff member in the Center for Sacramento History will result in slower service and delays in categorizing and providing accessible city records.

Residents: City-dwellers must live another year with reduced city services, increased utility rates and fewer public amenities to enjoy as Sacramento continues to struggle with a tough economy.

YOUR TAKE

In a budget with $15.7 million in cuts, our list of who wins and who loses is by no means all-inclusive. Here is the final budget document in full – let us know what cuts you think will be felt the deepest or where the city made the best moves.

FY2012-13 Proposed Budget

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

Editor's note: The next of the third paragraph has been clarified.

How Hansen rallied his base on election day in the District 4

2012-06-06T14:29:17Z

It wasn’t a victory speech that let Sacramento know Steve Hansen was the top vote-getter in the race for City Council District 4, it was a victory tweet – but what would you expect from a candidate whose campaign was propelled to success on a digital platform in a new-media world?

"We're done...for now. thank you," he tweeted.

Hansen finished the primary election Tuesday with 2,317 votes – 28.5 percent of the total.

He will have his work cut out for him in the runoff however, as he finished just 86 votes ahead of architect and political veteran Joe Yee who had 2,231 votes (27.5 percent). Phyllis Newton, meanwhile, received 1,798 (22.19 percent) and Terry Schanz finished with 1,213 votes (14.97 percent). The top Land Park candidates – Yee, Newton and Schanz – together tallied 5,242 votes, or 2,925 more than Hansen, the one candidate from the central city. If Yee can bring in Newton's and Schanz's supporters, he will have the advantage in November.

[Read the full break down on the county's election results page]

A lot can happen between now and then, and it would be wrong to count Hansen out. While Newton was the most prolific fundraiser in the race - bringing in $150,000, Hansen came in second with $130,000, according to the Sacramento News & Revew. Hansen has on his side an enthusiastic core of young supporters and volunteers (think Obama 08) and a web savvy campaign. Both factors were evident on election night.

On Tuesday his headquarters was a hive of activity, buzzing with the energy of nearly 70 volunteers who, in addition to making phone calls and going door to door, also utilized Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google Maps and texting.

Hansen’s volunteer corps was a kaleidoscope of people who represented a broad cross-section of Sacramento: from the student representative on the Sacramento City Unified School District board to the elderly funeral home director, the mid-30s law school graduate to the 10-year-old neighbor who helped by watching Hansen’s dog when he was out walking precincts.

All that new-media savvy appeared and volunteer enthusiasm paid off as election night poll results started pouring in and Hansen had earned a spot in the November runoff as one of the top two vote-getters in the District 4 race.

Earlier in the day, 62-year-old funeral director Howard Papworth sat on a sofa in the front room of Hansen’s Midtown Victorian home-turned campaign headquarters, making phone calls to voters, keeping notes and updating lists of Hansen supporters.

Papworth said he first got involved in politics during the 1960 election for John F. Kennedy, and he feels a similar “vibe” from the Hansen campaign.

“City Council needs a Steve Hansen – very badly,” Papworth said. “He’ll bring fresh ideas, which is what we need.”

While Papworth made calls from the living room, other volunteers scattered around the house and out onto the front porch worked on smartphones or laptops, posting to Facebook or Tweeting about campaign activities, or pouring over maps of the district.

Thomas Dodson, 35, is a tall, slender, serious-looking young professional and a social media consultant by trade. Dodson sat in a comfy-looking antique rocking chair in Hansen’s crowded den, uploading the latest video message from Hansen to Facebook. Dodson said it would be the third video of the day – but not the last.

“We are sharing the stories of what’s happening here,” Dodson said between Tweets and texts. “I want everyone to know what’s going on behind the scenes after they see him out on the street and knocking on doors.”

At 6 p.m., campaign volunteer Roy Westfall, 36, hurried out the door on his way to polling places to do some poll checking. He took with him lists of known Hansen supporters to compare against public lists at the polls that indicate which voters have already stopped by their polling places.

The data compiled by Westfall and other volunteers was funneled to Hansen’s lead campaign coordinator and longtime ally, Jameson Parker. The fit 23-year-old (who could articulate campaign data like a Jeopardy champion) stood in front of a 4-foot-by-6-foot wall chart with his iPhone in hand to receive minute-by-minute updates from the poll checkers.

“I’m looking for what precincts we need to spend a little more attention on,” Parker, 27, said as yet another text update buzzed his iPhone. “Where there is a low turnout, we focus our volunteers even more.”

The hallmark of Hansen’s campaign was his reliance on innovative technology and social media to reach out to voters.

That technology included an Internet platform created this year (and beta-tested by the Hansen campaign) called rally.org, which Hansen said was designed to use social media for fundraising and allowed him to connect directly with donors.

There was more to Hansen’s strategy than just a digital approach, though.

He also applied boots-on-the-ground tactics, such as voter list checking at polling places and sign waving at busy Midtown and downtown intersections to keep the attention of likely voters.

By the time the polls closed at 8 p.m., Hansen and his team had put in more than 12 hours of nonstop election day activity.

He was joined for the election party at Headhunters video bar on K Street by more than 150 well-wishers and supporters, including Alkali Flat Neighborhood Association President Luis Sumpter, City Councilman Jay Schenirer, West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon and a large contingent of LGBT community leaders.

Upbeat tempo music played over the sound system as poll results were broadcast on eight large flatscreen TVs above the bar. The crowd reacted with increased chatter as ballot returns put Hansen in second place behind Yee – and then applause broke out when Hansen pulled ahead and held a scant 1 percent lead.

As the clock struck 11 p.m., nearly 86 percent of precincts had reported, and Hansen was the frontrunner with 136 votes separating him and Yee. It was clear Hansen made the cut and would compete with Yee in the runoff election in November.

The only thing left to do was Tweet.

Final vote count from the District 4 race:
                                Votes    Percent
Steve Hansen    2,317    28.59
Joseph Yee              2,231    27.53
Phyllis A. Newton    1,798     22.19
Terry Schanz           1,213     14.97
Michael Rehm            207       2.55
Neil Davidson             161       1.99
David A. Turturici        159       1.96

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

Editor's note: This article orginally stated that Steve Hansen is from Midtown. He is in fact from Alkali Flat. We regret the error. (Thanks to Sacramento Press user "Zen" for pointing it out.)

Town hall meeting to address changes to city solid waste collection

2012-05-31T01:02:07Z

The city is asking residents to take part in a town hall meeting Thursday about significant changes to waste collection service and “The Claw,” which is no stranger during the autumn months, when the trees lining the streets drop bushels of leaves.

The meeting is primarily for Midtown and downtown residents, Integrated Waste General Manager Steve Harriman said Wednesday, and the conversation will center on the challenges those neighborhoods face with solid waste pickup.

“The central city has a large population density and lots of mixed-use (developments),” Harriman said. “Waste pickup in those areas affects parking and street sweeping schedules, among other things.”

Harriman said additional neighborhood meetings are being scheduled to specifically address other areas of the city as well.

Changes to the solid waste collection program being vetted by the city include reducing recycling pickup from a weekly schedule to a biweekly schedule, and eliminating the subscription-based “claw” pickup of loose-in-the-street yard waste in favor of a citywide containerized waste program.

“Right now, the claw is in operation year-round, but it serves a small number of customers,” Harriman said. “If we leave the program as it is, those small number of customers would see a huge rate increase. It would at least double, if not triple.”

Currently, the city offers every customer a choice between containerized waste collection and a subscription based claw pickup collection, Harriman said.

According to Harriman, the city serves 124,000 customers, and of those, only 12,000 subscribe to the loose-in-the-street yard waste pickup service with the claw.

“It’s a very expensive and difficult system to operate,” Harriman said. “We are trying to create a system where every customer has the same service.”

City Councilman Rob Fong and city staff will lead the discussion at the town hall meeting, and the public is encouraged to attend and participate, Harriman said.

The meeting will be held from 6 - 8 p.m. Thursday inside council chambers at City Hall, 931 I St.

City staff will be attending the following upcoming neighborhood meetings to share information about the proposed changes to the solid waste collection programs:

June 6 Hagginwood Community Association
June 6 Ben Ali Community Association
June 6 McKinley East Sacramento Neighborhood Association
June 7 Oak Park Neighborhood Association
June 13 Robla Community Action Committee
June 20 Land Park Community Association

More information about the proposed solid waste collection program changes, along with a feedback survey and a blog for the public to leave comments can be found on the city’s Cleaner Streets website.

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

Plan to restrict Second Saturday street parking causes stir in Midtown

2012-05-24T04:01:17Z

A city plan to extend parking restrictions during Second Saturday has split opinion between Midtown residents who see the plan as a solution to some of their parking problems – and those who believe it will only create more.

The proposal is to create a pilot program that extends the hours of “residential only” permit parking areas from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. on Second Saturdays, which have been a boon for Midtown businesses but an annoyance for some residents who have to share limited parking spaces with visitors.

The pilot program wuold cover 16th Street to 29th Street, and the south side of G Street to the south side of I Street.

If the response seems positive, the city would initiate a three-month trial period with restrictions in effect only on Second Saturdays, according to Parking Services Manager Howard Chan. After that, Chan would discuss results with neighborhood groups before moving to put the plan in place permanently.

According to Midtown Business Association Executive Director Liz Studebaker, visitors to the restricted areas will be able to park without a problem for two hours, but would be cited by parking enforcement if they park for longer amounts of time.

The upside of the program for residents is that Second Saturday visitors won’t be able to take advantage of free parking on some residential streets, keeping rowdy late-night revelers away from residences.

“Partiers return to their cars after 12:30 a.m. or 1 a.m and they are drunk,” said Midtown resident Dale Kooyman. “Vandalism, broken bottles, trash and debris, people urinating against the house – those things are not unusual.”

In addition to the bad behavior of some Second Saturday visitors, Kooyman said the inconvenience homeowners face when they leave their house and return to find no street parking is another problem he’d like to see resolved with the pilot program.

There is a downside for residents, however. The extended time limits would force homeowners to provide visitor passes for their guests staying longer than two hours and the city may not be able to hand out as many passes as residents would like.

“I think this is a horrible idea,” said Midtown resident Rob Sperling. “It limits your ability of how you can use your home.”

Sperling said that neighborhood events with lots of people attending would make the lack of multiple passes a problem.

“Folks that come to the event would either have to park a long distance away or they couldn’t park across from their homes when they need to,” Sperling said.

The idea for the program started as a request from the City Council District 4 office in response to phone calls and emails from residents asking for help with problems related to Second Saturday parking and traffic, according to Chan.

“People are feeling it the most in the zones where we see a fusion of homes and nightlife – bars, restaurants and so forth,” Chan said. “As the downtown and Midtown becomes more vibrant, we get more calls from folks who feel the impact.”

Chan met with Studebaker and members of the MBA transportation committee for “brainstorming sessions” in March and April to define the idea before going to the residents to get input and more fully develop a plan.

The proposal, which is still in the early stages, took some members of nearby neighborhood associations by surprise, according to Marshall School/New Era Park Neighborhood Association Co-Chair Julie Murphy, who first discovered the plan mentioned in a recent MBA meeting agenda packet.

“To my knowledge, the plan had not been disclosed to any neighborhood associations,” Murphy said. “We wanted a chance to speak up and say, ‘Hey! We need more time to review this idea.’ ”

But Chan said Wednesday that residents will get that opportunity before a pilot program gets off the ground.

“I think some people may feel like they are being railroaded, but that is not what we want to do at all,” Chan said. “There was never a danger of this pilot moving forward without sufficient outreach to find out if it’s what people really want.”

Chan said he will be meeting with each of the neighborhood associations for the area that would be impacted by the program to get feedback.

Editor's note: As a Sacramento Press readers pointed out in the coversation below, there are parking garages in Midtown and downtown. The East End Parking Garage on 17th Street between Capitol & L, for example, charges a flat $2 rate for Second Saturday visitors. The Sacramento Press is working on a follow-up article about the garages and the city's efforts to better promote them.

Editor's note: Changes have been made to the article to reflect that the proposed pilot program is an idea that is in the early stages of being vetted.

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

Southside Park Pool saved by grassroots effort

2012-05-22T00:45:08Z

Grab your swimsuits and your goggles kids because it’s official: Southside Park Pool will be open this summer from June 16 through Labor Day.

The pool has been closed since August 2010 when city funding for local pools ran out. The recent “Save Our Pools” campaign raised $1 million to keep six city pools open for another summer, but the Southside Park Pool was not on that list.

When the pool reopens in June, it will be operated by the local YMCA organization instead of the city through an operating agreement that was approved Friday.

Neighborhood leaders Catherine O’Brien and Alice Levine of the Southside Park Neighborhood Association worked closely with the YMCA and the city Parks and Recreation Department to come up with the plan to get the pool back open for summer.

“The YMCA is thrilled that we are able to work with the city and local residents to open Southside Park Pool this summer” Jay Lowden, YMCA president and CEO said in a press release Monday. “The pool is a great community asset that is enjoyed by thousands of local residents.”

The summer schedule for the pool will include aquatic programs, open swim hours, swim lessons, lap swimming and water exercise classes, Lowden said.

The project is not complete however – O’Brien and Levine are still working to raise $6,000 to support the pools programs this summer.

O’Brien said Friday that neighborhood association pool committee members will be marketing the pool opening at nearby farmers markets leading up to the pool opening, and that would be a good time to make a donation to the fundraising effort.

There will also be an Opening Night Preview Party at the pool June 15 to recognize the pool’s sponsors and kickoff the summer season, according to the press realease.

For more information about the kickoff party or to register fro swim lessons, check out the YMCA website.

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

City of Sacramento and YMCA Partner’s with Community to Open Southside Park Pool from June 16 through Labor Day

2012-05-21T16:55:19Z

Through the efforts of City of Sacramento Councilmember Rob Fong, the YMCA of Superior California, the City of Sacramento Parks and Recreation Department and the Southside Park Neighborhood Association, the Southside Park Community Pool will be open for swimmers this summer from June 16 through Labor Day.

“This is a great example of community partners working toward a common goal that benefits our most important citizens: our kids,” said Councilmember Rob Fong. “Opening Southside Park Community Pool would not have happened this summer without YMCA’s commitment to this community.”

Last year, Councilmember Fong initiated discussions with the YMCA when it was apparent the City would have to close the City pools. He felt the Y would be a great partner to explore opportunities with. This year Southside Pool was not included in the Save Our Pools Campaign, so the YMCA was approached about the possibility of managing Southside pool. After meetings with City staff and local residents, a financial commitment from the City through Councilmember Rob Fong’s office, and a commitment from the local residents to raise funds, an agreement was reached to open the pools from June 16 through Labor Day.

“The YMCA is thrilled that we are able to work with the city and local residents to open Southside Park Pool this summer” said Jay Lowden, YMCA President & CEO. “The pool is a great community asset that is enjoyed by thousands of local residents. The Y will provide a complete range of aquatic programs, including open swim, swim lessons, lap swimming and water exercise classes.”

Under the leadership of Catherine O’Brien and Alice Levine, a fundraising effort is underway to raise $6,000 to support the pools programs this summer. Gifts of all sizes are appreciated and sponsorship levels between $250 and $1,000 are available for local businesses.
An Opening Night Preview Party will be held at the Pool on June 15 to recognize the pool’s sponsors and kickoff the summer season. Registrations for swim lessons starting on June 16 are open on the YMCA’s website or by visiting the YMCA at 2021 W Street in Sacramento.

All the information about the Southside Parks Aquatics programs, the Preview night and sponsorships are available on the YMCA’s website at www.ymcasuperiorcal.org.

Neighbors, YMCA work on bold plan to reopen Southside Park Pool, but will it work?

2012-05-16T00:34:05Z

Southside Park swimmers should know in the next week whether a bold new plan to reopen the Southside Park Pool succeeds – if it does, it will make for a cool summer for thousands of central city swimmers.

The plan hinges on a new partnership between the city of Sacramento and the Sacramento YMCA where the YMCA will operate the pool and provide staff and maintenance all year.

“If we can accomplish this, the Southside (Park) Pool will be open for business seven days a week,” City Councilman Rob Fong said. “It would be an amazing asset for the community again.”

The new plan includes swim lessons, an aquatics program and open swim times at the pool for families and kids who are out of school on summer break.

Denise Wunibald, a resident of Southside Park since 2001, said she used the Southside Park Pool regularly for lap swimming when it was open, and she misses those opportunities.

“It’s not just for me, though,” Wunibald said. “When I first heard about the pool closing, I started thinking about the neighborhood kids and how much they use the pool.”

Jay Lowden, executive director of the Sacramento YMCA, said the nonprofit organization will operate the pool, staff all programs and maintain the pool systems and water. Major mechanical issues will be cared for by the city.

Although it will be operated as an extension of the local YMCA, Lowden said pool-goers will not have to be members of the YMCA to use the pool.

The costs for the aquatics programs and swim lessons will not change from current YMCA pricing, Lowden said, but there will be an increase in open swim fees from $1 to $2 per person.

If Southside Park Pool reopens, it will be open for more hours, more days of the week and for a longer season than any other pool in the city, according to Southside Park Neighborhood Association member Catherine O’Brien.

“If necessity is the mother of invention, we’ve come to the point where this invention works,” Fong said. “I’ve taken the plan to our city manager, and I’m optimistic that we may be able to go forward.”

The idea was spearheaded by SPNA members when they realized their neighborhood pool wasn’t on the list of pools to be saved by the SaveMart grocery chain’s recent “Save Our Pools” campaign.

O’Brien said Friday that the Southside Park Pool has historically been the fourth most-used pool in the city, but it was left off the list of pools to be kept open because other pools across the city took priority.

The SaveMart campaign raised $1 million to keep six local pools open – the same ones that were open last year, O’Brien noted.

Despite serving more than 15,000 people when it was last open in 2010, Southside Park Pool wasn’t on that list.

O’Brien said she and some of her neighbors banded together as the SaveMart effort was getting under way and started working to get the Southside Park Pool open for this summer.

“We knew that the year before the city talked to the YMCA, and they were interested in partnering, but that discussion didn’t pan out,” O’Brien said.

According to Lowden, the timing of that discussion was too late in the season to be productive, and the idea was scrapped.

O’Brien contacted city Department of Parks and Recreation personnel and contacts at the YMCA in late March to start a new conversation about partnering with the nonprofit organization.

O’Brien, Lowden and Maddy Hoe, head of the aquatics program at the YMCA, worked with Jim Combs, head of the Department of Parks and Recreation, to structure a detailed plan and then presented their idea to Fong and other city officials.

“Our vision for the pool is to have vendors there, and to have umbrellas available for parents watching swim lessons, and possibly solar panels for heating the pool,” O’Brien said. “First, we need to get it reopened.”

Keeping the pool open for the summer will cost approximately $75,000, and the majority of that will be sustained by aquatics program and swim lesson fees.

There is a $25,000 gap in the proposed pool budget, however, and O’Brien and other neighborhood association members said they are working to find ways to close that gap before the plan gets scrapped again.

They are also calling on Fong, the current council representative for the Southside Park area, to work with City Manager John Shirey to find city funding to buoy the project.

Once program details are finalized, the following weeks would be spent hiring and training staff and lifeguards in time to open the pool at the beginning of June, Lowden said.

If the plan is approved, the Southside Park Pool, in Southside Park at Sixth and U streets, would be open at least four hours per day, seven days a week throughout the ~~year~~ summer, O’Brien said.

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

NOTE: A correction was made to this article after it was published. The incorrect information has been struck out and replaced with the correct information.

Mayor Kevin Johnson skips forum, candidates don’t mind

2012-05-14T05:31:06Z

The candidates in the race for mayor didn’t pull any punches at a candidate forum Saturday at the County Administration Building, despite Mayor Kevin Johnson’s notable absence.

Leonard Padilla, Jonathan Rewers and write-in candidate Edgar Hilbert-Garcia took the stage Saturday to answer questions from a panel of political media experts, including Foon Rhee and Pia Lopez from The Sacramento Bee, and Cosmo Garvin from the Sacramento News & Review.

Johnson’s campaign manager told media in numerous interviews leading up to the forum that Johnson would not attend because the mayor faces “no viable candidates” in the race.

Padilla dismissed the comment as “ridiculous,” while Rewers suggested that Johnson did not attend because he could not articulate a plan for another four years in office.

Here’s a rundown of some of the main points each candidate made:

Padilla

Padilla wasted no time getting to the heart of the matter from his perspective: The mayor has wasted his four years in office chasing an arena dream.

“The arena deal appears to be dead now, and I’m here to make sure it stays dead,” said Padilla, well-known bounty hunter and five-time mayoral candidate.

“He essentially tried to get financing of the arena by practically bankrupting the city,” Padilla said. “If it was such a good financial risk, you’d have had multi-millionaires lining up three deep at the railyards, and I haven’t seen that.”

Padilla said Sacramento needs “another Wyatt Earp” to clean up the city and undo local corruption, in the way Earp did in Tombstone, Ariz.

“This may not be the OK Corral, but he did his job to clean things up, and we need that sort here,” Padilla said.

The candidates agreed that retaining police officers is important for public safety, but Padilla went a step further in suggesting that the city’s police department and the county’s sheriff’s departments should be combined to eliminate waste.

“Cut out duplication at the top, have one chief, and make them work together,” Padilla said. “It’ll cost less money, and you won’t be paying twice the people to do the same job.”

Rewers

For Rewers, it’s all about being able to make a solid case for where the city should be headed.

“I have a solid plan for the next four years, and I know how to get it done,” Rewers said.

The plan, which Rewers calls “Sacramento Ideas” is essentially his goals list in a single page, and covers such goals as promoting city efficiency to save $3.15 million and increasing public safety throughout the city.

Rewers said he has been waging a door-to-door campaign, trying to reach as many residents in person as he can to discuss his list of priorities for the city.

One of those priorities is boosting development and business in the city by reducing costs for developers and making it easier to do business here.

“Redevelopment as we know it may be gone, but it isn’t entirely dead,” Rewers said. “We have been too reliant on development, and I think we need to take another look at the fees we charge, especially on infill projects.”

Hilbert-Garcia

When it came to the candidates’ priorities for the city, Hilbert-Garcia, who recently qualified for the ballot as a write-in candidate, said simply, “jobs, safety, education and health.”

“The people are the most important thing in the city, and we need to be cared for,” he added.

HIlbert-Garcia said he has specific plans for achieving his goals for the city, but he wants to stay open-minded to listen to the needs of residents, too.

“I need to look into things more,” Hilbert-Garcia said when asked about a possible charter commission. “I think it is the people’s right to vote for what they want. I want to ask them if it is what they want first.”

Development at the railyards has been a high-profile topic recently, and Hilbert-Garcia said he would like to see some of the 240-acre space used to create more “green space” for residents.

“Sacramento has lovely weather, usually,” he said. “Sometimes too hot, sometimes too cold, but still lovely. We should make spaces for people to enjoy that. The railyards would be a good place for that.”

The forum was broadcast live on Metro Cable Channel 14 and will be rebroadcast every Sunday up to the election June 5.

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

Candidates prepare to face off in an all-races forum Saturday

2012-05-11T22:14:38Z

The candidates from all of the City Council district races, the mayoral race and two Board of Supervisors races will face off Saturday at a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters.

One notable exception: Mayor Kevin Johnson is not scheduled to appear.

According to Johnson’s campaign manager, Steve Maviglio, Johnson has “no need” to attend.

“Given the large number of events the mayor has attended over the past year, and since none of his opponents are waging a real campaign against him, he chose not to participate in this event,” Maviglio said Friday.

The news of Johnson’s planned absence came as no surprise to mayoral candidate Jonathan Rewers.

“He’s not even campaigning,” Rewers said Friday. “I think it just shows how important he thinks this election is. Perhaps he’s just a little overconfident.”

Rewers confirmed he will be participating in the forum Saturday, along with candidates Richard Jones and Leonard Padilla.

All of the candidates in each of the other races confirmed Friday they will attend Saturday’s forum.

This will be the first time the candidates in the City Council District 6 race, incumbent Kevin McCarty and opponent Mitch Netto, share a stage to talk about local issues.

It will also be the first time incumbent Bonnie Pannell and challenger Betty Williams, candidates running for City Council District 8, go head-to-head on the issues.

Here is the full schedule of the forum:

9 - 10:15 a.m. – City Council, District 2
10:30 - 11:45 a.m. – City Council, District 4

11:45 a.m. - noon – Lunch break

12:15 - 1 p.m. – Mayor
1:15 - 1:45 p.m. – City Council, District 6
2 - 2:30 p.m. – City Council, District 8
2:45 - 3:20 p.m. – Board of Supervisors, District 3
3:30 - 4 p.m. – Board of Supervisors, District 4
4:15 - 4:30 p.m. – Propositions presented by the league

The forum will be held in the County Board of Supervisors chambers at the County Administration Building, 700 I St. It will also be taped live by Metro Cable and will air on Metro Cable Channel 14.

The event will be moderated by a panel of local political media experts, including The Sacramento Press, but league representatives said Friday that there will not be any opportunity for candidates to field questions from the audience.

We want to know what you would ask the candidates if you had the chance. Tell us in the conversation below.

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

Business, arts, historic preservation: Key topics for District 4

2012-05-02T04:46:43Z

Six of the seven candidates for council District 4 discussed the role of business and the value of art to the central city at a forum hosted by four business organizations Monday.

The candidates – Steve Hansen, Phyllis Newton, Joe Yee, Michael Rehm, Terry Schanz and Neil Davidson – took the stage at the Cosmopolitan Cabaret Theatre on K Street Monday to answer a slew of questions about issues facing Sacramento’s recently reshaped District 4.

Wendy Hoyt, local businesswoman and former president of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, moderated the forum.

Hoyt noted that the central city is made up of variety of businesses and asked how the candidates would handle potential conflicts between residents and businesses.

“It should be okay to use the general plan to encourage mixed use as a way to mitigate some of the challenges of having a vibrant downtown,” Schanz said.

Davidson agreed, saying, “There are people who want different things out of the central city. We’re not going to always get it right every time, but we keep working to get what we need.”

Another question to the candidates centered on the arts and what the city can do to increase its creative culture.

Hansen said he believes the city needs to diversify its arts economy by empowering the arts community to thrive.

On the subject of the arts, Newton said she believes they’re important – but it comes down to money.

“When we want things like art that add to the quality of our lives, it is essential that we generate the revenues that allow us to have those things,” Newton said.

She added that she believes the Second Saturday Art Walk no longer provides the benefits to local artists and galleries that it once did.

Another issue on the table at the forum was the role of city government in regulating small businesses.

Rehm suggested a tax incentive from the city to encourage small businesses to open – and making it easier to apply for and receive licenses and permits to do business in Sacramento.

“It’s already difficult enough for a small business to start up without the red tape from the government,” Rehm said.

When historic preservation was discussed, all of the candidates were in agreement that the city’s history and landmarks are part of the core and character of Sacramento – and preserving them should be a priority for the City Council.

“Preservation takes political will,” Yee said. “It takes perseverance on our part.”

At one point in the forum, candidates were asked to describe – in just one word – what kind of City Council member they would be if they were elected.

Answers included “pragmatic” (Newton), “accessible” (Yee), “detailed” (Davidson), “everywhere” (Hansen), “authentic” (Schanz) and – to the surprise of the audience – “amazing” (Rehm).

The candidates will meet again at a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters May 12 at the Sacramento County Administration Building, 700 I St.

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

Small details could have big impact in Sacramento budget debate

2012-04-30T04:44:02Z

With the introduction of the city budget to the City Council Tuesday, the specter of layoffs and the city’s negotiations with unions over pension plans will take center stage for the next few months – but some important fiscal nuggets could get overlooked.

For example, of the 286 city employees expected to be laid off with the proposed budget, 11 of those are in the Community Development Department – which is responsible for building permits and inspections, code compliance, and long-range planning for development projects.

Additional layoffs are slated for the Public Works department (which includes transportation and parking services) and the Parks and Recreation department.

What will this mean for city services? Will wait times for building permits increase? Will it take longer to get a parking ticket resolved? Which recreation programs at local parks will need to be reduced – or eliminated altogether? These all questions The Sacramento Press will be pursing during our budget coverage.

Mayor Kevin Johnson said at his press conference Tuesday that he and the City Council want Sacramento to remain a full-service city, despite any necessary budget cuts.

However, with about 280 fewer city staffers to serve Sacramentans, the potential for a decline in service is strong.

In addition to layoffs, the proposed budget includes numerous cuts in funding, including:
* $100,000 from the mayor and City Council budget
* $37 million from the utilities department
* $213,000 from community center budgets
* $358,000 from access leisure programs – sports and recreation activities for disabled people

The Department of Utilities provides and maintains water, wastewater, and storm drainage services and facilities for the city.

Despite an estimated $10.3 million in anticipated revenue increases from rate adjustments, the proposed budget still shows nearly $37 million in cuts to the department overall.

This includes – again – personnel layoffs, which according to the budget document “will create an increase in hold times for customer calls, as well as delays in updating legal owner information and close-out of customer accounts.”

As the new city budget debate continues to unfold, The Sacramento Press will cover all the ins and outs of the debate over the city’s finances. You can help us. The city posted the budget HERE.

What questions would you like to see answered? Let us know in the conversation below.

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

Council members return from D.C., discuss city general plan Thursday

2012-04-26T04:56:18Z

Local officials are currently in the nation’s capital to lobby for federal support – and funding – for regional projects, pushing the City Council meeting to Thursday.

“For me, it’s all about our levees,” City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby said. “I’m doing all I can to keep the conversation going (about funding) here in Washington.”

Ashby represents an area of the city where levee work is needed to improve flood control, but projects have stalled due to lack of federal funding.

City Council members Jay Schenirer, Steve Cohn, Bonnie Pannell and Ashby and City Manager John Shirey left Sacramento Friday with the Cap-to-Cap program, organized by the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce.

While in D.C., the group will work alongside a contingent of nearly 300 California elected officials and business representatives to reach out to lawmakers in the nation’s capital to bring attention to regional issues – and encourage federal support.

Schenirer, Cohn, Pannell and Shirey will return in time for Thursday’s council meeting, but Ashby said she will remain in Washington for another day of meetings and lectures.

“I guess I’m batting cleanup,” Ashby said in a text Wednesday.

When the rest of the council members convene Thursday, they are expected to discuss the 2030 general plan– including the new green development code, updates to the city parking plan and a new climate action plan.

The Community Development Department annually reports on the general plan to highlight the city’s accomplishments and report on current challenges, according to the staff report.

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

NAG candidate forum focuses on non-arena issues

2012-04-18T01:09:39Z

With the arena deal off the table, the focus of the most recent District 4 candidate forum shifted to a variety of non-arena issues, including curbing urban sprawl and how to handle homelessness in the central city.

Five of the seven candidates vying for Rob Fong’s District 4 City Council seat met at the Ethel Hart Senior Center in Midtown for Monday’s forum hosted by the Neighborhood Advisory Group.

This was the third opportunity that candidates Phyllis Newton, Steve Hansen, Terry Schanz, Joe Yee and David Turturici have participated in since joining the race for the council seat.

At the previous forums, discussion topics typically centered on the proposed entertainment and sports complex for the downtown railyards.

This time, forum attendees had other financial questions for the candidates – such as what they plan to do with the $50,000 discretionary fund allotted to each council district.

“I would start by getting Southside Pool open for the summer,” Hansen said. “We need to spend that money on critical access to core neighborhood services. Do fountains in the parks work? Is the community center open for community meetings? We need that money to go to things that really matter.”

Questions from some of the more than 70 people in attendance Monday were directed to individual candidates instead of the panel as a whole, and Moderator Dannetta Garcia kept each candidate to a strict one-minute time limit for answers.

One audience member asked Turturici how he would handle the often spirited conflicts between small business owners who depend on a vibrant nightlife and homeowners who expect clean, safe and peaceful neighborhoods.

“I would fall on the side of the homeowners, the many people who have been living here for most of their lives,” Turturici said. “Obviously we need to work together and compromise and mediate disputes as best we can, but putting business right in the middle of residential areas seems secondary.”

Newton told the audience member who asked about the city’s $26 million budget gap that there is no way to “tax our way out of a deficit.”

“We have to grow our way out,” Newton said. “We do that by retaining existing jobs and reaching out to recruit new business to this community.”

“As the general fund grows to pre-recession levels, we can restore the fire departments that are on brownouts, restore our police and restore our park services and so much more,” she added.

The arena did come up in some questions – but audience members seemed more interested in hearing the candidates answer, “what now?” instead of “what happened?”

“The No. 1 priority at the railyards is the intermodal station,” Schanz said. “We need to base a future for ourselves on transit. I’m excited about the infill opportunities at the railyards – it is our greatest shot to use sustainability policies we have created over the past few years and build in a way that shows we can make the most of mixed-use development.”

Jo Ellen Arnold and Carol Greenwood, Boulevard Park residents, said after the forum that this was the first time either had had the opportunity to see the council candidates in person.

For Arnold, the personality and approachability of a candidate is key to the decision she makes at the poll.

“I wanted to come (to the forum) because I get a feeling of the persona of a candidate by seeing them in person,” Arnold said. “I can imagine if they are someone I could approach and talk to if I had a neighborhood issue.”

Greenwood said she felt her questions were answered well by the candidates, and she got a sense for the value each has for the community.

“They were all strong in their enthusiasm for the central city,” Greenwood said. “I liked that. That made me feel really good.”

Neither Arnold nor Greenwood revealed who they would vote for in the upcoming race, but Arnold said the forum helped her narrow down her choice.

Candidate Neil Davidson did not attend the forum due to a family emergency, NAG representatives said Monday.

Candidate Michael Rehm said Tuesday he was not at the forum because he was unaware of the event.

“I didn’t get an invitation – if they sent one, I never saw it,” Rehm said.

Rehm said he is not dropping out of the race for District 4 and is ready to participate in any scheduled debates with other candidates.

All seven candidates are scheduled to appear at a forum hosted by the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, the Midtown Business Association, the Greater Broadway Partnership, and the Old Sacramento Business Association April 30 at The Cosmopolitan Cabaret Theatre, 1000 K St.

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

Editorial Note: Information was added to this article after it was published about the hosting organizations.

Officials disappointed, but moving forward with intermodal facility

2012-04-14T00:36:27Z

City officials had the last word of the day Friday on the failed arena deal between the city and the owners of the Sacramento Kings – and that word was “disappointed.”

“We are profoundly disappointed that the entertainment and sports complex project is not moving forward,” City Manager John Shirey said Friday. “We had great hopes, and there was great jubilation just a few weeks ago that a deal had been struck.”

Assistant City Manager John Dangberg and City Councilmen Rob Fong and Steve Cohn joined Shirey for an impromptu press conference Friday in response to the sudden failure of a deal between the city, the Maloofs, arena operator AEG and the NBA to build a new arena in Sacramento.

“The project was not just about the Kings, and not just about basketball,” Shirey said. “It was about the future of our city. It would have been the anchor for a very important project downtown and the development of our railyards.”

Calling the scrapped arena deal a “setback,” Shirey said he remains hopeful that the Maloofs will have a change of heart and return to the negotiating table with the city.

“They weren’t calling for the moving vans to pack up and go just yet,” he said. “They are going to be here next year, so something may still be worked out.”

Shirey said the city has halted all work on the arena project in light of Friday’s events, including work that would have been completed as early as next week.

“We had quite an array of experts put together to move us forward on this project, and we had limited money from the NBA committed by (NBA Commissioner David) Stern. We will be winding down those activities for the time being,” Shirey said.

In a press conference earlier in the day, George Maloof and attorney Barry McNeil said that for weeks they had been trying to raise some of the contentious issues that led to the break in negotiations, but the city didn’t respond.

An economist hired by the Maloofs to review economic impacts of the deal also said that he believes the city was biting off more than it could chew with the agreement.

Shirey said he did not believe the Maloofs’ claims were valid criticisms.

“We feel that we had addressed every issue, and we were still addressing issues in Orlando when we were trying to get down to final words of the agreement that we struck there,” Shirey said.

At an earlier press conference, George Maloof indicated that the Kings might be interested in revamping the current Power Balance Pavilion in Natomas – a suggestion that Cohn called a “red herring.”

“It’s not a serious proposal in my view,” Cohn said. “Why would we put money into something that they have said for years won’t work? If the Maloofs want to put their money into it, that’s great.”

Although Shirey said he felt the city would be ready to listen if the Maloofs wanted to talk about the arena deal again, Cohn said he was not as confident that all of the City Council members shared that feeling.

“I find it a little ironic that, with the Maloofs in the financial situation they are in, they say they are concerned about ours,” Cohn said.

Shirey, Cohn and Fong told media that plans for the intermodal transit facility will go forward at the railyards site, despite the failed deal with the Kings.

“We have a dynamic city to run,” Fong said. “We have a lot of issues to deal with, (whether) it’s the railyards or the riverfront or the budget. We have plenty to do still.”

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

Council candidate David Turturici: 'No to arena, yes to public safety'

2012-04-05T00:37:33Z

David Turturici is one City Council candidate who said he refuses to drink the arena "Kool-Aid” because he thinks it’s a bad deal for the city. Instead, he wants to see Sacramento use its resources on shoring up basic services – especially public safety – to get the city headed toward being more livable.

“The Kings are part of the city culture, but they’re not the only thing,” Turturici said Wednesday. “To gather up everything we can find to spend trying to keep them here is unconscionable.”

Turturici, an estate planning attorney who moved to Sacramento from the Stockton area in 2000, is running for the City Council District 4 seat.

He said he never considered running for a political office – until the idea of a new entertainment and sports complex started gaining traction in the city.

“I’m a private person and I prefer to stay out of any spotlights,” he said, “but the arena issue really lit a fire under me.”

Turturici, 39, said the arena deal represents everything that is going wrong with the City Council right now.

“It’s representative of a problem with their way of thinking,” he added.

Turturici said he opposes the arena deal on principal and on its terms.

“I would never enter into a deal with a for-profit organization while it’s questionable whether the city will ever get its money back. It doesn’t make sense,” he said.

Public safety and enhancing schools are top priorities for Turturici if he gets elected, he said.

“Sacramento’s crime rate is double the average rate for California cities,” Turturici said. “If we want to make Sacramento more appealing to visitors and businesses, we need to start with making (the city) safer.”

Turturici said he wants to invest the city’s resources in hiring back Sacramento Police Department officers who were laid off in the last two budget cycles.

“Public safety is the first thing a local government should be concerned with. Not just throwing money at it, but also doing more community-oriented policing and especially working with kids (who are) at risk of ending up in the juvenile justice system,” he added.

Turturici said he sees the big picture for the city, but he believes his priorities for the city have an important application in his district, too.

“Bigger-spending projects – like the arena – are bleeding us and are inefficient and causing the more district-related priorities to suffer,” he said.

One example for Turturici is the idea of adding bike lanes to Freeport Boulevard.

The Freeport bike lane project is still in the planning stages and would be expected to create safer routes for bicyclists to travel along one of Sacramento’s busiest thoroughfares.

“(The project) involves public safety and preventing kids who are riding to school from getting injured, but we are saying we don’t have money,” Turturici said. “But, we do have money for the arena or $300 million in bonds for water system infrastructure.

“We are sacrificing almost everything for the arena,” he added.

Turturici said the big sales pitch for the arena is job creation – but he isn’t buying it.

“I say we are only allocating some construction jobs with the arena. Allocate the money for other jobs – like hiring back city workers,” Turturici said.

Increasing the city workforce to pre-economic downturn levels, Turturici said, will go a long way to improve the level of city services.

Turturici also wants to see the city use its resources to help school districts provide sports, music and arts programs.

Having a city that provides good services, a low crime rate and good schools will make the city more livable, Turturici said – and more inviting to businesses that would relocate to Sacramento and bring much-needed jobs with them.

“If we want to be one of the most livable cities in the nation, we need to start there,” he said.

Turturici joins six other candidates for the District 4 City Council seat that will be open when incumbent Rob Fong steps down at the end of his term. The other DIstrict 4 candidates include Steve Hansen, Phyllis Newton, Joe Yee, Terry Schanz, Neil Davidson and Michael Rehm.

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

Sacramento ranks ninth in U.S. social media-savvy city governments

2012-04-03T00:28:03Z

Don’t be surprised if it feels like everyone from Mayor Kevin Johnson to the head of the Parks Department is on Twitter or Facebook – it’s one of the reasons Sacramento was recently ranked one of the top 10 social media-savvy city governments in the nation.

The University of Illinois study released March 22 ranked Sacramento ninth among 75 major U.S. cities based on the level of civic engagement the city government has to offer.

Criteria for the study included how accessible city officials are to residents and how easily residents can get information about services and neighborhoods, the study states.

“Huge growth in the use of social media has been seen in the past two years,” said Kim Mossberger, professor of public policy at the University of Illinois and principal researcher on the study.

“The interesting thing about social media is that it allows two-way interaction, whereas comment forms or surveys are kind of one-way,” Mossberger said Monday. “That’s where we see social media as being really important (in civic engagement).”

In Sacramento, the city clerk’s office leads the way in using technology – including Twitter and YouTube – to reach out to residents with information and access to services.

“We rely on Twitter during council meetings,” Assistant City Clerk Dawn Bullwinkel said Monday.

“We post (tweets) as things are passed or withdrawn, and so forth. Sometimes we lag a few minutes because things are happening at the dais, but we are pretty good about getting the information out there fast,” she said.

Bullwinkel said having a way to reach out from moment to moment is helpful for people who are interested in what is happening at the City Council meetings but can’t be there in person or sit down to watch the meeting on television.

The City Clerk’s office also uses live-streaming on the Web for council meetings, and – new this year – the City Clerk’s office produces instructional YouTube videos for potential candidates for city elections.

The videos give potential candidates an overview of the process of running for office and suggestions for completing essential paperwork and filing forms.

“I don’t know of any other cities that produced their own videos for helping candidates,” Bullwinkel said.

City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby said Monday that Sacramento has long been on the forefront of using technology to connect with its residents.

“Part of it could be generational – young people are good at social media, and as (the) younger generation come into leadership roles, they have new contributions,” Ashby said, “but, really, we are not just tech-savvy in Sacramento, we are government-savvy.”

Ashby said she uses social media such as Facebook, blogs, Yahoo! groups and other outlets to the greatest extent possible because it gives her more ways to reach people and share information – key components to a true representative government, she added.

But it doesn’t necessarily make her job easier, Ashby said.

“I think it’s more work, but it makes me better at my job, for sure,” Ashby said. “I’m more in tune and more in touch with my constituents than I would be without those tools.”

According to city spokeswoman Amy Williams, the city also encourages citizen participation through its eComment system on City Council reports and GovDelivery for updates on specific topics.

The eComment system is an online system for residents to comment on City Council agenda items. GovDelivery is a subscription email alert system.

In addition to the opportunity to comment on City Council meetings and to pay parking tickets online, all of the City Council members, Johnson and City Clerk Shirley Concolino use social media to one degree of another, according to the city media page.

Sgt. Andrew Pettit, spokesman for the Sacramento Police Department, said Monday that he frequently uses Twitter to share real-time information with residents who follow his Twitter feed – and with media outlets that can repeat the information to an even wider audience as retweets.

“Most of what I tweet is information like, ‘Officer is en route to a robbery,’ or ‘Suspect is in custody,’ “ Pettit said. “(Twitter) and Facebook are great connectors for people.”

Steve Hansen, candidate for City Council District 4, said Monday that as much as the city government uses social media to engage with the public, there is more that can be done.

One suggestion, Hansen said, is the creation of a smartphone app that allows users to feed the city information directly from their smartphones, similar to one that is currently available in Portland.

“People could snap a photo of a nuisance or bring up a neighborhood issue and send it in (through the app),” Hansen said. “It’s an opportunity for the city to help identify problems and use resources better.”

The impact of technology and social media for civic engagement, Mossberger said, depends on factors other than technology, though.

"Ultimately, it’s the quality of the information, local government practices and citizen response," Mossberger said.

How well does the city of Sacramento engage with citizens through technology and social media? We’d like to hear your experience – tell us in the comments section below.

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

Neil Davidson runs for City Council District 4

2012-03-30T05:02:41Z

Neil Davidson said he starting wondering why so few people get involved in city government, so he’s leading the way by getting involved himself – by running for the City Council.

Davidson, 35, joins a large field of candidates running for the City Council District 4 seat.

A computer programmer by trade, Davidson said his penchant for wringing out answers from complex problems sets him apart from other candidates.

“I really dig into information and data,” Davidson said Thursday. “I like to find ways to solve problems and make things work from the standpoint of number crunching.”

Davidson said that, as a member of the City Council, he would want to focus on the financial aspects of city issues and work with the rest of the City Council to fix some of the problems the city faces.

One priority Davidson sees for the city is increasing the sales tax base because property taxes are not enough.

“The city’s funding revenue sources have been so depleted that the basic needs of the community are not being cared for due to lack of funds,” Davidson said.

He said he’d like to see a time when community centers and parks are better funded – but that isn’t likely to happen unless holes in the budget are taken care of.

“In the next three years, our water rates are going to go up – this is not a new issue, though,” Davidson said. “Our water treatment plant is many years old. As a council member, I want to start ensuring that deferred maintenance on public works projects actually gets done.

“I understand that money is tight, but we shouldn’t be in a situation where something that everyone uses suddenly breaks, and then it’s a crisis,” he said.

Part of the problem behind the city’s failing infrastructure, Davidson said, is that it is too easy for government to see things in the short term instead of planning for the future.

“I think part of managing a city is taking a longer-term view of things,” Davidson said. “I want to bring that into our (city) government. I really just want to get in there and make sure the city is well-maintained for the long run.”

As far as the new entertainment and sports complex is concerned, Davidson said he thinks it’s a good idea, and he’d like to see it turn out to be all that its supporters want it to be – but he’s not comfortable with the level of funding the city is putting into the deal.

“If the city was on the hook for 33 percent of the cost, or $100 million, I might not be as concerned,” he said.

Davidson said he recognizes that the hope for the new arena is that more people will come downtown and spend money downtown.

But there should be more for people in the city than just a new arena, Davidson said.

“We have venues for really small events, and we have some for larger events – like the arena,” he said, “but we don’t have any places to hold mid-size events. There is a middle ground that is not covered that would be a big draw for people.”

Davidson said making sure there are plenty of events and entertainment activities for people will give them reason to not just come downtown, but to stay and shop, too.

“It’s hugely convenient to go online and shop, but I think there are ways we can encourage people to buy in and around the city,” he said.

Despite having ideas for improving the way the city is managed, Davidson said he has no false hope about what can be accomplished.

“I think the government’s job is to work for people,” Davidson said. “I don’t have grand plans to cure whatever ills there are, I just want to go in and see how I can make it better.”

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

Nonprofit group takes over rose garden, events at McKinley Park

2012-03-29T00:00:58Z

As the overhaul of the McKinley Park Rose garden nears its May completion date, a neighborhood group is preparing to take control of the garden and events in the park – along with the profit and benefits that go with it.

To date, the city has spent nearly $300,000 on refurbishing and upgrading the popular East Sacramento rose garden, including irrigation system improvements, new walkways and benches and a new entry sign.

The City Council unanimously voted in favor of a five-year license agreement Tuesday between the city of Sacramento and local nonprofit organization Friends of East Sacramento for maintenance and control of the McKinley Park Rose Garden.

The group will also assume responsibility for marketing and managing all events at the garden, such as weddings and family gatherings – and they will be entitled to all revenue from those events.

City Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy said the agreement represented a complete surrender of the city’s interest in the garden – something Sheedy said she did not think was wise.

“I think there is something wrong when we do a renovation of this magnitude and then hand it over to someone else to take care of,” Sheedy said. “We are giving away everything – the next thing is we’ll be giving away the entire Parks Department and I don’t want to see that happen.”

Jim Combs, Parks and Recreation Department director, told council members Tuesday that this is a good opportunity for the city to work with a local neighborhood association to accomplish something the city hasn’t been able to do.

“We’ve suffered a loss of over 80 percent of our maintenance program in the past few years,” Combs said, “and to be frank with you, we’re not doing a good job of maintaining that rose garden.”

Combs reassured the council that the agreement states that proceeds from events would have to be funneled back into the maintenance and operation of the garden to "maximize use" of the space.

Lisa Schmidt, a member of the Friends of East Sacramento, said Wednesday they are just a group of neighbors trying to help.

“Our point here is not to make this a profit center,” Schmidt said. “We’re trying to make it an ‘equal-equal’ – we just want to break even so the garden is maintained.”

In January, City Councilman Steve Cohn and Mayor Kevin Johnson announced that the Friends of East Sacramento had raised more than $45,000 to keep the Clunie Community Center open despite city budget constraints.

The Clunie Center is located in McKinley Park near the 85 year-old rose garden.

The length of the new lease agreement will be for an initial term of five years, with three opportunities to extend the term for additional five-year periods – up to a total of 20 years.

City Councilman Rob Fong said he felt a 20-year agreement with the nonprofit group was too lengthy.

“As it reads now, they can just give us notice if they don’t want to continue, but otherwise it’s a one-way agreement,” Fong said. “We don’t have any ability to agree to or deny any extensions. That feels like a 20-year contract, not five years.”

Cecily Hastings, co-founder of the Friends of East Sacramento, said Wednesday that reducing the term length of the agreement could be a deal-breaker for the donors the group has lined up to invest in the garden.

“They want to have (a term of) at least 10 years to protect their investment,” Hastings said. “Without that, they could walk away and we’d have nothing.”

The City Council ultimately voted to approve the original lease agreement with the exception that renewal terms are not automatic but must be mutually agreed on by the nonprofit organization and the City Council.

The garden has been a popular place for weddings over the years and was closed for eight months during reconstruction.

The rose garden is slated to reopen in early May, according to Cohn.

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

Council votes in favor of utility rate hikes

2012-03-28T14:14:32Z

Water and sewer rates will head skyward for Sacramento residents after July 1 – and will continue rising for three years – as the city tries to raise revenue needed to pay for infrastructure improvements.

City Council members Angelique Ashby, Steve Cohn, Rob Fong, Jay Schenirer, Kevin McCarty and Darrell Fong voted in favor of the rate increases, which were recommended by the Utilities Rate Commission and the city Department of Utilities.

City Councilwomen Sandy Sheedy and Bonnie Pannell were opposed.

“Our current water rates are among the lowest in the region, in the state and in the nation,” City Manager John Shirey said Tuesday, “and they will remain that way with the proposed rate increases.”

The Council approved a yearly 10 percent rate increase for water customers for the next three years, along with 16, 15 and 14 percent increases for wastewater rates over the same time period.

With the increased rates, the utility bill for the average single family residence is estimated by Utilities Department staff to average an increase of $288 per year.

Revenue from the fee increases will be directed toward long-awaited infrastructure projects in the city, including a retrofit of the city’s two water treatment plants and replacement of approximately 11 miles of worn-out water system pipes and four miles of wastewater/sewer system pipes, according to the city staff report.

Steve Archibald, chair of the Utilities Rate Commission, said the recommended rate increases are “absolutely necessary” to address the city’s increasingly inadequate water and sewer systems.

“Waiting until those systems fail should not be an option,” Archibald said.

The city will pay for the estimated $1.8 billion of infrastructure improvements with a mix of cash revenue (from the rate increases) and long-term bond financing, according to Dave Brent, interim director of the city Department of Utilities.

The proposed financing plan allows the city to invest in infrastructure and meet regulatory requirements while avoiding rate spikes for utility customers, the report states.

A study cited in the report indicates that the infrastructure projects will also create 6,446 new jobs over the first five years – 2,400 more than the proposed entertainment and sports complex is expected to create – and nearly $850 million of economic benefit to the region.

During public comment at Tuesday’s council meeting, 34 people signed up to speak about the rate hikes. The majority of speakers were in opposition to the proposal, largely because of the financial impact on lower-income residents.

“Are you completely insensitive to your rate-paying constituents?” asked Sacramento resident Lisa Garcia. “Do you think we have an extra $229 laying around to add to our utility bills? We don’t.”

Craig Powell, president of local watchdog organization Eye on Sacramento, said in a press release Monday that the rate increases are part of a “high-debt, high-tax, high-rate plan” that will result in costs to the average taxpayer in excess of $32,000 over the next 30 years – the financing timeframe for the infrastructure project.

“The city should fix city pipes the smart way, with less debt, less interest cost, less credit risk to the city and ratepayers and lower future rate hikes," Powell told Council members Tuesday.

Powell said his group recommends paying for the bulk of the infrastructure repairs on a "pay-as-you-go" basis.

Council members in favor of the rate increase said it would be painful – but critical to improve the city and avoid complete system failure in the future.

“I think it’s a necessary evil,” McCarty said.

“We need to strike a balance here,” Ashby said. “We don’t want to create such a burden on our citizens that they can’t handle, but we are talking about our water supply, and we can’t ignore it.”

Before casting an opposing vote, Sheedy said she was not in favor of the plan because she believes the cost is too steep for the current economy.

“It’s impossible for people who are struggling to keep going,” Sheedy said. “With all that is going on with the economy now, and not knowing what’s going to happen tomorrow – it’s just not the right time to do this.”

Details of the utilities rate increases can be found on the city website here.

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

Michael Rehm: Ready to make a difference for District 4

2012-03-27T00:26:01Z

Local attorney Michael Rehm said he is running for the District 4 City Council seat because he sees it as an opportunity to make a difference in the city that his family has called home for nearly 100 years.

“I’ve worked extremely hard to get to this point, and I don’t take anything I’ve been blessed with for granted,” Rehm said Friday. “I think I can help a lot of people – not just in District 4, but in the whole city.”

Rehm, 33, grew up in Land Park as a third-generation Sacramentan. He has been a practicing attorney in both California and New York since passing both state bar exams in 2006, and he now has a private legal practice in Land Park.

Rehm said his courtroom experience has given him skills to establish rapport with a diverse set of people and the discipline to research issues and critically analyze each situation.

“You have to speak in public and think on your feet and make a convincing argument,” Rehm said. “But first, you have to really know the issues.”

Rehm said one problem he sees in most elections is that candidates are quick to make a stand on something, but fall short on the details.

“If I went into a bank to get a loan to start a business and I said, ‘I’m going to get you the details of my business after you give me the loan’ – that doesn’t make any sense,” Rehm said. “In any area of life, we won’t accept that, unless we’re talking about someone running for elected office, then we somehow think that’s OK.”

To counter that problem – and to make sure voters in District 4 get all the details – Rehm has set up a nightly webcam show to talk to voters directly on any city issue they want to ask about.

“It’s called ‘Candidate at Eight,’ ” Rehm said. “Monday through Friday, starting at 8 p.m., people can go onto my website and log in to the show and talk to me. They can ask me questions. We can analyze (the city’s) issues together.”

Some of those topics may include the new arena or the city budget or questions about handling local services – but nothing is off the table for Rehm, he said.

“If I don’t know the answer to a question, I’ll say so. And then we’ll talk about it and work on it together,” Rehm said. “I’ll never pretend to know something I don’t.”

Rehm said he sees some issues getting overlooked at City Council that need more attention. Homelessness is one of those issues.

“If we want to work out the homeless issue, we should first decriminalize the behavior,” Rehm said. “If we can’t arrest them anymore, then we have to look at other options.

“That’s how you solve the problem: Remove the options that aren’t favorable for anyone and then look for the options that are,” he added.

When it comes to the city budget, Rehm said he wants to get a closer look at it before he takes a firm stand or offers a plan of attack.

“First of all, we have to be honest with ourselves about what we have,” Rehm said. “Instead of dumping money into something that doesn’t work, we could be spending money doing other things that help the city.”

The same goes for the new arena, Rehm said: details before deals.

“I’m for an arena plan, but there are details that I’m not aware of and that no one is aware of, and that concerns me,” Rehm said. “Anytime someone gives me information piecemeal, I get concerned.”

Rehm said his experience as a criminal defense attorney and a public defender inspired him to want to get more involved with the city.

“I’ve seen a lot of cruelty and a lot of unfairness, not just in the system, but overall,” Rehm said. “On the City Council, I can only make so much of a difference – but I can make a difference.”

Rehm will be vying for the District 4 seat along with Phyllis Newton, Steve Hansen, Terry Schanz, Joe Yee, Neil Davidson and David Turturici.

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

Candidates discuss arena, bridges, bike lanes at Land Park forum

2012-03-23T01:45:50Z

All seven official District 4 City Council candidates came together Wednesday to discuss issues that impact Sacramento its neighborhoods, including the arena, new bridges and bike lanes on Freeport Boulevard.

Nearly 100 people attended the candidate forum hosted by the Land Park Community Association at California Middle School – including Sacramento City Unified School District Board Member Patrick Kennedy and former Sacramento Mayor Anne Rudin.

One of the larger issues discussed was the proposed entertainment and sports complex.

“We don’t know that it’s a bad deal yet. We don’t know that it’s a good deal yet – it’s uncertain,” candidate Phyllis Newton said.

“I believe that a rising tide has the potential to raise all boats, and that’s how I look at this project,” she added. “It may not get us there, but the potential is there. Like all investments, the reward could be great.”

Although the majority of the candidates expressed cautious support for the arena plan, candidate David Turturici was vehemently opposed.

“This arena deal is unconscionable,” Turturici said. “(We shouldn’t) be doing this right now when we are cutting all of our vital services and we have so many other problems. What we need to focus on are our core services.”

Another topic of concern for audience members was the recent decision by the City Council to limit the use of green waste collectors – commonly called “the claw” – forcing residents to use bins to collect green waste for all but three months of the year.

“Reducing that service to only three months would be inadequate,” Newton said. “My leaves start to fall in October, and they don’t stop until February. I support letting the voters decide the issue. Let’s have an honest debate on it.”

When the discussion turned to the possibility of a new river crossing at Broadway, most of the candidates were supportive of the idea – as long as the impact of heavy traffic was minimized in residential areas near the proposed crossing.

“If there is going to be a bridge, it needs to be a win-win for us,” candidate Joe Yee said. “I have concerns about how it connects to neighborhoods – It could be really great and it could have some negative impacts, depending on the details. I think everyone is in a wait-and-see mode right now.”

Candidate Steve Hansen said he believes a bridge done well can be a catalyst.

“We need to see it as an opportunity and not as a threat,” Hansen said. “Bridges create connection and build community, and that’s something we do very well.”

In addressing the City Council’s recent consideration of adding bike lanes to Freeport Boulevard, the candidates were unanimous in their support of the concept, but hesitant to fully endorse the project without more consideration.

“Freeport Boulevard is a mess, especially around 3 p.m. when McClatchy (High School) lets out. If it becomes a one-lane street, it would be unbearable,” candidate Michael Rehm said. “If we can figure out how to put in bike lanes and keep (the street) with two lanes of traffic each way, I’ll be for that.”

Candidate Terry Schanz said he believes Freeport Boulevard is not a safe place to be on a bicycle, but the city needs to be smart about road design.

“We should cone off some bike lanes first – we don’t need to stripe (the road) right away,” Schanz said. “Let’s just see how it works first. (We can) try it on a temporary manner and then decide to move forward or not depending on the outcome.”

Speaking after the forum, Rudin said she saw a lot of potential in the field of candidates for District 4 – enough to require a runoff election after the primary.

“There are well-qualified people running this time,” Rudin said. “They all seem to be knowledgeable, and they handle the questions well. When you have this many good candidates, I believe it will be hard to choose one.”

The candidates for District 4 will meet again for a forum hosted by the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, however, the date and location of the forum have not been announced yet.

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

Council approves $1.2 million loan for Ridgeway Hotel renovations

2012-03-21T05:47:55Z

The City Council approved a $1.2 million loan from the city Housing Authority Tuesday for renovation of one of 10 residential hotels located in downtown Sacramento – a project that will result in 22 studio apartments for low- to very-low-income residents.

The four-story, 58-unit Ridgeway Hotel, at 914 12th St., was built in 1921 and renovated in 1987, according to a report from the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency.

“It has been vacant and boarded up for the past several years,” Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency Executive Director La Shelle Dozier said Tuesday. “It was designed in an old style with small units that had to share bathrooms and kitchens. It’s really in need of repair now.”

CFY Development Inc. is one of the partners in the investor group that will be doing the renovation. The other partners are Aegis Group and David Rutledge, who represents the nonprofit arm of the partnership.

Ali Youssefi, vice president of CFY, said this is one of many SRO projects that CFY has undertaken in its history, but it is the first where he has taken the role of general partner.

“CFY is an affordable housing developer, so we do large family projects, senior projects and SROs,” Youssefi said Tuesday.

Youssefi said the proposed renovations will reduce the number of units from 58 to 22, but will enlarge each unit to allow for more livable space.

“It was common for these old residential hotels to have many units on each floor that shared one bathroom and kitchen,” Youssefi said.

“In reconfiguring the units, they will go from 18 (units) per floor to seven per floor,” he added.

Each completed studio will be between 350 to 500 square feet, Youssefi said.

CFY plans to refurbish the hotel inside and outside, including new electrical, mechanical and plumbing systems and providing amenities for residents such as on-site laundry facilities and secure parking for bicycles and mopeds.

Dozier said the project will be funded by a combination of financing including federal tax credit dollars, private equity investment by the developer/owner CFY Development, and the Housing Authority loan.

The city of Sacramento is required by ordinance to regulate and maintain an inventory of 712 SRO units within the city limits.

When the 58 units at Ridgeway are withdrawn from the city inventory for the renovation, they will be replaced by units at another project, keeping the city inventory intact.

When the property owners of SRO buildings want to renovate or change the use of the building, the owner must get permission from the city through the regulating agency, Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency. The property owners and the regulating agency must also establish a replacement housing plan so the city inventory is not impacted.

Dozier said the 150-unit housing project at 7th and H streets that is nearing completion will serve as replacement units for the withdrawn Ridgeway SRO units.

Eligibility for renting an SRO unit is based on income – usually capped at 30 to 60 percent of the average median income for the city.

At a 30 percent cap, the income level would be $15,990, and at 60 percent is would be capped at $31,980.

Youssefi said CFY will apply for federal tax credit funding this week and, once they receive a funding award, renovations can begin on the Ridgeway as soon as mid-November.

Renovation is expected to take from 12 to 18 months, Youssefi said.

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

The field is set for mayor, City Council races

2012-03-16T01:53:50Z

The Sacramento City Clerk’s Office released the final ballot list of candidates for the June City Council elections Thursday, showing crowded fields for the District 2 and 4 races – and some expected candidates not appearing on the final ballot.

Mayor Kevin Johnson will face three contenders in the race for his seat: bounty hunter Leonard Padilla, insurance broker Richard Jones, and Parks and Recreation Commission member Jonathan Rewers.

Padilla has run for mayor four times before, most recently in the 2008 race against then-Mayor Heather Fargo and Johnson.

Two candidates who filed for candidacy in the mayoral race – Edgar Hilbert-Garcia and Andrew Lewis – did not qualify for the ballot because they did not have the required 20 valid voter signatures, according to Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno.

City Council incumbents Sandy Sheedy and Rob Fong decided not to seek re-election for their seats in districts 2 and 4, opening the door to a crowded field of candidates in each race.

For District 2, former City Councilman and Midtown Business Association Executive Director Rob Kerth will face community organizer Kim Mack, human resources manager Sondra Betancourt, developer Allen Wayne Warren, youth pastor Jason Sample and businesswoman Misty Yaj.

The seven District 4 hopefuls include Planning Commission Chair Joseph Yee, attorney Phyllis Newton, biotech executive Steve Hansen, attorney Michael Rehm, public policy director Terry Schanz, Sacramentan Neil Davidson and estate planning attorney David Turturici.

Another District 4 candidate, film student Kai Ellsworth, failed to qualify for the ballot by one voter signature on his petition for candidacy.

“We submitted more signatures than we should have needed, and it turned out that people in Midtown are not registered where they think they are,” Ellsworth said Thursday.

“That was the issue in almost all of the cases for signatures. People move but don’t change their voter registration,” he added.

Ellsworth said he wouldn’t pursue a write-in campaign for the District 4 race. Instead, he said, he will ask his supporters to put their efforts behind Schanz for the council seat.

“I think he’s the next-best candidate by far,” Ellsworth said.

In the 2008 election for District 6 and District 8, incumbents Kevin McCarty and Bonnie Pannell ran unopposed.

This time around, they will each face one opponent: McCarty will be rivaled by businessman Mitch Netto for the District 6 seat, and Pannell will face local NAACP President Betty Williams in District 8.

As the races heat up, The Sacramento Press will continue to cover the candidates, the issues and the debates right up to election day, June 5.

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

New District 4 candidate wants to end status quo at City Hall

2012-03-15T02:17:24Z

Kai Ellsworth said he is tired of the status quo at City Hall, so he’s running for a seat on the City Council to bring what he considers to be a much-needed new perspective to decision-making in Sacramento.

Ellsworth, a full-time film student at Cosumnes River College, moved to Sacramento in 2009 to be closer to his parents after a two-year stint in the Air Force.

He said he decided that – after living in such far-flung locales as England, the Middle East and Mississippi – Sacramento is the one place he would choose to stay put because of all it has to offer.

As much as Ellsworth likes the city, however, he said he doesn’t like the way the city is currently being managed by its elected leaders.

“I was at the (City Council) meeting when (Mayor Kevin Johnson) introduced his most recent strong mayor initiative,” Ellsworth said Monday. “The answer came down to ‘Let’s be more bureaucratic about this.’ They had this look of being an old boy’s club, and that really annoyed me.”

Ellsworth, 23, said he started talking to friends and neighbors and others who live in his district to see if they shared his opinion.

They did, he said, so he joined a crowded field of candidates for the District 4 council seat to replace incumbent Rob Fong.

“Midtown is a thriving, young, creative community, and I think that someone who is less a part of the establishment would be more representative of those neighborhoods,” Ellsworth said.

His lack of political experience is not a negative, according to Ellsworth – it’s a point in his favor.

“The current City Council is a lot of people who have been in politics for a long time, or lawyers,” Ellsworth said. “I think having at least one voice who is less a member of that establishment and who can see things from a different perspective would be beneficial.”

His goals for District 4 include enhancing development along the riverfront, solving parking issues for central city residents by adding more parking structures and pursuing a transit system that reaches into East Sacramento and other nearby neighborhoods.

When it comes to the city budget and economic development, Ellsworth said he is not afraid to take an unpopular stand.

“I firmly believe that when no one has money to spend, government needs to spend money,” Ellsworth said. “We need to use times like these to invest in infrastructure and services. By doing that, we can pull ourselves out of this recession. We create jobs, and we expand services with infrastructure projects and we improve the city.”

The problem with that theory, Ellsworth said, is that it takes money – and the simplest way to raise revenue, he said, is to raise taxes.

“It’s really unpopular, but we have a really high expectation of what the government will provide us,” Ellsworth said. “We want all of these services, but we don’t want to do the thing that allows us to have these services: raise taxes.”

Ellsworth said he believes it’s up to the government to provide economic growth by raising revenue in order to build a thriving city.

For his district, Ellsworth said he wants to play to what he sees as strengths of the area if he’s elected to the City Council.

“We’ve have years of the same talk about revitalizing K Street, about the railyards, about changing the charter with the strong mayor initiative – years of talk about projects that never seem to materialize,” Ellsworth said.

“I’m running because I really don’t think that the status quo that we have in Sacramento has worked,” Ellsworth said. “If (voters) are fed up with not getting the things they want, then (they should) consider what I’m saying.”

Ellsworth joins four other candidates in the District 4 race, including Steve Hansen, Phyllis Newton, Joseph Yee and Terry Schanz.

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

District 4 council candidates face off in first roundtable event

2012-03-13T01:17:28Z

Five City Council candidates faced off Saturday at a roundtable meeting to field questions about topics including preserving historic neighborhoods, the strong mayor initiative and the proposed entertainment and sports complex.

The forum, hosted by the Sacramento Old City Association, featured District 4 candidates Joseph Yee, Terry Schanz, Phyllis Newton, Steve Hansen and Kai Ellsworth. Candidate Michael Rehm did not attend.

The questions came primarily from the more than 50 members of the audience, and a few were prepared by moderators Kathleen Green and Rick Bettis.

When asked about preserving the historic nature of Sacramento, Hansen referred to preservation as a core component of a vibrant city.

“When we do disservice to our history, we do a disservice to our city,” Hansen said.

Hansen said historic preservation issues should be at the heart of what is done in the city, and he encouraged members of the audience to continue advocating to bring preservation to the forefront of public policy.

To answer a question about how financing the new arena might impact the city and future development, Newton said she has been hopeful that the project would have an overall positive effect.

“There are many moving parts (to the arena project), especially with leasing the parking, and we don’t have all of the details,” Newton said. “It’s going to be critical that we make sure this city is protected and that the general fund is protected. I believe we have to be willing to try to make this work.”

At the same time, Newton said, the intermodal aspect of the railyards must remain a high priority throughout the process.

“It cannot be ignored or lost,” she added.

Some questions at the forum addressed the location for the new arena. Audience members expressed concerns about the new arena overtaking the plan for an intermodal station.

Yee said the burden is on the arena design team to create a design that does not compete with or compromise the success of the intermodal.

“It’s up to the (arena) designers to design around the intermodal. Don’t change what the intermodal has – the challenge is to make the arena compatible,” Yee said.

As the discussion of the arena continued, audience members asked the candidates if they felt the city can afford a new arena – or will financing it put Sacramento in the same near-bankruptcy position that the city of Stockton is currently facing?

“I think we can afford this arena,” Ellsworth said, “and I think we need this arena.”

Ellsworth said that, when times are hard, he thinks that governments should not cut back, but actually need to spend more.

“If no one else can cause economic growth, then governments have to,” Ellsworth said. “Sometimes it means raising taxes and sometimes it means doing things that aren’t terribly popular at the moment, but that’s how we pull ourselves out of recessions like this, and that’s how we preserve our quality of life in economic times times like we are facing right now.”

Ellsworth added that he would like to see greater profit sharing for the city from the arena deal than has been proposed.

When the discussion turned to the recent strong mayor initiative, Schanz spoke to audience members about a key problem he sees with the city.

“I believe the city faces a fiscal crisis – it does not face a governance crisis,” Schanz said. “The fact that people disagree is called democracy. It doesn’t mean democracy doesn’t work, it just means people disagree.”

Schanz said the real issue is in the imbalance of revenue and expenditures for the city.

“There is more money going out than coming in,” he said, “and the ability to hire and fire a city manager (under a strong mayor) doesn’t change that.”

The forum concluded with candidates summarizing their positions and reiterating their reasons for running for the City Council.

The field of District 4 candidates will meet again at 7 p.m. March 21 for a forum hosted by the Land Park Community Association at California Middle School, 1600 Vallejo Way.

City Council says 'yes' to new arena plan

2012-03-07T15:13:52Z

With a triumphant shout, Mayor Kevin Johnson cast the final vote in a 7-2 decision in favor of a financing plan to build a new entertainment and sports complex and keep the Sacramento Kings in town for another 30 years.

Cheers, applause and chants of “SAC-RA-MEN-TO” broke out among the more than 250 people in council chambers Tuesday at the end of a four-hour-long City Council meeting that culminated in what Johnson called “a historic vote.”

“Every one of you in the community did not give up,” Johnson said. “People far and wide all played a role and came together. I think we met every milestone along the way, and we made every minute count.”

Johnson and City Council members Angelique Ashby, Steve Cohn, Rob Fong, Jay Schenirer, Darrell Fong and Bonnie Pannell voted in favor of the financing plan.

Council members Sandy Sheedy and Kevin McCarty voted against the plan.

More than 500 people came to City Hall Tuesday – filling the overflow seating in the lobby and a room in Old City Hall – to hear the details of a $400 million financing plan developed over the past year by members of the Think Big Committee, city staff and private consultants hired by the city.

After the first hour of public comment, the opposition to the arena was outnumbered by support by three to one, according to the speaker count from City Clerk Shirley Concolino.

“The financial world is crashing around you, and you are looking to add more public debt,” said Bob Blymer, executive director for the Sacramento County Taxpayers League.

Many speakers opposed to the arena echoed Blymer’s comments, saying the public portion of the financing – which would come largely from a proposed parking monetization plan – would be a mistake.

“We won’t be able to continue (this project) without additional funding,” Sacramento resident John Burger said during public comment. “Your treasurer said you’re considering ‘evaluated risk’ in this situation – well, your risk managers need risk managers.”

Supporters of the arena included business owners, Kings fans and longtime Sacramento residents who encouraged council members to vote in favor of the financing plan.

Linda Budge, vice mayor of Rancho Cordova, encouraged council members to support the recommendation and to move forward with the entertainment and sports complex.

“It’s important for our region and for our citizens. We want people to grow and thrive,” Budge said. “The last thing we want to do is foul out at the end of regulation.”

Lee Perkins, a former radio personality, said the arena is not just for sports, but for children’s events and music events as well.

“We are talking about building a world-class city and a world-class facility,” Perkins said.

Johnson said at his weekly press conference Tuesday morning that he expected “a robust discussion” at the council meeting, and he said after the meeting that he was not disappointed.

“It feels like we’re having our own Super Tuesday here in Sacramento,” Johnson said.

When public comment concluded, Sheedy opened the discussion of details of the financing plan with questions directed to Assistant City Manager John Dangberg.

“There are a lot of assumptions built into these numbers,” Sheedy said. “Aren’t these funding sources really volatile? My feeling is, if something goes wrong with one or two sources, the money just won’t be there.”

Sheedy asked Dangberg questions about the method for calculating the number of jobs that would result from building the arena, as well as questions clarifying how revenue from the sale of public land could be used – other than for an arena.

“When you start taking the people’s land – that is a use of public funds that could be used elsewhere,” Sheedy said.

A staff report released by Sheedy’s office Monday questioned the reliability of the estimated financing numbers in the term sheet, and some speakers – both in support of and in opposition to the arena – referred to it in their comments Tuesday.

“Shame on any council member who would put their interests ahead of the best interests of the city,” said one Sacramento resident who didn’t state his name. “If you do, you will be doing a very Sheedy job.”

Ashby, Schenirer and Rob Fong each spoke briefly in support of the financing plan, yet each acknowledged the risks involved in building an arena.

“We need to strike a balance between not losing a team, doing the best for Sacramento and not letting Natomas be forgotten,” Ashby said.

When Darrell Fong and Pannell announced their support, they were met with loud applause from the audience.

City Manager John Shirey told council members that, with their approval of the financing term sheet, city staff can move on to the next steps toward building the arena.

Those next steps include continuing the search for a parking operator to take over the city’s parking assets and starting the “predevelopment” stage – which includes the design of the new facility and laying the groundwork for getting construction under way.

Included in the final vote was authorization for $850,000 from the city’s parking fund to pay for consulting services to take the city through the predevelopment stage to groundbreaking, which is proposed to begin in late 2013.

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

Sacramento gets on track for streetcars

2012-03-01T04:14:27Z

City Council members voted unanimously Tuesday to move forward with a plan to bring a modern, electric version of the single car “trolleys” to connect neighborhoods in the central city and make getting around town easier for residents, workers and visitors.

Streetcars were a large part of the Sacramento cityscape between 1870 and 1947.

“This plan is not only a transportation enhancement, it is a vital economic development tool that we want to introduce into the city of Sacramento,” Fedolia "Sparky" Harris, senior planner with the Department of Transportation, said Tuesday.

Harris said that the purpose of the streetcar plan is to increase travel choices and mobility for short-range trips, and to provide connections between major transit stations, employment centers, commercial corridors and tourist destinations.

In 2006, the cities of Sacramento and West Sacramento, Sacramento Regional Transit and Yolo County Transportation District began working on a plan to create a streetcar line for the area and conducted a feasibility study.

Concerns from that study about route connections and alignment between the two cities stalled that streetcar plan, however.

The study presented on Tuesday was the result of a year of work by those four entities and months of community and business group input.

“The team did a great job of listening to everyone through the process,” said Patty Kleinknecht, executive director for The River District, a development area adjacent to downtown Sacramento.

“This project will help connect our neighborhoods and create a real economic benefit,” she said.

The study suggested four route plans for the central city and three more to allow connection to eastern Midtown, Sacramento State, Oak Park and the UC Davis Medical Center.

Routes are also suggested for major development areas, including the railyards, The River District and the Arden Fair Mall/Cal Expo areas, according to the study summary.

According to a feasibility study completed in January, the streetcars would complement the current light rail system.

Light rail trains are multiple cars connected together on a track network reaching into neighboring cities and suburbs that surround Sacramento. The primary focus of light rail is commute trips.

Streetcars are single cars that provide transit on short distances – longer than a comfortable walk, but within a short ride. They are meant to help get people around town without relying on automobiles.

Light rail stops are generally spaced every mile, while streetcar stops are every few blocks, according to the staff report.

Harris said the study indicates a large economic benefit to the area, including a potential $1.6 billion increase in property values and more than $3.5 million in increased local sales tax revenue annually for properties within three blocks of the starter line.

The starter line would be the first streetcar route completed, beginning in West Sacramento at the Civic Center complex, crossing Tower Bridge and ending near 19th and K streets in Sacramento.

The estimated cost to build the starter line is $125 million to $135 million, according to the report. Funding would come from a combination of sources, including federal and state transportation grants, local streetcar assessment districts and – potentially – transportation sales taxes.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Sacramento City Councilman Rob Fong said Tuesday.

“It seems daunting when you look at how much it costs per track mile, but if we don’t get started, we won’t get it done,” Fong said.

The next step in developing the plan is securing funding and completing environmental reviews.

With its vote of approval, the City Council recommended city staff work in partnership with the city of West Sacramento, Regional Transit and the Yolo County Transportation District to pursue a federal grant for the starter line.

Once the funding is in place and environmental studies and design plans are completed, construction of the starter line is anticipated to take 18 months.

“(The streetcar project) will make a tremendous difference as an urban circulator here in Sacramento, especially with all the things we are trying to do downtown,” City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby said.

Read the full streetcar study here.

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

The ins and outs of back-in angled parking

2012-02-28T02:19:04Z

Back-in angled parking has popped up one block at a time in Sacramento over the past few years, causing cyclists to breathe a sigh of relief – and making some residents fume.

In the Midtown and downtown areas, the city is challenged with providing enough parking spaces for residents and their visitors and providing safe bicycle routes and lanes for the bicyclists that often share neighborhood streets with cars.

One solution to this challenge is back-in angled parking, according to Ed Cox, Bike and Pedestrian Coordinator for the city of Sacramento.

The backlash from a recent attempt to install back-in angled parking as part of a traffic-calming plan in Alkali Flat caused a long thread of emails to City Councilman Rob Fong’s office from angry neighbors insisting the parking be dropped from the proposal.

“Angled parking has always been in various parts of the city,” Cox said. “In Midtown (it) started in the 1990’s as population grew and the need for parking spaces increased.”

The growing number of sport utility vehicles spurred a trend toward back-in angled parking, according to information from the city’s Department of Transportation. When using conventional angled parking, drivers increasingly find themselves beside an SUV, leaving them with more difficult sight lines.

There is evidence of back-in angled parking in Sacramento as early as 1911, but it was one of many parking configurations of the day, Cox said, and was overtaken in the downtown area by parallel parking.

Back-in angled parking was most recently introduced to the downtown/Midtown area in 2007 as part of a traffic-calming plan on 28th Street between R and U street in the Newton Booth neighborhood.

Residents wanted more parking there, Cox said, but cyclists didn’t want to lose the bike lane on that stretch of road. It was decided to take out the bike lane but install back-in angled parking – which the cyclists preferred to nose-in angled parking.

According to a city report, the advantages of back-in angled parking include easy maneuverability. The back-in angled parking signs state “it’s as easy as 1-2-3.”

“It may seem that (parking this way) is convoluted,” Cox said, “but if you compare back-in angled parking to parallel parking, it’s all the same moves: you pull past the space, put the car in reverse and you back in.”

Some people oppose back-in angled parking because they feel it leads to more frequent accidents by forcing drivers to park their cars in the middle of a busy street.

“The difficulty of backing into the space will certainly cause more collisions with other cars parked,” F Street resident Roy Swanson said in a Feb. 20 email to the city. “I have witnessed accidents caused by people backing in to the the spaces on 11th street between F and G (streets).”

But the city says better visibility for drivers is actually an advantage of this type of parking, making parking safer.

“Drivers can see what’s coming – even bicycles – before they get going, just like merging into traffic,” Cox said.

Back-in angled parking has the advantage of giving the driver a good field of vision, both out in front and to the side, Cox said – and cyclists can more easily see drivers, too, potentially even making eye-contact so each is aware of the other.

Cox said there isn’t a lot of recorded collision history with angled parking, but riding near cars trying to park is pretty unnerving for cyclists nonetheless.

Dean Alleger, a local cycling coach and bicycle mechanic said Monday that he is not in favor of or opposed to back-in angled parking.

“My theory of surviving on a bicycle is taking whatever is thrown at me and adapting to it,” he said.

Allegar said he does see a benefit to back-in parking: better visibility for drivers.

“When cars back in, I think the drivers have a better chance of looking over their shoulder and seeing what’s coming down the lane,” Allegar said.

But the responsibility for making the roads safe for everyone doesn’t just fall to drivers, Allegar said.

“I blame cyclists as much as I blame cars for the problems on the road,” he added. “My stance is, we all need to a better job of getting along.”

Another advantage to back-in angled parking, according to the city report, is loading and unloading a car trunk at curbside rather than in the street.

Cox said that, in the late ‘90s when angled parking started going in to Midtown, there wasn’t a lot of willingness to have it – the real support came from bicyclists.

Back-in angled parking is only considered for streets that have an existing bike lane or which is marked as a “bike route” where the cars and bikes share the roadway, Cox said.

Other factors to determine if a particular block is a good candidate for angled parking include the number of driveways on the block, how busy the street is and the width of the street.

“We also ask if (the angled parking) actually gives more spaces,” Cox said. “There has to be a benefit to putting it in.”

The city measures how busy a street is by doing a count over a period of time to come up with the “average daily travel” – average number of cars that travel that segment in 24 hours.

Cox said the city has a threshold of 3,000 or 4,000 average daily travel (ADT) before angled parking is no longer an option.

The installation of back-in angled parking is always prompted by request of residents, Cox said, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be part of a traffic-calming plan.

“It does have a traffic-calming effect,” Cox said, “but it’s not necessarily one of those things that must be in (a) traffic-calming plan. A requested can be just for the parking.”

Residents on the 11th Street block of F Street in Alkali Flat who are facing the possibility of back-in angled parking on their block are opposed, they say, because it won’t provide any additional parking benefit and may harm the large, older trees planted curbside.

“Are they going to take out our trees to make room for car bumpers?” asked F Street resident Gera Swanson in an interview Feb. 9.

Cox said curbs and trees have to be considered on a case-by-case basis when angled parking is being installed – regardless if it’s nose-in or back-in parking.

“It may be an argument against angled parking in general, because there is an equal danger of affecting a tree either way,” Cox said. “But still, the city would rather not install the angled parking than take out the trees.”

Some areas where back-in angled parking can be found in Sacramento include 28th Street between R and U streets, on F Street between 12th and 13th streets, and C Street between 12th and 13th streets.

“Some cyclists would prefer not to have any parking in front of them,” Cox said, “but given a choice, the back-in is much better for cyclists. That’s the cyclist’s perspective.”

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

First city park eligible for historical register

2012-02-24T01:38:58Z

William Land Park is eligible for listing as a historic district – making it the first Sacramento park eligible to be listed on its own merits, independent of its location within a neighborhood historic district.

The eligibility finding is the result of a recent landscape cultural survey conducted by independent researchers between April and December 2011.

City Councilman Rob Fong said the survey conclusions will be helpful in future planning for the city.

“The city and Land Park are well-served by having a document that will live on to the future and inform decisions that we want to make around the park,” Fong said Tuesday.

Researchers conducting the survey found that numerous features – including the design, land use and small-scale structures within the park qualify it for historical registry designation in the Sacramento register, the California register and the National register.

According to J.P. Tindell, park planning and development manager, historical research and review must be done before any improvement projects can be started in the park. Having a completed historical survey of the entire park at once will save time for groups that are anxious to get under way with projects because the need for doing one review at a time is eliminated.

William Land Park includes Fairytale Town, Funderland, the William Land Golf Course, and the Sacramento Zoo within its 238 acres of land.

The survey found that Fairytale Town and the entryway concession buildings at the Sacramento Zoo – which were built in 1927 – are also eligible for listing individually in all three historical registers.

The zoo as a whole does not qualify, however, because of the extensive renovations it has undergone over the years.

Although William Land Park is recommended as eligible for listing in three historical registries, in the report, staff did not recommend going forward with the listings because funding is not currently available for the additional research and documentation that would be necessary.

Sacramento has numerous historic districts that include some of the oldest parks, including McKinley Park in East Sacramento and Southside Park. Until now, a survey has never been done to find out if any of Sacramento’s parks would qualify for listing as historic resources.

The survey was commissioned on the 100th anniversary of Sacramento businessman William Land’s bequest to the city to acquire and develop a park bearing his name.

The $65,000 cost of the cultural evaluation and survey was paid for by The Land Park Fund, which is part of the initial bequest from William Land that is still under city management.

According to the evaluation report, William Land Park was designed as a combination of a “naturalist” park design – where park features are focused on preserving the natural character of the land – and “reform movement” park design, which focuses on using space for social and sports activities.

As city funds for park maintenance and improvement projects have dried up, volunteer efforts to keep city parks in good condition have increased, according to the staff report.

Parks Department staff member Daisy Mah works on gardening maintenance in the park along with volunteers who come to the park on a regular basis to weed, plant and help with the upkeep of the natural setting.

“I am happy that this park is being recognized for its historical and cultural significance,” Mah said Thursday.

“If you talk to any long-term residents of Sacramento, even if they don’t live nearby, they have a strong connection at one time or another with this park,” she said.

Tindell said the information gathered by the cultural survey will serve as a valuable resource for planning and improvement projects within the park.

“(It) is intended to establish a baseline understanding of the park’s cultural resources,” Tindell said Tuesday.

The survey findings will help volunteers and city staff complete projects with a better understanding of how to treat historic properties, Tindell said.

“This park gets so much use, and things need constant maintenance. (The survey) will help guide us to know how to go about repairing things and protecting the historical value,” Mah said.

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

Mayor: Vigorous arena discussions will continue

2012-02-23T01:25:42Z

Mayor Kevin Johnson held an impromptu press conference Wednesday to give an update on progress with discussions between Sacramento, the NBA and the Sacramento Kings’ owners, the Maloof family.

“There are great discussions going on between the city and the NBA and we are confident that we, as a city, are doing our part to make (a deal) happen,” Johnson said.

Johnson appeared at the press conference flanked by City Manager John Shirey and City Council members Jay Schenirer, Angelique Ashby, Darrell Fong, Rob Fong and Bonnie Pannell.

“We’re closer than we’ve ever been before, and the bottom line is – the city controls its own destiny,” Johnson said.

Earlier Wednesday, Johnson and NBA Commissioner David Stern released a joint statement that outlined a revised “work plan” for the arena financing plan negotiations.

The plan maintained the original March 1 deadline for a term sheet to be completed, but moved the date for a formal presentation and vote at City Council back one week to March 6.

Johnson said he and a delegation of city representatives will travel to Orlando Friday to meet with Stern and the Maloofs and members of the NBA Relocation Committee to continue “vigorous” discussions.

“This is not an easy project for any of us. There are tough questions that need to be answered,” Johnson said, “but we want to try to fully negotiate a deal that’s a win-win for everyone.”

Representatives from Anschutz Entertainment Group, the proposed operator for the new entertainment and sports complex, will not be at the weekend meeting, Johnson said.

He added that all of the parties involved are comfortable with AEG’s role in the talks, and AEG’s absence will not prevent the talks from continuing.

With five City Council members by his side at the press conference, Johnson said that he will have at least six votes when the time comes.

“It’s a full commitment by the whole council to say we want to give this thing a shot,” Johnson said. “Job creation is important to all of us, and we know that if we build the (entertainment and sports) complex, it means more jobs.”

Johnson acknowledged that there isn’t a final deal yet, and there are still issues that need to be worked out.

Still, he told the media that many questions that have been asked during the process are going to be addressed by the March 6 council meeting.

“Everyone knows it’s non-binding, but essentially all parties agree that there is a willingness to go forward,” Johnson said.

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

City bid to host 2022 Olympics: New arena will be a factor

2012-02-22T06:00:46Z

As Sacramento prepares to bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympic games, having the right venues on offer – such as a new entertainment and sports complex – will be a key factor to a successful bid.

Representatives from the California Winter Games Committee reported to the City Council Tuesday about progress the committee is making to join the bidding process to become a host city.

The committee is a volunteer group composed of both state and local civic, business and labor leaders and is working in conjunction with a similar committee from the Lake Tahoe area.

Jake Mossawir, chief financial officer for the CWGC, said the group has been polling residents, researching historical data and reviewing similar bid process efforts to raise awareness about the prospect of hosting the Winter Games in this region.

One of the key pieces of information the committee considered, Mossawir said, was an assessment of local venues – including the possibility of a new entertainment and sports complex located at the downtown railyards.

“The benefits of a future Winter Games would be more fully realized with an entertainment and sports complex – one that supports the major ice sports – namely ice hockey and figure skating,” Mossawir said Tuesday.

“It’s a huge undertaking,” City Councilman Rob Fong said Tuesday. “I think everyone on the Nevada side understands that the only way for this to work is to be a California-Nevada joint effort.”

If the Lake Tahoe/Sacramento bid is successful, it will be the first time the Winter Games have been to the Sierras since 1960 in Squaw Valley – and the first time they have been in the United States since 2002 in Salt Lake City.

Jim Rinehart, economic development director, told council members that the employment impact of a future Winter Games in the region would be significant.

Some local industries that would see the greatest benefit from a Winter Games include arts and entertainment, recreation and retail trades, Rinehart said.

But, by far, food and accommodations – comprising a large number of workers in the travel and tourism industry – is expected to benefit the most with more than 106,000 jobs, he added.

Overall, Rinehart said, more than 170,000 full-time jobs could be created between 2017 and 2027 – the time period before, during and after the games.

Rinehart said competing cities vying for the games work many years before a selection is made, and “much work” would be necessary to make this region ready for the games.

“We don’t have many mountains here in Sacramento,” Fong said, “so we aren’t likely going to host downhill (ski) races. But, we could certainly host a number of (ice) rink events if we have the facilities for them.”

Fong said that, as the City Council considers the design of a new entertainment and sports complex, the prospect of making the facility usable for Olympic events should definitely be part of the plan.

“We need to have the associated services around the facility, too,” he added. “(The games) would be something big for the region.”

Mossawir said that projects under way at the railyards and the River District would be boosted by the city serving as a central hub for the games.

The region would still benefit from hosting the Olympics without a major venue in the city, Mossawir said, but it would be much less.

“It (is) a question of whether or not we want to be a stop on the way to the games or if we want to be a destination city that houses major Olympic contests,” he said.

Both the California Winter Games Committee and its sister committee in Nevada are working together with the goal of hosting the games in California with Lake Tahoe as the hub, bringing a region-wide benefit, according to a June 2011 press release.

The group has until the end of the year to make its final pitch to the U.S. Olympic Committee, which will make its selection from among all the American city contenders to send to the International Olympic Committee.

The IOC will select a final bid by 2015 – the same year the proposed entertainment and sports complex would be completed if plans are finalized by the City Council.

Denver and Salt Lake City are the other cities in the western region vying for the United States’ nomination bid.

The U.S. bid for the 2012 Games in New York was lost to London, and the bid for the 2016 Games in Chicago was lost to Rio de Janeiro.

Mossawir said the California Winter Games Committee will release in-depth viability reports in the next few weeks, followed by another update report to the City Council.

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

City Council keeps parking lease conversation going

2012-02-15T05:53:37Z

The City Council unanimously voted to keep conversations going with bidders interested in taking over the city’s parking operations – and set the stage for a Feb. 28 vote finalizing plans for a new entertainment and sports complex.

“Today is about narrowing 13 (bidders) down to 10, and it’s an intermediary step to a more significant vote,” Mayor Kevin Johnson said.

Council chambers were full Tuesday night, and members of the public who signed up to speak included eight opposed to the prospect of a long-term lease of the city’s parking and 30 people in favor of it.

Project Manager Fran Halbakken described the bidding for control of city parking operations as a competitive process, where the City Council whittles down the number of potential parking operators, eventually finalizing a term sheet agreement with a single operator.

The plan to turn over the city’s public parking assets to a private party – in return for an upfront payment of an estimated $185 million to $240 million – has come under fire since the idea was first floated by the Think Big Committee in November.

“The people who want the arena should pay for it,” Sacramento resident John Bloomer said during public comment. “Let them do it. We think people will be further inhibited from coming (to downtown) because the parking rates are going to go up.”

The proposed 50-year lease of the city’s parking operations is expected to be the cornerstone of a complex financing plan to build a new arena at the downtown railyards – and prevent the Sacramento Kings from relocating.

Thirteen bidding teams responded when the city began the search for parking lessees, according to the city staff report. The list of potential bidders was narrowed to 10 by staff and outside consultants before being presented to council members Tuesday.

Some of the criteria used to evaluate potential bidders included financial strength of the bidding team, sources of capital, ability to make an upfront payment and each bidding team’s strength and experience as a parking operator.

Tuesday’s vote doesn’t commit the city to continue the process – but it does indicate council members’ willingness to take the next step.

“This isn’t a vote for the arena or against the arena. There is no money exchanging hands yet,” Sheedy said after the vote.

According to the staff report, before the City Council can proceed to actual lease proposals, it will first need a financing plan in place for the entertainment and sports complex, and it will need to identify enough revenue to make up for initial parking revenue losses from the city’s general fund.

There will also need to be a budget for the consultant costs for the process of finding a parking operator, according to the report.

Sheedy called for a “much more in-depth” process for public outreach as the council starts to take a closer look at the bidders list.

“People really need to see what we’re doing,” Sheedy said.

Tuesday’s vote comes on the heels of a 5-4 vote Feb. 7 against putting the parking lease plan on the June ballot.

“Today (we took) a significant step,” Johnson said. “We voted unanimously to do something mostly ceremonial today, but it puts us in a position for Feb. 28 to be all in.”

Halbakken said the next step in the process will be for city staff to further evaluate bidders to reduce the list, and to begin to establish the parameters of financing terms for a potential lease.

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.

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.

‘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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Crime rate down 18 percent in Sacramento

2011-09-22T00:50:50Z

Despite budget reductions and recent layoffs in the police department, serious crime in Sacramento has dropped 18 percent over the last three years – the second largest decline in California among cities of similar size – according to a report that Sacramento Police Chief Rick Braziel presented to City Council Tuesday.

Braziel told council members that the core mission of the Sacramento Police Department hasn’t changed since 2008 when he took charge. The mission, he said, is still “reduce crime, engage the community and provide excellent service.”

What has changed, however, is the number of police personnel – 81 sworn officers were laid off in July – and a department budget reduced by $12.2 million this year.

Over the past four years, police department budget reductions have resulted in $35 million in cuts and a loss of 372 positions, according city staff reports.

Still, Sacramento crime rates have been on a downward trend since 2007, Braziel said Tuesday.

Braziel’s report to the City Council included crime rate information compiled from department records and annual crime statistics from the FBI.

Braziel attributes the numbers to a “more focused effort” to achieve department goals, and an emphasis on working as efficiently as possible with the resources available.

“We have really focused on our 911 (call) center and operations in the field,” Braziel said. “We actually have more people answering the 911 line than (we had) three years ago.”

Braziel said staffing for field resources – patrol officers, traffic officers and officers on the streets responding to calls for service – has gone down 15 percent since July.

The investigations staff has been reduced by 35 percent, Braziel added.

“Those reductions are what necessitated a change in our dispatch protocols,” Braziel said.

In his last report to City Council in June, Braziel told council members that, with such a reduction in staffing, the department would no longer respond to some types of service calls, such as “cold” burglaries, where the suspect was no longer on the scene and the victims weren’t in danger.

“However, if we find a pattern or a series (of incidents) or something unique about an incident,” Braziel said, “we dispatch reports out to officers in the field and a patrol will go out to the scene to follow up.”

By prioritizing responses to nonviolent crime calls, Braziel said he is able to streamline operations and focus personnel where they are needed most at any given time.

Councilman Jay Schenirer told Braziel he was pleasantly surprised by the report.

“With budget cuts and an economy that is bad as it’s been in 40 or 50 years,” Schenirer said, “to see crime (in Sacramento) go down, that’s great.”

Schenirer said he would chalk it up to how well Braziel is running the department, and the continuous development of new ideas to reduce crime that are coming from the department.

Braziel told council members that violent crime is down 20 percent, and property crime is down 17 percent over the last year. All crimes together – excluding homicides – year-to-date crime rates are down 12.5 percent from last year.

“We are definitely continuing to trend down,” Braziel said.

The police department was able to bring back 35 laid off officers due to a grant waiver the department received in July.

One more grant request is pending, Braziel said, and he expects to have a result by the end of September or early October. If the city receives the second grant, it will restore another 35 officers to the police department.

“It’s a credit to the (police) department, and to the men and women on the front lines, so to speak, working every day and doing more with less,” Councilman Rob Fong told Braziel after hearing the report. “We obviously have very good people working on the force.”

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

City Council receives, reviews arena reports

2011-09-14T05:58:28Z

City staff and Think Big Sacramento representatives presented the City Council with technical and financial option reports on the proposed entertainment and sports complex Tuesday, and asked council to direct them where to go next.

“We have a lot of work to do in the next six months,” said City Manager John Shirey, “and we need both internal and external resources to do it.”

To keep things moving forward, though, Shirey told council members that he plans to deliver three things: “a game plan with a timeline, a list of the consultant work we need and a list of how we’ll pay for those things.”

Although the technical report presented Tuesday included more detail than previous reports, Shirey said it will take some time to “dig deeper and determine if the project is really feasible.”

Shirey said he and his staff will need “special help” from outside resources to do that digging. That means turning to consultants, investment bankers and outside council for the “due diligence” necessary to thoroughly review the entertainment sports complex proposal, Shirey said.

One of the aspects of the ESC project discussed Tuesday was the potential for re-use of the current Power Balance Pavillion site in Natomas.

“Natomas re-use possibilities present tremendous opportunity,” said Rachel Hazlewood, Economic Development Department senior project manager. “We need to develop a plan of action to bring (the space) to its highest and best use.”

Hazlewood said that, because the building moratorium in Natomas will be lifted in 2013, the large site may allow for multiple users and will require rezoning – aspects of the “total arena plan” that need to be considered.

“We will need to identify potential business prospects and get the site shovel-ready for development,” Hazlewood said, “before we can re-use the Natomas site for something other than the arena that is already there.”

Arena finance expert Dan Barrett outlined the recently released Nexus report of finance “menu” options.

Barrett told council members that a public-private partnership is essential to the success of the project.

“When you structure a deal like this, it has to work for all parties,” Barrett said. “It’s clear that the public cannot fund this facility on its own, and the team cannot fund it on its own.”

Barrett said that parking income potential discussed in the Nexus report is “not a standalone financing solution,” and the Kings’ loan has to be part of the solution.

“The $387 million cost (in the initial feasibility report) may change,” said John Dangberg, assistant city manager.

Dangberg noted that infrastructure costs are not included in the estimated $387 million cost of the facility.

Dangberg urged council members to direct staff to look at financial, legal and practical aspects of the project.

“As we come up with a definitive financing plan,” Dangberg said, “we want to include enough resources to cover the real cost of the project as it becomes clearer.”

Barrett said it will be important for council members to explore parking opportunities “aggressively,” and to “critically evaluate” other public funding options.

“We’ll work together with you and staff to prepare a definitive financing plan by the end of December,” Barrett said.

Although Mayor Kevin Johnson acknowledged that the reports presented to council were preliminary reports and not a “final proposal” for a new complex, he said they were a good place to start.

“We did our best to protect taxpayers with this plan,” Johnson said. “This is about jobs – 4,100 jobs – for our region.”

Johnson said the project is in “a very critical stage,” and he hopes City Council and the Think Big committee can finalize as much as possible by January so the city can be in the best position possible by the March deadline.

Councilman Rob Fong said he supports the arena project and that there needs to be “a closer look” taken at all of the financing options suggested in the Nexus report.

“It’s really important that we thoroughly vet what we are hearing,” Fong said. “We have to make sure the general fund is held harmless, and figure out if there’s a way for us to go forward with the project”

For Think Big, the challenge remains to keep going “until we reach a point where we know for sure that we can do this – or that we can’t,” Fong said.

The City Council asked staff to take the reports back for more review. Council will discuss arena options further at its next meeting, on Sept. 20.

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

As the dust settles, City Council adjusts to new districts

2011-09-07T23:59:16Z

With one last vote Tuesday, the Sacramento City Council approved a map that seals council district boundaries for the next 10 years, but the work of redistricting isn’t finished just yet.

“The new map goes into effect Oct. 6, which is only 30 days after the final council vote,” said Scott Mende, principal planner with the Community Development Department. “After that, each council member has a different group of constituents.”

New district lines for the city and new constituents for council members will have a ripple effect throughout city administration, and Mende said city staff has a lot of work to do to be prepared for it.

The first step, Mende said, is a “massive outreach” to council members and all affected departments – such as the budget office, planning department and parks department – to help department staff know what impacts will come from the map changes.

“Council members usually take a strong interest in what goes on in their district,” Mende said. “They’ll want to know what they are going to be seeing, as far as projects that have been started or are still in planning stages (in each district).”

Staff from the city’s Neighborhood Services department will meet with neighborhood associations and community activists to discuss the new district maps, and the new map information will be posted in the newspaper and on the city website.

Although each of the city’s eight council districts will change in one way or another, the council member who will see the most dramatic changes to his district is Steve Cohn.

“I’m losing half of my (current) district and gaining a different half,” Cohn said Tuesday. “I clearly have the most significant changes happening to my District, so I’m starting (my transition) right away.”

With the new map boundaries, Cohn’s District 3 will now include a portion of what was Councilwoman Angelique Ashby’s District 1, including the railyards and the River District.

Cohn said he is planning to do a community event with Ashby sometime in the next 30 days and a district tour to meet new constituents and become more familiar with the projects under way in the areas new to his district.

“I’ll be doing something similar with (Councilwoman) Sandy Sheedy,” Cohn said, “but in reverse. Instead of gaining something from her district, I am giving up a portion of my district to her.”

Sheedy is already familiar with the Ben Ali and Hagginwood neighborhoods, which the new map puts in her district, Cohn said, however “Swanston Estates will be new to her,” so he’s planning to “show her around” and introduce her to the residents in that neighborhood.

Cohn is also organizing town hall-style meetings with Councilmen Kevin McCarty and Rob Fong to discuss district changes that affect them.

Ashby has the biggest changes to her district in terms of population adjustments – her district loses nearly 45,000 people – but the boundary line movement is not as drastic as Cohn’s or Rob Fong’s districts.

“The question for me,” Ashby said Tuesday, “is, ‘How do I let people in the new District 1 know they are still in District 1, and how do I let the people that were in District 1 know that they are now in District 3 or District 4?”

Ashby said she plans to use her strong social media presence – including platforms such as Facebook, Yahoo Groups, email lists and her personal website – to reach out to constituents.

Still, Ashby said, “there is no substitute“ for her and her staff to go out into the community, take the new council members around, make introductions, and get in touch with people who are in leadership roles in the community.

“We’ve done a lot of work in the last year,” Ashby said. “I want to very carefully hand that off.”

Ashby said she has “no doubt that my colleagues will see things through,” but she plans to stay engaged with all communities during the transition period because, “I would never just turn around and walk away.”

Mende said he and his staff are ready to assist council members during the transition period.

“If (council members) want us to send out information for them, we’ll do that. Or, if they ask for tools or access to tools to help them get the word out, we’ll do that,” Mende said. “We’re available to help them in whatever ways they deem appropriate.”

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

Solomon-esque compromise moves Med Center into District 6

2011-08-24T18:26:14Z

In a King Solomon-like compromise, Oak Park lost one of its key components Tuesday when City Council members voted to divvy up the 100-year old neighborhood between two council districts.

District 5 gets to keep most of the Med Center neighborhood and Sacramento HIgh, but District 6 gets the coveted Med Center.

In a 6-3 vote, council members approved a variation of the “Neighborhoods 2.0” base map, drawing the boundary between Districts 5 and 6 – right down the middle of Stockton Boulevard.

“We have let you down as a council,” Mayor Kevin Johnson told the audience just before the vote. “We can say anything we want and make it all fancy, but you guys see right through it.”

Tuesday’s City Council meeting had more than 500 people in attendance and a record 103 speakers took to the podium to address the council before the final vote of the evening.

During the five-hour long discussion, members of the public spoke emotionally and emphatically about what their neighborhoods mean to them, asking council members to “put the people first.”

Quoting English poet William Wordsworth, Oak Park Pastor Darrell Roberts said, “ ‘It takes less time to do something right than to explain why you did it wrong. Wisdom is knowing what to do next. Virtue is doing it.’

“You’ve heard from the people,” Roberts said.

Councilman Steve Cohn defended the map he presented on July 26 and the merged map he and Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy developed and presented on Aug.4., saying it kept more neighborhoods intact than other versions, and resolved more problems than it created.

“In the end,” Cohn said, “I think everyone can agree there’s no perfect solution.”

The controversy that boiled over at the Aug. 16 council meeting – and continued at Tuesday’s meeting – was fueled by the shifting of the Med Center neighborhood out of District 5 and into District 6 with the Neighborhoods 2.0 base map, which the council approved on Aug. 9.

Oak Park residents and community leaders quickly mobilized opposition to the proposed new district boundaries and more than 60 people commented publicly at the Aug. 16 meeting.

Redistricting was not an item on the agenda at that meeting, so council members could not discuss the issue – they could only listen to the public comments, though there was some discussion at the meeting.
At Tuesday’s meeting, redistricting was the final item on the agenda and council chambers remained full to capacity throughout the entire discussion.

Many times, as speakers were addressing the council, the applause of the audience was loud and lingering and Johnson banged the gavel to restore order.

Speakers young and old approached the podium, sometimes giving a simple plea for keeping a neighborhood unified, and other times chastising council members for being “self-serving” and not “respecting the process” of redistricting.

At one point, Councilman Kevin McCarty addressed audience’s questions about ”Why the change” to the boundaries affecting Oak Park, the Med Center, and Sacramento High School.

“I think, Neighborhoods 2.0 is the right map and it is the least flawed,” McCarty said. “District 6 has been growing toward District 5 for years. (Toward District 5) is the only direction it can grow.”

While acknowledging that the Med Center in an “economic engine” for the city, he said “it is also a neighbor” that directly impacts the immediate vicinity more than anything else.

McCarty concluded that Med Center – and the area immediately surrounding it – should be part of District 6.

Tim Jordan, a business owner in Oak Park, said there wasn’t a “compelling reason” for the shift of the Med Center neighborhood out of Oak Park.

“North Oak Park is a positive example of investments made in the area over the years,” Jordan said. “The population is a small percentage of District 5, but they are the heartbeat. There’s no reason to move us.”

When public comment concluded, council members gave the audience their take on the process, the maps and the public outcry they witnessed both at council meetings and from people in their districts.

Cyril Shah, a local businessman and a former member of the Citizens Advisory Committee on redistricting, told council members there were three tenets he followed while working with the committee: listen to the citizens, focus on fairness and equity in every district, and focus on providing government services to those who need them.

“Listen to all of the citizens before you make a decision,” Shaw said. “It is my hope and, quite frankly, my expectation as a citizen that you will come to a conclusion than not only a few but all of the citizens can be proud of.”

Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy told audience members that the process has been “very challenging,” but the public had been “heard.”

“Don’t think we haven’t listened to you,” Sheedy said. “We have. We really have heard you.”

Council members Darrell Fong, Rob Fong and Bonnie Pannell made similar comments, pointing out the difficulties of balancing a requirement to equalize population with all of the community’s needs.

When Johnson called roll for the vote, Sheedy, Cohn, Rob Fong, McCarty, Darrell Fong and Pannell were all “aye” votes.

Angelique Ashby, Jay Schenirer and Johnson opposed the motion.

“When you think of assets that represent Oak Park, you think of Sac High and you think of the Med Center,” Schenirer said. “I think it would be criminal to take that away.”

The law requires the redistricting ordinance that the City Council approved Tuesday to be published for the public for one week before the final vote is taken Sept. 6.

The final ordinance will go into effect 30 days after it is adopted by the City Council, and then the current district boundaries no longer exist. Council members will still represent the district number they were elected to, but with the new boundaries in place.

Record number of residents speak out at City Council meeting

2011-08-24T07:08:00Z

At the outset of the City Council meeting Tuesday, Mayor Kevin Johnson promised a robust discussion on the subject of redistricting, and robust is what he got.

It was another full house Tuesday with nearly 500 people crowding into City Hall, filling every seat in the council chambers and overflowing to makeshift seating areas on the second floor – everyone with the same agenda item on their minds: redistricting.

Neighbors, schoolchildren and spokespeople for Latino and African American communities of interest lined up – more than 100-deep – to give their two minutes’ input on where new district boundary lines should be drawn.

At the council meeting on Aug. 16, more than 200 people attended and nearly 70 people spoke during public comment expressing outrage about the proposed redistricting map, even though the item was not on the agenda.

Representatives from the Oak Park and Med Center neighborhoods – which are the focal point of contention for the council at the moment – took center stage once again this week as speaker after speaker took council members to task on a decision that may change the way their community is represented for the next 10 years.

“We are speaking with one voice,” said Mike Boyd, president of the Oak Park Neighborhood Association. “We’re speaking about how it feels to a community like Oak Park to have the heart of our community cleaved from our neighborhood body.”

In a letter sent to Oak Park residents on Friday, Boyd encouraged people to “organize and mobilize” to keep the community “whole.”

“We will not allow our assets to be looted,” the letter stated. “Keep the pressure on!”

The Neighborhoods Together 2.0 map changes the district boundaries around Oak Park, placing the Med Center neighborhood – which includes Sacramento High School and the UC Davis Medical Center – from District 5 into District 6.

Strictly speaking, they’re talking about 1,053 residents, with all but six people living west of Stockton Boulevard.

Practically speaking, however, the discussion is about more than population – it’s about history, community, and the will of the people.

“You wouldn’t take the Statue of Liberty out of New York; or the White House out of Washington, D.C.; or the zoo out of South Land Park” said Junea Montoya, a senior at Sacramento High School, “so why would you take Sac High and the Med Center out of Oak Park?”

In response to public comment at last week’s council meeting, Councilman Jay Schenirer asked city staff to provide a map variation that places the Med Center neighborhood in District 5 rather than District 6, as it’s drawn in the current 2.0 map.

Schenirer said that he hopes the council will give serious consideration to his revision, “if we’re really about neighborhoods and keeping neighborhoods together.”

With the legal deadline looming to finalize a new district map for the city, council members are under the gun to make a final decision – and it’s a decision that has, so far, spurred an outpouring of emotion from people in every camp.

“Redistricting is not about moving assets from district to district,” said Andie Corso, an Oak Park resident and a member of Johnson’s Stand Up education initiative.

“It’s about evening out population,” Corso said. “We’re talking about two community assets being moved (because of) the 2.0 map, and it’s completely unnecessary.”

Councilmen Steve Cohn and Kevin McCarty each addressed the crowd to explain the rationale for the makeup of the 2.0 map, but their words were met with groans and head-shaking from the audience.

“We’ve collected more than 500 signatures in just 13 days,” said Oak Park resident Kristina Smith. “Fifty-four of these signatures are from your neighbors on your block, Mr. McCarty. Will you ignore the voices of your own neighbors?”

Before starting public comment, Johnson told the audience that a record 103 speakers had signed in – 24 supportive of the Neighborhoods Together 2.0 map, and 79 opposed to it.

“It’s clear by the showing here today – nearly three to one – how you feel about it,” Johnson said, referring to the number of people who asked to speak Tuesday.

One of the speakers in opposition to the 2.0 map was Sacramento County Supervisor and former Sacramento Mayor Jimmy Yee, who returned to council a second time in two weeks to reiterate his feelings about the division of his neighborhood, South Land Park.

Holding up a sign that read “Keep Oak Park whole,” Yee said, “I want to change this sign a little and have it read ‘Keep Oak Park and South Land Park whole.”

At a press conference earlier in the day, Johnson said he hoped Tuesday’s meeting would have at least one “happy surprise” for Sacramento – that of coming to a consensus about what the new map will look like.

“It’s about doing what’s right tonight,” Johnson said.

The council was set to vote on an ordinance finalizing the 2.0 map, unless someone on the council made a motion to amend the map in some way.

The ordinance stated that preserving existing neighborhoods was “a major focal point” during the deliberations by the City Council.

“The concern over existing neighborhoods made for difficult policy decisions,” the ordinance states, making it “impossible to satisfy” the wishes of all of the residents who voiced their concerns at public meetings.

More than three hours into the meeting – and after more than an hour of public comment – a final vote was yet to be taken at the dais.

The Sacramento Press will post an update in the morning on the result of Tuesday’s council meeting.

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

Public comment at Council meeting results in one more map

2011-08-17T08:14:06Z

City Council chambers were overflowing Tuesday night with residents lined up to voice their concerns about which redistricting map will – finally – be the final map, but the meeting didn’t end until one council member asked for one more map to be brought to the table.

With audience members behind them holding signs that read, “Just tell us why?” and “Keep Oak Park whole,” more than 70 speakers chastised, questioned and – at times – shouted at council members as they expressed outrage over the most recent development in the redistricting saga.

The outpouring of emotion from meeting attendees stemmed from a City Council vote last week on a proposed map to redraw city district boundaries – the eighth map to be discussed by council members since the citizens advisory committee sent its final recommendations to the council on July 12.

The map, designated “Neighborhoods Together 2.0,” was introduced by Councilman Steve Cohn at the Aug. 9 council meeting – after public comment had concluded and before some council members had an opportunity to review it. That map was ultimately passed on a 6-3 vote as the ‘base map’ to be considered for final approval later this month.

During two hours of public comment Tuesday, council members heard testimony from lifelong residents of Oak Park, Sacramento High School students and community leaders.

Some speakers accused council members of “back room dealings,” while others questioned council members’ intentions by “creating a charade that was the advisory committee” on redistricting.

“You’re going to sit there and rip off the economic arm of Med Center off of Oak Park with no regard for the community?” asked Betty Williams, president of the Sacramento NAACP. “Really? No!”

Williams chastised council members for the “political theft of Oak Park,” and – with no subtle implication about the future of council seats – she added, “You are not the only ones who will take something away.”

All who spoke Tuesday opposed the boundaries in one district area or another, but the majority specifically opposed the shift of the neighborhood that includes Med Center and Sacramento High School from District 5 into Councilman Kevin McCarty’s District 6.

“My mother told me never to call folks ‘stupid,’ “ said Oak Park resident Joe Debbs, “so I’ll just say you are ‘unwise’ to break up Oak Park.

“It’s not too late to fix your mistake,” he added.

The impact of the outpouring of public comment seemed to sink in with council members right before the council adjourned.

District 5 Councilman Jay Schenirer asked city staff to re-analyze the most recent map and bring it back to council for consideration at the Aug. 23 meeting – this time redrawing district lines to return the contested area surrounding the Med Center to District 5.

“We’ll see if this (map) changes anybody’s mind (on the council),” Schenirer said after the meeting.

Although redistricting was not an item on the meeting agenda, the opportunity for public comment is a regular part of every council meeting. Speakers are limited to two minutes to address council members, and council members do not usually respond from the dais to public comments.

Tuesday’s meeting was anything but “usual,” however.

As the council chamber filled with people and stacks of speaker requests were handed to the city clerk, the first to step up to the podium was County Supervisor and former Sacramento mayor Jimmy Yee.

Yee told council members that he was speaking to them for one reason only – to plead for the South Land Park neighborhood to be kept together.

“I know how hard this (redistricting) process is and, as a county supervisor, I’m going through it now,” Yee said. “But what you simply have to do is try.”

Yee encouraged council members to consider the history of South Land Park and try to keep the neighborhood together.

Councilman Rob Fong, who represents the South Land Park neighborhood where Yee lives, thanked Yee for addressing the council but said there might not be any solution to dividing that neighborhood.

Yee suggested drawing the district boundary line at Sutterville Road instead of at Fruitridge, where the latest map shows it.

“So, you don’t care what district it’s in,” Fong asked, “you just want all of South Land Park together?”

“I love having you as my councilman, Rob,” Yee responded, “but I’ll love Jay Schenirer, too, if he’s my new representative. I’m not here for politics – I’m here for my neighborhood. Don’t split South Land Park.”

Michael Boyd, president of Oak Park Neighborhood Association, referred council members to an email sent to Elmhurst residents from McCarty that asked for support of the newest map and called Oak Park a “treasure.”

“Of course you see (it) as a treasure,” Boyd said to McCarty. “One that belongs in District 5.

“It smacks of elitism that cannot be ignored,” Boyd said of the new map boundaries.

At the end of the meeting, after the chambers had emptied, Schenirer said he asked for the new map revision so there would “at least be something on the table” when the council returns next week and takes up redistricting as a discussion item on the agenda.

“If we’re really about neighborhoods and keeping neighborhoods together,” Schenirer said, “and there’s no detrimental effects or musical chairs with other districts around (the changes), then I would hope the council takes it into consideration.”

Schenirer’s map revision will be brought before the City Council at its next meeting Aug. 23. A vote for final approval of a redistricting map is expected before the Sept. 6 deadline for submission to the state.

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

City Council approves salary contract for new city manager

2011-08-10T08:25:58Z

Sacramento’s new city manager will get 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.

John Shirey’s three-year contract, which includes a $258,000 base salary was approved by the City Council with a 7-2 vote Tuesday.

According to the staff report on the contract, Shirey’s annual salary is within the city’s current salary pay range of $187,357-$281,035 for the position.

The staff report also notes that Shirey’s benefit package is essentially the same as for city charter officers such as city attorney and city clerk, with two exceptions: Shirey will pay his own 7 percent contribution to PERS and, instead of the typical 4 percent contribution to a 401(a) plan, the city will contribute $15,000 to a deferred compensation plan.

These changes give the city a net savings of nearly $13,000 – approximately $10,000 for the PERS contribution and approximately $18,000 for the 4 percent contribution to a 401(a) plan.

The new contract includes a severance clause that provides for payment of six months’ salary and medical benefits if Shirey or the council terminates his employment before the contract expires.

A recent press release from Eye on Sacramento, a local political watchdog group, criticized the contract as “fundamentally wrong” for the 16 percent pay hike the contract includes.

“The (pay increase) for its city manager is immensely insensitive to city taxpayers and city employees who have seen their pay cut or jobs eliminated in the current recession,” the release states. “The council's extravagance with its top manager's pay cannot help but make future relations and negotiations with (the) city's unions more difficult and probably more costly to city taxpayers.”

Earlier this week, Local 522, the union representing 550 city firefighters, voted to defer a five percent payraise until 2013 and give six percent to their pensions, according to a labor leaders.

Jaymes Butler, municipal vice president for Local 522 and a captain in the department, told council members Tuesday that, when asked to “do their part” despite being the lowest paid in the region, “our (union members) stepped up to do it.”

Had they known what the city manager’s salary package would look like, Butler said, his union membership would likely not have voted for labor concessions as they did.

“The last time I checked,” Butler said, “none of these (city managers) save lives.”

Councilwoman Angelique Ashby said she’s looking forward to working with Shirey, though she is disappointed with the compensation package.

“It’s unfathomable to grant the largest compensation package in the history of Sacramento during one of the worst economic times in the history of Sacramento,” Ashby said. “It’s counterintuitive.”

Ashby said she could not support the contract “in the same week that firefighters step forward and help us initiate true pension reform for the first time” in the city of Sacramento.

“I just feel like there is no reason to make an exception to the standard of everyone working for the city to pull their weight and do more with less,” Ashby said.

Councilman Rob Fong supported the contract and welcomed Shirey to the position.

“The salary is within the range for the position,” Fong said, “so, yeah, he’s going to get more than we gave (the previous city manager). (Shirey) has an impressive wealth of experience. We are fortunate to have him.”

Mayor Kevin Johnson said he assumed the contract was supported by the majority of the council, but he reiterated concerns about the recruitment process that he expressed in a recent press conference.

Johnson said that the process could have been “more comprehensive,” and he was disappointed that there wasn’t any public input.

The recruitment process wasn't as transparent as it should have been, Johnson said, and he objected to granting a contract that makes Shirey the highest-paid city manager in the city’s history.

“This defies logic, in my opinion.” Johnson said.

With the new contract in place, Shirey will begin work as city manager Sept. 1.

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

City Council chooses surprise new redistricting map

2011-08-10T07:35:37Z

The city of Sacramento will have new district boundaries by the end of the month, but the lines won’t be familiar to anyone who has followed the process so far.

In a 6-3 vote, the City Council passed a motion Tuesday to use a new map submitted by Councilman Steve Cohn as the ‘base map’ for new district boundaries – much to the surprise of advisory committee members, meeting attendees and Mayor Kevin Johnson.

“I am extremely disappointed and sad,” Johnson said. “This is the worst-case scenario. It’s the council putting self-interest above all else, and that is disappointing.”

The map – which Cohn named “Neighborhoods Together 2.0” – was submitted just minutes before the council meeting was set to begin Tuesday.

Cohn said he felt the new map was necessary because it addressed concerns that the previous maps did not, including keeping districts more compact and cohesive and allowing for better representation of communities of interest.

Although the agenda item on redistricting included opportunity for public comment, the new map wasn’t introduced until after public comment had concluded.

The goal of the new map, as described by Cohn, is to “keep neighborhoods together,” and it is intended to address concerns expressed about the previous maps submitted by he and Sheedy at the July 26 council meeting.

One of those concerns was that the population deviation in the merged Cohn/Sheedy map released Friday was 11.9 percent, exceeding the city-mandated maximum of 10 percent. The total population deviation of the new map is 9.92 percent.

Another concern expressed to the council was the division of Latino communities across multiple districts thereby “diluting their voting power,” according to Eric Guerra, a representative of the Latino Redistricting Working Group and the president of the Tahoe Park Neighborhood Association.

“What this map does that no other map does,” Cohn said, “is provide Latino representation greater than 30 percent in four council districts.”

“I think it’d be undershooting (for the Latino community) to look at only one (council) seat when you could be looking at four seats,” Cohn added.

Discussion of the merits of the new map became heated as council members argued about what district the UC Davis Medical Center and the surrounding neighborhood, including Sacramento High School, belongs in.

Councilman Jay Schenirer noted that, although the Med Center neighborhood has historically been part of District 5, the 2.0 map assigns it to District 6.

“For the past 40 years they’ve been in District 5,” Schenirer said. “I’d like to know what is the rationale for moving it?”

Cohn said the primary effort of the new map is to keep neighborhoods together, but added that moving the neighborhood into District 6 compensates for the addition of the railyards to District 3.

“District 3, with the railyards in it, has potential for growth,” Cohn said, “but District 6 doesn’t have that same potential.”

Schenirer stood his ground, saying “we could argue how long that growth would take,” and told Cohn that the council should “put the Med Center neighborhood back with Oak Park, where it’s been for 40 years.”

The council passed a motion to accept the new map without the adjustment of shifting the Med Center neighborhood back to Oak Park and District 5.

Although Councilwoman Angelique Ashby ultimately voted against it, she initially expressed her support of the new base map, saying that a new map being added by the council – even at this late date – does not contradict the work of the advisory committee.

“I’m offended by the notion that if we don’t take one of the four maps submitted by the advisory committee, that we are somehow being less than transparent,” Ashby said. “This is a process: the community submitted maps, the committee vetted them, and now (the council) looks at them.”

Ashby said it has always been the prerogative of the council to make refinements to any map as part of the redistricting process and in addition to the work of the advisory committee.

Councilman Rob Fong agreed, saying, “I don’t think there’s any disrespect to the advisory committee here.”

Fong said everything the council has done is a “derivative” of the advisory committee’s work, and having refinements done by the council was something the council had always considered.

“I don’t know that there are any perfect solutions for any district,” Fong said. “This process is like having a lot of Jell-O in a big sack. Wherever you push or pull, it’s going to affect all the other districts.”

Johnson was visibly upset by the submission of yet another new map.

“It’s clear that politics took over the process,” Johnson said. “I do not think elected officials should choose their voters. We throw the word transparency around a lot, but I don’t think anything we’ve done here has been transparent. There’s no way the public is fooled by it.”

“We get a map at 5:55 p.m. today, and we’re supposed to vote on it today without the public weighing in on it at all?”Johnson said. “I think it’s ridiculous, and I think our priorities are upside-down.”

Johnson and Schenirer voted against the proposed new map, along with councilwoman Ashby who disagreed with the way the new map shifted large portions of neighborhoods from her district into a new district.

City staff will prepare an ordinance based on the new map for the council to adopt at the earliest opportunity, according to city clerk, Shirley Concolino.

The new map is expected to be passed for publication on Aug. 23 and adopted by the end of the month.

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

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

LGBT community weighs in on redistricting

2011-07-21T01:46:49Z

When is comes to redistricting, the LGBT community has a lot to say about being recognized as a legitimate community of interest and working toward getting the central city united into one council district.

“Unless you see yourself represented, it’s hard to see yourself in the world,” said Steve Hansen, a community activist and a member of the former Citizens Advisory Committee on Redistricting.

Hansen and Rosanna Herber, chairperson of the LGBT Redistricting Committee, said members of the LGBT community worked tirelessly over the last several months to be recognized as a community of interest and be given a stake in the process. Their goal has been to finally see the central city united.

“We are a very diverse city,” Hansen said, “and our strength comes from that diversity.”

The LGBT Redistricting Committee was made up of representatives of the Sacramento Gay & Lesbian Center, the Rainbow Chamber of Commerce, the Stonewall Democratic Club and other LGBT community leaders.

Herber said the group attended advisory committee meetings and testified before the committee at every opportunity.

“The common theme (of our testimony) was that a majority of our community live in the urban core and we don’t want to have it split any longer,” Herber said.

There are approximately 31,000 people in the grid which is shared by three council districts, Hansen said, and “(the people in the grid) have have a lot more in common with each other than the people in Natomas (who share a district) have with them.”

The standard of “one person, one vote” includes the notion of not diluting the electoral power of groups of people that have historically been subject to discrimination. By splitting the central city, Hansen said, that’s exactly what happens.

“The neighborhoods in the central city have been sliced and diced so much,” Hansen said. “The people there have no real electoral power.”

People in the grid share a common geography, a common cultural landscape – and common issues, Hansen said. People in other areas ignore those issues because they aren’t as affected by them.

Homelessness is one issue that Hansen said has been allowed to persist in the grid for so long because the majority of voters in each of the three districts that contain part of the core live outside that central area.

“Ultimately, none of the people who vote have any skin in the game,” Hansen said. “As long as the problem stays out of North Natomas, East Sacramento, Land Park or Curtis Park, people are perfectly fine with that.”

Hansen said that, although he feels the elected representatives do try, “ultimately their concerns are going to be concerns from where the majority of the (voters) are.”

“It’s political economy,” Hansen said.

From the LGBT point of view, it is important to have the ability to elect the candidate of their choice, Herber said.

Historically, there has never been an openly LGBT person elected to the City Council and Herber said, if there is ever going to be one, “we have to have our support united.”

“It’s one thing to have someone relay your concerns, but it’s better when they share your concerns,” Hansen said.

The advisory committee recommended four maps to City Council for redrawing district lines. Three of the maps unite the central city into one district.

“In the past, it doesn’t seem anyone was held responsible for redistricting, so we got lines that weren’t necessarily fair, they reflected the whims of the council,” Hansen said.

During the process, Hansen said his role on the advisory committee was as “a person who cares about the city,” and not as a representative of any community or organization.

“I was primarily concerned about the legitimacy of the process,” Hansen said. “I challenged the committee to remember that the public is watching us and they would hold us accountable.”

Hansen said that, after hearing all the public testimony, the advisory committee understood that there wasn’t a good justification for the central city to be broken up.

“We had to keep asking, ‘What’s best for the city? How do we do right by our communities?’ “ Hansen said.

Sara Freid, Interim Executive Director for the Sacramento Gay & Lesbian Center, said the response from the advisory committee to their testimony throughout the redistricting process was “positive and encouraging.”

“I feel like they listened to us,” she added. “It’s nice to be heard as a community.”

The LGBT Redistricting Committee will go to City Council Tuesday and participate in the public discussion on redistricting again, Herber said.

“We are going to ask the council to do what the advisory committee did,” Herber said. “Respect the LGBT community as a community of interest and see where our community lives, and keep the central core together.”

Hansen agreed.

“It’s the fair and just thing to do to make sure that the LGBT community – as a legitimate community of interest – is not just recognized by the process, but respected by it,” Hansen said.

The City Council has until about Aug. 26 to decide where the new district lines will be drawn.

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

Report: Arena could bring $7 billion

2011-07-01T00:43:32Z

A new downtown arena could draw 3.1 million visitors to the central city each year and bring the region more than $7 billion over 30 years, according to a report released Thursday by an arena campaign committee.

The 37-page report on an arena’s expected impact to the region was released to reporters at a press conference at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel.

"In downtown Sacramento, there's a considerable economic boost, just by the fact that there really isn't a facility like that," said Cathleen Dominico, author of "The Economic Engine Report: An Economic Analysis on the Regional Impact of an Entertainment and Sports Complex," during the press conference.

"If you can create a downtown core that is a destination, it boosts not only the downtown itself but trickles out to the outlying regions," she added.

Dominico, managing partner at Capitol Public Finance Group, was joined at the press conference by arena committee Chairman Chris Lehane, who also chaired the mayor's arena task force; committee members who included City Councilman Rob Fong, City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby, state assemblymen Roger Dickinson and Richard Pan, Downtown Sacramento Partnership Executive Director Michael Ault; and past DSP Chairman Kipp Blewett of Rubicon Partners.

The press conference was held after a report summary was first presented to members of Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson's arena campaign committee in a closed-door meeting at the hotel. The meeting was announced two weeks ago as one of seven public meetings set this summer for the committee.

The number of visitors was estimated with an average 17,300 people attending 45 Sacramento Kings events and an average 15,000 people at more than 155 other events annually.

Visitors would be expected to spend an average of $20 each, before and after events, on food, drinks, travel and other retail. About 10 percent of them could spend another $102 to stay overnight.

Total spending outside the sports facility, before and after games and other events, was estimated at $93.6 million annually, according to the economic impact report called for by Johnson.

However, after subtracting spending by existing residents and annual spending at the Kings' current arena, net annual spending in the six-county Sacramento region is expected to total only about $24.6 million, according to Dominico and the report.

The arena's operating costs would be covered by revenue generated inside the arena, according to the report, which did not look at arena revenue.

ICON Venue Group President Tim Romani and Sacramento developer David Taylor estimate an arena facility would cost $241 million, with a total project cost of $387 million.

The cost of arena construction will be financed by a combination of public and private investment, which is expected to include Sacramento Kings annual tenant fees.

The ICON-Taylor group is developing an arena financing plan with input from Johnson's 70-member regional arena campaign committe e. The group was introduced a month ago as the Here We Build coalition. The committee's name was changed this week to Think BIG Sacramento.

The ICON-Taylor group was given a late-May deadline to present an arena financing plan to the Sacramento City Council. But that didn’t happen after the Kings’ owners didn’t provide revenue information in time.

The arena campaign committee was then given until Sept. 8 to provide the council with a plan.

The Maloof family, which owns a majority share of the Kings, agreed on May 2 not to move the team if the region would undertake a serious effort to replace Power Balance Pavilion, which was constructed in outlying Natomas in 1988. The National Basketball Association and the Maloofs gave the region until March 1, 2012, to do so.

The drive to build a new arena also creates an opportunity to redevelop the existing arena, Ault said.

"We feel very strongly that this is not about a downtown versus Natomas issue," Ault said. "This is about an opportunity to activate and engage the central city. It's an opportunity to make sure that we're doing everything we can to develop something that is a replacement in Natomas that keeps them whole.

"This is something I think the region will look back on as we finally are having the right discussions and the right opportunity to really engage in a facility that's going to make a difference in this region," he said.

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

Arts Commission shaping new funding strategy

2011-06-30T00:27:13Z

The Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission is developing a new fundraising strategy to help offset continued cuts in public funding that have slashed the agency's primary financial sources by 70 percent in the last four years.

The strategy includes an expanded arts public service campaign, a donors' "Walk of Fame" on K Street Mall and new types of fundraisers, such as one involving City Council members and a celebrated local restaurateur.

As of Friday, public funding for the joint city-county agency will be just under $900,000 for fiscal year 2011/2012 – down from $2.6 million each year in July 2008 and 2007. Last year's public funding totaled $1.04 million. That doesn't include money for public art, separately funded through public construction dollars. The agency's total budget is higher due to that and secondary funding sources, the commission's executive director, Rhyena Halpern, said.

The city has allocated about $700,000, cutting funding to the commission by $120,000 in the new city budget approved June 21. The county is providing $175,000, which is the same as last year but a large decrease from $873,471 provided in 2008.

"You're seeing a huge decline in public funding for the commission and the arts groups and the artists. Construction is down, so our public arts funding is also down," she said. "We have some exciting ideas that I hope will pan out to help them."

The commission also gets about $22,000 in grant money from the California Arts Council each year.

Halpern, Friends of the Arts Commission Chairwoman Jan Geiger, SMAC Chairwoman Carlin Naify and other commissioners and Friends board members are working on a strategy development project. The goal is to fill the hole that's been created in funding for SMAC and the other arts groups the organization supports with grants, Halpern said.

Naify also launched an email petition drive that sent 600 emails asking the city and county not to make planned funding cuts to the commission. County supervisors agreed to eliminate a planned $24,000 cut in funding to SMAC for the next year.

Through its grants programs, SMAC previously granted more than $700,000 annually to local artists and arts groups. In calendar year 2011, that amount was down by nearly 50 percent to $375,000. In 2012, SMAC is currently budgeted to provide $310,000 in public dollars to groups and individuals, Halpern said.

In the last four years, the commission has also lost half of its general-fund staff, down from 10 people to five, and its public construction-funded public arts staff, down from four to two people. The commission isn't able to deliver the same level of programming because of the staff cuts and loss in funding, she said.

The fundraising strategy is being developed to increase funding through several mechanisms, including new types of fundraisers, product development, fees for services and grants. Some elements are still being worked out.

Former Sacramento County Supervisor Muriel Johnson, until recently director of the California Arts Council, helped raise more than $35,000 for SMAC by hosting the organization's first fundraiser in a private home last week. More than 200 people gathered at Johnson's home for the event.

Halpern, City Councilman Darrell Fong and chef Randall Selland, who co-owns The Kitchen Restaurant, Ella and Selland's Market Café with his family, are also working on a new fundraiser idea that could involve city council members serving dinner to arts supporters at one of Selland's restaurants, Fong's district director, Noah Painter, said.

Councilman Rob Fong is already on board to help serve dinner and, following Darrell Fong's lead, has started approaching potential donors about contributing, according to their staffs.

Fong is an arts patron and is really into food. He's now talking with other council members to see if they will take part, Painter said.

"It's one of the only organizations that we have that pushes arts in Sacramento," Painter said. "We can probably raise a good amount of money for them, especially since the budget has been so tragic."

In addition, SMAC staff members are looking at charging more fees for services, such as the arts education program provided to schools.

Halpern and her staff are also working on a new product that would package the agency's arts marketing campaign, "Arts. Open Daily," for other California cities. The campaign promotes cultural tourism and aims to expand exposure and access to the arts.

Another idea is to create a “Walk of Fame,” akin to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, on K Street Mall, where two blocks are being redeveloped. Donors would buy art tiles that would be embedded in the sidewalks, Halpern said.

SMAC and Friends of the Arts Commission have already brought in $600,000 since 2007. But because much of that money was brought in through grants or fees for service – mostly for arts education or exhibitions delivered by SMAC – the funds must be used for projects or programs, rather than staff at the commission or arts groups.

Nonprofit arts groups, whose programs and arts projects add to the community's vibrancy, have been hit hard because they, too, have lost staff, Halpern said.

"What they really need is dollars. They know how to run their businesses. They're just really low on staff, like we are," she added. "We're working on doing everything we can."

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

K Street redevelopment project a 'great investment for the city'

2011-06-25T03:02:16Z

The approval of the redevelopment project for the 700 block of K Street brings more than just the prospect of a revitalized block of the J-K-L corridor, it also includes financial incentives that supporters say will spur the local economy and bolster revenues for the city.

Originally, developers Bay Miry, D & S Development, and Ali Youssefi, CFY Development, proposed that the city put in $16 million of funding assistance – one half of that amount in the form of a grant, and the other half in repayable loans from a variety of redevelopment agency sources.

Since the initial proposal, however, Miry and Youssefi were able to tap into new funding sources for the project, including a federal program called New Market Tax Credits (NMTC).

With more outside funding, the amount of private investment increased and the level of public investment decreased.

The approved project now includes only $14.7 million in public funds – nearly $2 million less than originally proposed.

“From a financing standpoint, we’re pleased that the developers have made such an effort to increase their equity input,” Councilman Rob Fong said Friday. “It’s a great investment for the city.”

In addition to a decreased level of public funding for the project, the city will profit from the redevelopment project at 40 percent of whatever the cash-flow is.

This translates to a return for the city of approximately $17.4 million on a $14.7 million investment.

“That is unheard of in a private-public partnership project,” Miry said. “It’s a really good thing for the city.”

That’s not all, though, according to Miry.

The financing terms of the project include yet another added incentive to the city.

In the event the development is ever sold to new investors, the city will receive 20 percent of the profit from the sale, over and above full repayment of all loans on the original project.

“Neither of those two aspects (a high return on reduced investment and profit on future sale) were part of the initial proposal,” Miry said.

City Council members gave the green light to the K Street project on Tuesday, saying the project would be “transformative” and “invigorating” for the downtown sector.

“This long awaited project will certainly change the face of K Street,” said Maurice Chaney, communications specialist for the city’s Economic Development Department. “It will generate millions in tax revenue and support 500 permanent jobs once operational.”

“This is a win, win, win situation,” said Councilman Kevin McCarty Friday.

“It’s a win for revitalizing K Street. It’s a win for housing downtown. It’s a win for development and jobs,” McCarty said.

Read more about the 700 block project here.

Council intends to make major public safety cuts

2011-06-08T07:44:49Z

The Sacramento City Council’s tentative decision Tuesday night to make severe budget cuts to public safety is not final, but it made a big statement.

Council members voted 6-3 to say they intend to make budget cuts later this month that include layoffs of 82 sworn cops and increases in brownouts or alternating closures for fire services.

A big caveat to the tentative decision is the council’s statement that it is still open to further negotiations with the city’s public safety unions.

Tuesday’s hearing drew intense public interest. Many people arrived more than an hour early to the 6 p.m. meeting. Shortly before 5 p.m., about 70 people waited in line for the doors at City Hall to open.

About 340 people were at City Hall around 6:15 p.m. The 230 seats inside the City Council’s chambers were filled, and another 110 people were outside, in the lobby and in a second-floor overflow area.

A City Hall police security officer estimated at 7 p.m. there were 400-450 people at City Hall.

City leaders are facing a $39 million deficit for the 2011/2012 fiscal year. The City Council is expected to approve a budget June 21.

Council members Jay Schenirer, Sandy Sheedy, Rob Fong, Kevin McCarty, Darrell Fong and Bonnie Pannell voted to say they intend to make public safety cuts, among other reductions, though they may still negotiate with unions for changes to the cuts.

Council members Angelique Ashby and Steve Cohn and Mayor Kevin Johnson voted against the tentative decision.

Schenirer proposed the tentative decision, stating that cuts to public safety were necessary in order for the city to get on a fiscally responsible track.

“The right thing happens to be the more difficult thing this year, unfortunately,” he said.

The proposal includes $12.2 million in cuts to the Police Department and $9 million in cuts to the Fire Department.

The suggested cuts include layoffs of 82 sworn cops in the Police Department and 68 civilian personnel, according to updated statistics provided Tuesday night by Sgt. Norm Leong, police department spokesman.

The department could restore 35 staff if it obtains a waiver on a federal grant, according to city officials.

“I just can’t, in good conscience, support a budget where we’re going to cut $12 million from police,” Johnson said.

In addition to its tentative decision, the council made a final decision Tuesday night to approve a federal grant for the Sacramento Fire Department. The funding from the federal government comes from the federal Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grant Program.

The six council members also said they intend to make fire cuts that would raise the number of alternating closures, or “brownouts,” of fire services from two to four. Without the grant, the city would be weighing whether to make six brownouts.

The city manager’s office is not proposing layoffs for the Fire Department.

As part of the 6-3 vote, the council also said it intends to keep 11 community centers open without setting aside any money for them through the Department of Parks and Recreation. It’s unclear how that can be accomplished. Schenirer suggested that neighborhoods could help keep the centers open.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Council explores long-term budget issues

2011-06-03T05:19:26Z

The Sacramento City Council discussed Thursday how to make major changes to city operations in the next few years to resolve the city’s long-term imbalance where costs outpace revenues.

The city’s $39 million gap for the 2011/2012 fiscal year is part of an ongoing trend of budget shortfalls. Multi-million budget gaps will remain until fiscal year 2015/2016 as a result of the city’s imbalanced finances, according to predictions by city officials.

“We need to set the expectation of what the City Council wants to provide for the residents and the businesses of this city,” Interim Deputy City Manager Betty Masuoka said.

Seven council members were at the budget meeting – Mayor Kevin Johnson and Councilman Kevin McCarty were absent. Some of the council members said they wanted to explore the long-term budget problems on a regular basis after the budget is approved June 21.

The topic of city services was discussed during the meeting.

“We don’t even really have to be a full-service city,” Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy said, “but we have to maintain core services.”

Councilman Rob Fong said the City Council should examine the ways the city administers services.

“We need to look at how we deliver the services that our citizens have come to expect,” Fong said. “So, what I would ask is that we take a strong look with our best thinkers ... and say, ‘Shake the Etch A Sketch up ... erase the white board.’ ”

Councilman Steve Cohn said that discussions about how to change the city and its budget should involve the rank-and-file workers. He questioned the format of Thursday’s meeting, saying that the council should consider meeting with workers in a format that is less formal than a City Council meeting in which council members sit on a dais or stage.

Councilman Jay Schenirer asked Masuoka to draft a schedule for council members to work on the long-term budget problems.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Mark Merin's battle with City Hall

2011-05-30T23:20:15Z

Sacramento civil rights attorney Mark Merin is once again in the spotlight.

This time, he’s being quoted by the local media for his role in a federal class-action case about homeless people’s constitutional rights and personal property. And, in the March issue of Harper’s Magazine, Merin’s work with Safe Ground is mentioned. The article, titled “Homeless in Sacramento: Welcome to the New Tent Cities,” focuses on Sacramento’s homeless and the city’s ordinance against camping.

These are only two of many examples of Merin’s highly visible and controversial advocacy work for Sacramento’s homeless.

Earlier this week, a federal jury released its verdict in Lehr v. City of Sacramento, finding that the city has mismanaged homeless people’s belongings.

Merin is representing a group of homeless people in the lawsuit. When police officers enforce the city’s ordinance against camping outside, they seize homeless people’s belongings, Merin claimed in an April 1 court document.

“We, who live in our comfortable homes, surrounded by all the clutter that we’ve accumulated, may not realize how devastating it is when someone comes in and just grabs the few things that you do have,” Merin said in an interview with The Sacramento Press earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Senior Deputy City Attorney Chance Trimm noted this week that the jury did not fault the city on four or six claims. The city may appeal the ruling to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Trimm said.

Merin is requesting compensation for his clients as well as attorney’s fees. He explained earlier this month how the payment process for his fees works.

“If we are successful and we win, in many cases, we’re entitled to get fees awarded by the court,” Merin said. “There’s a procedure by which we show how much time we put into it. The court evaluates the work and assigns an amount of money, and then we get that.”

In addition to criticizing the city’s interactions with the homeless in his lawsuit, Merin has appeared before the City Council to argue for Safe Ground.

“The minimum demand that is being made with Safe Ground is (to) designate some place (for the homeless). Don’t even give it to us, but allow us to take a space and say, ‘homeless people can be here, can leave their stuff here, can use this as a staging area to do something else,’ ” Merin said earlier this month in an interview.

“But if they’re constantly having to guard their stuff ... then they can’t even go anywhere. They can’t even go to the doctor’s appointment for fear of losing it.”

In September 2009, Merin provided his property as place for the homeless to stay.

Councilman Rob Fong said he has observed Merin’s comments to the City Council. Fong said he has also attended board meetings on homelessness at which Merin was present.

“My impression of Mark is I think he’s a very strident advocate,” Fong said. “I think he’s a thoughtful guy, too.”

Fong has worked on the issue of homelessness through the local Faith and Homeless Families program, in which religious groups assist homeless families with housing.

“I think, given where I am, I’ve tried to work within the system and to improve the system,” Fong said. “I think Mark has a different vantage point. I just think we’re probably both working in different ways for the same thing.”

Merin has also taken on Sacramento County in the past. His lawsuit over homeless people’s belongings included Sacramento County, along with the city, when he filed it in 2007. But court documents show the county settled the case last year.

Meanwhile, John Kraintz, president of Safe Ground, praised Merin’s work with the group, composed mostly of homeless people. Merin helps the group communicate its views to the City Council, Kraintz said.

“His input is always very valuable,” Kraintz said.

While the next step in the lawsuit over homeless people’s property is unclear, it’s apparent that Merin will play a big role in it.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Kings owners, NBA await arena next steps

2011-05-27T02:03:57Z

The Sacramento Kings' majority owners reacted positively to a new plan for a proposed $387 million arena project unveiled Thursday, but admitted they're anxious to see whether the plan can be turned into reality.

Developers told the Sacramento City Council a $241 million arena, with a total project cost of $387 million, could be built by early 2015 if a mix of public and private funding can be pulled together.

During a two-and-a-half-hour presentation, ICON Venue Group President Tim Romani, Sacramento developer David Taylor and others on an arena development team provided the public with many details of the plan.

Afterward, team co-owners Gavin and Joe Maloof told reporters they have a "very positive reaction" to the current prospects for building a new home for the Sacramento Kings.

"We have a lot better feeling now than we have in the past," Joe Maloof said in a press conference in the lobby of City Hall.

Acknowledging the plan as "a great first step," Gavin Maloof said the family is "anxiously looking forward to the next steps." He called on the region to help see the project get financed and built, rather than leaving an arena-building campaign to the city and Sacramento County as in earlier efforts.

"Hopefully we can get it done," Maloof said. "We need everyone's help. We need every single county to come forward to help in this effort. We need every city in this region to help out and come forward for this effort. It can't be done by one city and one county alone.

A 675,000-square-foot arena with 18,594 seats, 74 luxury suites, 2,080 premium and club seats and other amenities could be constructed, Romani said when the arena team presented an arena feasibility report at a special council meeting Thursday afternoon.

"We designed a building that we believe is right-sized for the market," Taylor told the City Council.

Power Balance Pavilion in Natomas, the current home of the Sacramento Kings, can seat up to 17,317 and has 30 luxury suites and 712 club seats.

The team also recommends that the public own the facility, Taylor said.

“We've got to make sure we protect our interests as a community,” he said.

The arena's construction is estimated to cost $241 million. Total project costs are estimated at nearly $387 million to include start-up expenses, sales and marketing, land acquisition and site development, design and other professional services, project administration, and more than $16 million in fees and permits applied by the city and other entities, Romani said.

Most arena projects around the country see permit costs of 1 percent, said Romani, adding the team was surprised to discover that.

The cost per square foot in 2013 would be $358, compared to an average of $362 per square foot for 12 other NBA arenas built recently, said Dale Koger, vice president and general manager of Turner Construction Sports.

“This building is exciting, it's efficient and it's very cost-effective," he said.

The developers couldn't provide the council with a list of financing options developed specifically for the Sacramento region Thursday after the Maloofs didn't turn over financial information until recently.

A location on city land in the downtown railyards is preferred. But city land in Natomas could also hold a new entertainment and sports complex where the National Basketball Association team would be the anchor tenant. About $3.4 million in site work costs could be saved if the facility is built in Natomas, Romani said.

Only three out of 30 NBA teams play in arenas that aren't located in downtowns.

"Every other team in the NBA does, in fact, play in a downtown-located facility. Clearly, the trend is there," Romani said.

The NBA-compliant arena has been designed to be compact and intimate and to comply with National Hockey League guidelines. The facility would also be integrated with plans for a regional transit center the city plans to build on adjacent railyards land, according to the team.

The arena's size, amenities and on-site practice facilities could change following dialogue with the Kings' owners, the Maloof family, and other stakeholders.

The owner of the arena would be a public entity, most likely a joint powers authority. Officials, developers and the Maloofs still need to discuss whether the Maloofs, the city or someone else would be the arena developer and/or operator. By including a third-party developer or operator, the possible sources of private funding would be bigger, according to the report.

Developers proposed Power Balance Pavilion be turned into an office complex. An appraiser hired by the team determined the 185 acres of city land there is worth between $8.5 million to $11.6 million today, but may double in value within three years, Taylor said.

Council members also reacted positively to the plan. Councilman Rob Fong noted he and others on the council have worked "long and hard" to get a new facility built.

"This is a great day for the city of Sacramento," Fong said. "We have never been (nearly) this far down the road."

The developers have put together a list of possible financing sources. They used information from five similar NBA markets to create the arena's design and programming.

In order for the arena to be completed by early 2015, the environmental review of the project must begin this summer and be completed by the summer of 2012, design must begin in September and construction must begin by January 2013.

The focus will now shift to how the facility will be paid for, Mayor Kevin Johnson said.

Under a 100-day plan, developers and government officials must come up with the financing model and funding options by August. Funding must be secured by the March 2012 deadline set by the NBA and the Maloofs, who agreed to keep the Kings in Sacramento until then to give the city time to work on the arena effort.

Several people applauded Johnson, the city and developers for their work on the feasibility study during the public hearing portion of the meeting. Downtown Sacramento Partnership Executive Director Michael Ault, Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau President Steve Hammond and Sacramento Metro Chamber President Matt Mahood were among a handful of people who made comments.

The NBA also reacted positively to the feasibility report. League officials are "encouraged" by the process that's been undertaken and the support for a new arena that's come from Johnson, business leaders and fans, NBA Commissioner David Stern later said.

"The focus now is moving forward in developing a public-private partnership financing model that will bring a new arena to fruition," Stern said in a prepared statement. "That is priority No. 1 in Sacramento for all of us.”

The facility could be finished in time for the 2014 NBA season if enough funding becomes available to speed up the process, Romani said.

"I'm here to tell you that all the key ingredients are here in Sacramento," Romani said. "Power Balance Pavilion has served the city well for the last 26 years. But clearly, its best days have come and gone."

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter at The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

Sacramento Kings to stay another year

2011-05-03T01:03:12Z

The owners of the Sacramento Kings announced Monday the team will stay put for at least one more season – giving the region and the National Basketball Association time for one final push to build a new arena.

NBA officials quickly announced a commitment to make one last effort over the next 10 months to pave the way to replace Power Balance Pavilion. The league is sending nine people to Sacramento Tuesday to provide expert support in the regional effort to construct a new arena and to help the Kings' owners, the Maloofs, lead the team to a successful next season, NBA Commissioner David Stern said in a teleconference Monday afternoon.

Kings fans, elected officials and business leaders reveled in the news after such an outcome seemed impossible roughly two weeks earlier, when Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson appeared before National Basketball Association team owners to argue the case for keeping the Kings here. At that time, the team's move to Anaheim seemed certain.

On Monday morning, more than 125 people turned out for a celebratory press conference outside City Hall.

"This is one of the proudest moments in my life because the community believed when no one else did," Johnson said. "This was our playoffs. And Anaheim: We won!"

Video by Brandon Darnell.

An outpouring of support for the team from Johnson, state Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, regional elected officials, the business community and Kings fans convinced the NBA and the Maloofs to give the region until March 1, 2012, to make a substantial effort to provide a new home for the Kings, Stern said.

"We came away with a strong sense that this was worth the additional year because it seemed to us to be so important that the leaders of Sacramento ... would not allow the opportunity to pass without getting it done," said Stern, who had talked personally with Johnson and Steinberg about the current level of support for a new arena. "We are feeling pretty good about the prospects here."

Sacramento officials will need to present solid information about design, funding and timelines by then. However, if regional support for arena construction can't be galvanized and a plan isn't finalized by next spring, that will be the league's last effort to get an arena built here.

NBA officials, including members of the league's Relocation Committee, told the Maloofs the league would then support their decision to move "wherever they choose to go" in 2012/13, he said.

The Maloofs had a deadline to file a request to move the team by 5 p.m. Eastern time Monday.

In an announcement emailed shortly after 9 a.m. Monday, the Maloofs said fan support and Johnson's push to get a new arena built were instrumental in their decision not to ask the league for permission to move.

"The fans’ spirit and energy, specifically our season ticket holders, has been remarkable and we are truly thankful for their loyalty," they said in the prepared statement. "We also are greatly appreciative of the support from our corporate sponsors as well as other local businesses that have come forward in recent weeks."

The Maloofs weren't available to respond to questions following the announcement, a Kings spokesman said.

Local business leaders committed more than $10.2 million in financial support for the Kings if the team stayed another year.

The NBA didn't have to do any "arm-twisting" to get the Maloofs to stay one more year. Relocation Committee members suggested to the Maloofs that they'd support a move in a year if they agreed to stay but the effort proved unsuccessful, Stern said.

The decision to keep the team in the state capital came after an NBA fact-finding visit here in the last two weeks. Billionaire Henry Samueli, whose company Anaheim Arena Management manages Anaheim's Honda Center, upped the ante in his bid to lure the team to Anaheim.

He offered to provide a personal loan of at least $75 million to the Maloofs and personally invest more than $70 million for improvements at the Honda Center.

Officials with the city of Anaheim and Anaheim Arena Management, owned by Samueli, are disappointed by the decision. But they will continue their effort to bring the NBA there soon, they said in emailed statements.

“The bottom line is this: The final chapter has not been written," Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait said. "Anaheim will continue to move forward and we remain optimistic to one day welcoming professional basketball to Anaheim.”

Anaheim Arena Management Chairman Michael Schulman added, "We are continuing our pursuit of an NBA team for our venue.... We look forward to securing a franchise for area fans in the very near future.”

Billionaire Ron Burkle's interest in buying the Kings to keep the team in Sacramento – or buying another team if they left – helped keep the region in the game in the eyes of the NBA, Johnson said.

Burkle and the Burkle Group are still interested in being part owners of the Kings. No discussion has been set up with the Maloofs since the decision to remain in Sacramento was announced, but the family knows how to get in touch with the group, San Francisco investor Darius Anderson said following the press conference.

"We would love to be here as part of the ownership group," said Anderson, who took part in the press conference.

In one year, the Maloofs will want to see a "critical path" laid to build a new arena. But ground doesn't need to be broken by then, Johnson said.

Building a new arena for Kings games, big concerts and other events would be catalytic for development downtown, especially in the railyards, Westfield Downtown Plaza and K Street Mall, said Johnson, describing the issue as “bigger than basketball."

"If we go forward and build a sports and entertainment complex, it's going to prove to all of us that we can find a way to make big things happen," he said. "We always felt like this could be a turning point for our community and our region working together.”

Johnson wasn’t the only person who appeared to be all smiles at the press conference. Developer David Taylor, who is working on an arena feasibility study for the city, Assistant City Manager John Dangberg and Sacramento Metro Chamber President Matt Mahood also beamed.

Johnson described Steinberg, also at the press conference, as a “scrappy fighter” who worked “in the trenches with us all along the way.” The two leaders communicated constantly throughout the weekend.

Sacramento City Council members are ready to start meeting to determine how to build an arena, Councilman Rob Fong said at the press conference.

The Maloofs called Johnson early Monday morning to tell him about their decision and say they’re committed to working with the city for the next year. The mayor will meet with the Maloofs this week to talk about how to move forward.

The arena feasibility study is expected to be completed by the end of May. Officials will then present options for public/private financing of the arena to the community so an arena can be built and the Kings never leave, Johnson said.

Chris Granger, executive vice president of the NBA's Team Marketing and Business Operations, senior NBA communications advisor Brian McIntyre and seven others from the NBA will arrive in Sacramento by Tuesday. No meetings have been finalized with the mayor’s office, Johnson’s staff said.

They will provide all the support they can to the Maloofs. They will work in “all aspects” of team operations, including marketing, finance, ticket sales and corporate sponsorship. They’ll also work with politicians, planners and others during a campaign to build a new arena, Stern said.

Stern said he considers it a failure for the NBA to lose any market, especially one as supportive as Sacramento.

It would be fair if the Maloofs and anyone else who’s watched the team’s efforts to build a new arena over the last 10 years are skeptical that it can get done this time. Still, NBA officials and staff will provide all the support they can to see if this “shared vision” can become reality, he said.

"If not, then it will be our shared failure,” Stern said.

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

City Council weighs in on safe ground

2011-04-27T05:49:46Z

Should a group of homeless people be allowed to camp together in Sacramento without outside monitoring?

Safe Ground Sacramento, a group of mostly homeless people, says it should have the right to be “self-governing” and to operate an overnight camp independently.

But a few Sacramento City Council members said they disagreed with that idea Tuesday.

The City Council held a workshop on the safe ground issue as part of its weekly meeting. Over the past two years, Safe Ground Sacramento has asked the city to dedicate land for a site where the homeless could camp legally overnight. The city has an ordinance that bans overnight camping.

One of the group’s key principles is that its members are “self-governing” and that operations are led by elected members, according to a presentation by Safe Ground Sacramento Executive Director Stephen Watters.

The group is a community of people with “common needs,” Watters said.

“People watch out for each other and provide mutual support,” he told the City Council. “The community spirit that develops has turned people’s lives around.”

The Safe Ground Sacramento group asks its members to be drug- and alcohol-free and to not engage in violence. Members of the group camp overnight together, despite the camping ban.

But Councilman Rob Fong disagreed with the self-governance principle.

“I am not comfortable with a self-governing population,” Fong said. “I know that everyone I’ve talked to suggests that there needs to be a programmatic aspect to transitioning people out of homelessness.”

Homeless people need to be matched up with social services to help them find permanent housing, Fong said.

Mayor Kevin Johnson said he supported the safe ground idea but wanted the group to link to a social services program.

Councilman Kevin McCarty mentioned the model at Quinn Cottages, which combines housing with social services.

While Safe Ground Sacramento regularly lobbies the City Council to set aside land for homeless people to stay overnight, a spot has still not been selected.

Watters discussed the thorny issue of finding a location in an April 12 statement sent to City Council members.

“Members of the Safe Ground Sacramento Site Development Team, after concluding a series of meetings, have been unable to select an appropriate location that could be developed as a long-term housing site from the list of more than 1,900 city-owned properties provided by city staff,” Watters wrote.

“Parcels deemed appropriate based on size, proximity to public transit (i.e. Regional Transit bus and light rail stops), and other locational factors were found unacceptable due to various ecological, political and existing city planning factors when investigated in depth by the joint city / Safe Ground team.”

The group is now searching for two kinds of locations – an 18-month site as well as a permanent spot – and working on building relationships with the city and county governments and local business sector, Watters wrote.

No specific date for deciding a location was set Tuesday.

Read Watters’ statement here.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Easter Events Extravaganza

2011-04-20T05:02:44Z

Spring is nearly a month in, and as April turns into May, the forecast promises warmer weather and plenty of outdoor activities, especially this weekend, as Easter is Sunday.

There are plenty of ways to celebrate Easter, whether you’re looking for a traditional egg hunt or a nice place to eat Sunday Brunch.

What: Southside Park Spring Egg Hunt

When: Saturday, 11 a.m. - noon

Where: Southside Park, 2107 Sixth St.

Cost: Free

With help from the Southside Park Neighborhood Association and St. John’s Baptist Church, Vineyard Church, the city of Sacramento will host the Southside Park Spring Egg Hunt, which will have a plethora of activities for the kids, including an egg hunt, face painting, carnival games, pictures with the Easter Bunny, various bunny-related crafts and Easter-related worksheets. Mounted police and the K-9 unit have also been invited to join the festivities.

Orange juice and coffee will be served, and there will be a raffle for two $250 Safeway gift cards.

The egg hunt will begin at 11:30 a.m. with 15,000 eggs for the hunting. There will be a total of four hunts, divided by age group. While most of the eggs are easily accessible, there will also be 10 golden eggs that will be a little more difficult to find. The golden egg discoverers can exchange their find for an Easter gift basket filled with various stuffed animals, games and toys.

Jessica Equihua, event coordinator and executive assistant for council member Rob Fong, said they are preparing for 500 participants on Saturday.

“The event is free, and there are plenty of fun takeaways, and one of the major highlights is that families are also provided with resource bags filled with information about services and events, such as this Easter event, in Sacramento,” she said.

For more information, call 808-7004 or go the the city events website.

What: Easter Egg Hunt and Pancake Breakfast

When: Saturday, 8 - 11 a.m.

Where: Clunie Clubhouse at McKinley Park, 601 Alhambra Blvd.

Cost: $5 for adults and $3 for children. Tickets are available at the door.

“The Kiwanis community, along with local Key Club and Circle K volunteers, has been putting on this event for hundreds of parents and children for about 24 years,” said Michael Flynn, coordinator of the event.

Traditionally, thousands of eggs are filled with goodies and hidden each year. The hunt will be done in age groups, beginning at 9:30 a.m. starting with the youngest and adding the next age group every 15 minutes up to the age of 9, according to Flynn. The breakfast is all-you-can-eat and includes pancakes, orange juice, fruit, coffee or tea and bacon or sausage.

There will also be face painting, carnival games and of course the playground itself for the children to roam free.

President Leslie Merker said, ”The Kiwanis’ mission statement is to serve the children, one child and one community at a time. It will be a fun event for the children, very family-orientated.” In fact, Flynn noted that the proceeds of the event will be for improvement and maintenance of the play structure in the park.

For more information, call 484-1314 or go the the Kiwanis’ website.

What: Spring Egg’stravaganza

When: Saturday, 8:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Where: The Pavilion, Elk Grove Regional Park, 9950 Elk Grove-Florin Road

Cost: Prices vary, $0.50/ticket

Kristyn Staby, recreation supervisor in special events, said that while the name has changed over time, the Spring Egg’stravaganza has been going on since the Cosumnes Community Services District (CCSD) came into place in 1985.

This year, the event will boast several carnival games, an egg drop competition and even a petting zoo by a local nonprofit 4-H Club. Last year, they welcomed about 1,800 guests and are expecting a similar number this year.

From 8 - 10:45 a.m., the Pride of Laguna Creek Lion’s Club will be offering a pancake breakfast for $5, children under 2 can eat free with a paying adult.

Outside of pancakes, they will also be serving ham, fruit and orange juice or hot chocolate. This Breakfast with the Bunny event usually draws about 600 people, according to Staby.

Carnival games and the Egg Scramble, the CCSD’s egg hunt, will occur all day.

The egg drop competition is done in partnership with the CSD Fire Department and takes place at 11:30 a.m. Children construct a simple holder for their egg in hopes that it will not break when dropped from the fire department’s ladder truck. Undamaged eggs are awarded a prize.

For more information, call 405-5300 or go the the CSD’s main website.

There will also be two other Easter hunting events in the area.

Westminster Presbyterian Church will be holding its very first Easter egg hunt in Capitol Park on Saturday from 11 a.m. to noon. The event is free and hunting will begin at 11:30 a.m.

For more details, call 747-9592.

Fairytale Town will be hosting its annual Spring Eggstravaganza on both Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Both days will be filled with egg hunts, prizes, pictures with Peter Cottontail, puppet shows and spring-themed hands-on activities.

For more information call 808-7462 or check out Fairytale Town’s event list.

BYOB: Bring your own basket to all egg hunting events.

For those of you who want to head straight to the meal and skip the hunting altogether, there are a couple of local places offering an Easter feast or just a few special eats.

What: Easter is Easy at Ten22

When: Sunday, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Where: 1022 Second St.

Cost: $12 per special; prices vary on regular menu items

Ten22 will be adding three brunch specials to its regular menu this Sunday: Walnut Levain French toast, a Dungeness crab omelet and roasted apple crêpes.

Jay Veregge, the executive chef, said, “We want to provide our customers with the regular menu and have additions for holidays.”

Veregge also mentioned that the restaurant really tries to stay organic and farm-driven.

While the restaurant has only been in Sacramento for a little over a year, it was voted “Best New Restaurant” in 2010 by subscribers of Sacramento Magazine.

Specials will be available from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Reservations are recommended.

For further details, call 441-2211 or log onto their website.

What: Celebrate Easter at the Firehouse

When: Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Where: 1112 Second St.

Cost: $39.95 for adults, $14.95 for children 12 and under

The Firehouse is the sister restaurant to Ten22 and they have been hosting Easter Day Brunches since 2001, said Christi Stevens, marketing specialist.

The Easter brunch was specially created by Chef Deneb Williams and diners will enjoy a three-course menu beginning with a buffet of freshly baked pastries by Pastry Chef Jill Berger, seasonal fruit and assorted meats and cheese. Guests are provided with five entree options of pork chop and eggs, Newport eggs Benedict, Santa Fe tenderloin scramble, vegetarian polenta and prawns and scallops and either chocolate-peanut butter gâteau or lemon cheesecake for dessert.

A three-course children’s menu is also available. This menu also includes the starter buffet and a choice of Triple Berry Pancakes, chicken Alfredo or the Rise & Shine dish, which consists of scrambled eggs, crisp bacon and potatoes. For dessert, an oatmeal raisin cookie sundae is served.

Both The Firehouse and Ten22 have outdoor seating for you to enjoy that great spring weather.

More for information, call 442-4772 or check out the website.

Those in search of some Easter entertainment can check out either of the following two events.

A local church is changing up its regular routine this Sunday, with a performance in place of the normal service.

What: Easter Sunday Performance: Bow at the Knee

When: Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to 11:45a.m.

Where: 2805 El Camino Ave.

Cost: Free

This will actually be the second year that El Camino Baptist Church will be putting on this specific production. Last done in 2004, Pastor of Worship David Burckhardt said it was very well-received and looks forward to watching the production again.

April Schrokosch, the ministry arts director, said “Bow at the Knee” is a very relatable play.

“It’s a great production about a man who struggles with looking at two different worlds. He is confronted with a different way of thinking and this applies to many people.”

With a cast of over 50, both Burckhardt and Schrokosch said, it was a true and full-on musical Broadway-style production about the story leading up to Jesus’ death and Crucifixion through the eyes of a Roman Centurion.

More further details, call 488-1522.

If daytime outings aren’t really your thing and you’re interested in something different, you might want to check out Easter Sunday School at Movies on a Big Screen.

What: Easter Sunday School

When: Sunday, 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Where: The Guild, 2828 35th St.

Cost: $5.00, advance ticket sales on site, cash only at door

This Sunday night, Movies on a Big Screen (MOBS) is showing a collection of vintage Christian material including but not limited to Christian scare films, kids’ shows and other religious video strangeness.

Robert McKeown, co-founder of MOBS, said, “We always try to play with special times of years or holidays. For example, around August, when school usually starts back up, we do a Back-to-School-Night with old educational films from the 50s and 70s. This year’s Easter viewing will be pretty similar.”

MOBS had always done Easter-related films before, such as a showing a Peeps documentary, shot in Sacramento, two years ago, but McKeown said that last year was the first year they had to deal with a movie viewing actually on Easter. So, they wanted to do something different and decided to show the video, “Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter.”

For this event, McKeown scoured through hours of obscure videos for the night’s line-up, which remains a secret until the big night. But after some prodding, McKeown hinted that film clips may include material from an old Christian children’s show with a real life amputee dressed up as a pirate doing autopsies on sinners.

Themed snacks and drinks will be available for purchase, and you are also allowed to bring your own food.

For advance tickets or further details, check out the event page.

If you know of any events not mentioned above, please feel free to put the suggestions in the comment box below.

Create an online redistricting map

2011-04-09T01:21:09Z

Anyone in the city can use the city’s online tools to carve up the eight City Council districts and present their redistricting ideas to city leaders.

The mapmaking tool for the 2011 redistricting process is free to use, and the city welcomes maps from residents.

Maps developed and submitted by citizens will be shared with the City Council, the council’s redistricting advisory committee and the general public, said Maria MacGunigal, the city’s Geographic Information Systems manager.

Every decade, the city rearranges its council districts by applying U.S. Census data.The reordered districts should all have the same population, according to city staff.

“The primary objective of redistricting is to balance population,” MacGunigal said.

Another concern is the makeup of the districts: The balanced districts must not disenfranchise various groups of people, MacGunigal said. Issues related to disenfranchisement of racial groups were discussed at a Feb. 28 Neighborhood Advisory Group meeting.

The deadline to turn in maps to the city is May 16. All maps must be designed using the online tools – the city is not using paper maps, MacGunigal said. The City Council will make final decisions on redistricting in September.

The city worked with a consultant, Environmental Systems Research Institute, to set up the redistricting tool. ESRI created redistricting software, MacGunigal said, and city staff helped set up its design, function and delivery to citizens.

The online tools are sophisticated and give users the ability to share their maps with others.

“You can share your plan, you can create a group and invite users of the tool to participate with you,” MacGunigal said.

Users can work on the maps in sessions by saving their online work and returning to it – they do not have to create the map in one sitting.

The Census data shows that the city’s population rose from 407,018 in 2000 to 466,488 in 2010. With the city’s population at 466,488, each district must have 58,311 people.

District 1 is the largest, with 106,729 people. Districts 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are relatively close in size, ranging in population from about 46,000 people to about 53,000 people. District 4, represented by Councilman Rob Fong, has 45,703 people, making it the least-populated district in the city.

The Sacramento Press tried out the online tools Friday for illustration purposes and to help citizens understand the process of making your own map.

First, a free account must be created.

Next, read the city’s instructions on how to use the online tools to cut up the districts.

The “create” tab is where the redistricting action takes place. Using the tools here, you can move pieces of one district to another district. Remember, the districts will need to each have 58,311 people.

Divvying up the population in the city is like playing with a Rubik’s Cube. It’s not quick or easy to bring all the districts to the same population numbers. When a user moves a piece of one district into another, the population may bring one district to the 58,311 goal but make another district much larger than 58,000.

Here is the existing map of District 1 before The Sacramento Press took a stab at it.

And here is the map of District 1 after The Sacramento Press brought it down to 58,313 people. (It was too tricky to bring it down to 58,311 on a journalism deadline.)

The Sacramento Press test map shows that it is a time-consuming process. Once a user lowers or raises a population to 58,311, the other districts may fall out of balance. While Ashby’s district was reduced to 58,313, District 2 now has too many people, with 80,119 people.

In addition, The Sacramento Press did not account for any of the crucial demographic data and how the map would affect neighborhoods. The online tool allows users to see the racial breakdown of how their maps affect communities.

City staff will hold training sessions next week that will demonstrate how to use the redistricting software. Three one-hour training sessions will be held at 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., Monday, April 11, at La Familia Center Computer Lab, 5523 34th St.

Training sessions will also be held at 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., Wednesday, April 13, at North Natomas Library Computer Lab, 4660 Via Ingoglia.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Photos: Here We Build rally at Cesar Chavez Plaza

2011-04-06T07:00:44Z

A huge crowd turned out at Cesar Chavez Plaza Tuesday at 5 p.m. to support the Here We Build effort organized by the man known on Twitter as @CarmichaelDave.

Read Janna Hayne's story on Here We Build here. Read Mark Needham's story here.

According to the Here We Build website, the rally was sponsored by Jiffy Lube and City Councilman Rob Fong and Sacramento County Supervisor Phil Serna were in attendance.

Below are photos taken at the rally.

For more information or to get involved, click here or visit the Facebook page or Twitter page.

All photos by Ben Ilfeld.

Community gardens to be discussed

2011-04-05T01:42:17Z

Four Sacramento council members will discuss ideas for growing the number of community gardens in the city on Tuesday afternoon.

City Council members Jay Schenirer, Sandy Sheedy, Darrell Fong and Steve Cohn sit on the Law and Legislation Committee, which analyzes ideas for local ordinances. The committee will examine ways to regulate community gardens and increase their presence.

Councilman Rob Fong spurred the committee’s discussion, according to a city staff report. The city should do everything it can to encourage community gardening and to explore urban farming, Fong said Monday.

“I just think we need to utilize our spaces well,” Fong said.

Committee members will evaluate a proposed ordinance that would lay out how residents could create community gardens on their private properties, according to Joy Patterson, principal planner for the city.

“The city already has a community garden program,” Patterson said, explaining that the proposed ordinance will relate to private citizens and private property.

The ordinance would set rules for community gardens on vacant, private land, Patterson said.

The proposed rules for community gardens would vary depending on a garden’s size. If a proposed garden is less than 16,600 square feet, citizens who want to maintain the garden could easily register their garden with their city and pay a small processing fee, according to the report.

The city’s zoning administrator would need to approve gardens for spaces that are larger than 16,600 feet because these gardens may have a bigger impact on nearby areas, according to the report.

The Planning Commission would be in charge of issuing permits for community gardens on private lands that are one acre or larger, the report said.

The proposed ordinance being discussed by the Law and Legislation Committee Tuesday would also need to be addressed by the city’s Planning Commission and the City Council, according to the staff report.

The city’s Parks and Recreation Department oversees eight community gardens. Bill Maynard, the city’s community gardening director, said community gardens produce oxygen and beautify communities.

The committee will meet Tuesday, 3 p.m., Sacramento City Hall, 915 I St.

Read the staff report on the community gardens discussion here.

View Community gardens overseen by the city in a larger map

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Council's closed meetings on Vina examined

2011-03-29T00:43:59Z

A number of recent City Council meetings relating to Interim City Manager Gus Vina, including the council’s January vote against his promotion, have been closed to the public. An attorney and open government advocate commented on the Brown Act Friday, saying he opposes “closed session” meetings on hiring and firing matters affecting the city manager.

Terry Francke, an attorney for the nonprofit open government group Californians Aware said city manager hiring and firing decisions should be made public.

Central to the issue of closed meetings is the way city officials interpret the Brown Act, a state law intended to make government meetings open to the public at the local level.

The City Council met in a closed session on Jan. 25, when it decided in a 5-4 vote not to promote Vina to the permanent city manager position. City Attorney Eileen Teichert said the closed session complied with the Brown Act.

“The closed session was duly noticed for the purpose of considering appointment or employment of the city manager, consistent with the Brown Act,” Teichert wrote in a Feb. 3 email. “The council’s decision in that closed session to proceed with a nationwide search was a byproduct of their discussions whether or not to appoint Mr. Vina as city manager.”

But Francke noted that the City Council made a choice to hold the meeting in closed session, saying that the Brown Act allows city councils to hold personnel discussions in closed sessions, but does not require it. In Francke’s view, the public should be welcome at discussions on city manager hiring and firing.

"People have a right to know about his or her qualifications and performance for two reasons,” he said.

“First of all, because they have a great interest in knowing the job is being done well, or, if not, what needs to be improved. Secondly, since this person is the most influential individual in the city structure, the council itself needs to be held accountable for choosing the right person and providing direction in a way that's appropriate to their responsibilities,” he added.

The council’s vote and decision to hold a national search for city manager was announced in the public City Council meeting held later in the evening on Jan. 25. But the discussion leading to the vote was held behind closed doors.

As a result, the public has no on-the-record information for why five of the members of the City Council voted against promoting Vina.

Vina told the City Council Friday that he was resigning with two weeks notice. His last day on the job will be April 8.

Council members Sandy Sheedy, Rob Fong, Kevin McCarty, Darrell Fong and Bonnie Pannell were the five who voted against promoting Vina in January. They are not speaking publicly about why they voted for a national search and did not promote Vina.

They did not return phone calls from The Sacramento Press Friday.

In early February, McCarty said he declined to comment on his vote because it was a “personnel” and “closed session” matter.

Teichert said in her Feb. 3 email that the council members cannot talk about the closed session meeting.

“The Brown Act, the privacy rights of the candidate, and the City Council’s confidentiality policy preclude disclosure of any confidential discussions during closed session,” she wrote.

But Francke said closed sessions on city manager hiring and firing signal that city officials are hiding from the public.

“If their decision, on this person, is shrouded from public accountability, their single most important decision is also shrouded,” he said. “And, if that's the case, then they're ducking accountability and public scrutiny, as well.”

Read the full text of the Brown Act here.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Vina transfers pressures with budget, unions to council

2011-03-28T02:09:57Z

The clock is ticking for the Sacramento City Council.

Sacramento Interim City Manager Gus Vina’s resignation on Friday morning means that the City Council must take immediate actions that will impact the city budget and labor negotiations with municipal unions.

Council members must find a new top city official one month before the city’s proposed budget is due. Vina’s resignation also means that the city’s labor unions will take up budget negotiations with a new city leader.

“We don’t have time to grieve,” City Councilman Steve Cohn said in an interview Friday.

Cohn was one of four council members who supported Vina’s earlier effort to become Sacramento’s next permanent city manager. In a split 5-4 vote on Jan. 25, the City Council decided not to promote Vina to the permanent city manager position. The five council members who voted to hold a national search for a new city manager were Sandy Sheedy, Rob Fong, Kevin McCarty, Darrell Fong and Bonnie Pannell.

Though the council did not promote him on Jan. 25, Vina said in February that he planned to compete in the national search.

But that plan came to a halt Friday, when Vina gave his resignation letter to the City Council and Mayor Kevin Johnson. He gave two weeks’ notice and will leave his post April 8.

“I need to move on and pursue other opportunities because I feel that for a city manager to be effective, you really have to have the confidence of the entire council,” Vina told The Sacramento Press on Friday. “I don’t feel that’s the case right now.”

Like Cohn, Councilwoman Angelique Ashby also commented on the need for the City Council to move rapidly.

“For me, he was the front-runner to be the next city manager for the city of Sacramento,” Ashby said. “Now, I think we have a pretty big challenge on our hands. We need to make some quick decisions. We need to come together as a council and really look at the future of our city.”

“And (we need to) find ways to be successful coming out of this situation,” she added.

Johnson’s office had not released a statement on Vina’s resignation by press time, even though spokesman Joaquin McPeek said a statement would be issued on Friday. Johnson supported Vina’s bid to become permanent city manager, saying in January that he hoped Vina would apply for the job in the national search.

The five council members who voted against promoting Vina in January did not return phone calls seeking comment on Friday. The Sacramento Press left phone messages with McCarty, Darrell Fong, Rob Fong, Sheedy’s office, Sheedy’s District Director Joann Cummins and Pannell’s office.

Turnover for the city manager position has been high lately. The City Council selected Vina for the interim post one year ago. Former City Manager Ray Kerridge resigned in February 2010.

New leader must grapple with city budget, union negotiations

The city’s government structure empowers the city manager to develop the city budget. While the City Council makes all final decisions on the budget, the city manager is responsible for preparing the proposed budget document.

Budget preparation at Sacramento City Hall is a weighty responsibility, especially in light of the city’s $35-40 million budget gap.

While the city is in the midst of a major budget shortfall, Cohn and Vina both expressed confidence that Vina’s departure would not delay the budget.

Cohn said Vina told him that the draft budget is on track and should be available to the public by the May 1 deadline. Cohn also said the city has experienced staffers working on the budget.

Vina said Friday that he is carrying out his budget responsibilities.

“We are very close to finishing the proposed budget,” Vina said. “It will be ready to meet the May 1 deadline.... I committed to council that I would get the budget done, and I will.”

But Councilman Jay Schenirer indicated that Vina’s departure will make the budget process more challenging.

“I think it’s a difficult time for the city right now,” Schenirer said. The budget process “was certainly a place where Gus was very strong,” he added.

While Cohn said he was confident that the budget work will get done on time, he expressed concern about labor negotiations, which are often a key part of balancing the budget.

The city manager’s responsibility as leader of labor negotiations for the city is critical, he said, especially when the city is asking the unions to make concessions.

“The bigger problem I see down the line is labor negotiations,” Cohn said.

Mark Tyndale, vice president of the Sacramento Police Officers Association, said his union was already talking to Vina about issues that would affect the city’s budget. Vina’s resignation interrupts that process, Tyndale said.

“These relationships are really important for us,” Tyndale said, noting that SPOA was able to communicate well with Vina, even when the union disagreed with him.

“With Gus departing ... it takes us back to square one,” Tyndale said.

However, another major city union may prefer Vina’s replacement over Vina.

Joan Bryant, director of public employees for Stationary Engineers Local 39, said on Friday that she strongly opposed Vina’s recent decision to award raises to Finance Director Leyne Milstein, Human Resources Director Geri Hamby, Community Development Director Max Fernandez and Police Chief Rick Braziel.

Local 39 represents city workers in the areas of solid waste, code enforcement and animal care, Bryant said. The union represented 1,600 full-time city employees, according to statistics provided by Bryant last September.

“I think he was rewarding his loyalists,” Bryant said.

The amount of money in raises that went to top officials could have paid the salary of a parks worker, she said.

Vina raised Hamby’s salary from $151,402 to $162,000. Fernandez’ salary jumped from $164,445 to $172,667. Milstein’s salary rose from $131,270 to $150,304.

Braziel received an 8 percent raise in June, four days before he told the public he would not leave the city of Sacramento for a potential police chief position in Seattle.

Maurice Chaney, acting city spokesman for the city, responded to questions about the raises on Vina’s behalf in February.

“Two of the three salary changes (Community Development director and the HR director) were envisioned as the next planned step of last fiscal year's consolidation process, which occurred last July and resulted in a cost savings of more than $4 million,” Chaney wrote in an e-mail to The Sacramento Press. “Salary adjustments specific to these positions were considered because of the associated increases in departmental duties that resulted with these mergers.”

Chaney also commented on the raise for Milstein.

“The finance director has played a crucial role during the last four years in assisting with a budget deficit that has affected all city employees,” he wrote.

On the topic of Braziel’s raise, city spokeswoman Amy Williams said in September that he deserved the money because he had voluntarily taken a pay cut in 2008 with the understanding that it would be restored later.

Is Sacramento an unstable city?

In the view of city employee Cindy Bates, Vina’s resignation will not destabilize the city government.

“He’s left competent leaders behind to take care of the ship,” said Bates, a program analyst in the transportation department.

But Sacramento Metro Chamber President Matt Mahood said Vina’s resignation is bad for business.

The business community must work with the city government, he said, giving the example of the requirement for businesses to receive city permits. An unstable city government discourages businesses within the region and those looking to bring business to the city, he said.

“There’s a lot of instability in the city of Sacramento, and that does not help foster a positive business environment,” he said Friday.

Mahood said the council members should change the way they interact if the city manager feels like he has to resign because he doesn’t have their support.

The council members need to align more with each other, he said, “and figure out a way to work together.”

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Vina resigns weeks before budget due date

2011-03-26T00:45:09Z

Interim City Manager Gus Vina’s resignation comes just weeks before the city must propose a budget for the next fiscal year.

In Sacramento’s city government, the city manager prepares a proposed budget and the City Council makes final budget decisions. Vina told the Sacramento Press on Friday afternoon that the proposed budget will be on time even though he is leaving April 8.

“We are very close to finishing the proposed budget,” Vina said. “It will be ready to meet the May 1 deadline … I committed to council that I would get the budget done and I will.”

He said he was leaving because he was not supported by the full City Council. “I need to move on and pursue other opportunities because I feel that for a city manager to be effective, you really have to have the confidence of the entire council,” he said. “I don’t feel that’s the case right now.”

The City Council voted 5-4 on Jan. 25 against promoting Vina to the permanent city manager position.

Council members Sandy Sheedy, Rob Fong, Kevin McCarty, Darrell Fong and Bonnie Pannell voted to conduct a national search for a new city manager.

Mayor Kevin Johnson said then that the council felt that Vina did a “great job” as interim city manager.

Vina said in February that he planned to compete in the national search.

It’s unclear at this point who will replace Vina as interim city manager, said city spokesoman Maurice Chaney. The City Council will decide the next steps, Chaney said.

“In terms of identifying who will fill that void, (that) has yet to be determined,” Chaney said.

The City Council selected Vina for the interim post one year ago. Former City Manager Ray Kerridge resigned in February 2010.

Read in-depth coverage of the impact of Vina’s resignation Sunday.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Editorial Note: This is an updated version of an earlier story.

Census: Ashby's District 1 grew 123 percent

2011-03-10T02:34:34Z

Sacramento City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby’s district has grown 123 percent since 2000, skyrocketing from a population of 47,670 in 2000 to a population of 106,729 in 2010. But it won’t stay that way for much longer – the city intends to chop it up in this year’s redistricting process.

The 2010 U.S. Census numbers relating to the city’s redistricting process came in Tuesday, three weeks earlier than the city had expected, said Scot Mende, the city’s new growth manager. And Ashby’s District 1, which includes North and South Natomas and part of downtown, is much larger now than any other district.

Maria MacGunigal, the city’s Geographic Information System manager, attributes the changes in District 1 to “unprecedented growth” in Natomas over the last 10 years.

The Census data shows that the city’s population rose from 407,018 in 2000 to 466,488 in 2010. With the city’s population at 466,488, each district must have 58,311 people.

The city must divvy up the districts so residents can be represented equally under the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, MacGunigal explained.

“We need to draw the boundaries to as near as equal a population as possible,” MacGunigal said.

While city staff had expected Ashby’s district would have the largest population, they had predicted the city’s overall population to be more than 480,000. The city had estimated the population using information sources that included the U.S. Postal service, building permits and commercial databases, MacGunigal said.

“I was surprised that the population was a little lower than we had anticipated,” MacGunigal said.

Districts 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are relatively close in size, ranging in population from about 46,000 people to about 53,000 people. District 4, represented by Councilman Rob Fong, has 45,703 people, making it the least-populated district in the city.

District 8, which covers South Sacramento, is a little larger. It now has 61,458 people, up 13 percent from 2000, according to the Census figures.

The city applies U.S. Census figures to its redistricting process, which occurs every 10 years. The city’s charter says the city has six months to reassemble its district boundaries after the Census data is released.

The city’s deadline for completing the redistricting process is Sept. 6.

View the city’s map of the new Census data here.

View a chart of the population changes in each district below.

Chart by Kathleen Haley and Brandon Darnell

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Police chief plans to reopen top positions

2011-03-09T06:06:54Z

Sacramento Police Chief Rick Braziel received support from the City Council Tuesday on a plan to bring back three or four job openings that have been eliminated in the department as part of budget cuts.

Braziel told the council and Interim City Manager Gus Vina that he must reopen some key positions because nine of the department’s top 11 officials, ranked captain and higher, will be eligible to retire within three years.

The city is facing a $35 million - 40 million budget gap for the 2011/2012 fiscal year. Braziel said he would be able to open the positions without asking the city for additional money.

“It’s not the right time, but we have to do it,” Braziel said. “We don’t have a choice.”

Braziel said he would pay for the top positions by moving over money currently saved for refilling other positions in the department. By moving the funding in this manner, he would be able to open the positions within his existing budget and not lay off anyone, he said.

The department could promote from within if it opens up top management positions, he said. The newly promoted staffers would gain executive experience, which is necessary because many executives serving in the department could soon retire, he said.

“I am shocked that nine of the command staff are basically aging out in the next three years,” Councilman Rob Fong said in response to Braziel’s comments.

Braziel asked the council and Vina for the authority to revive three or four executive openings during a presentation on succession planning at the department. The City Council did not make a formal decision on Braziel’s request, but voiced support for his plan.

“On behalf of all of us, I think we are very excited about you being proactive so we are aware of what’s going on,” Mayor Kevin Johnson said. “We do not want to be caught flat-footed.”

Vina also indicated that he supported Braziel’s plan.

“We can certainly work with the chief on that,” Vina said.

The Police Department has sliced its executive positions in recent years in response to budget cuts. Braziel said that before he became police chief in 2008, the department had 19 executive positions. The number has since dropped to 11, he said.

Vina said Braziel's plan should be part of the city budget, indicating that the positions could be reopened before the next fiscal year begins on July 1.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Chief Braziel to discuss succession plans

2011-03-08T01:46:58Z

Within the next three years, nearly 75 percent of the Sacramento Police Department’s staff, ranked captain and higher, will be eligible for retirement, according to police department spokeswoman Laura Peck.

Sacramento Police Chief Rick Braziel will address the department’s succession plans and other concerns regarding top staff at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.

City Councilman Rob Fong requested Braziel make a presentation, saying he was concerned over former Sacramento Police Capt. Daniel Hahn’s move earlier this month to become Roseville’s police chief.

“Whenever there are openings in the region, people tend to look at our folks,” Fong said, adding that the city should ensure it’s not “grooming” chiefs for other cities.

In addition to Hahn’s recent move, Braziel seriously considered leaving last year to become Seattle’s police chief. Braziel ultimately decided to stay with Sacramento and stopped the interviewing process in Seattle.

At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Braziel will discuss “the future of the organization,” Peck said.

The department will need to start preparing for possible retirements of its leaders, she said. Sworn officers are eligible for retirement contributions at age 50, she noted.

Braziel, 51, said last June that he planned to retire in three to four years. Peck said Braziel was unavailable to be interviewed Monday afternoon.

The City Council will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 915 I St.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Zoo to stay put for the time being

2011-02-23T01:39:54Z

Sutter’s Landing will not be the future site for the Sacramento Zoo.

That determination was made during a City Council workshop Tuesday afternoon. The workshop was called so the council members could be brought up to date on the current status of the zoo – currently located on 14 acres in Land Park – and where it will be in the next 40 years.

The workshop was called by Councilman Rob Fong following a feasibility study released last July.

For now, the council has decided to keep the zoo in Land Park.

“I think it’s pretty obvious that we’re not going to be looking at putting the zoo anywhere else in the short term,” Fong said, adding that the “short term” means anywhere in the next 20 years.

Zoo officials addressed the council, saying that the zoo will only remain sustainable for the next 20 years unless the zoo is relocated or changes the scope of its programs.

That change could be anything from a new site to an expansion into William Land Park or a different scope of programs at the current site.

A previous idea of moving the zoo to Sutter’s Landing – atop a former landfill – by the Sacramento Zoological Society Long Range Planning Committee is too costly to be feasible, according to staff.

The Sacramento Zoo has been known for its large animals, said Mary Healy, executive director of the Zoological Society. She added that some of the most popular larger animals – including elephants, bears and a hippopotamus – are no longer at the zoo.

Some of the animals were moved to make space for giraffes, and the hippopotamus died.

“With 14 acres, we’ll never be getting some of those animals back,” she said, adding that a 14-acre zoo would need to feature smaller animals, but with better, more involved experiences for visitors.

By contrast, Oakland’s zoo is about 45 acres.

One example of a more involved experience is the zoo’s current program that allows supervised feeding of Giraffes, which Healy said is very popular.

Council members agreed that keeping the zoo in Sacramento is important to the city, as it is a regional attraction that draws approximately 500,000 visitors each year from more than 20 countries.

“I would hate to see the zoo leave this area,” said Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy. “It is a quaint urban zoo, and we want to make it bigger, and we want to make it better.”

Any plan to make the zoo bigger or better still needs to be determined, and numerous concerns and problems will crop up in any proposal.

Building an all-new zoo at another site would be costly, keeping the zoo in its current location might not be big enough going into the future, and expanding the current site might strain traffic and parking in Land Park, a spot resident and Land Park Volunteer Corps President Craig Powell said is already maxed-out for dealing with traffic.

“Broad popularity comes with its own set of impacts: heavy traffic and congestion, particularly on weekends and holidays, severely limited parking and major competition for space among park users,” Powell wrote in a letter to City Council.

Parking is one of the Zoological Society’s top concerns after visitor safety, and ensuring there is enough public access to the zoo is a priority as well.

After the two-hour meeting, the City Council directed city staff and zoo officials to come up with a plan for what is required for the next 20 years in the current Land Park site.

“If that doesn’t work, or if there’s controversy, it might accelerate looking at other options in the longer term,” said Councilman Steve Cohn.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Sacramentans can apply for redistricting panel

2011-02-09T07:12:31Z

Sacramentans can soon apply to serve on the City Council’s redistricting advisory panel. Four of the 13 panel positions will be available to the general public.

The eight council members and Mayor Kevin Johnson will each appoint a member of the panel. The remaining four spots are “at-large,” which means they will not be filled by appointees, said Scot Mende, the city’s new growth manager.

Applications for the four positions will be screened by the City Council’s Personnel and Public Employees Committee, Mende said. Then, the City Council will vote to select the four members, Mende said.

The city uses U.S. Census figures to restructure City Council districts every decade.

Read a schedule of February neighborhood meetings on redistricting here.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

City manager search could cost $35,000

2011-02-05T00:45:53Z

The city will conduct a national search for a new city manager in response to the City Council’s Jan. 25 decision against promoting Interim City Manager Gus Vina.

Recruiting fees could cost the city as much as $35,400, according to Sacramento’s Human Resources Department. An executive recruiting firm will be hired to conduct the search. The range in fees is estimated between $27,650 and $35,400.

One of two recruiting firms may be chosen by the City Council on Tuesday night. The two Sacramento-based recruiting firms are Wilcox Miller Nelson and CPS Human Resource Services.

The Human Resources Department’s report on the city manager search, which will be presented at the Feb. 8 City Council meeting, is now available online.

Mayor Kevin Johnson said Jan. 25 that he hopes Vina will apply for the city manager job during the national search. Asked earlier this week if he would apply for the job, Vina said, “I don’t know. I’m keeping all my options open.”

City Councilman Steve Cohn said Friday that the national search is likely to take a few months. He said a new city manager will likely not start work before July 1.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Citizens' group will study redistricting plans

2011-02-02T06:58:50Z

The Sacramento City Council decided Tuesday night that it will create a citizens' group to assist with this year’s redistricting process.

Council members voted 8-1 to form a citizens' advisory committee that would scrutinize redistricting plans suggested by the public. Councilwoman Angelique Ashby opposed the idea of a citizens' group, saying that the public should bring its redistricting plans directly to the council, instead of to a committee.

“I think the citizens should have direct access to us on this issue,” Ashby said.

But some of her colleagues on the City Council said that forming a citizens' committee would make the process more inclusive to the public. “Erring on the side of more citizen participation is what we should be doing,” Councilman Jay Schenirer said.

The council members decided the committee should have 13 members. Each council member and the mayor will appoint one person to the committee. The other four members will be at-large members.

Every 10 years, the city uses U.S. Census data to redesign its districts. City officials expect the relevant 2010 Census data to be released in April.

The city’s charter says the redistricting process should be completed six months after the Census data is released. To comply with the charter’s rule, the city’s deadline for the 2011 redistricting process will be Sept. 27, according to city staff.

City staffers wrote in a Jan. 18 report that city leaders will weigh the following elements in the redistricting process: topography, geography, cohesiveness, continuity, “integrity and compactness of territory,” community of interests, existing neighborhoods and community boundaries.

The city will also aim for each district to have the same number of people, according to city staff.

A series of neighborhood meetings on the redistricting process will be held this month. More information about the meetings can be found here.

Read the city’s redistricting website here.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Council to consider arena team qualifications

2011-01-26T06:48:01Z

The Sacramento City Council decided Tuesday to move forward with all four teams vying to develop a new arena for the Sacramento Kings – for at least a little longer.

Following a motion by City Councilman Steve Cohn, all nine members of the council voted unanimously to schedule a hearing in two weeks for the teams to provide their qualifications and financing approaches directly to the council.

In doing so, they decided not to follow a recommendation made Friday by Mayor Kevin Johnson's arena task force that the city start working with just one team, led by Sacramento developer David Taylor and ICON Venue Group, a prominent Colorado sports facility developer.

Several council members said they had more questions that have to be addressed before they could make such a decision. Some initially expressed an interest in giving city staff a 90-day period to evaluate all four teams.

Assistant City Manager John Dangberg suggested a two-week time frame as an alternative and Cohn made the motion. They did so after the ICON-Taylor team and the CORE team indicated they wouldn't continue with the process if all four teams were kept in the game three more months. The Natomas Entertainment Sports Center Partners and the Convergence Team said they would.

"At some point, we really want to have our staff that we hired to work for us" evaluate the teams, City Councilman Kevin McCarty said.

City Councilman Rob Fong urged city staff to engage the Maloofs, who own the Kings, soon to determine what approach they'd support for building a sports and entertainment facility to replace Arco Arena, the Kings' current home.

Johnson led the meeting but remained silent during a public hearing and council discussion lasting more than two hours. He brought the ICON-Taylor team together after the Convergence Team, which then included Taylor, failed to produce a viable project on schedule last year.

ICON President and CEO Tim Romani asked the council to give his team 90 days to study the project's feasibility and to develop a proposal and financing plan.

Romani warned that the Kings are not "locked into" Sacramento, and representing team owners who decide to relocate is "a messy ordeal." He said he'd rather help find a solution so the Kings can stay in Sacramento. Right now, the team is playing in an arena that "pales in comparison to every other arena in the NBA," Romani said.

"It's a critical time for Sacramento if (you) want to keep the Kings," he said. "I can tell you this: I think the time for process is behind you. I think the time for results is right now."

In the second half of March, the Maloofs will have an option to get out of their lease at Arco, task force co-chair Chris Lehane said.

The task force gave the ICON-Taylor team a first-place ranking based on its experience. ICON has built more than 50 sports complexes throughout the world and is especially experienced in building NBA arenas, task force member Tom Friery told the council.

Natomas Chamber of Commerce President Ed Koop and several others from Natomas asked Johnson and the Council to reject the recommendation of the ICON-Taylor team.

About 400 people signed petitions in support of keeping the arena in Natomas. Koop countered comments that no economic development had sprung up around the arena. At least two dozen restaurants, hotels and other businesses have been opened near the arena, Koop said.

"We want the arena. We deserve the arena. And we've got a good plan," he said. "We're pretty confident you're going to (see) that Natomas makes the most sense."

Councilwoman Angelique Ashby, who represents Natomas and downtown, said the Arco site must be redeveloped in a way that would be as beneficial as having a new arena if the project is built downtown. The area's 80,000 residents can't just lose a facility that benefits the local economy so heavily, she said.

In 2006, Sacramento County residents voted against funding a new Kings arena in the downtown railyards. Three of the teams have proposed that site as a possible location.

Fong asked if the city and development teams will consider a new model to finance a new arena, given the state of economy. In most if not all current cases, an entity other than NBA teams build new arenas, however, the teams become the tenants and then benefit from all the revenue that comes in from operating the facility. That income could be used by developers to offset the cost of building the arena, he said later.

Sacramento will have to look at something other than a "classic" funding plan – and the task force recommended the ICON-Taylor team because its members were confident the team would "look outside the box," Lehane said.

The task force and all four teams have acknowledged there must be some public funding for a new arena, but what form that might take isn't agreed on or clear. The task force believes building a new arena downtown makes "the most sense," he said.

"This is ultimately a decision for this body," Lehane said.

Council does not promote Vina

2011-01-26T02:40:50Z

The City Council voted 5-4 Tuesday night against promoting Interim City Manager Gus Vina to the permanent city manager position.

Council members Sandy Sheedy, Rob Fong, Kevin McCarty, Darrell Fong and Bonnie Pannell voted to conduct a national search for a new city manager.

Mayor Kevin Johnson briefed reporters after he and the members of the City Council held a private meeting about Vina’s job status.

Johnson said the council feels that Vina did a “great job” as interim city manager. However, he said the City Council voted to conduct a national search for a city manager candidate.

Johnson said he hopes that Vina will apply for the job as part of the national search.

Vina was not immediately available for comment.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

City Council talks priorities, budget

2011-01-07T03:03:11Z

As part of a Thursday workshop led by Mayor Kevin Johnson, the Sacramento City Council discussed its current priorities as well as ideas for the upcoming “State of the City” address.

Johnson described the workshop as a “mini-retreat” for the City Council. The city leaders kept the budget in mind when discussing their priorities, but exact budget numbers were not discussed.

City Finance Director Leyne Milstein said after the meeting that she was still working on the budget figures and would present concrete budget information at a Jan. 25 public meeting.

Johnson will speak at the State of the City event, which will be held Jan. 20 at the Sacramento Convention Center. His City Council colleagues gave him advice on points to include in the speech.

Councilman Rob Fong suggested that Johnson mention some of the positive developments in the city, such as the city’s work on streetscape improvements.

“I think there are lots of little things that are happening that we don’t necessarily focus on that make a big difference to a lot of people.”

Councilman Jay Schenirer said that gangs and public safety should be addressed in the speech.

The council members also discussed their priorities. Councilman Kevin McCarty said he wanted the council to consider city services. “How do we maintain a full-service city?” he asked.

Council members Steve Cohn and Bonnie Pannell mentioned the importance of jobs. “To me, everything has to be focused right now on jobs, jobs, jobs and our budget,” Cohn said.

The soundness of the city’s budget should be a priority, said Councilman Rob Fong. “I think we have to start focusing on sustainable budgets.”

Mayor Kevin Johnson responded to Rob Fong’s comment. “I couldn’t agree with you more,” he said.

Councilman Darrell Fong mentioned water rights and flooding as key issues. Meanwhile, both Johnson and Schenirer talked about focusing on youth. Johnson also said education is a priority.

Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy noted that the city’s budget should be presented in a transparent way “so that people out there understand it.”

Councilwoman Angelique Ashby urged the council members to tour each other’s districts to learn about the districts’ various issues.

Interim City Manager Gus Vina said after the meeting that he would revisit the council’s ideas during a discussion of economic recovery in the city. “My goal is to tie this conversation with the Jan. 25 date, where we’re going to do a workshop on our recovery plan,” he said.

File photo of a Sacramento City Council meeting held last July. Photo by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Recycling center raises concerns

2011-01-06T02:20:11Z

A Buddhist church located at Broadway and Riverside Boulevard has recently raised concerns about a nearby recycling center, saying it has attracted problems such as trespassing at the church’s property and human urination.

The center, MS Recycling, is located at a Valero gas station next to the Buddhist Church of Sacramento. The center leases from the property owner of the gas station, Vince Lera, according to city documents.

“We've got community programs running from 9 a.m. - 9 p.m., seven days a week, that serve the very young and very old. And they deserve a safe and clean environment,” Kelvin Mark, president of the Buddhist church, said in an e-mail.

Lisa Nava, district director for Councilman Rob Fong, wrote in Dec. 23 e-mail to the Greater Broadway Partnership that the center will be closed down. Nava said the recycling center would be closed down because the Valero gas station intends to install a biofuels station to next to its gas offerings and will no longer have space to lease to MS Recycling. However, Nava said she did not have a timeline for the closure.

Mark claimed that a litany of problems are occurring because of the center, including littering, narcotics peddling and indecent exposure. He said he has called the police for drunk and disorderly behavior.

The Greater Broadway Partnership, an alliance of businesses on Broadway, has also become concerned about activities at the center. “We felt the operation of the recycling center was not being done in a responsible manner,” said Teresa Rocha, the partnership’s executive director.

Attempts to talk to employees and managers of the recycling center were unsuccessful. One of the recycling center’s workers declined to be quoted.

Mark said he was unsure about the status of the recycling center, saying “the words from Lisa Nava are (that) we don’t have any details on when the closure will happen or how it will happen.”

Photo by Kathleen Haley.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Council members discuss Central City

2010-12-16T02:42:44Z

Sacramento’s Central City has received a lot of media attention for shootings and muggings in recent months. However, the area is also frequently in the spotlight because of large-scale development projects, such as the downtown Railyards or George Karpaty’s trio of businesses on K Street.

The Sacramento Press recently interviewed three City Council members to learn about their plans for the Central City. Councilwoman Angelique Ashby and Councilmen Steve Cohn and Rob Fong shared their priorities for the different parts of the Central City they represent.

Ashby’s portion of the area includes the downtown Railyards, K Street, Old Sacramento, Alkali Flat and the River District. Ashby mentioned the Railyards and K Street Mall as examples of key development sites in her district.

“Some of the best opportunities in the city lie in the downtown portion of District 1,” she said.

As an elected official, she said she wants to help avoid hurdles in the development process. “In my position, I can help make sure they get those projects done in a timely manner,” she said.

Ashby also said she wants to be a behind-the-scenes facilitator for the various groups involved with projects in the area. Stakeholder groups involved with Central City development projects, such as community members, government agencies and environmental organizations, need a “point person” at City Hall, she said, adding that she wants to take on that role.

Public safety in her district, and throughout the city, is a key priority, Ashby said.

Cohn, too, emphasized public safety when asked about his work in District 3. His section of the Central City includes Midtown and part of downtown. His district’s stretch of K Street starts at 16th Street and heads east.

He pointed out the shooting death of a 24-year-old that occurred after a Second Saturday Art Walk event in September. Cohn also mentioned that the neighborhood has bar and nightlife issues. He said he wants neighborhoods and businesses to work together to solve public safety and public nuisance issues in Midtown. In his view, Midtown’s development has been a success, he said.

“I want to make sure it can continue to succeed and not be a victim of its own success,” he said.

On a different topic, he said work is under way to enhance Sutter’s Landing Park on the northeast edge of Midtown.

Meanwhile, Fong said he was excited about the R Street streetscape project in his district. Fong’s piece of the Central City includes part of Midtown and downtown. The street improvements will make the street more pedestrian-friendly and inviting, he said.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the effort to revamp the street with new lighting and parking enhancements was held in September. The street will be remodeled from 10th to 13th streets.

Click on the following links to view maps of City Council Districts 1, 3 and 4.

Learn more about some of Ashby’s priorities for North and South Natomas here.

Photos of Cohn and Fong by Brandon Darnell. Photo of Ashby by David Watts Barton.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Treasurer: City must borrow cash

2010-12-08T05:54:18Z

City Treasurer Russ Fehr explained the city’s cash flow problems to the City Council Tuesday night, noting that the city’s general fund will need to continue to borrow cash.

The city has a $90 million cash flow gap, Fehr said. To address its cash flow troubles, the city recently borrowed $40 million, he said.

The city’s cash situation changes throughout the year, according to a report by Fehr. That’s because the city receives property tax revenues during the second half of the fiscal year, which begins Jan. 1, Fehr said.

The heart of the problem is the cash situation with the general fund, he said.

“I want to emphasize that the cash flow issue in first half of the year is not new,” he told the City Council. “Nearly all cities, counties, districts (and) school districts that receive property taxes face this problem. It’s sort of generically known as ‘the dry period.’

“Why it’s become a new issue for us in recent years, is that the general fund is now having to borrow for cash flow purposes,” he said.

The general fund has had cash flow troubles since Fiscal Year 2008-2009, according to Fehr’s report. “It’s certain that the general fund is going to have to borrow cash for the foreseeable future,” he told the council members.

Fehr urged the City Council to minimize and then stop using unsustainable solutions to balance the budget.

City Councilman Rob Fong was the only council member who commented after Fehr’s presentation. “It is a critical situation,” he said. The City Council and city staff must work on the cash flow problem together during budget season, Fong added.

Mayor Kevin Johnson commented on the situation at his weekly press conference on Tuesday. “When times were good in the Sacramento economy, we spent more than we should,” Johnson said.

Fehr said last week that the city is not at risk of bankruptcy.

Photo by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Tasting 16 turkeys for charity

2010-11-23T06:01:51Z

I will remember Nov. 22, 2010, as a big blur of turkey – from spicy and delicious to bland and dry.

As one of five judges in City Councilman Rob Fong’s 4th Annual Turkey Cook Off on Monday, I nibbled on slices of 16 cooked birds. Sixteen! In all my 31 years, I have never had so many consecutive tastes of separate turkeys.

The event was a benefit for Loaves & Fishes’ Thanksgiving meal, which will be held Tuesday. While 16 restaurants entered turkeys in Monday’s cookoff, the restaurants prepared many other turkeys to add up to about 40. The event was held at Beatnik Studios near 17th Street and Broadway.

Sister Libby Fernandez said community participation is key to Loaves and Fishes’ annual Thanksgiving event. “Every year, we serve about 1,000 homeless and poor men, women and children on this particular day,” she said before the start of the cookoff event.

“And what’s special about it is that we ask for the community to provide everything: cooked turkeys, dressing, pies, mashed potatoes, and bring it to us.”

About 200 people will receive a meal from the 40 turkeys donated through the cookoff, Fernandez said. The remaining turkeys – to feed about 1,000 people – will come from other donors.

Fernandez noted that it takes three to five hours to cook a turkey. “So, we don’t have the capacity to cook a hot meal like that,” she said. “The community actually does the cooking for us.”

In his remarks at the cookoff, Fong pointed out that Loaves and Fishes provides dinners to the homeless every night of the year. “And we’re just hoping to make one day easier for you,” he said.

The five-judge panel scored the turkeys on the following criteria: juiciness, flavor, texture, tenderness and overall taste. Our taste test was blind – I had no idea which turkey was cooked by whom. The judges wrote down scores of 1 to 10 for the turkey dishes, which were assigned numbers.

I remember liking Turkey No. 1, which coincidentally won first place. Turkey No. 1 was the juicy creation of Jamie’s Bar and Grill, located at Fifth and Broadway. Bunnell is a two-time turkey gold medalist – he also won the contest in 2007.

“That’s awesome, man,” said Chef/Owner Jamie Bunnell, when his name was announced as the winner. “Thank you so much.”

Shady Lady Saloon’s Chef Kevin Ritchie took second place, while The Kitchen and Selland’s Market-Cafe won the bronze for their shared entry.

The judges were served small slices of turkey in rapid succession. Since turkey is inherently bland and dry, juicy birds with a distinct flavor impressed me. A few of the turkeys were tender treats. Sadly, a few of the turkeys were dry. In my notes, I wrote: “Spiciness is good! Anything to camouflage the natural turkey blandness.”

The restaurants that competed in the competition were: The Kitchen and Sellands Market-Cafe as one entry, Shady Lady Saloon, River City Brewing Company, Plaza Hof Brau, Vallejo’s Restaurant, Old Soul Co., Fox & Goose, Hangar 17 Bar & Grill, Ink Eats and Drinks, Jamie’s Bar & Grill, Cyprus Grille, Cafeteria 15L, Buckhorn Grill, Buca Di Beppo, Brew It Up! and Aioli Bodega Espanola. Mulvaney’s B&L also contributed turkeys for the homeless even though it did not participate in the competition.

I applaud all the restaurants that competed in the charity event – even the ones that served dry turkeys. It must be challenging to suffuse a turkey with juiciness it was not born with.

Photos 1 and 2 by Kathleen Haley. Photo of Kathleen Haley by Sister Libby Hernandez.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Fong: Clean out development department

2010-11-19T03:03:50Z

Sacramento City Councilman Rob Fong said in an interview Thursday that further actions should be taken against city employees, including code division employee Dan Waters, who were involved in the recent scandals at the city’s Community Development Department.

Waters approved 35 building permits in a Natomas flood zone last year. Officials with the city and the Federal Emergency Management Agency say that Waters’ action to give the permits to K. Hovnanian Homes broke federal regulations. The City Council agreed earlier this week to pay up to $350,000 to correct its violations and comply with FEMA. The violations related to 38 permits – Waters approved 35 of them, according to city spokeswoman Amy Williams.

Waters, the son of outgoing City Councilman Robbie Waters, is still employed by the city. He is a customer service supervisor at the city’s code division with a base salary of roughly $62,278, according to Williams. Specifically, he works in the neighborhood code compliance section, she said.

In an interview, Fong commented on the FEMA violations and the department’s other major scandal: an audit that says the department failed to collect more than $2.3 million in fees from developers.

“If I were running that department, they wouldn’t be working for the city of Sacramento anymore,” Fong said.

He noted the City Council cannot fire city employees. Under the city’s charter, firing is conducted by the city manager’s office.

Fong said the department’s troubles need further investigation beyond the audit. The audit calculated the fee problems, but it did not name names.

Fong also said he thinks there are other people responsible for the department’s messes in addition to Waters.

“My strong suspicion is there was some other folks involved in the chain of command,” Fong said. “And I think we need to figure out how far that went.”

He declined to name any names himself, saying that the city does not have evidence to show who was responsible and how they were involved in the department’s problems. He said he recently directed city officials and the city attorney’s office to provide a framework for how the City Council can investigate the people who were involved in the incidents at the department.

In response to questions about Waters, city spokeswoman Williams said: “We cannot share details about personnel matters. The City Manager’s Office is aggressively reviewing the audit report with the Community Development Department and Labor Relations, and we are investigating to determine if disciplinary action or further investigation of any employee is warranted.

“All disciplinary action necessary will be taken when appropriate,” she said. “Disciplinary actions are the responsibility of the city manager.”

Williams noted that the city transferred Waters to a different position last year. “Under the previous administration, Dan Waters was reassigned to Code Enforcement last calendar year,” she said. “As part of the consolidation efforts to save money, Code and Community Development Departments merged, and code became a division where he now resides.”

The local media has reported that Waters was temporarily suspended last year.

Meanwhile, Waters’ work at the development department is also being investigated by the state Fair Political Practices Commission, according to reports in The Sacramento Bee.

Vina said at an Oct. 12 City Council meeting that the FPPC had concerns about the city’s development department, although he did not mention Waters’ name.

FPPC Executive Director Roman Porter was unavailable for comment Thursday.

Waters did not return three phone messages left by The Sacramento Press Thursday afternoon.

Photo by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Fixing FEMA violations costs city $350K

2010-11-17T06:07:05Z

The Sacramento City Council agreed on Tuesday night to shell out as much as $350,000 in general fund dollars to correct past violations of federal flood management laws.

City officials have acknowledged that Dan Waters, a Community Development Department staffer and the son of outgoing City Councilman Robbie Waters, broke Federal Emergency Management Agency rules when he provided 35 building permits to a developer in a Natomas flood zone last year.

Councilman Waters recused himself from the vote on the “corrective action plan” Tuesday night, while the eight other members approved it.

Fong said that it was important to support the action plan to send a message to FEMA to ensure that the city is in compliance with federal rules. However, he noted that the $350,000 is a significant amount of money to pay.

“It’s a really hard thing at this time in our budget life,” he said.

Nancy Ward, a regional administrator for FEMA, complimented city staffers for working with the federal agency. “I, certainly, from a federal agency perspective, have gotten the true meaning of the word ‘partnership‘ from this city in terms of their hard work and their tenacity ... in humoring FEMA through its challenging program requirements.”

The plan includes several steps the city must take. In Natomas, four partially built homes, one completely built home and a multi-car garage must be torn down, according to a city staff report. Two fire-damaged homes will receive private flood insurance paid by the city, said Department of Utilities spokeswoman Jessica Hess. The Community Development Department must also have a certified floodplain manager on staff, according to the report.

“We clearly made a very, very serious mistake,” Tretheway said.

Read the report and all the steps the city must take here.

Photo by Kathleen Haley.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Council: Homeless need shelter for winter

2010-10-27T01:00:33Z

Finding a way to shelter the homeless during the winter months is job one for city staff tasked with addressing the homeless following a City Council workshop Tuesday.

“Winter waits for no one,” said Councilman Rob Fong. “We need to collectively figure out what we can do to make sure no one is exposed to the elements.”

The council uniformly applauded the faith community in its work to shelter the homeless over the winter, but all agreed more has to be done both in terms of a more permanent solution to emergency winter shelters and eventual year-round permanent housing options.

But not everyone agrees that opening the churches to the homeless is a solution.

“It is not shelter. There are no beds,” said Tamie Dramer, executive director of Safe Ground Sacramento. She added that people in the churches will sleep on concrete and hardwood floors, and suggested the term “sanctuary” is a more accurate description.

“It doesn’t look as though there’s a complete solution around the corner,” she said.

Safe Ground’s goal is to get the city to designate a spot for the homeless to camp and has been working toward that for more than a year.

“I’m really tired of just talking about this thing in concept,” said Councilman Steve Cohn. “If people are serious about this, come back with a concrete proposal.”

Cohn said he has heard a lot over the past few months about Safe Ground, but that that can’t be the focus right now.

“Our top priority at the moment has to be what we’re doing with winter shelters,” he said, reiterating Fong’s point.

“Sanctioning camping out there is just not a policy that’s right for the city,” said Councilman Kevin McCarty.

Councilwomen Sandy Sheedy and Bonnie Pannell agreed, arguing against revoking the no-camping ordinance.

“I just don’t see a safe ground opportunity here,” Sheedy said. “We need to start thinking outside the box on where to put people.”

Mayor Kevin Johnson said that any form of a proposal by Safe Ground would only be one piece of a larger solution of transitional housing as the region’s governments work toward the ultimate goal of finding permanent housing for the area’s 2,800 homeless.

“There’s a long-term strategy,” Johnson said. “And that long-term strategy is what we’ve been working toward, which is permanent housing.”

Johnson said the city is able, with the help of the county and nonprofit, private and faith-based groups, to shelter the same amount of homeless this year as last year despite reduced funding.

According to Johnson, progress has been made with helping the homeless over the past year, and one person who exemplifies that progress spoke during public comment.

“I am one of the statistics you are talking about,” said Robert Harris, a plumber. “This time last year, I was homeless.”

Harris said he had received a hotel voucher from the city in addition to clothing, food and medical attention from Loaves & Fishes.

“I am now employed,” Harris said, adding that it is just part-time, but he is hoping to be employed full-time soon.

“I want you to know your tax dollars did go to work for me.”

For others who remain homeless, however, the approach of winter highlights the council’s urgency to find a quick solution.

“Winter is on us, and we don’t have any money,” said John Krantz, a homeless man. “We need to find a solution and we need to find a solution quick.”

Krantz said the churches opening their doors helps, but he advocated for decriminalizing homelessness and allowing camping.

“This is not our last discussion,” Fong said. “It’s a big issue, and it really deserves a lot of attention.”

Johnson characterized the two-hour workshop as having covered a lot of complex issues. He said Sacramento Steps Forward – established about a year ago – is key to helping the city develop a system of using transitional housing options – possibly including something like Safe Ground – into permanent housing.

“Sacramento Steps Forward will strengthen our ability to go forward,” he said. “That’s the future. We have an opportunity here to really be cutting-edge.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Homeless Forum tackles community concerns about homelessness

2010-10-14T02:16:13Z

Community leaders gathered to speak with local government to find out what is being done about the homelessness problem in Sacramento. It was a chance for the community to discuss the progress made toward more permanent housing and the setbacks that have hindered them. There was resolve that if the community efforts remain strong, the problem could be solved within the next few years.

Mayor Kevin Johnson and Councilman Rob Fong were among 13 community leaders who spoke at the Homeless Forum held Tuesday in the Redwood Room at Sacramento State.

“This is a chance to bring the activists to the policymakers,” said moderator and event organizer Steve Watters.

Fong was the first of many to reiterate that “housing is the biggest challenge.” He mentioned methods of handling the homeless concerns in other cities like Denver and Boise that were serving as models of how Sacramento approaches the issue.

“We’re not going to have another winter with people in the streets,” Fong said. He urged the audience to continue donating and aiding the shelters.

Costa Mantis played a clip from his documentary “Live from Tent City” that was sent to the United Nations to speak out about homelessness.

Author Jason MacCannell spoke about the history of the homeless epidemic and the preconceptions about being homeless that have carried over from the past. He explained how what was once a contained lower-class population in the skid row neighborhoods of cities gradually became homeless with the elimination of funding for affordable housing.

The first panel consisted of Sister Libby Fernandez, executive director of Loaves & Fishes, Donald Miller, Barbara Baker, Jim Gibson, Lola Wiley and Trimmie Sanders, the four of whom shared their tales of homelessness and recovery.

Fernandez started by discussing the rise of tent cities on the outskirts of the Sacramento area and how local homeless advocacy groups reached out to help them.

“We came there to help them, but what we saw was community,” she said. “But it wasn’t a safe place because it wasn’t legal, and it’s still not legal.”

The forum was sponsored by many groups who are dedicated to helping the homeless find safe ground to live, including Francis House, Loaves & Fishes and the Sacramento Homeless Organizing Committee.

Each of the panel speakers explained his or her connection to Safe Ground, the organization of community leaders who campaign for the city to sanction areas for the homeless to stay without risk of arrest or harassment. The stories were heartbreaking, but with happy endings that expressed the value of Safe Ground for the homeless.

When the question-and-answer portion began, the panel was asked, “How else can we help?”

Wiley said, “Don’t stop. Take every little bit and go forward with it, and get your neighbor to go forward with you, and that neighbor get a friend…and we can beat it.”

Johnson stepped to the podium with encouraging words about plans to cure homelessness in Sacramento.

There are more than 3,000 homeless people in this city, Johnson said. “We have a broken system in the terms of the way we deal with our homeless population.”

His main point involved a five-pillar program to help support the homeless and aim them toward permanent housing. There have already been 1,350 families put into permanent housing, with a goal for 3,000 families total in three years.

The five pillars are housing, social services, funding, advocacy, and accountability. He explained how each pillar supports the pillar above it, so that it will take funding to get homes and services, but it will take advocacy from locals to raise awareness, and it will be accountability that keeps the plan working for the future.

“We need to prove that what we’re doing works,” he said, “and that it makes sense to the taxpayers.”

He then explained a 12- to 18-month plan for creating a new safe ground for the homeless population that can support about 100 people. It will be privately funded and be placed near access to services, but “we’re not sure where yet.”

The hope is to have safe ground “up and ready to go by November 2011.”

The next panel consisted of a variety of community leaders who began by discussing the legality of homelessness and what can be done about the “camping ordinance” that makes it illegal for the homeless to sleep outdoors.

“We cannot police ourselves out of homelessness,” said Bob Erlenbusch, on the board of the Sacramento Homeless Organizing Committee

The panel was divided between putting a moratorium on the camping ordinance or leaving the law alone.

Sacramento Police Department Lt. Michael Bray said, “It’s tough to balance. The camping ordinance is a tool, and it’s an effective tool. We’d like to never have to use it.”

Next, the panel discussed the idea of government funding and how to supply services to the homeless. Sacramento Steps Forward Director Tim Brown explained how housing the chronically homeless costs the taxpayers less than paying for the prison and health services that the homeless are often dragged through repeatedly.

“It’s not enough for government to do it,” he said, “but we need the whole community to be involved.”

It was agreed that it will take government and private funding to move forward, as well as holding the mayor and the council accountable to create policy changes.

“We need affordable housing. That is the carrot at the end of the tunnel,” said John Kraintz, Safe Ground leader. “But till we get to the end of that tunnel, we’re gonna have to pitch a few tents along the way.”

Development department investigations continue

2010-10-13T05:53:37Z

The Sacramento City Council’s Tuesday-night discussion made it clear that the investigations of the city’s development department are not over.

Seven council members spoke at length about the Oct. 6 audit, which found that the Community Development Department broke city and state laws. Council members also indicated that they want to claim the money that the department failed to charge developers – a sum of more than $2.3 million, according to the audit.

Councilman Steve Cohn was absent from the meeting, and Councilman Robbie Waters recused himself from the discussion of the audit’s findings. Waters’ son, Dan, is a former employee of the department who was involved in an earlier investigation of the department.

The subject of the audit was the department’s work from fiscal years 2007 through 2010. Sacramento firm Sjoberg Evashenk Consulting, Inc. conducted the audit.

“I’m most concerned with making sure this won’t happen again,” Mayor Kevin Johnson said.

The City Council’s auditor, Jorge Oseguera, told the council members that the city attorney’s office will explore whether some of the $2.3 million can be collected. He said he would follow up with the council on that issue.

Councilman Rob Fong said collecting the money is “my No. 1 priority.”

Councilwoman Lauren Hammond said city rules need to apply to all developers equally. The department should not have a culture that allows a “good ol’ boy network,” she also said.

Interim City Manager Gus Vina indicated that disciplinary measures for department employees may be on the table. “As I look at the audit in great detail, I will take whatever disciplinary actions are necessary,” he told the council.

The City Council and city staff also discussed investigations of the department that are still under way.

Sandra Talbott, an attorney with City Attorney Eileen Teichert’s office, said the investigation into allegations of quid pro quo in the department is ongoing. The quid pro quo investigation is distinct from the audit, Talbott said. “It has not been concluded at this point.”

In response to a question from Councilman Ray Tretheway about continuing investigations, Vina said that the California Fair Political Practices Commission has concerns about the department.

In addition, Fong said the City Council should lead its own investigation into the department. He said he considered the audit to be “an important piece” of a City Council investigation.

Fong also said he wanted to explore the role of top managers in the past problems at the department. He did not specify names of current or former city officials in his comment.

“I’d certainly like to know what recourse we have against them, if any,” he said.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Photo by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Mayor releases Nov. 2 endorsements

2010-10-12T00:56:32Z

Mayor Kevin Johnson released his endorsements for several Nov. 2 political races on Friday. He named his candidates in local, state and federal elections in a post on his blog.

In the Sacramento City Council runoff in District 5, Johnson endorsed education policy consultant Jay Schenirer. He had endorsed Schenirer for the first time in May, when the City Council candidate was running against four other candidates. Schenirer is competing against attorney Patrick Kennedy in the November runoff.

The winning candidate will replace current City Councilwoman Lauren Hammond.

Johnson decided not to endorse a candidate in the District 7 runoff. Ryan Chin, a communications director at Sacramento State is running against retired Sacramento police captain Darrell Fong for the seat. Outgoing City Councilman Robbie Waters lost the seat in the June election.

“Either candidate will serve the best interests of Greenhaven, the Pocket and Valley Hi,” Johnson wrote about the District 7 race.

By contrast, the mayor did not take a position on Measure B, one of the most controversial measures on the ballot. Measure B would halt a 9.2 percent utilities rate increase and restructure how the Utilities Department manages utilities rates.

“I voted against the last rate hike, have concerns about utilities operations, and am still gathering information,” Johnson wrote on his blog.

Johnson did not respond to a request for further comment Monday.

Councilman Kevin McCarty, a leader in the No on Measure B campaign, said the good news is that Johnson is still studying the issues relating to the measure. The position of the No on B campaign is that it would harm the city’s budget.

McCarty noted that every other member of the City Council opposes the measure.

Craig Powell, chairman of the campaign supporting Measure B, said he respects Johnson for “taking the time” to learn about the facts. The text of Measure B claims that utilities rates in Sacramento are unaffordable.

While Johnson has released endorsements for many races, he wrote that he will endorse education races in a separate announcement. Here is the list of endorsements Johnson released Friday:

U.S. Senate: Barbara Boxer
U.S. House of Representatives: Doris Matsui

Governor: Jerry Brown
Lt. Governor: Gavin Newsom
Attorney General: Kamala Harris
Secretary of State: Debra Bowen
Controller: John Chiang
Treasurer: Bill Lockyer

State Senate District 1: Roger Niello
State Senate District 6: Darrell Steinberg
Assembly District 5: Dr. Richard Pan

Sacramento County

Sheriff: Jim Cooper

City of Sacramento

District 5: Jay Schenirer
District 7: No preference.

Roseville City Council

Dr. Tim Herman

State Propositions

Prop. 22: Yes
Prop. 23: No
Prop. 25: Yes

City Measures

Measure B: “Still gathering information.”

Measure C: “Yes, but only if statewide initiative Prop. 19 passes.”

Photo by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Development department audit raises questions

2010-10-07T00:26:55Z

An audit report stating that the city’s development department failed to collect more than $2.3 million in fees from developers raises a host of questions. The audit’s finding that city employees broke state and city laws makes the situation even more complex.

The audit, prepared by Sacramento firm Sjoberg Evashenk Consulting, Inc., investigated the department’s work from fiscal years 2007 through 2010.

“In summary, the weak system of internal controls allowed employees to disregard state and city building laws, codes, and regulations aimed at protecting the public’s health, safety, and general welfare,” the audit states.

Read the full audit report here.

The City Council is expected to discuss the audit’s findings on Oct. 12.

City Councilman Rob Fong said Wednesday that he will focus on obtaining the lost revenue to the city. The report’s findings are “outrageous and shocking and incredibly disappointing,” he said. “My priority is getting the money back.”

Interim City Manager Gus Vina on Wednesday answered a series of questions from reporters on issues relating to the $2.3 million in uncollected funds, violations of laws, the culture of the department and possible disciplinary actions.

Journalists from The Sacramento Press, Fox 40, KCRA, News 10, CBS 13 and Capital Public Radio posed the following questions to Vina at the Wednesday press conference.

Q: Do you find that these lapses were well-intentioned? Or, is there indication that there’s perhaps corruption involved?

Gus Vina: It’s difficult to answer that. Part of my job now is to look at some of the specific issues that the audit report has highlighted. I will need to dig a little further into that very question. We know at a minimum that because of the lack of rules and policies and the fact that the decision-making was being made at an extremely low level in the organization, we need to explore that very question.

Q: What is the likelihood that you’re going to get any of this $2.3 million back?

GV: We’re working with the city attorney’s office to answer that question. This is as fresh to us, really, as it is to you. So we need a little time to dissect it. But we are going to work with the attorney’s office on what can we do to go after some of the revenue that was not collected.

Q: As city manager, is it your hope that we might get some revenue as the result of this investigation?

GV: We will be as aggressive on that as the law allows.

Q: If the city had this $2 million, could any layoffs have been prevented in Fiscal year 09 or in FY 10/11?

GV: I suspect that we could have probably minimized some of the layoffs with the revenue having been collected. I think that what’s important to note is that when we look at staffing in Community Development, it’s not just the revenue that you look at ... it’s workload. The report spent some considerable amount of time looking at that workload. We’ve had over 70 percent decrease in some of our workload in Community Development. Obviously, this recession has had a profound impact on our business. And, so, we would have been in a declining mode in terms of our workforce two, three, four years, anyway.

Q: These lower level (employees) — why were they allowed to make these big decisions?

GV: Let’s talk about culture change for a minute. If you go back, say, three (or) four years, we brought in folks to Community Development to in fact look at the bureaucracy, and how difficult was it to work with the city on development projects. There was a lot of excitement created around a “Get the Customer to Success” theme, and looking at how we might streamline some of the processes. What this report is now pointing to, is that that probably went a little too far. The technology that was put in place ended up being too open to decision-making without policy in place. That’s the bridge now. We still want to provide good service to our developers. And we don’t need unnecessary red tape and bureaucracy. It needs to be streamlined. But the bridge to success here now is policy, training, and decisions that are consistent.

Q: Does this at all, in your mind, tarnish the legacy of Ray Kerridge? His big thing was “bring the customer to success” and make it easier to build and develop here.

GV: I respectfully am not going to comment on that. I’m not going to speculate on Ray Kerridge’s legacy, and I wish him well in Roseville.

Q: Will there be any disciplinary actions taken? And, if so, when...will the public learn about that?

GV: If, as I review the report, there’s a need to go down the disciplinary road, then I will certainly do that.

Q: Will that information be made public?

GV: Most of the time, personnel matters are not.

Q: The report though says flat-out that laws were broken.

GV: What you need to look at, is why were laws broken? And what I’ve read so far in the report is that it speaks to lack of policy that led to decisions that were inconsistent with the law. So, motivation is important. And that’s what we need to find out next — what was the motivation?

Q: Is it your opinion that the city attorney should look at these findings to see if any criminal charges should be brought?

GV: I will be working closely with the city attorney’s office and Labor Relations office as necessary.

Q: What does that mean?

GV: That means I don’t know enough to tell you whether there’s criminal charges or not. I would be speculating and I’m not going to speculate.

Q: When a low-level employee doesn’t comply with the law, how do you figure out if it’s their fault, or it’s the culture of the department and the fault of someone higher up? Or both?

GV: That’s exactly my next step: What was violated, what were the reasons and at what level? And the report has been pretty clear that decisions were being made at a low level due to lack of policy and procedures in place.

Photo: Vina and Councilwoman Lauren Hammond at the July 13 City Council meeting.

Photo by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

R Street improvement kicks off

2010-09-09T02:22:03Z

The R Street improvement project officially started today at a groundbreaking ceremony in front of the Fox and Goose Public House at 10th and R streets.

“This is absolutely wonderful,” said Congresswoman Doris Matsui. “We have a history here – a thriving commercial history.”

R Street is getting numerous upgrades from 10th Street to 13th Street as part of the more than $6 million project, including sidewalks, pedestrian-oriented traffic lights, designated parking spots and drainage, according to Sacramento Department of Transportation Director Jerry Way.

In a nod to the R Street corridor’s history, rail lines will be preserved in the streetscape.

“This project has been long and anxiously awaited,” Way said.

Part of the funding – about $1.5 million – came from a federal earmark.

“That has some bad connotations, but when it actually works, it leverages a lot of money,” Matsui said. “The federal government needs to be involved in urban planning, and it is. I’m looking forward to a continued partnership with the state and with the city.”

Mayor Kevin Johnson applauded the project and said the 170 jobs it will create are a boon to the local economy.

“The R Street corridor is going to be an amazing opportunity for us,” he said. “This is a microcosm, I believe, of everything that is happening in our city.”

The project lies in City Council District 4, and Councilman Rob Fong said the $6.1 million to address infrastructure in his district is key to preserving the history and helping bring in new development in the mixed-use corridor.

While the groundbreaking was today, dirt won’t actually be moved for about two weeks, according to Todd Leon, R Street development manager for the Capitol Area Development Authority (CADA), which partially funded the project.

Leon said the work from 11th Street to 13th Street will, depending on weather, be done sometime in late November or December.

Work from 10th Street to 11th Street will start after St. Patrick’s Day and be completed in June, he added.

“The businesses are going to be open the whole time, and we wanted to work around their busy times,” he said.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.