Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "steve cohn"

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.

McKinley Park Rose Garden: Getting closer to completion

2012-02-02T02:35:21Z

The long-awaited renovations at the McKinley Park Rose Garden are nearing completion, and the garden is expected to be open by April – just in time for spring weddings in the park.

“The process feels like it’s taken forever,” University of California Master Gardner Ellie Longanecker said Wednesday.

The rose garden was scheduled to be closed from September to mid-February for renovations, including a new irrigation system, accessible walkways, planter curbs, new signs and handicap-accessible parking spaces near the garden entrance.

The work has been extended until the end of March or early April, Longanecker said, because of problems with the new irrigation system that created delays in completing other work, including more plantings.

Longanecker, a rose specialist and one of the many volunteer coordinators responsible for much of the recent work on the garden, said the project has been on the neighborhood’s radar for a long time.

“We initially brought a proposal to the city for this work to get stared in 2009,” Longanecker said. “For three years it’s been one step forward, two steps back.”

Once the work got under way in September, however, it’s been full steam ahead for city workers and volunteers, she said.

Since 2009, more than 400 new rose bushes have been planted in the garden on the southeast side of McKinley Park.

Thanks to a generous donor, Longanecker said, an additional 465 new rose bushes were recently given to add to the garden.

A “plant-a-thon” to get those additional bushes in the ground was originally planned for Saturday, but it has been postponed. A new date has not been set yet.

Longanecker said the planting day was postponed because the city needs to put in new sod around the planting beds, and it would be easier to get that job out of the way first.

It is also important to make sure the new water system is fully up and running before putting in new plants, she added.

“I’m glad it’s finally coming together,” Longanecker said. “It has taken a very strong volunteer effort.”

Longanecker said volunteer workers – including groups of Americorps volunteers, a Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department work crew and many neighbors and residents – put in about 1,500 hours of labor working on the garden in the last four weeks alone.

“That’s spading, weeding, pruning and wheelbarrowing in 100 yards of topsoil to spread throughout the garden,” Longanecker said. “(It’s) not easy work at all.”

The effort to refurbish the McKinley Park Rose Garden has been supported by donations including money, gifts of roses and numerous donations of tools and materials.

“It seems to be going well,” East Sacramento resident and garden volunteer Lisa Schmidt said Tuesday. “There’s a lot more to putting in roses than people think.”

Schmidt said that, despite the long wait and all the work that has been necessary, it will be worth it to see the result when the first roses bloom.

“It’ll be like brand new – irrigation, beds, plants, everything,” City Councilman Steve Cohn said Wednesday.

The garden’s new irrigation system will use water more efficiently, Cohn said, and the planter curbs will make the beds easier to maintain.

“The beautiful thing is, we’ve kept the original design (of the garden),” Cohn said. “It’ll really ‘pop’ once spring hits.”

Cohn said that the city didn’t put in the investment it should have in the rose garden over the years.

“Over time, the roses started to lose their vibrancy,” Cohn said. “They were looking sad, really.”

Now, Cohn said, the rose garden will have “new life” and will be more enjoyable for visitors – especially the many couples who have their weddings in the garden each year.

“I’m excited about it,” Cohn said. “We want to save it for future generations and enhance the appearance for everyone who comes to see it for years to come.”

Cohn said a ribbon-cutting and grand opening will be planned when the rose garden is finished, but a specific date has not been set.

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

Mid-year city budget update

2012-02-01T06:12:16Z

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

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

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

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

It’s not all bad news, though.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Sacramento Press discussed the first quarter budget report HERE.

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

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

Arena, green tech, education: State of the City highlights

2012-01-31T02:20:44Z

A new program to raise $10 million for arena financing and turning Sacramento into an “Emerald Valley” were two key points in Mayor Kevin Johnson’s State of the City address Monday.

Johnson’s speech focused on boosting the local economy in three areas: building an entertainment and sports complex, green-sector jobs and reforming public schools to create a more competitive workforce.

“The economy is bad everywhere, but it’s worse here,” Johnson told the nearly 1,000 people in the audience.

“We have to take bold actions,” Johnson said. “We have to make the impossible possible.”

The mayor delivered the 20th annual speech at the Sacramento Convention Center in an event hosted by the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce.

Johnson introduced a new program aimed at raising $10 million toward the cost of building the entertainment and sports complex.

The “Brick-by-Brick” program will allow individual supporters to buy bricks with their names engraved on them to be placed in the entryway of the new complex.

Johnson said after the event that the program is in the early stages and costs for the bricks have not yet been determined.

The first three honorary bricks were given to City Councilman Steve Cohn and two young Kings fans, Jack O’Brien, 11 and Gil Vechner, 12. The two boys caught Johnson’s attention when they started a lemonade stand last year to raise money for the arena.

“It’s time to finish what we started. It’s crunch time,” Johnson said, referring to the March 1 financing plan deadline to prevent the Kings from relocating.

Johnson turned the discussion to employment concerns, saying he believes one of the biggest problems Sacramento faces is a dependence on state government and real estate for jobs and revenue.

“This sets us up to be the hardest hit in a financial crisis,” Johnson said.

Bringing green technology and green industry jobs to the region is one solution to that problem, Johnson said.

Among the goals Johnson outlined for 2012 are plans to raise $100 million to retrofit schools to make them more energy-efficient and “green,” and joining the Edible Schoolyard Program to bring school gardens, cooking classes and healthy eating to local schools.

“Becoming the Emerald Valley is within our grasp,” Johnson said.

Although he doesn’t have a direct relationship to local schools as the mayor, Johnson said improving education has long been a focus for him – and it should be a focus for the city, he said.

As a way to keep schools accountable to parents – and to make it easier for parents to decide which schools are best for their kids based on performance – Johnson said he is working to establish “report cards” for local schools.

The new rating system will assign a letter grade to every school in the county based on a range of performance criteria including student test scores and whether the schools are meeting academic standards.

Johnson said his office will not be responsible for consequences to a school for getting a low grade – the consequences will come from parents who withdraw their students or choose not to enroll them in low-grade schools.

Some business and civic leaders at the event had a positive reaction to the mayor’s address – former State Assemblyman and current president of the Sacramento Metro Chamber Roger Niello said it was “completely on point,” and County Supervisor Don Nottoli said it was “very well-delivered.”

“I think (Johnson) was absolutely right about the region needing to diversify its economic base,” County Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan said after the event.

“I think that’s the most important point he made,” she added.

Michael Ault, Executive Director of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, said the mayor did a good job of breaking down what needs to be done for the city into smaller, achievable goals.

“You just can’t have 30 priorities for the coming year. We have to narrow it to a few legitimately reachable goals,” Ault said.

“The sports and entertainment complex is clearly something we think needs to be accomplished in the short term and I think the mayor really highlighted that,” he added.

The current city charter does not require the mayor to give a state of the city address. Johnson has delivered the speech each year he’s been in office – four times.

If the mayor’s charter reform proposal gets on the ballot and is passed by voters, an annual state of the city address would become a requirement for future Sacramento mayors.

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

City Council begins 2012-13 budget process with workshop

2012-01-25T05:13:57Z

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Clunie Center saved by donations from community

2012-01-17T23:56:10Z

East Sacramento residents and businesses succeeded in preventing the closure of the Clunie Center at McKinley Park, which was scheduled for later this year, Mayor Kevin Johnson announced Tuesday.

The center was slated for closure in June because of budget shortfalls, with the McKinley library likely to follow.The Friends of East Sacramento, a nonprofit organization, set forth a plan to take over management of the facility three years ago, Johnson said. He added that under nonprofit management, the facility will save $20,000 in operating costs each year.

“Sometimes you have to draw a line in the sand and not let something you truly value disappear,” said Cecily Hastings, publisher of Inside Publications, and co-founder of the Friends of East Sacramento.

The organization needed to raise $45,000 to cover the transition and operating costs for this year. Sizable donations came from Wells Fargo Bank, Soroptimists of Sacramento, Haven Lending, Freeport Bakery and Mercy General Hospital, Hastings said. City Councilman Steve Cohn said he committed $5,000 from city funds and made an additional, personal donation of $1,000.

Community members, neighbors and small businesses also contributed to the cause.

Marissa Cruz lives in the neighborhood and said she helped raise money to keep the Clunie Center open. She said she uses the park five days per week and visits the library an average of three times per week.

“I’m really happy it’s staying open,” Cruz said, adding that it is a cause she’s been following closely.

An additional anonymous donation of $15,000 will go to a fund dedicated to pay for renovations to the building. Hastings said a total of $60,000 is needed to pay for renovations, above the $200,000 in labor she said will be donated.

Hastings said she expects the center to be self-sufficient and does not anticipate the need for a fundraising drive of this scale in years to come. Plans include marketing of the facility and a full-time manager – a position that has been vacant for five years.

“This serves as a great example as to what other parts of Sacramento can do,” Johnson said, adding that facilities like the Hagginwood Community Center can stay open under similar management.

After the press conference, Johnson briefly answered questions about the strong mayor initiative, the struggle to have a new sports facility built in Sacramento and his upcoming trip to Washington, D.C., for the U.S. Conference of Mayors. He will leave immediately following Tuesday’s scheduled City Council meeting.

Johnson said Tuesday that he expected a decision about the strong mayor initiative that evening. He said the city manager runs the city right now, and reports to nine bosses, a system that is ineffective.

“What we are asking tonight is for the people to have the ability to vote on this in June,” Johnson said.

Funding 'swap' jumpstarts long-awaited south area project

2012-01-11T06:31:05Z

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2011: The year at City Hall

2011-12-30T06:20:29Z

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

Here’s the city government year in review.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Homelessness in Sacramento: A look back at 2011

2011-12-30T04:59:18Z

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

False alarms get more costly for residents, businesses

2011-12-08T04:16:05Z

Sacramentans who protect their homes and businesses with fire and burglar alarms may soon pay more for chronic false alarms and see alarm permit fees nearly triple.

The Sacramento Fire and Police departments each presented proposals to the City Council’s Law and Legislation Committee Tuesday that would change the current policy on fire and burglar alarm response – and increase penalties for multiple false alarms.

The proposed changes to police alarm response will do two things: require alarm companies to step up efforts to verify legitimate alarms, and change the current three-year permit structure to an annual permit.

The changes to fire alarm response includes incrementally increasing fines for multiple false alarms.

Members of the Law and Legislation Committee unanimously approved both proposals Tuesday.

“This will allow the (Police Department) to focus on legitimate priority needs of the community,” Police Capt. Jim Maccoun told the committee Tuesday.

According to Maccoun, alarm installations throughout the city have increased by 4,000 since 2008, resulting in an increased demand for police services.

At the same time, police staffing has decreased by 29 percent over the last several years.

In years past, alarm companies sent private security personnel to respond when alarms were set off. As the economy shifted, many alarm companies either downsized their operations or moved out of state and eliminated response by private security personnel.

Alarm companies have private contracts with customers but use a public agency to service the contract – transferring the responsibility to respond to alarms to the local police.

Residents who do not have an alarm system essentially subsidize those who do by paying taxes to support the overall costs of police response to alarm calls, according to a police staff report presented to the committee.

Sacramento Police Department has responded to an average of 26,000 calls per year – that’s 72 alarm calls per day – over the last three years. Ninety-seven percent of those were false alarms, Maccoun said.

The report also stated that alarm calls involve a two-officer response and take approximately 40 minutes to resolve – costing the city approximately $3.7 million per year.

On top of the ordinance changes, the Police Department is also changing its department policy to further curtail false alarm responses.

According to Maccoun, right now the department will respond to all alarms. With the new changes, however, after three false burglar alarms in 12 months, the department will only respond after the alarm company has attempted to confirm a valid alarm with the home or business owner.

This “enhanced call verification” means alarm companies will have to make at least two telephone calls to determine whether the alarm signal was a mistake before calling the police: one to the premises where the alarm was activated, and one to an alternate number provided by the residence or business owner.

This will also be the case if any false alarm or permit fees are not paid within 120 days after a resident or business owner is billed.

The ordinance states that violations will be considered a public nuisance, and fines will be between $250 and $25,000 for each day the violation continues, depending on the offense.

The breakdown of the new fees and penalties was not available Tuesday, Maccoun said. A proposed fee structure will be presented to City Council when it reviews the proposal.

For the Fire Department, false fire alarms have steadily risen since 2004 and now make up about 15 percent of total emergency responses, a fire department report states.

A standard fire alarm response typically requires units from three or four fire stations to cover, the report states. False alarms make those units unavailable for actual emergency response.

To curb the amount of false fire alarms, the Fire Department wants to levy penalties for alarm systems that generate multiple false alarms.

The tiered penalties start with a warning notice after the second false alarm in any 12-month period. Fines levied for third and further false alarms were not available Tuesday. They will be made available to the City Council when it considers both the new fire and police changes.

After the fifth false alarm, the penalty includes notice of public nuisance and the possibility that the system may be removed from service by the Fire Department, potentially creating problems for home and business owners in meeting insurance requirements.

Michael Sommerfield, owner of Miosa Couture on J Street, said Wednesday the problem is not the people with the alarms, rather it is the alarm systems themselves.

“It’s the fire department that requires these high-tech alarms,” Sommerfield said. “They insisted on (alarm) systems that don’t work.”

Sommerfield said that he is “all for” minimizing the number of false alarms, but he doesn’t think business owners should be penalized for faulty equipment.

“It’s a waste of taxpayer dollars for (the Fire Department) to come out with 12 guys all geared up,” Sommerfield said. “If they’d let us use $6 Home Depot alarms that actually work, this wouldn’t be such a problem.”

Although City Councilman Steve Cohn voted in favor of the proposed ordinance changes, he expressed concerns about the fee structure.

“I think the first issue is whether to have a fee differential between commercial and residential permits,” Cohn said. “Second, is whether to phase in the increase over a two-year period instead of immediately.

“The problem is hitting people pretty hard all at once,” Cohn said. “We’re talking about almost tripling the fee, not just for violators but for everybody.”

City Coucilman Jay Schenirer, who also was a yes vote on the ordinance, agreed with Cohn’s concerns.

“It’s one more fee increase for people on top of everything else,” City Councilman Jay Schenirer said Tuesday. “We need to look at that.”

Maccoun told committee members that proposed fees would be brought to the full City Council when the ordinances go before them.

If the City Council approves the ordinances, the changes to the current law will become effective 30 days later.

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

City supports high speed rail for the north state

2011-12-07T04:49:30Z

The city of Sacramento responded to the recently released California High Speed Rail Authority business plan with a letter of support – and a couple of suggestions for the authority to consider as the project develops.

City Councilman Steve Cohn said Tuesday that the city is in support of the project overall, but Cohn and the council want to emphasize two points: recognition that the high-speed rail project must be phased in, and funding should also upgrade existing connecting infrastructure.

“It can’t all be built at once,” Cohn said at the Law and Legislation Committee meeting at City Hall Tuesday. “The revised business plan does a more realistic job of explaining this phasing process (than the initial plan).”

The new business plan, released Nov. 1 to update the 2009 plan, outlines a “building block” approach to connecting the state’s major northern and southern California population centers with high-speed trains.

By building the project incrementally, the plan states, it allows for completion in stages as additional funding is identified.

Cohn said that, from the city of Sacramento’s standpoint, the 20-year project will need to connect well to local and regional transit services as it unfolds.

Some inter-city connectors will need to be upgraded and expanded – and that will not be cheap, Cohn said.

“So far, only $950 million of the original (Proposition 1A) initiative has been set aside for inter-city connections,” Cohn said. “We think that roughly 10 percent of total spending on high speed rail should go into these inter-city connections.”

With an estimated total cost of nearly $98 billion, that means $10 billion over the life of the project directed at essential infrastructure, Cohn said.

Cohn said that upgrades to inter-city connectors and existing rail lines will go a long way to increasing the overall efficiency of rail travel even before high-speed rail is fully realized in the state.

“If we invest money in the tracks and signal equipment between here and the Bay Area,” Cohn said, “We can reach the Bay Area in less than an hour with the exact trains we already have. Those trains are capable of going over 100 miles per hour. The problem isn’t the train, it’s in the track and signaling equipment.”

Cohn said the infrastructure work needs to be completed alongside the high-speed rail project so that, when everything is connected, it will create a smooth transition.

California voters approved $9 billion of public funding for the proposed high-speed rail project with Proposition 1A in 2008. Additional funding for the project will come from both federal and private dollars, according to the California High Speed Rail Authority.

The rail project is planned to ultimately connect Sacramento to San Diego via 800 miles of track, allowing upwards of 44 million riders annually to travel quickly from place to place.

The initial 130-mile stretch is slated to be built in the Central Valley at a cost of approximately $6 billion – including $3.3 billion in federal funds and $2.7 from state funds.

The estimated total cost of the first phase of the high-speed rail project, which would connect the Los Angeles basin to the San Francisco Bay Area, is $98.1 billion.

According to Lance Simmens, deputy director of communications for the high speed rail authority, construction on the initial segment – the “backbone” of the rail line – should start in late 2012.

The first segment of the rail project will extend from just north of Fresno to North of Bakersfield, and construction is expected to take approximately five years to complete. Work to connect to Sacramento would begin in 2026.

“The backbone (segment of the project) will be available for Amtrak San Joaquin (passenger rail) service,” Simmens said, “but it will not be high-speed rail yet.”

Trains on the initial segment will travel at normal speeds – typically between 80 to 100 miles per hour, Simmens said. True high speed rail is capable of speeds up to 220 miles per hour.

Simmens said that further construction will allow for faster speeds.

“We appreciate that the high speed rail authority business plan acknowledges the need for inter-city upgrades,” Cohn said. “Sacramento shouldn’t have to wait until 2040 to benefit from high-speed rail. We should be benefiting all along the way.”

The letter of support from the city of Sacramento will be sent to the high speed rail authority within the next week.

Read the California High Speed Rail Authority draft business plan HERE.

Explore an interactive map of the proposed high speed rail routes HERE.

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

Natomas tree lighting suffers gusts, but boasts gusto

2011-12-02T03:22:34Z

photographs by Barry Wisdom

Wednesday's Grinchy wind storm may have turned the centerpiece of the South Natomas Community Center's holiday tree lighting into a slightly bent, Whoville caricature, but the shiny bright ornaments, entertainment, refreshments and neighborhood fellowship were straight-up festive.

Emceed by Sacramento Councilmember Steve Cohn, the ceremony featured music by the drummer boys and girls of the Natomas High School Drum Corps, as well as the Natomas Middle School Choir and the Heritage Park Chorale.

"Santa Claus" also made an appearance to lend an ear to the whispered wishes of the children during the event's post-lighting reception in the community center.

Council members share their Thanksgiving traditions

2011-11-24T01:57:55Z

It’s Thanksgiving again – a day filled with food and family and, for some, football. Everyone has their own traditions and routines for Thanksgiving, even members of the City Council.

The Sacramento Press checked in with some council members to find out what their holiday will look like this year. Here’s what they had to say:

“I’m starting the day off by leading the Run to Feed the Hungry,” said Mayor Kevin Johnson at his press conference Tuesday.

Johnson said the race, which typically hosts more than 30,000 runners and walkers, is a “cool way to get families together.”

After the race, Johnson said he plans to spend the day at home with his family.

“I’m always here in Sacramento for Thanksgiving day and through the weekend,” Johnson said. “I have to watch all the football, you know?”

City Councilman Jay Schenirer and his wife, Bina, will be enjoying the day at their house in South Lake Tahoe with one of their sons.

“This year will be very quiet, just immediate family,” Schenirer said. “It will be turkey for three – and lots of soup afterward, I suppose.”

Schenirer said he wants to take the next few days to “just recharge a little bit” and reflect on the past year.

“We’re incredibly lucky for our health first and foremost,” Schenirer said when asked what he was most thankful for this year.

“We are at the age where we have so many friends that are dealing with health issues,” Shenirer said. “It’s the basics in life that people sometimes take for granted that I think we need to be most thankful for.”

Schenirer said he’s not a big football fan, so it won’t matter that there isn’t a television in the Tahoe house.

“I’m just a sad basketball fan now, instead,” Schenirer said.

City Councilman Kevin McCarty said he and his wife, Leticia, and their twin toddlers will be participating in the Run to Feed the Hungry along with the mayor and many other Sacramentans.

“Our usual Thanksgiving routine has been participating in (the race),” McCarty said in a text Wednesday. “Thanksgiving dinner at our Elmhurst neighborhood home is a tradition, too.”

McCarty said that when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner, he is responsible for the turkey – and “Leticia is for everything else.”

Football will definitely be on the agenda Thanksgiving Day at the McCarty house, especially since the 49rs are playing.

“I’m very jazzed with this exciting team and the ‘Har-Bowl,’ ” McCarty said.

According to the Sporting News website, Thursday’s game between the 49rs and the Baltimore Ravens will be the first time brothers John and Jim Harbaugh face each other as NFL head coaches – hence, the name "Har-Bowl."

City Councilman Steve Cohn and his wife, Catherine, will be in Truckee with members of their extended family for this holiday weekend, Cohn said Wednesday.

“We spend the day traditionally with my wife’s side of the family,” Cohn said. “Most are from the Bay Area. The past few years we have Thanksgiving at our cabin in Truckee because we have more room there for everyone to stay than we do in Sacramento.”

The food at the Cohn table has a lot of variety, Cohn said, because his wife, who is half French, is always coming up with good recipes.

“We have a lot of the traditional foods – turkey and so on,” Cohn said, “but this year we are trying turkey breast instead of the whole turkey. We are always trying new things, though.”

Cohn said it has been his and his wife’s tradition for the past 13 years to join the Run to Feed the Hungry Thanksgiving morning, but travel plans made it impossible for the Cohns to attend this year’s race.

As for football – the television will definitely be on, Cohn said.

“Most of the male members of the family watch lots of football,” Cohn said. “My wife knows the 49rs are playing Thursday night, so she’s ready for it.”

City Council members Sandy Sheedy, Rob Fong, Darrell Fong, Angelique Ashby and Bonnie Pannell could not be reached before 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.

Alleyways of Sacramento receive names, part four

2011-11-05T04:31:15Z

On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, The Sacramento Press profiled the alleys in the central city that were formally named on Oct. 11 by an ordinance approved by the City Council. Below is the final installment of the new alley names.

Rice Alley

Curt Pow, the 36-year-old owner of Elixir Bar and Grill, has his business situated on the corner of Rice Alley and 10th Street.

“I’m okay with Rice Alley,” he said, adding that the Asian theme fits into much of the area’s culture.

While Pow said that he believes the names won’t directly help his business, he doesn’t think they will hurt it, either.

“What our area needs right now is retail business,” he said. “The city should allocate more effort for helping businesses rather than naming the alleys.”

Solons Alley

Jeff Standley, a 28-year-old sales associate at the Constantly Growing speciality hydroponic shop located along Solons Alley, said that the naming may help out with bringing more foot traffic into the alleys and then into the stores.

“Generally, people are looking for a main street,” he said. “If you can designate (the alleys) a little better, I assume it will be better for directions.”

Standley said that a name like “Sutter’s Alley” would have been more recognizable and memorable to local residents and that maybe the city should have named it that instead of Solons.

Tomato Alley

Uptown Alley

Dana Nolan, 56, was walking through her neighborhood on the south side of downtown Sacramento near Uptown Alley. She said she wondered why they named the alley “Uptown” since it is so far south.

She added that the names should have been more historically relevant.

“I think it would sort of get a sense of the neighborhood character,” she said. "I can go over to the cemetery and pick seven names just off the top of my head.”

Nolan also said that it adds too many names to a city that has streets with more than one name, like Capitol Avenue and Power Inn Road.

“It’s bad enough that you have to remember that there are three names for M Street,” she said, referring to Capitol Avenue, which becomes Folsom Boulevard.

Victorian Alley

Victoria Grant, 32, and her husband, George, 31, live along Victorian Alley. Victoria Grant is a nurse, and George Grant is in the military on active duty.

Victoria Grant said that naming the alleys would make it easier for people to identify where they are.

But George Grant said that he was less than enthusiastic about the naming.

“It’s just an alley,” he said.

Victoria Grant said that she liked that her name was very similar to the alley’s.

What do you think of the city's names for the alleys? Leave your thoughts in the conversation below.

John G. Hernandez contributed to this story.

Alleyways of Sacramento receive names, part three

2011-11-04T05:17:27Z

On Oct. 11, the City Council approved an ordinance that officially named the alleys of the central city. On Tuesday and Wednesday, The Sacramento Press highlighted many of these alleys, including their new names and what residents and business owners think of them. More alleyways are included below.

Leistal Alley

Cohn said Leistal Alley is an alley that the city has put resources into renovating.

With a lighted walkway and an upscale pavement job, co-owner of Old Soul Coffee Jason Griest said he hopes that all of the other alleys will soon be similarly renovated.

“We see a lot more foot traffic in the alley now that they’ve renovated it,” the 36-year-old Midtown resident said.

Griest said that he thought a better name for the alley would have been “Old Soul Alley” as an homage to the coffee shop that gives the alley its character and charm.

Matsui Alley

Bombay Bar and Grill is located on Matsui Alley and 21st Street, and Manager Amit Kumar, 35, said that the naming will make it easier for customers to find restaurants located along the alleys.

Kumar also said that naming the alley after someone prominent will help it stand out from some of the other alleys.

Neighbors Alley

Opera Alley

The 17th Street. Commons housing complex is located on Opera Alley.

Louise and David Thompson, two seniors who live near Opera Alley, run the Interfaith Experience, a community outreach group that seeks to unite different churches in the area.

Louise Thompson said that she thinks naming the alleys is a great idea that was long overdue.

But Louise Thompson said that she believes that the city should have looked more into the history and character of the alleys to find the most suitable names for each one.

“There are all kinds of dramas that happen within these alleys,” she said. “If we were to really concentrate on the particular landscapes that create these alleys, then we could be recording history and giving (the alleys) a sense of place.”

David Thompson said that he agreed with his wife.

“There is always history that gets eroded and lost, and naming (the alleys) accordingly would keep that history alive,” he said.

He added that he thinks it would be a good idea to call Opera Alley “Commons Alley,” because of the housing complex.

Powerhouse Alley

Powerhouse Alley runs south of P Street and next to the Fremont Community Garden.

Brandon Louie, a 30-year-old community organizer who lives in Boulevard Park, said that naming the alleys is a good first step in utilizing the space that the alleys provide.

“I think giving the alleys an identity gives us more of an incentive to clean them up,” he said.

But Louie said that he doesn’t want the naming to be just a symbolic gesture and that it is important that Sacramentans take action to redevelop them soon.

Louie said that it would be hard to come up with a better name than “Powerhouse.”

“Maybe The People’s Alley,” he said. “Something a bit more communal.”

Quill Alley

Quill Alley is perhaps one of the busiest alleys in Sacramento, as it is home to the 16th Street light rail station, where many people come into Sacramento from the suburbs.

Ray Thompson, a state worker from Land Park, said that his main concern was that the names be in order alphabetically.

When asked about the name “Quill,” the 48-year-old said that he would have tried another name that better kept up with the history of Sacramento.

“Quill is more like pens or writing,” he said. “I probably would have named it something to do with rail or industry.”

What do you think of the city's names for the alleys? Leave your thoughts in the conversation below.

John G. Hernandez contributed to this story.

More funding for improvements at intermodal facility

2011-11-04T01:35:09Z

The City Council approved $400,000 in funding from new sources Tuesday for upgrades to the Sacramento Intermodal Transportation Facility project, including energy-efficient lighting and new power cabinets that will help reduce air emissions at the new facility.

The project is being built at the downtown railyards and is currently in the first phase of development. City officials say Phase 1 should be completed by mid-summer 2012.

The project is planned to accommodate rail freight movement, heavy passenger trains, light rail transit and intercity and local buses, according to a city staff report. It will also provide facilities for bicycle and pedestrian transportation modes and – potentially – streetcars and California’s high-speed rail.

Last year, original bids for the project made it too expensive, so it was scaled down and re-bid this year. Some improvements that were part of the original project plan were set aside when the project was scaled down.

The new project plan reserved the possibility that those improvements could be returned to the plan if funding was found.

New sources of funding – specifically grants provided through Sacramento Municipal Utility District and a California Air Resources Board program – will be used to return some of those set-aside improvements to the intermodal project.

The anticipated additional improvements include new lighting with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) or walkways, tunnels and station platforms and four wayside power cabinets.

The LEDs will replace the fluorescent lighting in the original project plan.

“There will be more efficient lighting now,” Hinda Chandler, senior architect with the Sacramento Department of Transportation, said Thursday. “The light levels will be better with the LEDs, and the quality is better and brighter.”

Chandler said it will cost less to run the lights at the facility, and they won’t have to replace them as often as fluorescent lighting.

The lighting was budgeted in the project for $150,000, and city staff determined it was eligible for funding through an existing SMUD grant for lighting improvements.

Chandler said that the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA) was awarded funds for the power cabinets through the CARB Carl Moyer Grant Program on Oct. 28.

The original project plan called for eight wayside power cabinets, but when the project was scaled back earlier this year, the number of power cabinets was reduced to four. With new funding, the number of cabinets will once again be eight.

Christine Ragsdale, communications director for the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, said the power cabinets work similar to the way shore power is provided to ships at dock.

The ship – or locomotive in this case – essentially plugs into the power outlet (the cabinet) at the station, and, instead of running on diesel fuel, it is powered by cleaner, less-expensive electricity.

The power keeps train systems operable while they are being cleaned and prepared for the next day’s run.

“These are diesel engines that push particulates into the air,” Tim Taylor, division manager at Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, said Thursday.

“Being able to put (the trains) on shore power has an enormous health benefit to the community and a significant benefit in terms of air quality,” Taylor said.

The additional power cabinets cost $400,000, which would be funded 80 percent ($320,000) by the Moyer grant and 20 percent ($80,000) by CCJPA.

Ragsdale said this is the first time Carl Moyer Grant Program funds have been used for this specific purpose anywhere in the state.

“It’s a very creative use for this type of grant,” Ragsdale said. “When it comes to air quality, you get a lot of bang for your buck by getting trains to run cleaner.”

Nearly three tons worth – in the form of annual emission reductions, according Taylor.

“This is a fantastic project that is very good for our air quality,” Taylor said.

Chandler said the new funding is already being used to order the new power cabinets. The LEDs will be installed at a later time when the project gets nearer to completion.

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

Central city alleys receive names, part two

2011-11-03T03:41:34Z

On Oct. 11, Steve Cohn’s 5-year-old idea to give the alleys of Sacramento their own formal names was finalized, giving them what many residents describe as a new sense of character.

In a continuation of Tuesday’s article, The Sacramento Press has highlighted many local businesses along the alleys and spoke to residents regarding their thoughts on the alleys’ new names.

Fat Alley

Khalid Khan’s liquor store, called Don’s Bottle Shop, is located on Fat Alley and 16th Street. Khan, 60, said that naming the alleys won’t do his business any good.

“I don’t have control over what (the city) wants to do,” he said.

He emphasized that the city should be more focused on finding more direct ways to promote local businesses, and that naming the alleys is a distraction from more important issues.

Government Alley

Sacramento is the capital city of California, and Cohn said that Government Alley’s name is an acknowledgement of the city’s importance in state politics.

Midtown attorney Jan Kaworsky said that while he believes that the effort to name the alleys is worthwhile, he would have chosen different names.

“I probably would have named Government Alley ‘Anti-Government Alley,’ ” he said.

Historic Alley

As the alleys progress further south into Midtown, businesses begin becoming more prevalent on their corners. Old Soul at Weatherstone, one of Sacramento’s popular coffee bars, is located on the corner of Historic Alley along 21st Street.

Jeramy Robinson, 25, is a manager at the coffee bar and lives right by Historic Alley.

“There’s a lot of activity that would benefit from having a name for this alleyway,” he said, referring to the many homes and businesses within the vicinity.

He said that the name “Historic” is very fitting for the alley, especially since Old Soul at Weatherstone is located in the building that housed Sacramento’s first cafe.

Although supportive of the idea, Robinson voiced some concerns about the alley naming.

“It’s a new idea on the grid system,” he said. “It might confuse people that aren’t necessarily familiar with (it).”

When asked what he would have named the alley, Robinson said that he would have given it a name that relates even more closely to Old Soul at Weatherstone.

Improv Alley

Jazz Alley

Jazz Alley spans several busy areas in Sacramento, cutting through the hearts of Downtown and Midtown. Off of 10th Street is Broadacre Coffee, a new coffee bar owned by Justin Kerr, Jacob Elia, Lucas Elia and Andrew Lopez.

Kerr and Elia, 21 and 23, said they think that while the idea to name the alleys had good motives, the names that were chosen are lackluster and uninteresting.

“I think they could have come up with a better name than Jazz Alley,” Kerr said. “I know the process took a long time, but the names are kind of generic.”

Kerr said jokingly that a more appropriate name for Jazz Alley would have been “Java Alley” because of their store’s location.

Elia said that he can see how naming the alleys would aid police in responding to emergencies more quickly.

“If you can say, ‘I’m on Jazz Alley and 10th St.,’ now they know you’re not just somewhere (in between) Ninth and 10th (streets),” he said.

Kayak Alley

Bernice Gamino works at Harv’s Carwash, located on 19th Street and Kayak Alley. The 28-year-old resident of Natomas said that she isn’t confident that naming the alleys will produce positive results.

“I think it might confuse people,” she said. “A lot of people don’t even know that they (named) them, and the names are weird.”

She suggested that naming the alleys after things all Sacramentans would recognize would have been better.

“I would have named it Kings Alley,” she said. “It’s the first thing I think of when I think of ‘K’ and Sacramento.”

Watch for tomorrow’s story that will include more of the alleys.

What do you think of the city's names for the alleys? Leave your thoughts in the conversation below.

John G. Hernandez contributed to this story.

Central city alleys receive names

2011-11-02T06:04:54Z

After initially being proposed five years ago, City Councilman Steve Cohn’s idea to name Sacramento alleys has finally been put into action. On Oct.11, the City Council approved a list of new names for the alleys.

Cohn said that the alleys need names to help residents identify them more easily.

“Instead of saying ‘the alley between L and Capitol,’ you could just say the name of the alley,” he said.

The process for naming the alleys took so long, Cohn said, because it is very complicated.

“It took a while because we had to do a lot of outreach,” he said. "It's part of the rules and regulations for naming streets."

Cohn said that approval was needed from various administrative agencies like the Department of Transportation, the Sacramento Police Department and the U.S. Postal Service. Permission from these agencies was needed to coordinate and integrate the new names without creating duplication or confusion.

All of the alley names begin with the letter of the street they are directly south of. However, there was often disagreement on what words should be used for the naming.

“My original proposal was names of international cities, and some (residents) liked that, but others didn’t,” Cohn said.

To reconcile the differences, he said that city staff asked local neighborhood and business associations, such as the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, what kind of names they would like to see by holding public events throughout 2008 and 2009. Names relating to Sacramento's history and culture were often popular, like Democracy and Jazz.

The proposal was also delayed several times during the past five years.

"It was put on the shelf from time to time," Cohn said. "There wasn't a lot of people working full-time on it."

Cohn said that street signs will not be put up on the alleys anytime soon, especially with their $300 price tag.

“Little by little, as the economy improves and our budget improves, we may go back and appropriate the money,” he said.

The alleys are located in between B and W streets, and many stretch between Third and 30th streets. The first letter in each alley’s name is the same as the street that it is directly south of.

The Sacramento Press high-lighted some of the alleys below.

Blues Alley

Blues Alley is located in the northern part of the city that lies near many industrial buildings and residences.

Saleh Tyebjee, 26, is an engineer who lives in the downtown area. He said that although naming the alleys gives them some much-needed character, the names will ultimately make it more difficult for people to navigate on the grid system.

“It’s one of the nice things about living on the grid,” he said. “You always know where you are. (Naming the alleys) makes it a little more difficult to find your way around.”

Tyebjee said that if he could have named the alley, he would have called it “Grant Alley” because the alley runs right up to Grant Park.

Chinatown Alley

South of Blues Alley is Chinatown Alley, which runs through some of Sacramento’s oldest neighborhoods.

Jeff Laible lives off of Chinatown Alley. The 52-year-old installation mechanic said that he believes naming the alleys will actually help people navigate better throughout the central city.

“It’s not just the alley between C and D,” he said. “If you say ‘Chinatown Alley,’ you know which one it is.”

Laible said that he has no preference when it comes to names for the alleys, as long as everyone actually knows the alleys’ names.

Democracy Alley

Eggplant Alley

Forty-seven-year-old promoter and resident of Eggplant Alley Jerry Perry said that he had trouble understanding how the name “Eggplant” was decided on.

“I cannot believe that they couldn’t find something more relevant historically than the word ‘eggplant,’ ” he said. “(It) sounds like some 1920s cartoon character lives here.”

Perry said that he has lots of ideas for the alley that he thinks would have been more suitable, like “Excellent Alley.”

“I think it would have been more exciting if they had found more historical Sacramento characters,” he said. “A lot of the names they chose are weak.”

The rest of the alleys will be showcased throughout the course of this week.

What do you think of the city's names for the alleys? Leave your thoughts in the conversation below.

John G. Hernandez contributed to this story and created the video.

Council likely to oppose state/federal facility site

2011-10-25T00:44:20Z

The Sacramento City Council is expected to join other local governments Tuesday in opposing an area adjacent to the American River Parkway near the Nimbus Dam as a proposed site for a federal and state joint operations center handling flood control.

Warren Truitt, president of the Save the American River Association (SARA), said the operations center, if built at Nimbus, would be a “visual blight” on the area.

“It’s absolutely outrageous to place this high-security facility next to the parkway,” he said, “and it needs to be in a higher area, not at 28 feet. If the dam were to break, this area would flood along with other residences in that area.”

Currently, three sites are under consideration for the operations center, which will employ about 600 people and open as early as 2015. The other two sites include Mather Field and a commercial center near Kilgore Road and Sunrise Boulevard in Rancho Cordova.

The center will be a partnership between the National Weather Service, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the California Department of Water Resources.

Workers at the center will be tasked with flood management and flood control, as well as emergency management during floods.

“We’re still early in the process. A decision hasn’t been made,” said Russ Grimes of the Bureau of Reclamation. He added that public opinion on the issue will “absolutely be considered.”

A resolution opposing the site adjacent to the American River Parkway is on the Sacramento City Council’s consent agenda for Tuesday, a portion of the agenda reserved for items not expected to be controversial among council members.

Councilman Steve Cohn said putting the three-story, 200,000-square-foot center next to the American River Parkway below the Nimbus Dam is a bad idea.

“The primary purpose of the parkway is recreation and nature, and so we don’t want a real large office structure within it,” he said. “Also, if we really have a major flood, you would want your emergency operations center to be outside the flood zone.”

Sandy Cooney, a spokesman for the Department of Water Resources, said the flood risk at the site is minimal, as it’s outside the 200-year flood protection zone.

“If that area would be in any way at risk for flooding, so too would the entire city of Sacramento,” he said. “The flood would have to be significant and catastrophic.”

He added that all three sites are being considered equally and echoed Grimes’ sentiment that public opinion will play a large part in the decision-making process.

The operations center is nothing new, as it has been located near Watt and El Camino avenues for the past 15 years, Grimes said. It was known at the time that the agencies would expand, and with leases expiring in 2015 and the current space being too small, it’s time for a move.

Several criteria were needed for the placement of the center, including a redundant power supply – power coming from multiple sources – a size big enough to accommodate the employees, a location outside of the 200-year flood plain and, ideally, it would be on government-owned property.

The Nimbus site met all the criteria, as it is on federally owned property, he said. It is bordered by the Nimbus Fish Hatchery, residences and Hazel Avenue.

Sacramento County unanimously adopted a resolution in opposition to the Nimbus site Sept. 20, and the city of Rancho Cordova adopted a similar resolution the same week, said Ted Wolter, chief of staff for County Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan.

“A building three stories tall with security fences and security lighting 24 hours per day is not appropriate for this space,” he said, adding that support from the city of Sacramento would be welcome.

“I think it just shows the region is united,” he said. “While we really want these jobs in the region – they’re there now, we want to keep those jobs – we want them to be compatible with the American River Parkway.”

Truitt said about 300 local residents and parkway users came to a Sept. 22 public meeting at the Sacramento State Aquatics Center on nearby Lake Natoma in opposition of the Nimbus site.

He said the other two sites under consideration are adequate, and SARA will continue to work with government officials to try to keep the Nimbus site from being chosen.

Sacramento City Councilman Jay Schenirer said the city is aiming to join with the county in opposing the Nimbus site even though it doesn’t fall within the city because it is a regional issue.

“I think if you look at the parkway and kind of Sacramento’s role, we have a lot of residents that use it,” he said. “I’m actually on the parkway every weekend. I think it’s a wonderful place to get away from everything, to enjoy the natural beauty Sacramento has. Putting something like that on there changes the focus.”

Though Sacramento might oppose the site, the city has no direct power the site, as it is federal property.

Cooney reiterated that the process is in its very early stages, and no decisions have yet been made.

“There are all kinds of discussions happening about the three different sites,” he said. “The comments people make are critically important to this process.”

To view the public website for the environmental process of the center, click here.

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

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.

Capitol Mall design competition winners to be announced Nov. 9

2011-10-18T01:16:33Z

An array of designs submitted as part of the Catalyst Capitol Mall Design Competition in an effort to spark a “big idea” for future enhancement of the corridor from Tower Bridge to 10th Street were reviewed by a jury Oct. 7, and winners will be announced Nov. 9.

While the winner can’t yet be revealed, Kris Barkley, competition adviser to the city on behalf of the American Institute of Architects, described some key assets of the winning proposal.

“The first-place winner, I think, is really, really focused on what I think the people of Sacramento are feeling will work there,” he said. “It’s a tree-centered development that improves the urban canopy we have in Sacramento and brings it more fully into Capitol Mall.”

The competition began earlier this year and is intended to redesign the section of Capitol Mall from Tower Bridge to 10th Street after it was returned to city ownership by the state in 2006.

The first-place design will be awarded $20,000, with $10,000 for second place and $5,000 for third place.

An entrance fee of $200 per design was charged, which covered part of the cost. The total competition budget was $66,500.

With the ongoing economic crisis, Barkley said one aspect any successful design would have is the ability to be built in phases.

“They can be accomplished in smaller chunks to create an overall master plan over a period of years,” he said. “That way, the city can ease into it slowly as funds are available.”

The 48 designs that met the criteria, which can be viewed here, include a wide range of ideas.

One involves removing the center median, moving traffic lanes closer together and widening the existing sidewalks. Another envisions constructing a raised grass walkway, and still others call for the construction of iconic buildings used for myriad purposes.

Barkley said the second-place design divides Capitol Mall into different zones, with some being open plazas as public space and others being quieter.

One of the jurors in the decision-making process was Sacramento Urban Design Manager Bill Crouch, who said the field of entries was varied and made up of quality designs.

“We got a lot of really good, creative submittals,” he said. “There wasn’t one idea that was repeated over and over again.”

For fairness, Crouch said, judging criteria was set from the beginning and applied equally to all submissions, and each submission had a number attached to it instead of a firm so no juror would know whose project he or she was looking at, and therefore would judge it only on the quality.

“I think the public will be really impressed when the winners are announced and there’s an opportunity to view them,” he said. “The public should be encouraged that in a down economic climate, there’s so much international interest. The designs came from all over, and I think that’s a compliment to Sacramento.”

Designs came from all six inhabited continents, including countries as diverse as Iran and Vietnam.

Crouch added that the decision-making process took the better part of a day – even after jurors had reviewed the designs – but by the end, there was a general consensus on which projects deserved first, second and third prize.

The jury was made up of three internationally known design professionals, Crouch, a representative from the state and a Capitol Mall District representative. To view the jurors’ biographies, click here.

“I’m excited that there was interest from all over the world and that we had that number of submissions,” said City Councilman Steve Cohn. “I can’t discuss personal observations because I haven’t had a chance to look at them, but I understand from city staff that we got some very high-quality submittals.”

Cohn added that he looks forward to getting a vision for what the Capitol Mall corridor – including branching off to the Crocker Art Museum and Westfield Downtown Plaza – will look like and start making steps toward realizing that vision.

Other details of the winning designs will not be released before the Nov. 9 announcement, said Marika Rose, spokeswoman for the competition.

The announcements will be made at the Wells Fargo Center, 400 Capitol Mall, in an event that is open to the public, with ticket prices of $25.

“There will be a video presentation to highlight the winners and explain why they were chosen,” Rose said, adding that the video will also give history of Capitol Mall, which was originally considered the gateway to the city.

Members of the pubic can also vote for their favorite design through the Catalyst website.

“I think it’s always interesting to see what comes out of the public viewing of things and makes the process more transparent,” Barkley said. “Anyone can get in and see what’s happening, and it helps them see how the winners were selected.”

Lisa Martinez, marketing director for the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, said the designs that DSP staffers have had the chance to review look promising.

“We haven’t had a chance to really be able to review every single one of the entries, but from just the few we’ve looked at, there are a lot of great ideas and a lot of creativity coming out,” she said.

Rose described the whole process as smooth.

“It was a pleasure for everyone to work on,” she said. “It was very little investment for the city, and they’ll get a great return on phase-able designs.”

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

Occupy Sacramento protesters want exception to city camping law

2011-10-12T05:42:42Z

After 35 arrests in six days for violating a city camping ordinance, a group of Occupy Sacramento protesters marched to City Hall Tuesday to ask City Council members for an exception to the law so they can have 24-hour access to Cesar Chavez Plaza for peaceable demonstration.

“This is a fundamental constitutional issue,” said Sacramento resident David Whitfield, speaking on behalf of Occupy Sacramento. “Individuals are exercising their First Amendment rights, and no legislative body can abridge those rights.”

Demonstrators representing a wide range of ages and walks of life have gathered for more than six days in Cesar Chavez Plaza at Ninth and L streets to participate in the Occupy Sacramento movement.

The movement, which includes public protests, marches and organized demonstrations, began as a “show of solidarity” with similar protest movements that have cropped up across the nation in recent weeks, said Sara Beth Brooks, one of Occupy Sacramento’s coordinators

The effort calls for demonstrators to “occupy” a public space continuously during the protests – but, by doing that, Sacramento demonstrators have run afoul of a city ordinance prohibiting overnight camping in public parks.

The ordinance was enacted to keep public streets and parks “clean, sanitary and accessible” to residents and the public at large, according to the city code.

Brooks said that participants in Occupy Sacramento are not camping, however – they are exercising their First Amendment right to “peaceably assemble.”

And they will continue to exercise their right, Brooks said, “indefinitely.”

“There is no set end to the statement we are making,” Brooks said. “We are committed to seeing this through and having our voices heard.”

More than 300 people attended the council meeting Tuesday. Fifteen people spoke during public comment at the meeting to describe the nature of the occupation demonstration and to ask for an exception to the law.

According to the city code, the city manager may issue a temporary permit to allow camping on public property in connection with a special event. The code does not specify a maximum length of time for the exception to be valid.

According to police spokesman Andrew Pettit, interactions between police officers and the demonstrators over the past week have been “peaceful,” and the demonstrators have been “very cooperative.”

“The purpose of this (occupation) has been educational awareness,” said Ari Rashid, one of the coordinators of the Occupy Sacramento movement. “We want to discuss the issues that plague our society and our nation.”

Rashid and other speakers told council members that the extended demonstration has been carried out peacefully and largely without incident.

“We are not a public nuisance,” Rashid said, “and we are nothing less than peaceable. We want to keep the occupation going in Cesar Chavez park.”

Brooks said in an email Tuesday that 20 protesters were arrested Thursday, one on Friday and 14 Saturday.

All were arrested for unlawful assembly, Brooks said.

“This is the first time in my 24 years of life that I’ve experienced direct democracy,” Rashid told council members. “These (protests) are happening because people feel like they aren’t being heard. I’m here tonight to be heard.”

Councilman Steve Cohn told audience members that he had visited with demonstrators at Cesar Chavez Plaza on Monday evening, and he noted that the group was “definitely peaceful.”

The City Council could not take action on the request for an ordinance exemption at Tuesday’s meeting because it was not an item on the agenda. If the council took any action without proper public notice, it would be a violation of the Brown Act.

Eileen Teichert, Sacramento’s city attorney, confirmed that the city manager has authority to grant an exception to the camping ordinance, however, it would still be an action requiring public notice.

The Brown Act requires that the public is notified at least 72 hours in advance of council meetings which matters will be on the agenda for that meeting.

Cohn asked city staff to add an item to the next council meeting agenda to discuss changing the current policy on camping as an exception for this demonstration.

“Demonstrations are happening in Seattle, Portland, San Diego and Washington, D.C.,” Cohn said. “I feel like this city ought to be able to figure out how to make this work, too.”

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

Sacramento leaders learn from New Orleans tour

2011-10-12T00:52:54Z

A delegation of Sacramento business and political leaders returned from a four-day tour of New Orleans with fresh insight into what it takes for a city to recover and thrive after a disaster, including improving transportation methods, sustainable housing and flood protections.

“New Orleans had a unique opportunity to reinvent itself because of all the investments made there after Katrina,” City Councilman Kevin McCarty said Tuesday. “We need to look at how we can reinvent ourselves here, too.”

On Tuesday, Council Members Angelique Ashby, Steve Cohn and Kevin McCarty and Mayor Kevin Johnson shared the lessons learned from the people in New Orleans about methods of recovery the city has used to rebuild itself after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005.

“(New Orleans) Mayor (Mitch) Landrieu is a vibrant, energetic mayor,” Johnson said, “and he is an excellent example of the focus it takes to turn things around after a disaster. We went (there) to learn from the work they have done in New Orleans.”

Johnson, Ashby, Cohn, McCarty and 85 other delegates joined Maggie Townsley, public policy vice chairwoman for the Sacramento Metro Chamber, for the chamber‘s 13th annual study mission in Louisiana last week.

The study mission is a program the Metro Chamber develops every year to provide a learning experience for delegates about the challenges faced by other regions and how they successfully manage those challenges for long-term regional prosperity, according to the chamber website.

“We represent about 170,000 employees in the Sacramento region,” Townsley said. “One of the key things we do is partner with government and nonprofit organizations to further specific objectives for the region.”

Some of the objectives highlighted on this year’s study mission include improving city transportation, public housing and flood control.

Delegates on the tour had the opportunity to meet with Landrieu and other civic leaders and came away with ideas for improving Sacramento and the region.

“It’s been six years since New Orleans was hit by Hurricane Katrina,” Ashby said Tuesday, “but the devastation from that event was widespread, and you can still see it.”

Ashby said that one thing that struck her was that the flood waters during the hurricane reached nearly 20 feet in height.

“Should our levees break in Natomas,” Ashby said, “we could be as deep as 33 feet. We can’t let that happen.”

Ashby said it is necessary to improving flood protection for the region, including having the levees in her district certified by the federal government for improvement funding.

One thing McCarty said he found fascinating in New Orleans was how they are rebuilding their public housing.

“One in five kids lives in poverty,” McCarty said, “and many times those families are isolated in neighborhoods divided from economic development and grocery stores and other public investments that improve the neighborhood.”

McCarty said one thing that the city of New Orleans has done to “reinvent” the city’s public housing is taking down old units and rebuilding them as mixed-income units.

“They are making sure they have (an economic) blend to bring in development opportunities,” McCarty said. “That is something we are going to look at for some of our neighborhoods here in Sacramento.

McCarty said that neighborhood housing and development, especially for low-income populations, should be a priority for Sacramento.

Representatives from the Sacramento Metro Chamber are preparing a report about the study mission and said they expect it to be completed sometime next week.

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

Urban youth lounge Vibe opens Oct. 8

2011-10-06T06:57:13Z

After several years of planning, Vibe, the new urban youth lounge, will host a party at 5 p.m. on Saturday to celebrate its grand opening. Located at 1725 K St., the center will provide a place for teens to do their homework, socialize and be safe, said Catherine Pentoney, spokeswoman and former chair of Vibe’s Board of Directors.

Since 2007, the Vibe Foundation has been raising money to open its youth lounge. The nonprofit organization was founded by Julian Nagler and David Schenirer.

“Vibe was a concept that came out of a need in Sacramento for the youth to have productive things to do,” said Nagler, one of Vibe’s co-founders.

Nagler said he believes places like the Boys and Girls Club of America didn’t have the ability to attract modern teenagers.

“There needed to be something else in Sacramento that had a more inviting social atmosphere,” he said.

Nagler said that he and Schenirer came up with the idea for Vibe after the Sacramento Youth Commission identified “a significant lack of safe and relevant places for Sacramento teens to socialize, connect to community resources and seek … employment.” They then surveyed teenagers across the city, asking them what they would like to see an after-school hangout look like. Before long, the idea of Vibe began to solidify.

One of the main ideas behind the center is that teenagers should play an active role in administrative decisions. Two boards, a youth board and an adult board, are in charge, but the youth board has the final say on most matters.

Many prominent people are on the board, such as City Councilmembers Angelique Ashby and Steve Cohn, Steve Briggs, the marketing manager at The Sacramento Bee, and several students from local high schools.

The party on opening night will feature performances by a wide variety of local teen musicians. Pentoney says that many genres, from hip-hop to indie acoustic, will be represented. Some of the acts include the 2011 Jammies 3rd place winner Parie Wood and the spoken-word group Sacramento Area Youth Speaks.

During some of the musical sets, performance art will take place as well. Pentoney said that Matt Bird, a local visual artist, will be doing an art piece on a blank wall while the musicians play.

The party is free and open to the public. Food will be sold, including coffee donated by Starbucks and baked goods made by Vibe’s teenage volunteers. Pentoney said that the money raised will go to help fund the lounge and its activities.

“We want people to come out and participate,” she added.

At the party, teenagers will be able to sign up for a Vibe membership, which Pentoney said will be structured similarly to a gym. Any student enrolled in high school is eligible for a membership.

The cost of a membership has not yet been set, but Pentoney said that it will be around $10 per month. Members will be allowed one guest to encourage more people to sign up. She added that scholarships will be available to low-income teenagers who are willing to work on site at Vibe.

Membership will allow teens to come after school and take advantage of the center’s amenities, such as laptops and tables, to do homework and hang out with friends, said Pentoney. They will also host regular events.

“(There will be) everything from rap battles to video game contests to poetry readings,” she added.

She said that to decide what events will be held at Vibe, surveys will be done routinely at local high schools to get a feel for what would be popular.

“We try to make all of our events reflective of what the youth in Sacramento want,” Pentony said.

Pentoney said that she believes Vibe will have a positive impact on high schoolers growing up in Sacramento. “The way I look at (Vibe) is that it’s a place for people to teach and inspire each other and to do things that they otherwise couldn’t,” she said.

Photos of Airport Terminal B Grand Opening

2011-10-03T18:44:58Z

Here are more photos from Saturday night's big celebration of The Big Build, the name of the Sacramento International Airport's new Terminal B project:

For more info CLICK HERE>>>

New airport Terminal B celebrates grand opening

2011-10-03T03:24:17Z

More than 1,000 people attended a party Saturday that included Cirque du Soleil performers dancing with hoops, walking on stilts and performing acrobatics from 40-foot-long ribbons hanging from the rafters to celebrate the grand opening of the new Terminal B of the Sacramento International Airport.

“We didn’t want to stand in the shadow of another city,” Hardy Acree, director of airports for Sacramento County Airport System, said Saturday. “We wanted to create our own identity here in Sacramento and with this, we certainly have.”

The party – hosted by the architect and construction firms responsible for the terminal project, Corgan Associates and Turner Construction – was a grand spectacle with live music, food and wine, and gave members of the public a chance to explore the new terminal without buying an airline ticket.

The celebration marked the long-awaited end of an 11-year, $1 billion-plus project, Acree said.

The new 669,000-square-foot Terminal B features a modern steel and glass architecture with spacious waiting areas for the 19 new gates. The high-tech terminal includes more than 20 self check-in ticketing kiosks along with four baggage claim rotundas.

The main difference between Terminal A and the new Terminal B is that arrivals and departures are on separate levels in the new terminal, making it more convenient for people to drop off and pick up travelers.

“This will now be the central terminal,” said Phil Mein, lead planning architect for Corgan Associates. “If we need to expand in the future, we’ll build additional concourses. We have plenty of room. The plan is for this to last at least 50 years.”

Along with more than 40,000 square feet of concession space, the new Terminal B boasts more than $8 million in public art projects – money well spent, some local art enthusiasts say.

“This is fabulous,” local attorney Steve Felderstein said of the terminal interior. “Between the Crocker Art Museum and this, we’re transported to a wonderful place.”

Mein also described some of the energy-efficient features of the terminal, including windows and skylights controlled with louvers to keep the heat out while letting in plenty of natural light.

Another interesting feature of the terminal is the redwood beams in the ceiling.

The wood is old-growth redwood that was harvested in northern California in 1919 and 1920, and used to build the Franklin-Thornton bridge in the southern part of Sacramento county, according to Acree.

When the bridge was deconstructed in 2003, the Sacramento Department of Transportation had plans to sell it, so the wood was kept in storage at Franklin Airfield – until Acree came along and decided that he could put it to good use in the Terminal B project.

“We took the wood and made part of our past into part of our future,” Acree said. “It’s salvaging a piece of material that you really can’t recreate, and putting it to a functional use and captured a part of our history.

Acree said the terminal project began with an original budget of $1.08 billion, and ended up $65 million under budget – and four months ahead of schedule.

“We did the right things and we did them the right way,” Acree said.

Acree added that now that the new terminal is moving into operational mode, it will mean another 225 jobs for the area.

Brent Kelley, design director for the Big Build Program from Corgan Associates, officially opened the terminal by sharing a toast with the crowd:

“Here’s to the newest, most modern and easiest to use airport facility in the country. May it forever change the history of Sacramento. May it bring prosperity to the community and be a source of pride for Sacramento. Cheers!”

Airlines with stations at the new Terminal B will include Aeromexico, American, Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue and Southwest.

“It’s a beautiful terminal,” City Councilman Steve Cohn said, “but the true test will be how it works for customers. It may be pretty, but more importantly, it’s got to work.”

The new terminal building will receive its first travelers late Wednesday evening from incoming flights, and the first departures out of the new terminal will take off at 6 a.m. Thursday.

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

City vending machines to have healthier choices soon

2011-09-28T06:38:33Z

The City Council unanimously approved a recommendation Tuesday to develop a vending machine nutrition policy that requires at least 50 percent of products sold in machines in city-owned facilities to meet an approved healthy requirement.

“I think it’s something that’s necessary,” Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy said Tuesday. “It would be nice to have better choices at community centers where our kids are. I think this is something our communities need.”

The new vending machine nutrition policy will set parameters for sodium, sugar and calorie content of food and beverages available in all vending machines. It would also require beverage choices to include ample variety of water, low-fat milk and soy milk, or other similar dairy or non-dairy milk.

The policy will allow soda, sports drinks and diet sodas to be sold from vending machines, but still “ensures the public and employees have access to healthy vending alternatives,” said Mark Prestwich, special projects manager for the city manager's office.

Approximately 50 city operated vending machines are located in city community centers, corporate yards/office facilities, the city marina and city parking lots or garages, according to the staff report.

Prestwich said that two-thirds of vending machines are in city-owned facilities that are not accessible to the public. Parking garages and community centers take up the remaining third.

In July, the City Council joined the California League of Cities in a Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) cities campaign. One of the goals of the HEAL campaign is to support employees in evaluating food choices by providing healthy food alternatives in vending machines located in city-owned or leased facilities.

Prestwich told council members that developing a nutritional policy for vending machines would be a step toward reaching that goal.

“Cities and residents are facing increased health care costs and diminished quality of life due to the epidemic of obesity and being overweight,” Prestwich said. “A healthier nutritional policy (for vending machines) will help promote public health.”

City staff outlined out vending machine nutrition policy alternatives ranging from “no policy” to a “100 percent healthy content” policy for council members to consider.

A 100 percent policy would require that all products in vending machines meet the set healthy requirement. No soda or sports drinks could be included in the selection, however zero-calorie diet soda and diet sports drinks could be included.

“I think we’ll be moving in the direction of making sure our vending machines have healthier options, even if we aren’t going cold turkey and going with a 100 percent healthy policy,” Councilman Kevin McCarty said.

Council woman Bonnie Pannell said she supported a 50 percent policy because it is “a fair compromise” between “doing nothing and going all out.”

Councilman Steve Cohn said a 50 percent policy would “create real choices” where he feels none currently exist with vending machines.

“I don’t see ‘choices’ in those machines,” Cohn said. “Cookies and soda and sugar drinks – it’s a choice between a lot of sugar and way too much sugar. That’s not a choice.”

One opponent of the measure told council members that making food choices a policy issue would inhibit consumers’ freedom to make their own decisions.

“People should be able to choose whatever they want to drink or whatever fits their needs,” Sacramento resident John Swain said.

Another opponent said creating a nutritional policy for vending machines would limit the flexibility for vending operators to offer products of their choice.

“We believe that the ability to choose should rest with our consumers, not be mandated by policy,” said Gary Watson, a Coca-Cola Bottling Company representative.

Councilwoman Angelique Ashby agreed.

“I think these things should be consumer-driven,” Ashby said. “It’s really about access. The decision lies with the person who is putting their money into the machine.”

Ashby said that Sacramento is “leading the way” to making sure people have healthy options, but she didn’t want to create a policy that would tell people what they could or coulnd’t spend their money on.

“We are looking for balance here,” Ashby said.

Prestwich said that pursuing a new vending agreement for city-operated facilities would also allow the city to reduce energy usage and incorporate technological advances such as the ability to pay with debit and credit cards.

The city pays the energy costs of machines placed in city-operated facilities, Prestwich said, and this would be an opportunity to reduce energy usage by implementing a requirement that any new machines have an Energy Star certification.

New vending machines with Energy Star certification are up to 50 percent more energy efficient than standard machines, according to the staff report.

State legislation passed in 2005 (SB12 and SB965) that raised food standards and mandated compliance to higher-standard nutritional policies for schools throughout the state.

Although only vending machines placed at schools fall under the mandate of those laws, many cities that have adopted nutrition policies for their vending machines voluntarily set SB12 and SB965 as the standard to meet in their policies – regardless of the machine location.

Sacramento’s new nutritional policy for vending machines in city-owned facilities will fully satisfy the requirements of SB12 and – because it allows sodas and sports drinks along with other healthier choices – will partially fulfill the requirements of SB965.

The City Council directed staff to write a nutritional policy as a standard for all vending machines at city-owned facilities and to issue a request for proposals for new city vending service contracts.

Staff will review proposals they receive and bring a recommendation to the City Council for approval.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacrameto Press. Follow her on twitter @MelissaCorker.

City Council rejects possibility of a fifth cardroom license

2011-09-21T06:22:38Z

The City Council voted 5-3 against allowing a fifth cardroom license within city limits Tuesday.

“The question is simply: Do we want 15 more tables of gaming somewhere in the city?” asked Councilman Rob Fong before the vote. “For me, the answer is no.”

Sacramento city code currently allows a maximum of four licenses – all four of which are held by open cardrooms in the city.

Bill Hamilton, owner of the Old Tavern Bar and Grill in Midtown, used to have a cardroom license in the late 1990’s but let it lapse.

The Gambling Control Commission recently adopted a regulation to allow some expired and inactive cardroom licenses to be reactivated under certain conditions.

Gambling licenses in the state expire if they are not renewed every two years, or they can become inactive if a license holder fails to make required quarterly “table operation” fees.

One of the conditions to reactivate an expired license is proving to the commission that the cardroom would be legal under local law. As it stands in Sacramento, the legal limit has been reached for number of allowable cardrooms.

Of all the expired or inactive licences in the state, the commission found only nine licenses in California that met the criteria for reactivation – and just one of those is in Sacramento.

It belongs to Hamilton.

Even though Hamilton is eligible to reactivate the license, he can’t do it unless the city code is changed to increase the maximum number of cardrooms in the city.

The Law and Legislation committee reviewed the current cardroom ordinance Aug. 16 and referred the question of increasing the limit to the full City Council for a decision.

Clark Rosa, owner of Capitol Casino on 16th Street, said Tuesday that when he and Hamilton heard of the new state regulation, they decided to collaborate on opening a new cardroom downtown if the city license ordinance was changed in Hamilton’s favor.

“I will operate, fund it and run it,” Rosa said, “and Bill (Hamilton) will have a portion of it.”

Initially, Rosa said, he and Hamilton were considering locating the new cardroom in a space at 15th and L Streets, near de Vere’s Pub across from the Capitol.

That idea changed, Rosa said, after taking a closer look at opportunities near the 700 and 800 blocks of K Street.

“We’re looking at downtown and only downtown now,” Rosa said. “We don’t want to be anywhere else.”

Specifically, Rosa and Hamilton had their eyes on a corner space at the Westfield Downtown Plaza that used to house the Hard Rock Cafe.

“They’re putting in bars, restaurants, housing and businesses,” Rosa said about redevelopment efforts underway along those city blocks.

“What you’re looking at is an entertainment center for Sacramento,” Rosa said. “What better than a cardroom and sports bar combination right there?”

Seven people made pubic comment on the proposed ordinance change at the council meeting Tuesday – and not all of them were as enthusiastic as Rosa about having a cardroom downtown.

“I want to be clear that I am against (a fifth cardroom),” Sacramento homeowner Clint Trocchio, told council members.

“It is not synonymous with any urban renewal program that I can recall,” Trocchio said. “It’s not a business activity that I would attach to Sacramento’s excellent urban reputation, and it’s not a storefront that I would show to my guests.”

Shelby Moranville, a representative of the Residence Inn at 15th and L streets – near Rosa and Hamilton’s initial location choice – warned council members about the potential for increased crime if another cardroom is opened in the city.

“(Cardrooms) attract a certain element of crime and that can’t be avoided,” Moranville said. “For every dollar the city makes from another cardroom, 95 cents will be spent policing the venue.”

Sacramento Police Chief Rick Braziel, who appeared at Tuesday’s meeting to give council an update on police department activities, was called on by council members to respond to concerns about cardroom-related crime.

Braziel told council members that local grocery stores have a greater number of police service calls than all four of the current cardrooms combined – nearly 10 times as many.

“The crime volume (associated with cardrooms) is very very low,” Braziel said. “In the past nine months, there was 19-34 calls between the four cardrooms. Grocery stores go from 42-400 in a single year.”

Councilwoman Angelique Ashby said she thinks the fifth license and a new cardroom would be a great opportunity for jobs downtown.

“We have so much coming in to create a unique entertainment center downtown,” Ashby said. “For me, this is about jobs. (Rosa and Hamilton) are not asking us for one red penny – they are asking us to give them the opportunity to continue to do a good job (running a cardroom).”

As the discussion continued, council members expressed the greatest concern about the potential location of a new cardroom.

Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy said she had “serious heartburn” about the proposed Westfield Downtown Plaza location.

“I think of malls as a family-oriented place,” Sheedy said. “I don’t think a cardroom fits there.”

Council members Rob Fong, Sheedy, Kevin McCarty, Darrell Fong and Bonnie Pannell voted against the proposed ordnance change, leaving the current license limit in place.

Council members Ashby, Steve Cohn, and Jay Schenirer were in favor of changing the ordinance. Mayor Kevin Johnson was absent from the meeting Tuesday.

Without the possibility of a fifth cardroom license in the city, Hamilton cannot pursue reactivation of the expired license he previously held.

After the meeting, Rosa said he was disappointed with the council’s decision.

“That’s the end of it,” Rosa said. “Before (Hamilton and I) could work on getting the (cardroom) license, we first had to get past this hurdle.”

Rosa said they will not be pursuing an appeal to council to change the decision.

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.

It's official: New map changes district boundaries until 2021

2011-09-07T09:13:23Z

The City Council voted 6-3 Tuesday night in its final redistricting vote, keeping a map that has been hotly protested over the past weeks, leaving hundreds of people sad and angry – and ready to cast ballots in June to prove it.

With a vote identical to the one on Aug. 23, the City Council approved a final redistricting map – a revised version of a map called “NeighborhoodsTogether 2.0”– that puts the the downtown railyards in the same district as East Sacramento, divides South Land Park at Fruitridge Road and makes the Central City one district.

And – against the vehement opposition of residents, business people, students and community leaders – it is a map that takes the UC Davis Medical Center out of Oak Park.

At each of three prior council meetings, members of the public showed up in force to loudly oppose proposed new district boundaries. The Aug. 23 meeting in particular saw a record 103 people signed up to comment on the subject.

Just before public comment began Tuesday, Mayor Kevin Johnson set the tone for the discussion, saying, “I hope we will let civility rule the day.”

Audience members held their applause between speakers and raised brightly colored signs to show their approval of some comments.

“All of the political deals have already been made,” said Oak Park resident Julie Mumma. “Set aside your politics. If you were judging this as unbiased jurors in a court of law, you’d look at the evidence, and you’d do the right thing.”

The 375 people in attendance was less than the 600 to 1,000 that City Hall staff and security had anticipated.

Although a few commenters spoke about the downtown railyards or South Land Park or Del Paso Heights during the five-hour council meeting, an overwhelming majority of speakers Tuesday voiced their opposition to the proposed shift of the Med Center out of Oak Park.

By the time public comment concluded, 76 people had spoken, all in opposition to the proposed map.

Things got heated between council members as they began deliberating on the map and responding to public comments and to each other.

“We can’t deny the economic impact on the region and the city as a whole, but (the Med Center) sits on 140 acres, embedded in my district,” Councilman Kevin McCarty said, in defense of the map. “It’s our neighbor first and foremost.”

Johnson focused on equalizing population as the “primary goal” of redistricting, and asked McCarty what putting the Med Center in McCarty’s district would do for balancing population.

“There are other things to consider besides equalizing population,” McCarty responded.

When Johnson pressed further, it was Councilman Steve Cohn who spoke up to say the district location of the Med Center might not affect population “much,” but other criteria for drawing district maps – such as communities of interest and natural, geographic boundaries – was “also very important” to the process and shouldn’t be ignored.

Although the most pronounced issue of the evening surrounded Oak Park and the Med Center, each council member took a few minutes to address the audience to talk about impacts of redistricting to their own districts.

“I honestly believe that everyone up here is doing what they truly think is the right thing to do,” Councilwoman Angelique Ashby told the audience.

Throughout public comment, council members were reminded that they are elected officials and there were many suggestions of recall or failure at the next election.

“I believe there will be a petition going around after this is all done,” Meadowview resident Ray Park told Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell, “and you’re not going to like it.”

In one brief exchange with audience members, Pannell quickly addressed any concerns about her political future.

“(Former City Councilman) Sam Pannell died in 1997,” Pannell said. “ I am Bonnie Pannell and I’ve made my own way with my district. If anyone doesn’t like how I’ve done things, I’ll be on the ballot in 2012.”

One audience member called out, “We’ll see you there!” to which Pannell responded, “I’ll see YOU there. Thank you.”

By the time all council members had an opportunity to express their opinions on the proposed map, it was clear that each was standing firm in his or her previous vote on Aug. 23.

“I think you can already read the tea leaves for how this vote is going to go,” Johnson said before the vote was taken Tuesday.

“To the faith community, I want to thank you for showing up,” Johnson said. “For the business people, the students and the community at large – this was a powerful act of democracy in action. You did your part.”

Johnson said the council couldn’t justify its vote and the result would be “a real loss” to communities.

As each council member answered to the roll call vote, audience members reacted with sighs and heads shaking in disappointment.

New district boundaries become official on Oct. 6, according to city staff.

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

City chicken ordinance passed by City Council

2011-08-31T07:23:36Z

The City Council passed the backyard hen-keeping ordinance after nearly two years of discussion in an 8-0 vote Tuesday night.

The ordinance, set to take effect November 1, will allow people within city limits to keep up to three hens in their backyard as long as the enclosure is 20 feet away from the nearest neighboring residence, and a license fee of $10 per household and permit fee of $15 per chicken is paid annually.

To read the ordinance, click here.

After 18 members of the community spoke in support of the council adopting the ordinance, and two in opposition, all members of the council voted in favor of adopting the ordinance except one, councilman Darrell Fong, who was not present at the meeting due to a family vacation.

Councilwomen Angelique Ashby, Sandy Sheedy and Bonnie Pannell said that they still have concerns about passing the ordinance, but that they will pass it, holding their caution, and check back in six months.

“I am willing to give it a chance; I’m willing to make sure that we have a report back so that we know it’s working or that it isn’t working, and we can make a final decision at that time,” Sheedy said.

Ashby said her concern was around the question of enforcement, which Reina Schwartz, director for the Department of Animal Care Services, said will be based on complaints by neighbors.

“We either need to do some education, or we need to make sure that the ordinance can be enforced, because we have a quality-of-life issue here on both sides. I want to give people that opportunity,” Ashby said, “but I don’t want that decision to have a negative impact on the quality of life for people who don’t want to have chickens in their backyard.”

Kenneth Caldwell, a resident of Land Park, was one of the few who spoke up in opposition to the ordinance, stating findings from research he conducted on the possible problems that could come from raising chickens in the city. One reason he gave was that chickens could be carriers for a number of diseases, including Avian Influenza and Coccidia.

“Coccidia is a parasite that chickens can contract and can be tracked through their feces,” he said, “The ordinance only indicates that it has to be contained where it can’t smell, and gotten rid of in some appropriate manner,” which he said will end up in our garbage cans, our streets, and then our water.”

Charles Luce, a chemist with a background in antibiotic research who has spoken up in the past in opposition to the ordinance, said, “Hong Kong has a ban- the reason is that they are afraid for the disease to be mutated and translated easily.” If it is, he added, it would be the worst epidemic ever.

“(This disease) has been circulating in Asia since 2003,” said Dr. Glenna Trochet, the county’s Public Health Officer. “It is very deadly, but the likelihood that chickens who are covered is low, and they would need to be exposed to the feces of wild birds.”

Experts she has consulted with multiple times on the topic also added that if the virus were to become transmissible between human beings, it would be brought to the United States by the people.

Many who spoke were for the passing of the ordinance, and multiple representatives of CLUCK (Campaign for the Legalization of Chicken Keeping) spoke at the meeting on the environmental benefits of raising chickens, as well as the sustainability practices it promotes through the education behind where one’s food comes from.

“Yolks from fresh eggs are more nutritious and less expensive in these difficult economic times,” said Joe Calavita, a member of CLUCK. “Chickens can live on one bag of feed and landowners have gardens- you can use that for organic manure. Chickens also eat bugs which eliminates the need for pesticides.”

Councilman Steve Cohn, who has been working with advocacy groups like CLUCK for the last two years, commended everyone who spoke on either side of the issue, and thanked the supporters of the ordinance for their patience.

“I’m glad that we’re finally here,” he said, commenting on the long haul everyone on the council went through to get the ordinance passed, “it’s certainly consistent with the city’s sustainability plan.”

Community centers get $459K to keep their doors open

2011-08-27T01:32:30Z

Community centers in Sacramento got a boost Tuesday when the City Council approved more than $459,000 in funding to close the gap between what the centers have and what they need to stay open until next year’s budget is passed.

Council members voted unanimously to take $459,188 from the city’s Economic Uncertainty Reserve – money that initially came from cell phone tower profits in each district – to pay for labor, supplies and services necessary for the remainder of the fiscal year.

The total funding necessary to maintain operation of the city’s 15 community centers was $917,000 in the 2010-11 fiscal year, according to Dave Mitchell, division manager for the Dept. of Parks and Recreation.

When the City Council passed the 2011-12 budget, there were more than $39 million in cuts, reducing or eliminating services throughout the city, including the funding needed to keep community centers open.

When department staff made their presentation to City Council in May, Mitchell said, they told council members that, by partnering with community organizations and re-assigning staff, they could come up with $457,812 of the $917,000 needed to keep the centers open.

“But we still needed $459,188 to keep the lights on,” Mitchell said.

Throughout the budget process, members of the public came to City Council meetings to express their concern for the fate of the community centers and public pools and to ask council members to minimize budget cuts that would affect those facilities.

“Our kids need safe havens, centers of collaboration and meccas of education,” said Mark Howard at the June 7 City Council meeting. Howard is the director of Target Resources, a youth and parent-focused nonprofit organization.

“If we close the centers, what is their alternative?” Howard said. “Closure is not an option.

Rick Jennings, a South Sacramento resident, told council members at a June council meeting that kids see the centers as “a place to play,” seniors see them as “places to socialize” and parents see them as “safe places” for their children after school.

“We’ve invested millions of dollars in these centers,” Jennings said. “As a community, we will find a way to keep the doors open.”

After much debate about center funding, the City Council ultimately directed Interim City Manager Bill Edgar to work with Jim Combs, director of the Department of Parks and Recreation, which oversees the city’s community centers, to find some way to keep all of the centers open – without the $459,000 of funding needed to fill the gap.

Edgar and Combs were faced with a dilemma.

“We were told to keep (the centers) open,” Edgar told council members Tuesday, “but you didn’t give us any money to do it.”

So, they had to get creative, Edgar said.

Combs and city staff from the Neighborhood Services Department began reaching out to private and nonprofit groups to create partnerships with the community that would keep the centers open.

Community partners such as charter schools, local charity organizations or nonprofits would pay rent on the facilities and provide services to the community such as classes and recreational activities, Combs said, and the city would pay the costs of operational needs such as electricity, maintenance and other basic services at each facility.

“It’s not reasonable to expect the nonprofits to pay for (that),” Combs told council members Tuesday. “So we’re going to need some money.”

Edgar and Combs recommended that the city augment the new community partner agreements with enough funds to pay for basic utilities and larger maintenance projects.

“We know you don’t like to spend money,” Edgar said, “but in order to comply with (your) request, we felt this was important at this time.”

Councilman Steve Cohn said the entire council is committed to keeping both pools and community centers open “as much as we can.”

Cohn said city staff is working on ideas to do that, so volunteers and community members who support and use the centers should “definitely not give up.”

The Parks Department is in negotiation on four leases and partnership agreements, Combs said, and with additional community outreach, staff will be able to find more businesses and groups interested in working with the city to keep the centers open.

“The Parks Department director has done a remarkable job in scrambling to line up lessees,” said Craig Powell, president of the local political watchdog agency Eye on Sacramento, at the council meeting Tuesday, “and several other (partnerships) that are in the incubation stage.”

As part of its mission to “look out for the public interest,” Eye on Sacramento monitors how City Council handles both revenue and spending, Powell said.

Powell congratulated council members for taking cell phone tower revenue out of council members’ discretionary funds and putting it into emergency fund for “just this sort of thing.”

The approved funding, along with the community partner support, will meet the minimum costs of keeping community centers operating for the remainder of the year – but not beyond that.

“It sets a baseline of operation until next year,” Councilman Kevin McCarty said.

Further funding will have to be approved in next year’s budget for the centers to continue operating beyond 2012.

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

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.

River District shares 2010 annual review

2011-08-20T00:54:15Z

With nearly $450 million invested in development projects so far, the River District is moving ever closer to realizing its potential for being a valuable transit, business and community hub for the Sacramento region.

Business leaders, City Council members and members of the River District association gathered Thursday to hear the latest progress report on development efforts for 750 acres along a 2.5-mile stretch of riverfront that is currently residence to industrial, retail and office uses and about 400 homes.

The event, hosted by the River District board of directors and attended by more than 80 people, was an opportunity to learn about recently completed development projects and get news about upcoming projects.

“A lot of things have been completed and a lot of things continue to progress,” said Patty Kleinknecht, executive director for the River District association.

Kleinknecht pointed out numerous completed projects in the area including the new CHP headquarters at North 7th Street, the California Lottery headquarters that moved to its current 10th Street location in July and the new Greyhound facility which opened on Richards Boulevard the same month.

Development plans for the River District for the next 25 years include more than 8,000 residential units and nearly 4 million square feet of office space, along with light industrial space, retail and wholesale space and more than 3,000 hotel rooms.

“We’re trying to create a multi-use, transit-oriented area so people can live, work and play here,” Kleinknecht said. “We’re actually building this area to make the Sacramento city center stronger.”

Thursday’s event was held inside the warehouse of Party Concierge, an event staging and supply company that is known for producing larger-than-life props for conferences, weddings, and corporate parties.

“(Tonight) is a celebration of progress,” Kleinknecht said. “What better place to have the event than at a River District business for parties?”

Steve Goodwin, president of the River District association said the theme of the evening was “building, investing in, connecting and celebrating the River District,” and he has had positive feedback on area projects so far.

“There is a momentum going,” Goodwin said. “The things we’re building – the Green Line, Township 9, Powerhouse Science Center – all of these are good investments in our economy.”

Goodwin said the River District owes its success to “collaboration and to partnerships” and praised the diversity of business interests represented in the district.

“From almonds, automobiles and antiques to water, windshields and warehouses,” Goodwin said, “our businesses support our district and Sacramento’s economy and they will continue to do so as these projects continue.”

The River District Specific Plan is guided by the city’s 2030 General Plan and provides a tangible guide for issues such as street layout, zoning and land use.

River District representatives expect the next few stages will be completed quickly, although there is still work to do.

“Township 9 is underway and we’ll keep making progress on it,” Kleinknecht said, “and, of course, the Richards/I-5 interchange and the Regional Transit Green Line are under construction.”

The RT Green Line may be open as early as February 2012, Kleinknecht said, and the improvement project at the Richards/I-5 interchange should be finished in 12 to18 months.

Kleinknecht added that, just about the time when the Richards/I-5 interchange finishes, an upgrade to the Sacramento water treatment facility will be ready to begin.

Councilwoman Angelique Ashby was on hand Thursday to tout the latest achievements of development efforts in the River District – and to introduce the crowd to the man who may very well be their next City Council representative: Steve Cohn.

If the City Council finalizes the redistricting map that was approved on Aug. 9, the River District would be included in District 3, which Cohn represents.

“I’m always looking for a reason to cheer and point at Sacramento and say, ‘See! We’re doing it right.’ ” Ashby said. “The River District gives me plenty of reason to do that.”

Cohn said the River District has “great potential” and he would be honored to represent the district on City Council.

“The whole council thinks of the River District as important,” Cohn said. “It’s not just one council district – it’s important to the whole city.”

River District Specific Plan information is available here.

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

Editorial Note: A correction has been made to one of the photo captions. The photo with Angelique Ashby is with John Nicolaus not John Nicodemus.

City Council vs. the Brown Act

2011-08-19T05:21:22Z

As the current redistricting effort in Sacramento reaches critical mass, it’s time to talk about the elephant in the room: Did City Council members break the law as they navigated their way from map to map to “2.0”?

If the council has done its work outside the public view or in some way impeded the public’s ability to participate fully in the process, the answer may be yes.

After the Citizens’ Advisory Committee on Redistricting spent months vetting maps submitted by the public, council members took the project in a new direction – a direction that has created an atmosphere of mistrust and raises questions about how the council is deciding on new electoral boundaries.

When the City Council was suddenly presented with a new map at its Aug. 9 meeting, council members quickly passed it with a 6-3 vote.

Too quickly, some say.

If the council came to its consensus ahead of the public vote by way of behind-closed-doors discussions involving a majority of council members (four or more), that would be in violation of the Brown Act.

According to the Brown Act, legislative bodies exist for the purpose of conducting the people’s business, and that business must be done in open meetings where members of the public are allowed to participate.

That means that members of a governing body cannot privately make decisions on the public’s business – including redistricting.

The idea of “open meetings” may seem pretty simple, but sometimes it can get a little tricky.

“If a majority developed a meeting of minds on the subject through a sequence of meetings, each less than a majority but linked in an effort to develop consensus,” said Terry Francke, an attorney for the nonprofit group CalAware, “that would be a serial meeting violation of the Brown Act.”

A serial meeting, according to a summary of the Brown Act by the California Attorney General’s office, occurs as either a “daisy-chain” sequence (Member A contacts Member B, Member B contacts Member C, Member C contacts Member D and so on), or a “hub-and-spoke” sequence where a staff member (the hub) communicates with members of a legislative body (the spokes) one by one to come to a collective concurrence.

In either event, a violation of the Brown Act occurs because the serial meeting deprives the public of an opportunity to participate in decision making.

Councilmen Steve Cohn and Kevin McCarty – two of the six council members who voted to approve the 2.0 map – have each denied that consensus came from serial meetings.

Cohn said in an interview this week that council members “know the rules of the Brown Act” and the council “acted well within its bounds.”

Cohn said that, although members of the council did have opportunity to discuss the Neighborhoods 2.0 map before it was presented at the Aug. 9 meeting, he only conferred with two other council members – Sandy Sheedy and McCarty – not a majority.

McCarty also denied any Brown Act violation in discussions about the map.

“Steve (Cohn) had shared some of the concepts of 2.0 with me,” McCarty said in an interview on Monday. “Under the Brown Act, we could only talk to a few council members and (Cohn) was one of the few that I decided to talk to.”

McCarty said he spoke to two other council members about the map, but declined to say which two.

Council members Sheedy, Bonnie Pannell, Rob Fong and Darrell Fong – the remaining votes in favor of the 2.0 map – did not return calls by Thursday for comment on the matter.

The Brown Act does more than require the public’s business to be conducted in open meetings; it also gives the public the right to participate in meetings.

Every agenda for any regular public meeting must allow the public to speak on any item of interest, and the public must be allowed to speak on that specific item of business before or during consideration of it.

When Cohn introduced his 2.0 map on Aug. 9, he did so after public comment had concluded, and there was no opportunity for the public to discuss the new map before a vote to approve was taken.

Cohn denies this was a violation of the Brown act because the map was not “new,” rather a “revision of maps presented at a meeting two weeks earlier.”

Even if it’s not a violation of the Brown Act, presenting the map after the public comment concluded and then voting without any further public comment “would add weight to the suspicion that the goal was to bypass public participation,” Francke said.

Mayor Kevin Johnson spoke about the redistricting process in Sacramento at a press conference Tuesday and said that the best interests of the community weren’t held as “paramount” to the council.

“It wasn’t held as high as (the) self-interest of officials,” Johnson said. “When maps appear without any input at all – that’s just not the best of Sacramento, in my opinion.”

Sometimes, in the course of making public comment, members of the public may bring up an item that is not on the agenda, and this can create another sticky situation for council members.

The Brown Act states that if a member of the public brings up something not on the agenda, council can “briefly respond,” or refer to staff for more information or direct staff to place the issue on a future agenda. The council members cannot, however, engage in any discussion of the matter.

During public comment at Tuesday’s council meeting, one audience member asked council members a question about redistricting that went unanswered. When the audience demanded a response, Cohn said the council “is not allowed to discuss matters not on the agenda.”

This caused an uproar in the audience because, less than 30 minutes earlier, both Cohn and Rob Fong had responded to public comment made by County Supervisor Jimmy Yee on the very same item not on the agenda.

Were the council members’ prior responses with Yee a violation of the Brown Act?

If Cohn’s and Fong’s responses to Yee can be construed as “discussion” of the matter, the answer may arguably be yes.

When asked about the process that the council has gone through for redistricting, Cohn said the council has acted appropriately and legally.

“People like to scream about process,” Cohn said. “If (the Aug. 9 vote) had been the final vote, I’d understand, but people still have an opportunity to comment. It’s not being done in secret here.”

According to the Attorney General’s summary, certain violations of the Brown Act are misdemeanors.

Just about anyone can bring legal action against a legislative body for violations of the Brown Act, but the challenger must prove they are damaged or “prejudiced” as a result of the alleged violation.

Generally, governing bodies that violate the Brown Act will rescind the action that caused the violation and start over.

Read a summary of the Brown Act here.

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

City Finance Division audit finds lost revenue potential

2011-08-18T01:39:21Z

Is the city of Sacramento losing out on an opportunity to bring in more revenue? According to the most recent city audit, the answer is yes.

In a report to the City Council Tuesday, City Auditor Jorge Oseguera outlined four areas for needed improvement in the Revenue Collections department of the city’s Finance Division, along with 12 recommendations for remedying the problem areas.

The audit, which was started in late November 2010, found that the city could improve its cash handling procedures, that the performance measures for Revenue Division management lack efficiency and the process for collecting transfer tax revenue is inefficient.

“(The Finance Department) does have good practices in place as far as safeguarding the city’s assets,” Oseguera said Tuesday. “We’d like to see better-documented procedures so we can be more in line with the city’s expectations.”

The fourth area that city auditing staff focused on was the Transient Occupancy Tax process, and this is where a large potential for increased city revenue was found.

Transient occupancy tax (TOT) is charged by hotel operators on hotel guests who stay for less than 30 days in a room. The tax is charged at a rate of 12 percent of the room charge, according to the audit report.

Hotel guests generally pay the tax directly to the hotel operator when paying the room charge. The operator then remits the full amount of the TOT collected each month to the city.

According to the audit, nearly $17 million in TOT revenue was collected in fiscal year 2009-10, representing 6.5 percent of city tax revenue and 2.1 percent of total city revenue.

Despite TOT being such a large source of city revenue with clearly outlined penalties for nonpayment or fraud, the audit reports, this revenue has not been audited since fiscal year 1996-97.

Instead, the city relies solely on hotels’ calculations of the TOT due.

With hotel operators self-reporting the TOT they charge to hotel guests and sending the amount collected to the city, it is possible that a hotel may be operating and not remit TOT collected to the city, or that a hotel could charge unsuspecting guests the TOT and retain the additional revenue, the audit states.

The audit findings recommend auditing the TOT process to better identify potential revenue increases from applying city code as it’s written – including penalties for late payments and interest on underpayments.

The city’s last audit of the TOT process was 15 years ago, Oseguera said, and in the year following that audit, the city saw an increase in overall tax collected of more than 20 percent.

According to projections in the revenue collections audit, a TOT audit would cost approximately $83,000 – but it could mean as much as a $2.4 million increase in annual city revenues if the results are similar to those following the last audit in 1997.

According to the report, an audit of TOT revenue was attempted in 2003, but the auditing firm raised concerns about confusion between the TOT policy and city code and the audit was stopped. Since then, the TOT policy has been updated.

Councilman Steve Cohn, chairman of the city Auditing Committee, said Tuesday that the recommendations in the recent audit report are items the city should definitely follow up on – especially the collection of hotel taxes.

“(That one) could be a big-money item,” Cohn said, “so we really need to follow up quickly.”

In a response letter to the city auditor, Leyne Milstein, finance director of the city Finance Division, said she agreed with the findings of the revenue collections audit report.

Milstein wrote that she was “very pleased” with the “professional efforts” of the city auditor and his staff.

Milstein said the work on a TOT audit is scheduled to start this summer and that, although there are mechanisms in place to adequately enforce the uniform TOT per city code, the division will take steps to document the process and keep it up to date for further review by the audit department.

Oseguera said the Revenue Division has already requested the firm Muni Services to do the TOT audit. Muni Services currently has a contract with the city to provide other analyses, Oseguera said, so this audit would fall under that contract.

Although there is not yet an established timeframe for completing a review and audit of the TOT process, Oseguera said he will include it as part of the followup process that he has for all of the city’s audits.

Oseguera said he follows up every six months with audited departments to evaluate how staff went about applying any recommendations.

“We do (the followup) to ensure that none of (the recommendations) get shelved,” Oseguera said. “We continue to report back on (them) until the risks that we identified and the remedies we recommended have been fully implemented.”

The city auditor is tasked with completing three to four audits per year, and the revenue collections audit was the third and final one in the 2010-11 fiscal year.

City audits are scheduled every year during the budget process, Cohn said, and the next audits scheduled include reviews of fire inspection fees, city-wide supplemental pay, city sidewalk repair process and a 3-1-1 call center audit.

Additionally, Cohn said Oseguera and his staff are working with an outside firm to review the city’s golf course maintenance.

Cohn said council members hope to have that audit completed by the end of 2011 so a decision could be made on contracting out golf course maintenance by the middle of 2012.

Mayor Kevin Johnson said at his weekly press conference Tuesday that he has been supportive of the audit process since he came into office, and he’s pleased to see the work Oseguera and his staff are doing.

“I felt there was waste and fraud and abuse and inefficiencies and things we could do to consolidate,” Johnson said. “We are finally at that point where we’re auditing different (city) departments and every month bringing one forward.”

Johnson said the next step for the council after reviewing the audit is to act on the recommendations as soon as possible.

“For us, you gotta find ways to do more with less, especially in a down economy,” Johnson said. “There’s certain things we can do to consolidate our effort that make us smarter and more efficient and cost-effective.”

Cohn agreed, saying he thinks the audits offer good insight into the efficiency of city government and how it handles practices and procedures.

“Generally, the audits point out things that really need to be done,” Cohn agreed. “We see how we can get additional revenues or reduce costs in the (auditor’s) suggestions. It’s good housekeeping.”

Cohn added that the Audit Department is “very professional” and the fact that it is doing these audits will “make staff a little more on their toes.”

Read the Revenue Collection Audit here.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follw 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

Redistricting: Where we are, how we got here

2011-08-13T00:32:34Z

After a months-long process that started with the release of census data in March and continued with a citizens advisory committee holding public hearings on the pros and cons of 37 maps submitted by the public, the Sacramento City Council threw a wrench into the works.

Four wrenches, to be exact.

The first two were thrown during a heated city council meeting July 26 when council members Sandy Sheedy and Steve Cohn each submitted new maps of their own making to compete with the “top four” maps that the citizens advisory committee selected.

In the middle of that, one advisory committee member admitted to submitting a map of his own anonymously – a map that wound up in the final four.

Next, a Cohn/Sheedy hybrid map was introduced on Aug. 5.

Finally, just when Sacramentans thought the long process was over, yet another map emerged to trump them all on Tuesday afternoon – and the City Council immediately approved it on a 6-3 vote.

For some citizens advisory committee members, the new maps drawn by council members came as no real surprise.

Maya Wallace, a state worker who served on the advisory committee, said after the council meeting Tuesday that none of the committee members had been “naive” about the work they were doing.

“We all went into it knowing that the council was going to draw the lines the way they saw fit,” Wallace said. “It’s just disappointing that what they’ve come up with may not serve some of the communities (of interest) that (the committee) had really tried to consider.”

According to a statement from Sacramento spokeswoman Amy Williams, the committee was designed to “review, organize, analyze, and refine” redistricting proposals submitted to the city, and to “recommend preferred redistricting proposals.”

The 14-member advisory committee took up that charge as members listened to nearly 40 hours of community input on submitted maps and the impact of any changes that would come from redrawing the district lines.

Still, the City Council had final approval authority for new adopted boundaries.

Council members made the most of that authority on Tuesday by passing an intent motion to accept the newest map submitted by Cohn and accepted with minor opposition from other council members.

Community leaders who found their neighborhoods being reshaped by the new map were not as receptive.

Mike Boyd, president of the Oak Park Neighborhood Association, said he was “as shocked as (Councilman Jay) Schenirer looked” when the newest map was unveiled.

Neither Boyd nor Schenirer had seen the newest map incarnation until Cohn presented it from the dais Tuesday.

Boyd said the Oak Park Neighborhood Association had three guiding principles in mind when it submitted a map to the advisory committee: Keep Oak Park together, keep it in District 5 and keep it together with neighboring Curtis Park.

“This new map does none of that,” Boyd said.

Boyd said residents of the Med Center neighborhood don’t see themselves as separate from Oak Park, but as an important and historically valuable part of it.

“We’ve been Oak Park for many years,” Boyd said. “Some Realtor decided Oak Park doesn’t bring real home value, so they renamed it to separate it from Oak Park.”

But that doesn’t change the reality of the neighborhood, Boyd added.

“It’s quite upsetting that they think they can pick on Oak Park like this,” Boyd said. “(Neighbors) are really upset, and we’ll be there at the next council meeting to say so.”

In the north Natomas neighborhood of Valleyview Acres – which was shifted out of District 1 with the merged Cohn/Sheedy map and then returned to District 1 with Cohn’s newest map – residents are not holding their breath that they will get what they want.

“In any democratic system, the decisionmaking process can be a bit messy,” said Nick Avdis, president of Valleyview Acres Community Association.

“I don’t think anyone was under the illusion that what was recommended by the advisory committee would actually be approved by the Council,” Avdis said. “It’s just part of the process.”

Avdis said that, although he was initially surprised that the newest map was in his neighborhood’s favor, redistricting is driven by “political underpinnings that not all of us may know about,” and more changes to the map are theoretically possible before the final vote.

Avdis, who attended advisory committee meetings and lobbied on his neighborhood’s behalf throughout the process, said he isn’t taking any chances.

“I will be (at the council meeting) on the 23rd,” Avdis said. “I’m not going to risk getting blindsided.”

According to Scot Mende, the city’s new growth and infill manager, the newest map will be on the council agenda to pass for publication on Aug. 23. That means the public can still voice their opinions about the new map – but time is running out.

“It’s a little harder to make big changes when the ink is dry,” Mende said.

A final vote on the map is expected at the Aug. 30 council meeting.

Here is the most recent redistricting map.

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

Friday to be known as 'Greg Bunker Day'

2011-08-11T00:07:48Z

A longtime friend of the homeless and down-and-out, the late Greg Bunker will be officially recognized for his service to the Sacramento area at a benefit concert Friday.

A city resolution honoring Bunker for his 21 years with Francis House will be delivered Friday night.

“Greg was a generous man who left a lasting impact on our community,” Mayor Kevin Johnson said Wednesday. “He was a tireless advocate for the homeless and (worked) hard to serve those less fortunate.”

Bunker died from a heart attack last December.

“His contributions to Sacramento will surely be missed,” Johnson said.

The resolution, which denotes Friday as “Greg Bunker Day,” comes as Francis House doubles its operating hours to 35 hours per week, staying open from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, and prepares to host a Tower of Power benefit concert on Friday.

“The need now is greater than ever before,” said Faith Whitmore, Francis House executive director. “We see more and more people every day.”

She added that expanding the hours beyond what was previously offered will give more service to those in need, and it was made possible in part by a good turnout to April’s Feast for the Streets.

“It means the world to us to have Mayor Johnson speak about us publicly,” said Sandy Acevedo, Francis House’s manager of direct services. “He knew Greg, and he wants (Bunker’s) work to continue.”

Acevedo said Bunker was always passionate about helping people.

“He returned from Vietnam – he was a vet – and he immediately went to helping people,” she said. “He managed a food bank for a while, and then he took over Francis House.”

When Francis House burned down about 20 years ago, Acevedo said, Bunker was instrumental in rebuilding it.

City Councilman Steve Cohn said he thinks there are few people in Sacramento who were more dedicated to trying to help the homeless and down-and-out people than Bunker and Francis House.

“I always found him to be a very gentle and peaceful person,” Cohn said Wednesday. “Even when you were talking about difficult subjects, he had an inner peace to him that really came through.”

Cohn said that though the resolution only sets aside this year’s Aug. 12 as Greg Bunker Day, Sacramentans should not count it out for future years as well.

“He helped I don’t know how many hundreds and thousands of people through tough times,” Cohn said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if there isn’t some effort to continue to use his memory to continue his work.”

Whitmore said the nonprofit organization is inextricably linked to Bunker, and his work will go on.

“He had a lot of joy about him,” she said. “He instilled passion, compassion and joy in other people. His was a life of unending service.”

The expansion in hours at Francis House means those in need can receive new services, including life coaching, tutoring for the GED test and a childcare center people can use as they receive career counseling on-site.

Late-afternoon classes will also be provided, centering on topics involving parenting, literacy and anger management, among others.

The center will continue to provide the services it has historically, including help with obtaining California identification and settling families into apartments.

The new hours and services will go into effect Sept. 1.

According to the resolution, which can be viewed by clicking here, Francis House helped 30,000 people last year with resources and counseling, placed 1,900 people in hotel rooms and helped clients find 140 jobs.

Friday’s Tower of Power concert at the Radisson Hotel will donate all of its proceeds to the nonprofit organization, Acevedo said.

Michael Fahn of Fahn & Co., Inc., was a friend of Bunker’s, and this will be the first time Francis House has had such a large benefit concert, she added.

Tickets will be $34 and are available at Francis House, 1422 C St., until 3 p.m. Friday and at Dimple Records stores. They can also be purchased through Ticketmaster or at the door.

The concert will be at 7:30 p.m. and will include a raffle for items such as art and 14-karat gold jewelry.

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

New redistricting map as deadline looms

2011-08-09T01:46:00Z

Tuesday night could be the last chance for the public to give input on the city’s redistricting maps, even though another map was added to the mix on Friday.

The newest map is a merging of the two maps brought to the table July 26 by Councilmembers Sandy Sheedy and Steve Cohn.

Cohn said he and Sheedy decided to merge their maps, since they were so similar.

Redistricting will likely be the biggest topic of discussion at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, which will be held at 6 p.m. at 915 I St.

“This is the best opportunity for people to provide public testimony,” said Scot Mende, the city’s new growth and infill manager.

Currently, the council is looking at the four maps submitted by the Citizens Advisory Committee on Redistricting, the merged map from Cohn and Sheedy (pictured above) and the maps submitted individually by Cohn and Sheedy. The latter two maps likely won’t get much consideration, if any, in light of the new one.

“The council could, in essence, say, ‘This is the map we want. Staff, please prepare the ordinance and bring it back for adoption in two weeks,’ ” Mende said Monday.

Cohn said that is what he wants to see from the meeting.

“My goal would be to narrow it down to one map,” he said. “That would still give us time to make refinements and tweak it.”

The deadline to redraw the districts is Sept. 27.

At the contentious July 26 City Council meeting, Cohn said he introduced his map because he didn’t want to break up the neighborhoods, which he said was a problem with the four maps submitted by the advisory committee.

“I would say all four maps have problems, frankly, but the one that seemed to have the most support on the Citizens Advisory Committee on Redistricting was Map D,” Cohn said Monday.

He added that he used Map D as a starting point for his map and then altered it to bring some neighborhoods in North Sacramento and Del Paso Heights back together.

“It still keeps all of downtown and Midtown together (in District 4), but the River District and the railyards go in District 3,” he said. “That has the advantage that whoever is the council member in District 3, which is me at the moment, will have more time and will be able to focus on railyards more. The council member representing downtown and Midtown will have their hands full.”

Cohn said he and Sheedy worked together to come to the current merged version of their two maps.

Sheedy did not return phone calls Monday.

The new map came as a surprise to Nick Avdis, a neighborhood leader who lives in Valley View Acres, which is currently in District 1, but which under the new map would be put in District 2.

“I would say it’s a little bit of a concern that something arose like this sort of at the last minute before the hearing,” he said.

He added that the approximately 450 residents in the neighborhood identify more with Natomas in District 1 than neighborhoods in District 2, and issues such as levees and the possibility of nearby land annexation – both in District 1 – impact them.

“We feel our interests are better-aligned with District 1,” said Avdis, who partook in the redistricting meetings the city has held over the past five months and even submitted a map himself.

He speculated that the reason his neighborhood was put into District 2 in the new map is because Cohn and Sheedy were trying to lessen population deviation between districts.

Cohn acknowledged that the new map he and Sheedy put together isn’t perfect, adding that it’s not possible to make one that will satisfy everyone.

Currently, the merged map has a population deviation of 11.9 percent between districts. Original guidelines for the citizen-submitted maps called for deviations of 10 percent or less, but Mende said that’s not a law, and if there are reasons for the deviation that are justified, it can still be used.

The law requires that districts be evenly split by population, but it does allow for some variation. Mende added that a 10 percent deviation is a rule of thumb used as a guideline.

“I’m fairly confident that any of those seven maps would pass legal muster,” he said. “There is no perfect solution.”

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

Entrepreneurs drop 'fight bar,' look to expand restaurant

2011-07-30T00:11:40Z

The owners of a contested bar with a mixed martial arts fighting concept withdrew their application earlier this month, but neighboring residents are still concerned that new plans for the Midtown space will be the same operation by another name.

The MMA Fight Bar concept was planned by the owners of Luck’s BBQ, which at 2502 J St. is next door to the vacant space the fight bar would have taken.

The application for an alcohol license for Fight Bar was withdrawn by owners in mid-July, and the Alcoholic Beverage Control office confirmed Friday that no new application has been filed yet.

“They’ve decided to change their format there,” said Midtown Business Association Executive Director Rob Kerth. “They’ve decided to expand Luck’s BBQ.”

Kerth said trying to shoehorn another restaurant into the space is difficult, and the new idea should allow the space to be put into use much sooner.

As a restaurant, Kerth said he thinks it’s great to see new investment and improvement in the Midtown area.

“The more we have to offer, the more we expect people will enjoy coming here and living here,” he said.

Kerth added that the fight bar theme wasn’t likely to appeal to nearby residents.

“If something shows up with the name ‘Fight Bar,’ it’s not starting out setting a great impression with neighborhood leaders,” he said. “They’ve decided to rethink that concept.”

City Councilman Steve Cohn said the owners did some outreach efforts in the community that weren’t well-received.

“It seemed this concept was going to be pretty problematic right across from a senior housing complex, so they decided to hold back on that idea,” he said.

A manager at Luck’s BBQ confirmed Wednesday that the owners would be expanding Luck’s BBQ in lieu of building the fight bar, but he did not return phone calls later in the week.

Nearby residents said Friday that they are still waiting to see what the expansion will bring.

In the past, the same group of neighbors has been influential with other nearby establishements, including G.V. Hurley’s and BarWest Burgers & Wings.

Dale Kooyman, a local resident, said that he is waiting to see which type of liquor license – if any – the business applies for.

Restaurant alcohol licenses are easier to get, but bar/nightclub licenses are more expensive and must be justified, he said, adding that he doesn’t want to see the owners apply for a restaurant license only to stay open until 1:30 or 2 a.m. and operate as a bar.

“We’ll see if it’s a better outcome,” he said. “We’ll see if they’re just changing the name or changing the operation. If you’ve got 15 or 20 screens showing fights, then it’s still a fight bar, even if you call it a restaurant.”

Kooyman added that the name is immaterial.

“We don’t want a business operation that fosters MMA/martial arts,” he said. “They’re in Chicago and various places, and the bouncers can’t control the fights.”

Karen Jacques, another area resident, said she is concerned that alcohol mixed with a fight-themed bar will cause spillover troubles in the nearby residential areas, where many patrons would likely park their vehicles.

“It seems like the more we become a regional destination that is known primarily for bars, the more there is spillover,” she said.

She added that bouncers and security at bars cannot control problems that might occur on nearby streets, and with reduced police and code enforcement staff, she is concerned.

“I’m still concerned about what may go in there,” she said.

Cohn acknowledged that there may still be concerns among local residents as the restaurant expansion goes forward, but he expects they can be worked through.

“I think certainly if all parties are willing to talk to each other, there’ll be ways to work out the restaurant expansion,” he said.

He added that he doesn’t know any timeline for the expansion permit to be filed, but he expects it to be sooner than later.

“I did get the impression it was not going to be a long time,” he said. “Probably in the next couple of weeks.”

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

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.

NAG continues

2011-07-20T05:27:33Z

Neighborhood Advisory Group (NAG) isn’t going anywhere, just moving to a new location.

The Hart Senior Center, where NAG has been meeting regularly, began charging an hourly fee of $50 to rent rooms after 5 p.m. which caused some NAG members to wonder if this would be their last meeting altogether.

“NAG is not a city group, they enjoy their independence. They do, however, like the city to work with them,” said Derrick Lim, manager of the city’s Neighborhood Services Department and special events. “The items and agenda is all decided by NAG, they take their own positions.”

Monday’s meeting was held at the Hart Senior Center, 915 27th St., and the Aug. 15 meeting will be held there, too, but after August the meeting will be moved elsewhere.

About 40 people from the community attended the meeting, including three City Council members and Sacramento Interim City Manager Bill Edgar.

“NAG is too important for anything to be ending anytime soon,” said Gerald Celestine, meeting facilitator.

Edgar outlined the city’s grave budget situation in light of the economy’s negative effect on the jobs in the area. NAG members invite him to attend meetings regularly.

“We've gone through some very difficult budget hearings in the last several months,” Edgar said. “When you are on a budget of this size, there are simply things that just cannot be done.”

Edgar spoke about the 141 people that had to leave city service, 92 of them from the police force.

“We don't like laying off anybody,” said Edgar. “These are tough decisions and areas, and that's where we are at for the next five years.”

“The economy has hit Sacramento harder than it has hit other cities,” said City Councilman Steve Cohn. “Unemployment in Sacramento is among the highest in the nation.”

According to the Employment Development Department (EDD), as of April the unemployment rate had finally decreased down to 12 percent in California.

“Hopefully we can call on volunteers again to keep things running,” said Dale Kooyman, a longtime neighborhood activist.

“You can just see the difference,” said Susan Bush, a board member of the Southside Park Neighborhood Association. “The last time I was here was probably six months ago, and there used to be much more chairs lined up.”

“The city used to provide us with pizza and soft drinks, but with the way things are now they don't do that anymore,” Bush said.

Police Captain Dana Matthes gave the local Police Department activity report.

“Our crime numbers were looking good until about two weeks ago,” Matthes said. There was a recent increase in robberies around the light rail and bars and some auto burglaries. Matthes reminded everyone to lock their car doors and to not keep their valuables in their cars.

“We are working hard to make sure number one, that we are staffed enough to answer the phones immediately when people call in for an emergency and number two, that we have a fast response time,” Matthes said.

Matthes talked about how they are also putting “hot spot policing” into practice, which is where an officer will stay stationed at a particular place for approximately 10 to 15 minutes up to five times a day in order to keep an eye on the area. The department will fall back on their usual problem-oriented policing if that does not work, she said.

The hope is that volunteer police will keep up their good work on things like Second Saturday Art Walks, directing traffic, clerical work and other duties with all the recent cuts, she added.

Matthes reported that in the most recent DUI checkpoint there were six or seven arrests for DUIs and that there were also 19 DUI arrests in the last four weeks.

“This is a high number for our area,” Matthes said.

“I was only drunk probably two times in my whole life,” Celestine said. “I don't get it. People walk around totally sloshed and just continue to drink. We need the rules to be enforced.”

After announcements from the community members they gave updates on things happening around the area such as stopping some big trees from being removed on the sidewalk on 920 K St.

“Bill Edgar being here was a big deal because he took time out of his day to be here, along with the other City Council (members),” said Bill Burgua, agenda committee member. “NAG is still in good shape, all our seats are still full.”

The next NAG meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 15 and at the Hart Senior Center.

McKinley Park rose garden to get facelift in the fall

2011-07-15T03:17:47Z

With help from neighborhood volunteers and a group of rose-lovers, the rose garden at McKinley Park will be getting a facelift this fall.

The 1.5-acre rose garden, which was originally planted in 1928, will be closed from September to mid-February for renovations, including a new irrigation system, accessible walkways, planter curbs, new signs and accessible parking spaces near the garden entrance.

According to a recent historical assessment, the 83-year-old garden has not been upgraded or improved for several decades except for the rose arbors, which were replaced five years ago.

“This may be the first time (the rose garden) has ever been given this much attention,” said Claudia Bordin, a member of the McKinley East Sac Neighborhood Association.

“It’s a landmark,” Bordin said. “It’s beautiful, and people come from all over the place to see it.”

Dennis Day, a landscape architect with the Parks Department, said a construction contract has not officially been awarded for the project, but Parks Department staff will bring one to the City Council for approval in late August.

The project, estimated to cost approximately $238,000, is funded by a combination of park improvement funds and cell tower revenues from the city, along with private donations of materials and labor.

The donated materials and labor will be used for planting new rose bushes when the construction phase is complete.

“The garden was looking very tired,” said Councilman Steve Cohn, representative of District 3 where McKinley park is located. “Some of the bushes were getting very old, and weeds were becoming an increasing problem to deal with.”

The master plan for improvements in the rose garden calls for keeping the same overall design while upgrading the irrigation, adding mow curbs to separate the grass from the rose beds making them easier to maintain, and installing paved walkways to allow for greater access to people with disabilities.

Cohn said that, from an aesthetic standpoint, the garden will look the same after the renovations are complete, but it will be updated and easier to maintain.

“It’s a very elegant pattern and design,” Cohn said. “It was very clear that while everyone supported modernizing a bit, they wanted to be sure we didn’t change the historic design of it. That was very important.”

Cohn said the Sacramento Rose Society donated rose bushes, plants, and the labor to remove older rose bushes and plant new roses. The Sacramento Rose Society will also maintain the roses in the years following the renovations.

“I’m excited that we’re able to do a partnership with the Sacramento Rose Society and some of the neighborhood groups to leverage both public and private dollars, and to include a lot of volunteer effort,” Cohn said.

Private funding also came from the Friends of East Sacramento. New signage at the rose garden was purchased to match the signs at the entrance of the park at Alhambra Boulevard and H Street, and the front of the Clunie Community Center.

“I love the park,” Bordin said. “I walk my dog in the park, and neighbors have a volunteer work day once a month on a Saturday to rake and do a cleanup. I care about (the garden), and I know I’m not the only neighbor who does.”

Kurt Campbell, a realtor and homeowner who has lived in the neighborhood for nearly 30 years, said he agrees.

“I keep finding out new things about it,” Campbell said. “There’s a lot of charm there.”

According to park staff, there are currently about 60 or 70 species of roses represented in the garden, along with a variety of large and small trees and blooming annuals.

“The rose garden is a legacy that was left to us,” Cohn said. “When it’s finished, people will see that it’s going to last into the next century.”

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

Taking the politics out of redistricting

2011-07-13T06:36:18Z

When the Citizens’ Advisory Committee on Redistricting handed over its final recommendations to the City Council on Tuesday, the real work began on shaping the city for the next 10 years.

Council members were given four maps to choose from, two of which potentially pit council members against each other for control of a single district.

Whatever decision the council members make, they won’t have another opportunity to change district lines until the redistricting process begins again in 2021.

In January, the advisory committee began reviewing 37 maps submitted by Sacramento residents for redrawing district lines. By the end of June, the committee members narrowed the field to the final group of four.

“We’re going to have some tough conversations,” said Councilman Steve Cohn in an interview Monday. “It isn’t going to be easy, but it will get done, and it will get done right.”

Cohn, who represents District 3, is one council member who faces the possibility of a district line shift that would combine his district with that of another council member, Sandy Sheedy.

“It’s not about what I want for me,” Cohn said. “It’s about what’s best for the people I represent. Do I want to stay on the council? Yes, I do. We all want to keep representing the people in our districts. But we have to look at all of the options and see what’s best.”

In the other potentially contentious scenario, Districts 4 and 5 would be redrawn, putting either Rob Fong or Jay Schenirer out of a council seat.

“I think that we actually have a very collegial group,” said Fong, “and I can’t imagine that we’d be looking to adopt any map that would ‘redistrict out’ any of our current colleagues, but we haven’t really had any discussions about it.”

Fong said the biggest challenge will be honoring redistricting laws as well as the neighborhoods and the communities of interest to see if they can make everyone happy.

“I don’t know if we can,” Fong said. “It’s a bit of a Rubik’s cube, but that’s the challenge in front of us.”

Mayor Kevin Johnson praised the work of the advisory committee at his press conference Tuesday and said that having a citizens’ advisory committee “removed the politics” of redistricting from council members and let the citizens do what they think is in the best interests of the community.

“That’s good government,” Johnson said. “That’s transparency.”

Johnson said at the council meeting that the final recommendations from the advisory committee show an attempt to keep neighborhoods “whole,” or as close as possible without a lot of deviation.

“(The advisory council) did it with a blind eye,” Johnson said. “They didn’t care who was incumbent, and they didn’t care about (district) lines. It was only about neighborhoods and communities of interest.”

Maya Wallace, 33, is an auditor for the Bureau of State Audits who served as an at-large appointee on the Citizens’ Advisory Committee.

“It was fairly challenging,” Wallace said. “I felt that we needed to ensure that the process was open and transparent, and we wanted to do this in a way that was objective.”

Wallace said she wasn’t prepared, however, for the lack of knowledge she had about the politics behind the process.

“We really needed to be sensitive to the community’s concerns, especially their concerns about the process,” Wallace said.

Bill Magavern, 51, an advocate from the Southside Park neighborhood, asked the council Tuesday to choose the final map from the among the four maps the committee recommended.

“If you were to throw out (the committee’s) maps and cobble together one of your own,” Magavern said, “I think you would lose a lot of credibility with the public.”

Johnson said he hasn’t yet formed an opinion for his preference of any of the maps, but he said that he is “all in favor” of choosing one of the maps from the advisory council.

“It will validate all of the time and effort that we asked (the advisory committee) to put forward.

“If we start tampering with it,” Johnson added, “then that dilutes the process, and it’s not as authentic as citizen involvement should be.”

The questions is: Will the final decision reflect the community’s best interests – or the council’s?

“Hopefully we’ll do what’s true and respectful to the work that (the advisory committee) has done,” Johnson said.

The City Council has until Aug. 26 to make a final decision on how the new city district lines will be drawn.

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

No longer a ‘pedestrian mall,’ K Street prepares for cars

2011-07-12T02:39:31Z

On Tuesday evening, the City Council will consider revising a local ordinance that will bring the city one step closer to seeing cars on K Street for the first time in more than 45 years.

The revised ordinance will change a city code that has been in place since the early 1960s that defined the five blocks of K Street between Eighth to 12th streets as a “pedestrian mall,” closing it to vehicular traffic.

“It was something that was happening in a lot of places back then,” said Denise Malvetti, department manager at the city’s Economic Development Department. “Cities were trying to replicate the suburban experience, and they created a lot of these pedestrian malls. It was a failed experiment, though.”

Roughly 150 cities in the U.S. installed pedestrian malls in the 1960s, Malvetti said, and now about half of those have converted back to allow street traffic.

“We’ve been working on getting cars back on K Street since late 2008,” Malvetti said. “We’ve put a lot of consideration into this project, and we did a lot of outreach to the community.”

Business owners were outspoken in saying that returning cars to K Street is vital to increasing retail activity in the area, Malvetti said, but they won’t see an instant change.

“It will likely be an incremental increase over time,” Malvetti said.

City Council recently approved numerous projects intended to revitalize the J-K-L corridor, and K Street in particular, in order to stimulate economic activity in the area and bring people back to what was once a hub of activity in the city, Malvetti said.

The “Cars on K Street” project was part of a $2.7 million construction and design project approved by City Council in April 2010.

The purpose of the project, according to a staff report, is to “increase access and visibility to businesses, promote a safe environment, stimulate additional economic activity, and improve (traffic) circulation.”

“Sacramento needs to be more pedestrian-friendly,” said Councilman Steve Cohn, “but the way that part of K Street is laid out, it wasn’t working as a pedestrian-only street.”

Cohn said returning cars to K Street makes sense because it will help with traffic flow and make it easier for people to get to the businesses along that part of K Street.

In order to allow for the reintroduction of cars on K Street from Eighth to 12th streets, the city code must be amended to remove the definition of “pedestrian mall” currently applied to those five street blocks.

According to provisions in the city charter, the council must first pass the revised ordinance for publication, and then it can finalize the approval at the following City Council meeting.

This is one of the last steps before construction can begin, Malvetti said. The Department of Transportation will bring a construction contract to City Council next week for approval, and then groundbreaking can begin within the first week of August.

Design plans for the “Cars on K Street” project include creating new crossing signals at 11th and K streets, wheelchair access at intersections and the addition of edge treatments (possibly planters or street furniture) to provide a buffer between the roadway and sidewalks to increase pedestrian safety and make the blocks more visually appealing.

“Our goal is to have cars back on K Street in early November,” Malvetti said. “It’s one more step in the revitalization of K Street.”

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

Start of fiscal year means end of jobs for some

2011-07-01T01:04:59Z

Friday marks the first day of the new fiscal year for the City of Sacramento – and the last day of work for more than 200 city employees, including 42 sworn police officers.

The final city budget, which passed on June 21, included deep cuts to parks, libraries and public safety agencies and filled a $39 million budget gap.

The budget did not pass without contention, however.

Council members Angelique Ashby and Steve Cohn and Mayor Kevin Johnson each went against the budget, calling the cuts to public safety “drastic” and creating a 6-3 split vote.

“These cuts to public safety are too big. They’re way too big,” Ashby said. “Why would we cut more than we have to?”

During the proceedings at the June 14 council meeting, Cohn proposed a motion to use nearly $4 million earmarked for other purposes (including shoring up the city’s anemic reserve fund), in return for matching concessions from police and fire unions to restore cut positions.

That proposal failed 3-6, with the only “aye” votes coming from Ashby, Cohn and Johnson.

Critics of the new budget, particularly the Sacramento Police Officers Association, (SPOA), have said that Cohn’s motion was an effort at showing good faith toward the labor unions and would have eased the way to talks between union and city representatives for alternatives to layoffs.

Ashby, Cohn and Johnson agreed.

“We found a way to save as many (positions) as possible,” Ashby said during the council meeting. “I don’t understand why this council would walk away from that opportunity.”

Johnson said he feels the city has done everything it can up to this point.

“We’ve cut $200 million from our general fund over the past four years, and we can’t keep cutting,” Johnson said at a press conference Tuesday.

Johnson encouraged police and fire unions to consider concession discussions and said that “if some of our (police) officers can be saved, we should look at (Cohn’s proposal).”

Cohn said he believed his proposal was “reasonable and necessary” to restore dangerous cuts to public safety without jeopardizing the city’s contingency reserve funds.

“(It) also called for shared sacrifice,” Cohn said, “by making these funds contingent on permanent, ongoing labor concessions.”

Cohn added that his proposal relied on “added savings” developed during the budget process including keeping management staff on furloughs to pay for the public safety restorations.

“Unfortunately, a majority of the council did not agree, so I was on the short end of (the) vote,” Cohn said.

“Our police department is comprised of intelligent, compassionate people. They know how much we value them,” Johnson said. “We’re reaching out to them to have real discussions going forward.”

Although Ashby, Cohn and Johnson were not supportive of the final budget, Johnson said at the press conference that, now that the budget is in place, “We are all committed to find solutions.”

The city faces some serious financial problems over the next few fiscal years, according to a city manager staff report, including a “structural deficit (that) will persist unless additional permanent corrective actions are implemented.”

A structural deficit is when the budget has more expenses than income.

2011-2012 will be the fifth year in a row that the city has faced a budget shortfall, despite major reductions in prior years to services and personnel.

Cohn, however, is trying to stay positive.

“I’m encouraged by possible talks with SPOA and local 522 (the firefighters union),” Cohn said. “Stay tuned.”

City Council passes final budget

2011-06-22T06:51:12Z

More than 300 city positions will be eliminated in the coming year after the City Council passed a finalized city budget Tuesday night.

Despite impassioned pleas from members of the Sacramento City Crime Scene Investigation unit and local union representatives, the 14-member CSI unit and 45 sworn police officers are on the chopping block.

The budget passed on a 6-3 vote, with Council members Angelique Ashby, Steve Cohn and Mayor Kevin Johnson each voting against the measure.

The new budget incorporates $4.6 million in one-time resources to close the gap for fiscal year 2011-12. It also funnels $3.36 million into the city’s economic uncertainty reserve fund.

Betty Masuoka, assistant interim city manager, noted that discussions with labor organizations to work toward concessions are under way, however no concessions have been formalized that would impact adopting the budget.

“The budget before you is balanced, and we are asking the council to adopt it tonight,” Masuoka told council members.

According to city manager staff reports, the budget meets the City Council’s goals of developing a sustainable budget plan, carefully using one-time resources and balancing the impact of any layoffs with the benefit of service level decisions.

Masuoka said the city manager and the finance department staff will meet with the council over the next few months to discuss policy questions and strategies that arise from implementation of the budget.

The nearly 70 people in the audience were silent when the council took the final vote.

“I’m just appalled,” said Marcia Mooney, representative from the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 39. “This really hurts our CSI people and, in the end, the City is going to be worse for it.”

City Council, police union at a standstill

2011-06-21T00:55:36Z

Approval of a final city budget that includes $39 million in ongoing cuts and the elimination of 320 city positions is expected at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, but Police Department personnel aren’t holding out hope for an 11th-hour save from potential layoffs.

“The council is firm on its decision,” said Det. Mark Tyndale, Sacramento Police Officers Association (SPOA) vice president. “And we are firm in ours.”

On June 7, City Council members urged SPOA representatives to consider contract concessions for its members in an effort to relieve the burden of deep budget cuts that will have a significant impact on the Police Department and public safety personnel.

The SPOA has not made any move toward the negotiating table, however, and, according to Tyndale, union representatives have no desire to do so.

“We expect a last-minute call from the council or the city manager’s office, but it’s a not a phone call that we are going to make,” Tyndale said.

Referring to concessions the Police Department made during budget negotiations in 2009, Tyndale said that, “two years after the fact, the council has shown that they aren’t going to back up what was promised back then.”

In 2009, the union made concessions on delaying raises for department personnel for three years. Those concessions resulted in approximately $12 million in savings for the city, Tyndale said.

“We don’t believe the council will approach us (now) in good faith, and we aren’t going to open our contract to be betrayed again,” Tyndale said.

During discussion of potential department cuts at the June 7 council meeting, Councilman Steve Cohn offered a motion that would allow the City Council to use one-time funds from the Economic Uncertainty Reserve (EUR) to match pay and benefit concessions from the police and fire departments up to a total of $4 million.

The motion failed on a 6-3 vote.

“It wouldn’t have solved the problem,” Tyndale said of Cohn’s motion, “but (SPOA) would have seen it as a good-faith effort.”

Tyndale said that union members were more disappointed in how the vote was divided than the fact that the motion failed.

“Council Member Darrell Fong’s vote stings the most,” Tyndale said. “He came from our department. He knows us. He said he’d be there for us.”

Fong, the District 7 representative and a former police captain, responded in an interview Monday that, although he understands that SPOA members are upset, he stands behind his vote against the matching funds motion.

“Cohn’s motion was to give both police and fire money from the emergency reserves fund,” Fong said. “Hitting the one-time reserves isn’t something I want to do. We have to show some restraint.”

Fong, who said he will direct his City Council salary for the 2011/2012 fiscal year to the Police Department’s budget, ~~declined his $60,800 city council salary when he was elected to the council in 2010,~~ was quick to point out that both civilians and sworn officers will be laid off if this budget is approved.

“It was a tough decision I had to make,” Fong said. “I made it clear that everyone – not just police, not just fire, but everyone – needed to come together to resolve the deficit we face.”

Fong said that, going forward, he’s looking for changes that will restructure the city and avoid future deficits.

“Services have to survive, even if they’re reduced,” Fong said.

The City Council will meet Tuesday at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 915 I St., to finalize the budget for 2011-2012.

Read the City Council meeting agenda here.

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

Arena coalition studies financing options

2011-06-17T02:06:56Z

The Sacramento region will have to get creative to come up with a public-private financing plan that might work to build a new arena – possibly coming up with funding sources never tried in other cities before, a prominent sports financing expert said Thursday.

Sacramento will need a unique financing model, partly due to the community's "limitations" in size and past efforts to gain voter support for public arena funding, Barrett Sports Group owner Dan Barrett told a crowd gathered for a town hall meeting at the Central Library.

The media market is relatively small, which makes it less lucrative, and there aren't a lot of potential corporate sponsors here. Other challenges come from difficulties getting sports facilities built in California and the lack of more than one sports team tenant for the building, he added.

A regional Here We Build arena coalition has been given until Sept. 8 to come up with a funding plan that appeals to the public and the Maloofs, the Sacramento Kings’ majority owners. The coalition held its first public meeting Thursday.

City Councilman Steve Cohn, a member of the arena coalition, asked whether any successful financing models have been used to build new sports facilities since the recession began.

"There's no cookie-cutter model, unfortunately. You've got to be real creative, particularly in California," Barrett said.

Barrett did not share what new options are being considered. It's "too early in the process" to say what even some of those might be, he said.

The coalition will be working with sports facility gurus, city staff, Mayor Kevin Johnson's arena task force finance subcommittee, the ICON-Taylor Group, the Maloofs and others. At least 65 coalition members and others from the community turned out for the presentation.

Their work follows on the heels of the ICON-Taylor Group, which was given until late May to present financing options as part of a feasibility study. The group told the Sacramento City Council May 26 that it had not been able to include financing in the analysis after the Maloofs didn't turn over financial information soon enough.

Barrett and coalition chair Chris Lehane led a meeting on public-private partnerships to fund arena construction downtown. Barrett explored a range of options that have been used to build facilities in other cities.

Public funding options that have been used include sales tax, hotel tax, rental car tax, food and beverage tax, tax increment financing, land sales, and parking revenues and surcharges.

Private funding options have included equity and cash or facility-related revenue streams such as naming rights, club seats, advertising, sponsorships and corporate investment, he said.

The Maloofs announced earlier this week they have given up controlling interest in the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas to private investment firms, Texas-based TPG Capital and Leonard Green & Partners. The Maloofs agreed to turn a $400 million debt into equity by giving up a controlling share in the resort, according to various sources.

The Maloofs did not respond to requests for comment.

On the East Coast, some have used EB-5 money, which trades temporary visas for the financing of American ventures by foreign investors.

Barrett said they don't know if any of those options will be viable in this region.

Broad-based tax increases haven't been used in California. Public financing for sports facilities in this state tend to be targeted taxes, such as hotel or rental car taxes, he said.

The coalition is now trying to identify public funding options that wouldn't require a vote, said former city Treasurer Tom Friery, a member of the coalition's executive committee who helped lead the town hall presentation.

Arenas and stadiums in bigger markets – the Giants' AT&T Park in San Francisco and the Lakers' Staples Center in Los Angeles – have been paid for entirely by sports team owners. That hasn't worked for smaller markets, because the teams don't see as much revenue coming in from media deals and corporate supporters once the facilities are built, Barrett said.

"It's critical to structure a deal that makes sense financially for both parties," Barrett said. "Both parties need to come away with a deal that works."

The Here We Build Coalition and Mayor Kevin Johnson's office will hold public meetings roughly every two weeks throughout the summer. Most meetings will be held at the Central Library, 828 I St., probably at 11 a.m. But exact times and locations are still being determined, according to the arena coalition and the mayor's office.

Economic Impact on Downtown : Thursday, June 30, Time and Location TBD

Regional Impact Event : Thursday, July 14, Time and Location TBD

Leveraging Existing Assets To Create Jobs : Thursday, July 28, Time and Location TBD

Town Hall: The Future of Natomas : Thursday, Aug. 11, Time and Location TBD

Job Opportunities Directly Related to the Project : Thursday, Aug. 25, Time and Location TBD

Release 100 Day Report : Thursday, Sept. 8, Time and Location TBD

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

First step in food truck talks taken

2011-06-09T00:57:05Z

The future of mobile food trucks in Sacramento was discussed Monday night at the first in what will likely be many meetings between mobile food vendors, “brick-and-mortar” restaurateurs, city leaders and advocacy groups.

The meeting, held at The Kitchen restaurant, 2225 Hurley Way, was not open to the public, City Councilman Steve Cohn said Monday morning.

An ordinance limiting food trucks to operating within the city to 30-minute stops has been contested more vehemently lately. The SactoMoFo mobile food festival April 30 drew an estimated 10,000 people, prompting a closer look at the ordinance.

Several gourmet food trucks, including Mini Burger Truck and Wicked ’Wich, have recently begun operating in the area.

Monday’s meeting was a step in that direction.

“It was a productive meeting, and there are some issues we need to address,” City Councilman Darrell Fong said Wednesday. “There’s still a lot more work, and a lot more hurdles to get over, but I think we can make it work.”

Some of the issues raised at the meeting, attended by approximately 30 people, according to Fong, are parking, competition and making sure mobile food vendors are accountable for taxes and permit fees.

“City restaurants are struggling, too,” said Fong, whose brother is a partner in the Mikuni restaurant organization. “Sometimes they fear the competition could put them out of business. But on the other hand, it’s competition that people want, right?”

California Restaurant Association Legislative and Public Affairs Director Daniel Conway was at the meeting as well, and he said it represents an early step in moving away from the conceptual aspect of allowing food trucks to operate more freely in the city toward the reality of it.

The goal of the CRA, which has been around for about 100 years, is to be the voice of restaurants in the state and provide industry information to them, according to its website. Conway said it represents both traditional and mobile restaurants.

“I think, really, the value of Monday night’s meeting was to provide some clarity and better understanding of everyone involved,” he said. “It’s getting more concrete. Mobile operators were there, brick-and-mortar (restaurant) owners were there – a very diverse set of perspectives.”

Conway said he thinks food trucks can coexist with traditional restaurants in the city, and he pointed to other California cities, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, where food trucks are well-known.

“We have a familiarity with it that hopefully is providing value to this conversation,” he said, adding that much of the recent local information has come from news stories and rumors, which aren’t restaurant-specific or always accurate. “Everyone is striving for a balanced and reasonable approach.”

Compromise, he said, will be a part of any modification to the ordinance.

He said the truly successful food trucks in other cities are typically associated with a brick-and-mortar restaurant in some way, be they owned by one, partnered with one or have aspirations of setting up their own in the future.

“I think there’s a productive conversation that’s started,” Conway said. “I’ve seen it characterized in the press as a food fight, but that’s not the case and doesn’t need to be the case.”

Catherine Enfield, the woman behind the Munchie Musings blog and one of the organizers of the SactoMoFo festival, said the meeting was purely informational and intended to break down how food trucks operate.

“It was to dispel the myths and disinformation about the mobile food industry,” she said. “A truck is just a smaller version of a restaurant. It’s just on wheels.”

Fong said more meetings will be held in the future, likely in four to six weeks, after the city budget process has been completed.

Other council members present were Angelique Ashby, Steve Cohn and Kevin McCarty.

Fong described the two-and-a-half-hour meeting, which started at 6 p.m., as “very cordial.”

“We’ll see where this ends up,” he said. “There’s definitely a demand for it.”

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

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.

City Council aims to lessen police budget cuts

2011-05-18T15:46:54Z

The Sacramento City Council members made it clear Tuesday night that they do not want to make the $12 million in cuts to the Police Department recommended in the proposed budget. But it’s unclear at this point how the council will lessen the cuts to the department.

A crowd of police staffers and supporters, which swelled to about 400 at its high point early Tuesday evening, turned out for the City Council’s budget hearing.

The city is grappling with a $39 million budget gap for the 2011/2012 fiscal year. A total of 149 department staffers, including 80 sworn cops, would be laid off in the proposed budget, according to police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong.

The city currently has 701 sworn cops.

“Twelve million (dollars) in cuts is too much for public safety to share this burden,” Councilman Darrell Fong, a retired police captain, said.

At the end of the City Council meeting, which ran longer than four hours, six City Council members voted not to move forward with the current proposed budget of $12 million in cuts proposed by Interim City Manager Bill Edgar and Interim Deputy City Manager Betty Masuoka.

The city manager’s office is responsible for proposing the amounts of budget cuts, while Police Chief Rick Braziel is responsible for divvying up how to make the proposed cuts at the department.

The City Council makes final budget decisions.

Six of the nine council members rejected the proposed budget because three were absent.

Mayor Kevin Johnson was at the NBA draft lottery in New Jersey, representing the Sacramento Kings. Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell was mourning the recent death of her mother and Councilman Rob Fong was in Los Angeles on a business trip, according to Councilman Steve Cohn.

RE Graswich, the mayor’s special assistant, presented the following statement on behalf of Johnson:

“In Sacramento, we’re in the fourth year of a devastating budget crisis and we continue to face difficult challenges. When I ran for mayor in 2008, I said public safety would be my top priority.

“That continues to remain true today,” Graswich said. “Public safety is a core function of city government. It plays a critical role in how we operate as a full-service city.

“It’s critical that as we move forward, we continue to practice fiscal responsibility, eliminate wasteful practices, capitalize on efficiencies and make collective sacrifices to provide the service our residents expect and deserve. I look forward to continuing to work with my council colleagues and finding the best solutions to solving the budget crisis.”

Greg Galliano, a 25-year-old Sacramento police officer, was one of many department staffers who urged the council not to make the cuts. He said the department is currently dealing with “massive call volumes.”

“If we take these cuts,” Galliano said, “we’re going to experience something that we’re not going to be able to protect you from.”

Leong explained the breakdown of the proposed layoffs: Sworn cops, 80; Community Service Officers, 38; Crime Scene Investigators, 14; Supervising Dispatchers, 6; Records Supervisor, 1; Administrative and Clerical, 10.

At a press conference before the City Council meeting, police staffers held up numbers that signified they could be among the numbers of people laid off.

Read the schedule of budget hearings here. Learn about the debate over cuts to the Parks and Recreation Department here.

The City Council is scheduled to adopt the city’s budget for the 2011/2012 fiscal year on June 21.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

City considers cost savings with pension plan changes

2011-04-13T04:02:01Z

The Sacramento City Council is expected to consider cost-cutting changes to employee benefits and how they are managed in the next few weeks after an internal audit report moved forward Tuesday.

Recommendations for ways to save money are being made as the city grapples with an expected budget deficit of $35 million - $40 million for fiscal year 2011/2012. The four members of the City Council Audit Committee voted unanimously to forward a report on the completed Audit of Employee Health and Pension Benefits to the full council in as soon as two or three weeks.

City Auditor Jorge Oseguera gave a brief presentation on the report's five findings and some of its 28 recommendations to help solve issues determined by the audit. One of the findings indicates that the city's growing costs for employee pensions could be reduced if the city shares pension costs with all employees.

One recommendation would require police, fire and management personnel to pay into their retirement funds for the first time – which could save the city about $40 million over the next five years. Some committee members indicated after the meeting that they would consider supporting such a change in pension contributions.

However, employee contribution rates are set in labor contracts, so changes in employee contributions and the exact rates would have to be negotiated with labor unions.

"That's probably where we have to go," Committee Chair Steve Cohn said after the meeting at City Hall. "I think most of our labor unions understand that will be on the table. We're not trying to do a Wisconsin here where we impose things unilaterally."

City Councilman Jay Schenirer, Councilwoman Angelique Ashby and Councilman Darrell Fong are the other committee members.

Employee Pension Contributions

Like more than 1,500 other local public agencies statewide, the city of Sacramento has a contract with the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) to provide pension benefits to city employees after retirement. Contributions typically come from both employers and employees, according to the report.

The city's annual contribution toward pensions grew from $29 million in 2004/2005 to nearly $45 million in 2009/2010 – a total increase of more than 50 percent. Pension contribution increases have grown more quickly than city revenue, which decreased slightly year to year from 2004/2005 to 2008/2009, according to the report.

"The city's pension costs have increased over the last several years," Oseguera told the committee. "Unfortunately, those costs are projected to continue to increase well into the future."

The report recommends management, fire and police personnel who have not been contributing to their pensions now start contributing 4 percent, and management support employees who've contributed 2 percent also now pay 4 percent – the same rate as all other employees.

Sacramento employees are divided into two groups: safety workers (most fire and police department employees) and miscellaneous workers (most other employees, including managers).

For most miscellaneous employees, the city pays 14 percent for each employee's pension contribution, which includes 3 or 5 percent of what would normally be the employee's total 7 percent contribution – while the employee pays 4 or 2 percent to make up the difference.

However, exempt management, fire, police and other safety employees have not paid any contributions toward retirement pensions. The city has paid both the employer and employee contributions for those groups.

The total city contribution for these employees is also higher, ranging from about 18 percent for exempt management to nearly 32 percent for fire, police and other safety employees.

Such a change is expected to save the city an average of $7.9 million a year, or $39.7 million total, over the next five years, according to the report.

Representatives of firefighters, retired city employees and management not currently represented by a labor union raised questions and concerns and gave recommendations.

The audit didn't include comparative data from all six cities that it's required to, based on city population: San Francisco, Oakland, Fresno, Santa Ana, Anaheim and Long Beach, said former city Labor Relations Director Dee Contreras, who's leading efforts to unionize 677 employees including managers and administrative staff.

Dick Mayberry, who represents Sacramento Area Fire Fighters Local 522, said the city and unions agreed the city would pick up the employees’ pension contribution in lieu of raises because making pension contributions cost less in the long run.

"It wasn't a gift," he said. "That was arranged as a benefit to the city."

Mayor Kevin Johnson recognizes cost-cutting measures are needed, according to his staff in a phone interview Monday. But it remains unclear whether he would support police and fire employees making contributions to their retirement benefits.

"Public safety is our top priority. In general, we have to look at opportunities to create savings across the board," mayoral spokesman Joaquin McPeek said."We must pursue them aggressively."

Joan Bryant, director of public employees for Stationary Engineers Local 39, said she agrees with the audit's findings. She thinks non-unionized managers and police and fire personnel who don't pay for retirement have an unfair advantage over other city employees. Requiring them to contribute to their retirement funds would show there isn't "favoritism" for those employees, she said Monday in a phone interview.

"If the city were to have this group of safety employees paying a portion of their retirement, it certainly would boost the morale of the people we represent," said Bryant, whose union represents about 1,400 city employees.

Committee members also agreed that Cohn should discuss with city staff when the report should go before the council in order to give city auditor staff time to respond to concerns raised Tuesday and to coordinate a possible decision with action on the city budget. Cohn will also talk with the city attorney and others to determine if any of the issues involving labor negotiations or legal strategy need to be discussed in closed session.

Schenirer said he doesn't know how much of a contribution safety and management personnel might be asked to make to their pensions. But the city can't gloss over impacts to people's lives as it works to find answers to its financial problems, he said.

"When you're facing a $40 million deficit, we're out of easy fixes," he said. But "Those are our employees. They're human beings. Those are not just numbers. We have to think about what's behind the numbers and how that affects individuals."

Staff reporter Kathleen Haley contributed to this report. Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

Councilman wants written assurance from team

2011-04-12T00:11:38Z

Sacramento officials anticipate that if the Kings move, the $77 million in bonds issued by the city will be paid off, but City Councilman Kevin McCarty said he is concerned about when.

He said they could do one of three things: “They could move and pay back their loan, or they could move and make minimum payments for the next 15 years, or, No. 3, they could move and default” He added that he is pushing for a single lump sum payoff if the Kings do move.

He said his reading of the 1997 contract for the loan with former Kings owner Jim Thomas is that the loan must be paid in full if the Kings move, but he has his doubts.

“How are they going to pay off the city’s (loan) if they don’t have the cash right now?” he asked. “We don’t have an equal amount of collateral if it goes south. That puts us in a very precarious financial situation.”

McCarty said the collateral amounts to a $25 million stake in the Kings and ownership of Power Balance Pavilion, which was recently assessed at a value of $30 million.

“The collateral is 60 cents on the dollar,” he said.

City Treasurer Russ Fehr said Monday the contract clearly states in four different places that the loan must be paid off in full if the Kings do relocate.

“The precise timing is unclear – it ranges on when the league approves (the move) to when they play their first game elsewhere, but that’s only a couple of months. It’s not a big deal,” he said.

McCarty said the 1997 contract wasn’t enough and that he wants a written agreement from the Maloofs that the loan will be paid in full if the team does leave.

“I don’t think (the 1997 contract) has the rock-solid, 100 percent protection that we’d like,” he said.

If the loan isn’t paid in full, McCarty said he would support litigation to get the loan paid up-front.

He added that a number of problems could arise if the payments were spread out.

“We don’t want them making monthly payments for the next 15 years,” he said. “What if something goes wrong (or the NBA) has a work stoppage?”

The City Council revisited the loan agreement in September, and voted not to overturn a 2003 amendment executed by then-City Treasurer Tom Friery, which subordinated the loan behind another loan from the NBA.

In the event of the Kings going bankrupt, Sacramento would be in line after an NBA loan when it comes to repayment.

Fehr brought the matter to the council in 2010 because he said he didn’t think it was within Friery’s authority to amend the contract as he had without council approval.

“I voted no, because I thought it was a bad deal,” McCarty said. “We could be in serious trouble, and the city is much more at risk because of the action in further subordinating the loan.”

Fehr added that it only becomes an issue in the event of a bankruptcy or league downsizing.

City Councilman Steve Cohn said he voted to keep the 2003 amendment in effect because he feared the city would have been sued otherwise.

“I don’t think at the time we really had much choice,” Cohn said. “We would have gotten in litigation because the treasurer had already approved that, and it had been in place for seven years. Had I been asked to enter into that in 2003, that’s a different question.”

Both Cohn and Fehr said they want the loan to be paid back in one lump sum.

“That’s what they’re required to do,” Cohn said, adding that under any other scenario, the city would need something in return.

“I think we are entitled to be paid back a lump sum, so for us to agree to something less than that, we would need something in return,” he said, though he declined to speculate on what that “something in return” would be, but said it would be a subject for negotiations.

Fehr said the Maloofs have never missed a payment and have always provided confidential financial information required in the contract – though that information cannot be released under the terms of the contract.

“They’ve said they would pay the loan,” he said. “The league said it expects teams to fulfill their obligations, but there’s always some uncertainty. Until it’s done, it will be of great concern to the city.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

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.

Zipcar attracts car-sharing fans

2011-04-08T01:26:35Z

Mary Beth Schwehr was already well-informed about car sharing when she stopped by the Zipcar tent at Cesar Chavez Plaza on Thursday.

Zipcar, a company that provides cars for people to use for short periods of time, has been operating in Sacramento for a little over a week. Company representatives were in Sacramento on Thursday to sign up customers.

Schwehr, a Sacramento County resident, said she has an older car but uses public transit to commute to work.

“I’ve been anxious for this to come to Sacramento for a long time,” Schwehr said. “Rather than having to drive my car on a day when I have some other errands that I have to do where transit doesn’t go, I’ll use the Zipcar at lunchtime and after work ... to do some errands.”

Rachel DuBose, an air quality planner for the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality District, also checked out Zipcar’s tent Thursday.

“At the air district, we really believe in getting our employees to walk and bike and ride share,” she said.

A one-year membership fee to use Zipcars in Sacramento is $50. The application fee is $25.

From Monday through Friday, the charge to use a Zipcar is $8 per hour or $66 per day, according to Dan Grossman, the company’s regional vice president. On Saturdays and Sundays, the cost is $9 per hour or $72 per day. The hourly and daily fees are on top of the membership fee.

The membership fee includes the car insurance, Grossman said. Customers pay for gas by using a charge card provided by Zipcar.

Zipcar, which formed in 2000, operates in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. The company has 530,000 members and 8,000 cars.

Grossman said he couldn’t comment on the number of Zipcar customers who have signed up in Sacramento.

Zipcar representatives parked a Honda Insight car at Cesar Chavez Plaza to demonstrate to prospective customers how the car works.

To use a Zipcar, a member makes a reservation online or by phone. Grossman held a card over a built-in modem attached to the window of the Honda. The card unlocks the door, he said, and the customer can find the ignition key inside. The cards to unlock the Zipcars are given to members, according to Grossman.

City Councilman Steve Cohn joined the small group of people at the Zipcar tent, saying that he and the Sacramento Air Quality Management District had both advocated for a car-sharing program in Sacramento.

“What this does is it enables people that have that occasional need (to drive) not to have to invest in a very expensive car, insurance (and) all the upkeep,” he said.

Cohn said the city is now contracting with Zipcar in an effort to save costs on the city’s vehicle fleet. The city wants to scale down the number of vehicles it owns and maintains, he said. To save money on city fleet expenses, the city agreed to use Zipcar services, Cohn added.

The city also gave Zipcar the use of 10 city parking spaces, he said.

Read the list of downtown locations where Zipcars will be available.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Councilmember Steve Cohn to welcome Zipcar exec to Sacramento at company's membership day, April 7

2011-04-07T00:12:33Z

Downtown residents, employees and commuters have an opportunity to learn more about Zipcar membership in a downtown car-sharing program, Thursday, April 7, 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Cesar Chavez Park at 9th and I streets.

Councilmember Steve Cohn, who spearheaded the idea of bringing car-sharing to downtown and midtown will join Zipcar Regional Vice President Dan Grossman along with other Zipcar staff, interested community members and stakeholders at an information booth at the park at 11:15 a.m.

The membership day is intended to launch car-sharing in Sacramento – an economical and environmentally friendly alternative to car ownership.

Zipcar, Inc., was selected as the City’s car share provider following a competitive bid process last year. The company operates the world’s leading car sharing network with some 550,000 members.

Zipcar will have two cars for use at each of five downtown locations:
• 10th Street at I Street (spaces are on 10th alongside CalEPA building)
• L Street at 11th Street ( spaces are on L)
• J Street at 16th Street ( spaces are on J)
• 18th Street at Capitol Avenue ( spaces are on 18th)
• 28th at J Street (spaces are on 28th)

Please see Zipcar’s Sacramento page for general information about rates and how the program works. In Sacramento, the annual membership fee is $50, $35 for students. Average hourly rate is $8, which includes gas, insurance and designated parking.

Linda Tucker is the media and communications specialist for the City of Sacramento Department of Transportation.

City Council discusses Sacramento community gardens

2011-04-06T05:34:05Z

Four City Council members discussed ways of increasing community gardens in Sacramento on private and public property during the Law and Legislation Committee meeting Tuesday.

According to Joy Patterson, the principle planner for the city, the proposed ordinance will lay out how community members can use vacant properties for the development of community gardens where people can come together for the purpose of growing food and personal use.

“Several city departments have looked at the issues surrounding community gardens on public property and private property and have prepared a draft ordinance for community gardens on private property for the review and discussion by the Law and Legislation Committee,” Patterson said.

City Council members Jay Schenirer, Sandy Sheedy, Darrell Fong and Steve Cohn voted to revisit the proposed ordinance at the Law and Legislation meeting on May 17 in a unanimous decision Tuesday.

Councilman Steve Cohn said he is in favor of the project and that it is one of the less costly projects.

Cohn had worked previously on several gardens with Bill Maynard, the city’s community gardening director.

“I think it’s something we need to push forward with,” Cohn said. “It needs to be on the list.”

Councilman Darrell Fong said that his staff will be planting a community garden in a Valley Hi park.

“We’ve had very little dialogue and I want to talk to some staff because I haven’t had a long time to (talk) to staff about this ordinance,” Fong said. “I’d like to have some further comment.”

The two components that they will be looking at are the rules regulating the use of private property and the public property for community gardens, Councilman Schenirer said.

“I think we would want a generic set of guidelines, rules and regulations on developing public land as a private community garden,” Schenirer said. “I also have concerns about the city’s involvement in some of these gardens and the costs that are generally associated with that and where’s the bang for the buck on this.”

Councilwoman Sheedy said she is also in favor of implementing the gardens, but wants everyone on the same page so they are not rushing to get the project done. Sheedy said she wants to avoid going back and doing the process all over again.

“I want to do it the right way,” Sheedy said.

At the meeting, several community members voiced why community gardens are important.

Paula Lomazzi, a Sacramento resident and gardener at J. Neely Johnson Park, said she has a strong concern for reducing our carbon footprint and gardens help provide her with food.

“This is a great step forward to make us more sustainable,” Lomazzi said.

Dan Frankfield and Laura Lough are on the garden advisory board of the community garden at J. Neely Johnson Park.

Frankfield said that many years ago they had to convince the neighbors around the garden that it would reduce crime around the park and that it would not add to the negative issues.

“I think that it’s generally a good idea as long as there’s checks and balances for homeowners and gardeners alike,” Frankfield said. “I hope to see it come through.”

Maynard said he wants people to be aware of the costs.

“I think it’s a great step forward,” Maynard said. “It has to be affordable for people to do this.”

Rhonda Lake, superintendent of the Department of General Services Facilities/Property Management-Real Estate Services for the city said she will be looking at the issue because one of the complicating factors is that the staff is working with Coldwell Banker to identify surplus assets of the city’s needs so that (they) may be sold, leased, or put to another beneficial use.

“It would probably take us the next 30 days to look at it,” Lake said.

Kathy Les, vice president of Slow Food Sacramento, a branch of the Slow Food international organization that aims to promote good, clean and fair food, was surprised that the proposed ordinance was on the agenda.

“It’s great that it’s on the agenda so soon and is moving along,” Les said. “They [community gardens] are a great way to feed people and to localize community spirit.”

Paul Towers, the state director of the Pesticide Watch Education Fund said he is disappointed that the discussion about the gardens is moving so slow.

“We clearly need to act now to increase the amount of healthy, fresh and local food in our communities,” Towers said.

The item will be revisited at the Law and Legislation meeting on May 17. The meeting will be held at 3 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 915 I Street.

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.

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.

City manager search stalled

2011-03-23T04:50:25Z

The city’s search for a new city manager has been delayed for weeks, according to the consultant leading the search.

The exact reasons for the delay are unclear, but a discussion at Tuesday’s City Council meeting indicated that the delay involves miscommunication between the City Council, City Attorney Eileen Teichert, city Human Resources Manager Geri Hamby and the consultant, Stuart Satow, an executive recruiter for CPS Human Resource Services.

Council members had been scheduled to tell Satow their opinions on city manager characteristics Feb. 22, but decided then that they didn’t want to have that discussion at that meeting.

Satow said Tuesday that he has not yet received direction from the City Council members and mayor about the qualities they want in a city manager.

“We’re not too far behind the eight ball, yet,” Satow told the City Council. “But the longer we wait, the further back the recruitment’s going to go, and the later you’re going to have candidates for consideration.”

An issue related to the delay is how the City Council can discuss the qualifications for the next city manager in a way that follows the Brown Act, the public meetings law aimed at making local government meetings transparent to the public.

Teichert said Tuesday it would be legally appropriate for Satow to meet individually with council members to ask them about the qualifications they are seeking in a city manager.

At the Feb. 22 City Council meeting, Teichert discouraged the council from meeting in a closed session on the topic of the qualities they seek in city manager, saying the topic didn’t meet legal requirements for a closed meeting. She said that closed sessions are allowed to protect the privacy of particular employees. A closed meeting on qualifications for a city manager does not meet that standard, according to Teichert.

Councilman Steve Cohn said he disagreed with Teichert’s opinion on the matter, but he added that he would follow it. He said he had liked the idea of the City Council meeting to discuss the qualifications in a closed session and then making the input public.

Councilman Darrell Fong indicated it was not his fault that he has not yet provided information on the qualities he seeks in a city manager.

“I’ve never been contacted at all,” he said.

But Hamby responded that she had sent three communications to the mayor and City Council about how the consultant needed more information.

The council members decided to talk to Satow individually about the elements they’re seeking in a city manager.

Interim City Manager Gus Vina’s term ends in late June.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

City, residents discuss Second Saturday, nightlife

2011-03-23T00:56:22Z

The city is addressing concerns about the Second Saturday Art Walk, Midtown nightlife and safety from a variety of angles, city officials said Monday night.

During a meeting with the Neighborhood Advisory Group, City Councilman Steve Cohn and city staff from neighborhood services, police, parks, parking enforcement and community development discussed efforts to combat gang violence and other crime, rule changes taking effect for Second Saturday next month and parking issues.

The measures are a first step toward tackling growing or ongoing problems that have been pinpointed by residents, businesses and the city. However, more steps may be taken down the road if needed, Vincene Jones, director of the city's Neighborhood Services Division, told about 45 people gathered at Hart Senior Center at 27th and I streets.

"Nothing is set in stone. We can make adjustments as we go," she said. "We know we have to start somewhere."

Concerns about Second Saturday and nightlife were thrown into the spotlight last September after a suspected gang member shot and killed someone standing on a sidewalk outside a bar during a gang confrontation. The victim, Victor Hugo Perez Zavala, and two of the three others injured in the shooting after a Second Saturday Art Walk were not tied to either gang.

Even before the shooting, some people had become concerned about the growing crowds gathering in Midtown on Second Saturdays, the increasing numbers of teens staying out after curfew on those nights and a rise in crimes, parking conflicts and other issues.
Galleries and art groups have worried the event has lost its focus on art.

Cohn pointed out that the art walk isn't an event officially put on by the city. Rather, it's grown from an art event started by art galleries to include restaurants and other businesses, individual vendors, musicians and other street performers.

However, the city's Second Saturday safety team has been meeting since the shooting to consider changes to make the art walk safe, reduce problems with crowds and traffic, and minimize the impact on residential neighborhoods, Cohn said.

The September shootings were “really more of a late-night phenomenon. Frankly, they aren't part of Second Saturday," said Cohn, adding the two are "correlated" because some people who go to the art walk continue hanging out in the central city afterwards.

Starting in April, Second Saturday Art Walk hours will be 4 p.m. - 8 p.m. All outdoor amplified sound, primarily from bands and street musicians, must end by 8 p.m., whether the musicians are performing on public or private property.

Also new this year: Sidewalk and street vendors, musicians and property owners allowing multiple vendors to sell on their lots must get permits from the city. The city will now permit vendors to sell only handcrafted, original items, said Teresa Jackson, superintendent with the city's Department of Parks and Recreation.

People who go out just for nightlife on Second Saturdays usually start showing up around 9 p.m., so city officials think ending the art walk and outdoor music at 8 p.m. will encourage minors to get home by the 10 p.m. curfew, Jones said.

However, businesses and vending on private property can continue to operate past 8 p.m.

The city is also working on problems with gang violence. Mayor Kevin Johnson began a gang prevention initiative a few months ago and his office held a forum on gang and youth violence in Oak Park last month, Jones said.

In November, the Sacramento Police Department launched Ceasefire, modeled after a Boston program. Through the program, criminal justice agencies and religious organizations confront offenders with the likelihood that they'll end up dead or imprisoned a large part of their lives – unless they change their lifestyles.

The agencies offer alternatives to help gang members make changes by continuing education or getting job training. Six gang members are now going through the program, said Police Department Capt. Dana Matthes, commander of the city's central and east areas.

To help make streets and sidewalks more safe, the city is installing 86 new acorn-shaped street lights on I and J streets and sidestreets from 20th Street to 27th Street. The lights are being paid for with $406,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds, $47,000 in local transportation funds and $80,000 in funding from the Midtown Business Association. Work is expected to be completed by year's end, according to Sue Brown, director of Cohn's District 3.

The city is also considering changing its parking ordinance to allow city staff to make changes to residential parking zones – such as extending the hours of certain areas to after 6 p.m. – to solve problems without having to get City Council approval.

The process would stay the same. It would still require a request from residents or business owners to be initiated and supported from a certain number of residents to take effect, Parking Services Manager Howard Chan said.

"Second Saturday is a free-for-all as far as parking right now," Midtown resident Dale Kooyman said.

Residents at the meeting disagreed over whether the requirement to have a residential permit should be extended into the evenings. The issue has been brought up twice in the past and residents voted against that, they said.

However, Chan said changes can address small areas and don't have to impact an entire permit zone.

Residents are pushing the city and private businesses to reduce the number of Second Saturday visitors and late-night bar and restaurant patrons parking on residential streets. The city must build awareness of parking garages, while private lot owners could open their lots for free parking to reduce neighborhood impacts such as noise, litter and crime, they said.

"The real problem is the behavior when they return to their cars," said Bill Burgua, former chair of the Marshall School/New Era Park Neighborhood Association.

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

Monday's NAG to Take Another Look at Second Saturday and NIghtlife Issues

2011-03-19T22:18:15Z

The Neighborhood Advisory Group (NAG) will meet this Monday 3/21/2011. This month's meeting will focus on Second Saturday and Midtown Nightlife issues. There are changes being made to Second Saturday as was reported by Suzanne Hurt on SacPress. This is partially in response to the shooting death and injuries that occurred in the early morning hours of September 12, 2011.

This presentation is a followup to a meeting on September 25,2010

Second Saturday and Midtown Nightlife issue meetings tend to have a very high turnout. If you want to sit up close, come early.

The Agenda

Area 1 Neighborhood Advisory Group (NAG)
March 2011 Agenda

In Partnership with the City of Sacramento Neighborhood Services Division

Monday, March 21, 2011
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Hart Senior Center, 915 27th Street

Tonight’s Facilitator: Gerald Celestine, caRsa and Friends of Fremont Park

6:30 Welcome and Introductions

6:35 Announcements

6:40 Issue Updates: Mercy Hospital; Midtown Nightlife Issues/Responsible Hospitality Institute; R Street; Sutter Hospital/Trinity Cathedral; High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lanes; Preservation Roundtable; Department of Utilities Funds; The Docks Project; K Street; Special Events; NAG Action Request Form

6:45 SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS: SECOND SATURDAY and MIDTOWN NIGHTLIFE ISSUES UPDATE
MIDTOWN NIGHTLIFE ISSUES
A. Public Safety
1. Youth & Gang Workshops
2. Neighborhood Watch
3. CERT
4. Lavender Angels
B. Parking
C. Entertainment Permits
D. Communication
E. Next Steps/Follow Up

The City of Sacramento’s Neighborhood Services Division, Police Department, Parking Division, Code Enforcement Division and the Midtown Business Association
SECOND SATURDAY
A. Time Change
B. Permit Requirements
1. Vendor Permits
2. Amplified Sound
3. Permitting on City and Private Property
C. Parking
1. Residential Parking/Enforcement
2. Parking on the Grid
D. Public Safety
1. Street Closures
2. Security Measures
E. Notification

Adjourn

*Next Meeting: Monday, April 18, 2011, 6:15 to 8:30 p.m., Hart Senior Center, 915 27th Street*

For more information, contact Janine Martindale at (916) 808-8193 or at jmartindale@cityofsacramento.org. Items are placed on the agenda based on their time sensitivity and relevance to Area 1. Join the NAG agenda committee in setting the agenda at 12 p.m. on the first Wednesday of the month at the Clunie Community Center. See City Council agendas and reports at: http://www.cityofsacramento.org/clerk/

Proposed solar panel construction at Sutter's Landing Park sparks opposition from wildlife advocates

2011-03-17T23:24:44Z

A recent proposal to construct solar panels on a grassy mound at Sutter’s Landing Park has sparked opposition from environmental advocates concerned about the project’s impact on birds of prey who use the mound, formerly a landfill, as a feeding site.

The City of Sacramento Parks Commission held a March 3 hearing on the proposal. Nonprofit group Friends of the Swainson’s Hawk used the hearing to express their concerns and lobby against the construction of solar panels in the park.

“The landfill provides a rare protective, grassy environment where prey are abundant,” said Judith Lamare, president of Friends of the Swainson’s Hawk. “There are a lot of people who have spoken up with issues and concerns [about the project].”

Friends of the Swainson’s Hawk hosts periodic events at the site to introduce people to the hawks and promote awareness of their presence in the area.

Sutter’s Landing Park is one of the only urban locations in the region where Swainson’s hawks can be seen and appreciated. Urbanization tends to drive away the hawks, which are rarely viewable outside rural areas.

“Urban nests are hard to maintain,” Lamare said. “This is an ideal site for kids and families to witness what the Swainson’s hawk is all about.”

J.P. Tindell, Park Planning and Development Manager at the Sacramento Parks and Recreation Department, stated that Sutter’s Landing Park is just one possible location for the solar panels, and no firm decision has been made.

“I think we’re expecting that this year, in the year 2011, is when we’re getting more information about impacts of the project and then seeing where that leads to in terms of the design or the implementation of the project itself,” Tindell said.

The park is an attractive location for the panels due to its close proximity to city infrastructure, Tindell said. Locating the panels farther away could result in an “added expense” due to the costs of energy transmission, Tindell said.

Sacramento City Councilman Steve Cohn supports the project, while acknowledging the concerns of environmental advocates about the impact on the Swainson’s hawks and other area wildlife.

“I want to be sure it [the construction] is done in a way that is compatible with the park and the environmental resources, the river, everything next door,” Cohn said. “So that’s our goal, to create a solar park that is compatible with the park and river resources that are there. And I think that’s possible.”

Swainson’s hawks are best able to survive and reproduce when prey can be found close to their nest. Putting solar panels on the Sutter’s Landing mound site could force the hawks to search farther and wider for food, endangering their ability to feed themselves and their young, according to Lamare.

“Their nesting success would be reduced,” Lamare said, adding that the pair of hawks currently using the mound site have raised seven chicks in the last three years. “That’s good, especially for a nest surrounded by urbanization.”

The Sutter’s Landing solar panel installation is a joint proposal between the city and Conergy USA, a renewable energy company with experience developing solar installations nationwide. Pending approval, construction is projected to begin in summer 2012.

City eyes employee pay cuts

2011-03-02T06:39:06Z

The City Council is allowing the city manager’s office to explore new ways of closing the city’s $35 million - 40 million budget gap, including employee pay cuts and benefit rate hikes.

The strategies include a 5-10 percent pay cut for all city employees.

The City Council unanimously decided on Tuesday to allow city staff to consider a range of ideas for closing the budget shortfall.

Councilman Steve Cohn said that examining several options for budget cuts does not mean that he supports them.

“I’m fine with looking at a whole potpourri of different ideas,” Cohn said. “I don’t want that to be mistook for supporting any particular strategy at this point.”

The city would need to reach an agreement with its unions on pay cuts, according to a March 1 report prepared by Assistant City Manager Patti Bisharat.

City unions would also need to sign off on other possible strategies, which include hiking employees’ costs to maintain their health and retirement benefits, according to Bisharat’s report.

Interim City Manager Gus Vina said that the ability to assess numerous ideas for budget cuts would help the budget process. Under the city’s charter, the city manager crafts the city’s proposed budget.

“These items before you today give us maximum flexibility as we build a proposed budget for you that’s coming before you May 1,” Vina said. “This is not a proposed budget. There are no layoffs associated with our report tonight.”

A new effort to organize about 700 city employees who are not members of unions could add a wrinkle to some of the budget-cutting strategies.

Bisharat’s report assumes that there will be non-unionized employees. If some of the strategies are adopted, those employees could face pay cuts and see their contributions for benefits rise without negotiating with city officials.

However, if the unrepresented employees decide to unionize, the city would have to negotiate with the new union, according to Dee Contreras, who is organizing the effort to form the union.

Many of the city’s managers and supervisors would be represented by the union, the Sacramento City Exempt Employees Association, if it is formed.

In an interview before the City Council meeting, Bisharat said that her report was written with non-union employees in mind because no new union has been formed.

“I think the process to get a contract with the unrepresented (non-union employees) would be a pretty lengthy process,” Bisharat said.

If the unrepresented employees unionize, the city would work with the new union at that time, Bisharat added.

Read the city staff report on budget strategies here.

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.

Folsom Blvd. pot shop moving

2011-02-21T23:05:15Z

A medical marijuana dispensary is swapping a controversial East Sacramento location for a new spot in an industrial zone following opposition from neighbors.

The Healing Center or "THC" stopped operating at 3257 Folsom Blvd. on Friday, Feb. 11. A consultant for the dispensary, which has also done business as CC 101, notified the city it will be moving to 6435 Florin Perkins Road.

City staff got the news an hour before a meeting between the East Sacramento Improvement Association and Sacramento City Councilman Steve Cohn, city Zoning Administrator Joy Patterson and city Revenue Division Manager Brad Wasson. At the meeting, the association's board members let city representatives know they opposed the shop, according to city staff and the association.

"They were facing denial of their permit," Cohn said. "They made a wise decision and chose to pick another location."

Dispensaries had to turn in permit applications by Feb. 7 under new city regulations.

Neighboring business and property owners and area residents had already contacted the city to question the Folsom Boulevard dispensary's legality and express concerns over its impact. The dispensary's owner, Ted Smith, would have to prove the shop had been operating there by Oct. 26 and fight continued opposition to the permit request.

The dispensary's permit application hadn't been evaluated by that time. The city didn't order a closure, Patterson said Friday.

The dispensary’s marketing consultant, Justin Karapetyan, who previously identified himself as one of its owners, decided to close the dispensary rather than continue fighting neighbors.

"It was being presented to me that the neighborhood is having some sort of an uprising. They do not want me there," Karapetyan said. "I asked if I did shut my doors if they would allow me to move. They granted me an OK."

He expects to open the new shop within about two weeks.

The City Council passed the city's first ordinance regulating the shops in November in response to an expansion of dispensaries. Under the ordinance, only 39 dispensaries that registered with the city by August 2009 could apply. City staff are now processing applications from 35 dispensaries that met the deadline.

The Folsom Boulevard dispensary is apparently the only one that was opposed by neighbors, Patterson said.

The city now requires the dispensaries to be located in six types of commercial or industrial zones. Dispensaries located in the correct zones by Oct. 26 could apply for special permits by Feb. 7.

The dispensaries are all applying for discretionary land use permits that will be decided on a case-by-case basis after going through a public hearing process. During those hearings, people can voice support or opposition to individual dispensaries.

At that time, neighbors may express concerns about any shops that don't meet limitations to be 300 feet from residential uses or zones; 600 feet from sensitive uses like a church, school or daycare; and 1,000 feet from each other, Patterson said.

THC amended its permit application with the Florin Perkins Road location, Patterson said.

Seven of the 39 dispensaries – including Smith's – were told they needed to move. Three stayed put and will now have to apply to rezone their property to a zone where such use is allowed.

One closed. Two others have moved: R & R Coffee and Collective moved from 8701 Center Parkway to a general commercial zone at 75 Quinta Court and Sacsterdam University moved from 1009 1/2 Ninth St. to a heavy commercial zone at 315 N. 10th St., she said.

Neighbors who opposed the Folsom Boulevard dispensary are happy the shop moved, said Paul Jorjorian, who owns buildings across the street.

"I think the rest of the merchants are quite pleased," he said. "I think maybe (the dispensary owners) saw the writing on the wall."

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

Midtown teen center in the works

2011-02-12T02:32:38Z

In a case of young meets old, a group of civic-minded teens is getting closer to its goal of creating a hip space for youth at a senior apartment complex in Midtown. The city’s Planning Commission approved a permit on Thursday for the VIBE Urban Youth Lounge to operate at the Midtown Manor senior complex at 1725 K St.

The center’s groundbreaking is planned for March 12 and will coincide with the Second Saturday Art Walk.

VIBE organizers had planned to open the center in July 2010. Christina Giffin, executive director of the VIBE Foundation, said the opening was delayed because of lack of funding and because she took some time away from the project to take care of her baby.

“Honestly, what I really want from VIBE is just a place where no cliques or high school social class exists,” said Mylesha Ramey, 18, one of the people involved with the burgeoning teen center.

VIBE will be housed in a remodeled part of the senior center. City Councilman Steve Cohn, a board member on the VIBE Foundation, said the center is scheduled to open this summer.

“They’re really going to turn it into a really hip place,” Cohn said.

Giffin has worked with the teens to fundraise for the remodel. DesCor Builders donated $50,000 of in-kind services to the remodel, Giffin said. About $100,000 of design work was donated by Stantec Consulting Services and architect Ed Mojica, she said.

VIBE is now fundraising for $20,000 to cover the costs of a door, signage and concrete for the front entrance, she said. Giffin said she’s been volunteering on the VIBE effort for more than two years.

“I really just want to see this happen for the community,” Giffin said.

The teens will be supervised at the center, noted Giffin. “There will always be a young, really cool adult there,” she said.

The group plans to have a career center at VIBE, according to a Planning Commission report. There are also plans to have events like dance classes and poetry readings, the report said.

Kathleen Haley 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.

Streetcar back on city's agenda

2011-02-05T01:43:10Z

The planning process for a streetcar connecting the city to West Sacramento is still chugging along. The City Council last addressed the study of streetcar routes in July 2010.

A study of possible routes for the streetcar will likely get under way soon after City Council members hire a consultant for the task Tuesday night, Councilman Steve Cohn said on Friday. Asked why it’s taken months to start the study, Cohn said $300,000 in federal funding awarded to the city was delayed.

The City Council is likely to hire a national transportation consulting firm, Fehr & Peers, to conduct the study. Fehr & Peers will be paid mostly in federal funds, according to the city’s Transportation Department.

The city has $300,000 in federal dollars and $90,000 in local funds to put toward the study. The local funds will not come out of the city’s strapped general fund, the Transportation Department report says.

The sight of a streetcar shuttling between Sacramento and West Sacramento is still years away, according to Cohn. The project has many steps to undergo, including environmental review, design work and construction, he said. In addition, the city will need to obtain more federal funding, Cohn said.

He expressed optimism about the city’s chances of qualifying for more federal funding. “I think we can be very competitive on this,” Cohn said.

Read the streetcar report on the City Council’s Tuesday agenda 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.

Proposed alley project leads to clash of old and new in Midtown

2011-01-29T22:23:44Z

By Debra Belt

It is a small, unkempt patch of land on a dirt alley in Sacramento’s Boulevard Park neighborhood. Yet, the modest site at 2207 C St. is the subject of an intense debate that is expected to heat up as a proposed residential project for the alley lot heads to City Council Feb. 1.

At issue is a single-family home, a modern infill project that has neighbors, preservationists, politicians, architects, the city and the builders deadlocked over the design of the residence and its alley location in one of Sacramento’s oldest neighborhoods. As Midtown’s alley development movement advances, interest in the project is high, and followers say it could set a precedent in residential neighborhoods, for better or for worse, depending upon who is voicing their opinion.

The Boulevard Park Neighborhood Association and some area residents oppose the project because they think it’s too tall, too modern and does not complement surrounding turn-of-the-century homes in the historic neighborhood. They want to the design to be changed or built somewhere else.

The city of Sacramento Planning Division, Design Commission, AIA Central Valley Urban Design Committee and other neighbors support the project, saying the scale of the three-story residence meets city guidelines and that it is a quality design making good use of available space within the Central City. Advocates note that the alley site is 80 feet from the street front, removing it from the immediate context of the neighborhood.

Seeking to balance the strong and numerous views weighing in on the project, City Council member Steve Cohn in December “called up” the project for council review. Cohn said he did so at the request of the neighborhood association and neighbors who live near the proposed project.

“There is concern that the project is too large for the scale of the block, and neighbors are also concerned about the modern design in a neighborhood of traditional older homes,” Cohn said in a telephone interview. “The main issue is that the proposed building is three stories and faces immediate neighbors.”

Before the call-up, the project circulated through the city’s design review process and was approved by city Design Director William Crouch. The Boulevard Park Neighborhood Association and 21 area residents appealed the director’s decision. In response, the city Planning Division generated a 71-page report addressing neighborhood concerns and citing design considerations to “promote creative architectural solutions that acknowledge contextual design issues, yet allow for flexibility and variety of design.”

The project then went to the city Design Commission. After listening to three hours of testimony from both sides, the commission unanimously approved the project.

The call-up is the final step in this lengthy process. Luis Sanchez, senior architect for the city, said in an e-mail that “the City Code is written to allow a call-up by a City Council member whose district the project is in, if it is felt that additional discussion on the project design, and decision by the commission is warranted.”

Sanchez also said City Council has the final say, and the review of the situation starts anew.

“The role of the City Council is to make a determination on the final project design,” he said. “It is reviewed de novo by the City Council.”

Nathan and Erica Cunningham, the couple trying to build the proposed home for themselves and their two daughters, said this approval process has delayed their project for seven months and cost them almost $2,000 in additional fees. They refer to the project as a "modern and progressive” design.

“We are of the school of thought that with new construction on an infill site, let’s not copy or imitate the original surrounding architecture,” said Nathan Cunningham in an e-mail. “Instead, let’s respect this original architecture for what it is, and move forward by designing and building something that reflects how we live in the current century.”

Sanchez said a difference of opinion on what is the most appropriate design for a neighborhood is not unusual.

“The voice of the neighborhood is important, and the design discussion between neighborhood groups, design staff and city agencies is a healthy dialogue for any growing city,” he said.

The debate about how much a neighborhood can influence what landowners build on their private property is as old as Boulevard Park itself. It is, however, one that becomes more fierce as viable lots in Sacramento’s city center dwindle and people look to limited available resources such as alley sites, which have become a buzz topic as the city looks to create a more vibrant, diverse and sustainable city center with its 2030 General Plan.

Bruce Monighan, president of AIA Central Valley, said that Sacramento as a community has talked about infill and alley development for nearly a decade. “If not here on the alleys, when and where will this city allow a new chapter of the American dream?”

Monighan added, “The neighbors are effectively saying that in order to live in their neighborhood, you must look like them. What are we trying to legislate here? He asked. “Is it personal taste?”

The Cunninghams, who specialize in building and renovating homes in Sacramento’s core neighborhoods, said there are only a small number of affordable lots suitable for residential development in the Central City. They said they were lucky to find someone who was willing to sell the alley lot for a reasonable price.

Some residents in Boulevard Park, however, think this neighborhood is not the place to build a modern residence.

“This is a historic residential neighborhood surrounding the property, but the design somehow seeks to make an independent, isolated statement that effectively turns its back on the neighborhood,” wrote residents Lyvonne and Robert Sewell in a letter submitted to city associate planner David Hung.

Jon Marshack, former vice chair of Sacramento’s Design Review and Preservation Board, is strongly opposed to the project. “While this design has numerous laudable features, it is totally out of place within this neighborhood’s historic context,” he wrote in a letter to Sacramento’s Design Director. “I urge you to require that the proposed project be redesigned to respect its historic neighborhood context or relocated to a more appropriate site.”

Of additional concern to the neighbors is that the project is adjacent to the Boulevard Park subdivision, which is the subject of a proposed National Register historic district.

Darby Patterson, the owner of the one house in the neighborhood that is already on the National Register, supports the proposed alley residence.

“This is something new, positive and vibrant,” Patterson said in a telephone interview. “I live in a city and expect to make changes as the city grows. If we all stayed in the same place we would all still be living in Victorians.”

Patterson also said she is tired of absentee ownership, vermin, weeds and graffiti on the alley. “Civilizing the alley sounds good to me.”

At the alley site, the only clues to the neighborhood controversy is the public notice posted on the defunct Earle Plumbing Shop currently occupying the property and the mysterious pieces of lumber “ghosting” the shape and height of the proposed structure, which is designed to be three stories and utilize Cor-ten steel siding on the north side facing an industrial area and the railroad tracks.

Cohn said he has met with the builder of the proposed project and the neighbors and is trying to reach some degree of resolution before the City Council meeting.

“The neighbors propose reducing the residence to two stories or going with a more traditional design,” Cohn said. “The applicant (builder) has proposed to shift the third story four feet to the north to minimize the height, revisit window openings on the east and develop landscaping for more privacy. We have one more meeting before this goes to council and are seeking some agreement.”

Cohn acknowledged the difficulty of the situation.

“You have a young couple with a very clear idea about what they want and it’s at odds with what the neighbors expect,” he said. “We are trying to treat each issue on its own merits and bring the two factions together through dialogue.”

Disclosure statement: Writer Debra Belt is married to Stephen Henry of Henry + Associates, the architect of the proposed alley project.

Editorial: Council shoots foot; visitors wounded

2011-01-29T00:29:53Z

The first few decisions made by Sacramento's new City Council aren't promising.

Putting off a decision – again – on the arena is irritating, but after as much delay as we've seen in this process, we're used to it. It will just slow things down. Presumably, it won't do much harm.

And there may be insider reasons for why Gus Vina was passed over after a year as interim city manager, a job he seemed to be widely admired for.

But HOW does one explain why the "crash tax" passed Tuesday? This is sheer foolishness. That it was a 5-4 split isn’t reassuring.

It's understandable that the council wants to find ways to raise some cash in tight times, but this is a foot-shootingly dumb way to do it. And it might not even raise much cash, if other cities' experiences are any indication. But the message it sends to visitors, to businesses and to the public at large is horrible.

That message is: We don't really want you coming to the city center. And if you do, you're on your own. Because we don't think you're worth protecting without additional cash.

A couple of the members who voted for the tax (Angelique Ashby, Steve Cohn, Jay Schenirer, Kevin McCarty and Mayor Kevin Johnson) expressed reservations about it, but went ahead and voted for it anyway – which feels even worse.

Surely, they mean well, big picture. But let's look at how this is going to work in the little picture. Which means, not on a budget ledger, but in ordinary peoples' lives.

You live in Folsom, or Roseville (which has a similar tax) or Elk Grove. Or Los Angeles. Or Toronto. Or Reno. Anywhere but Sacramento. You want to come down to, say, the new businesses on K Street. You know, those businesses the city just spent several million redevelopment dollars on – to encourage people to come downtown.

You round a corner and someone in a hurry rounds it at the same time. BAM! You've just been in an accident. You're not hurt, but there goes your evening. You're looking at towing and auto repairs, and you still have to pay the babysitter. And your insurance may go up.

Worse than that, a woman was hurt. Not badly, but she's going to have to be taken to the hospital. There's some blood. It's horrible. Unnerving. Life sucks right now.

Oh, and there's this: You're told you now owe the City of Sacramento $495. While you're absorbing this bit of information, the fireman at the scene tells you you're lucky; if someone had been helicoptered out, it would have cost you $2,275.

And here's the rub: It wasn't your fault. And you're not even sure it was the other person's. It may have been, you know, an accident.

But you think it was probably the other gal's fault. But guess what? She lives in Sacramento, so she doesn't have to pay the $495. (At least not yet. But that's another column.)

Welcome to visitor-friendly Sacramento.

This reminds me of the tips about driving a car in some foreign countries I read in an old guidebook. If you're renting a car in some countries, and you're in an accident in a remote village, it is automatically assumed to be your fault. After all, you don't live there, and thus, if you didn't come to visit, the accident never would have happened.

You must admit, it has a certain weird logic. That said, it's stupid.

Our city council – or five members – voted like villagers Tuesday night. Not like big-city dwellers.

Beyond that, this is barely civilized. What kind of a city do we want? What about equal protection? What happens when this doesn't raise the money they expect? Will they next vote to make each Sacramentan pay for services on top of the taxes we already pay? What about cops? If you get mugged, will the police come, take your report, and give you a bill for $500?

And even if you’re found not at fault, and you get back your $495 (minus service and processing charges), was it worth coming to Sacramento in the first place?

Perhaps the council members are just so desperate that they're willing to adopt superstitious beliefs. Perhaps there's more to the story. Or perhaps, as some observers at Tuesday's meeting remarked, they simply didn't understand what they were voting on.

Whatever combination of reasons led to this insanity, it is the single most discouraging, counterproductive vote I've seen from our City Council – or should I say "village wise men"? – in a long time.

And given the council's recent history, that's really saying something.

Auditor working on three city audits

2011-01-27T02:57:29Z

The city auditor’s office expects it will finish fewer audits by July 1 than planned because of high staff turnover in recent months, according to City Auditor Jorge Oseguera.

He said in an interview on Wednesday that his office will release three audits by July 1: one on the city’s health benefits system, one on revenue collection practices and the third on citywide policies.

In an interview last July, Oseguera said he planned to focus on four audits and hoped to start working on additional ones by this July. But Oseguera explained Wednesday that two of three staffers resigned in recent months, causing his office to take the fourth audit off the table.

The auditors left in the midst of their work on projects, Oseguera said. “But as they left, I obviously had to stop the progress and then re-initiate those audits with new people,” he added.

One of his previous staffers, Gerald Silva, was a former San Jose city auditor. Silva resigned last July after The Sacramento Press asked him to comment on sexual harassment allegations that involved San Jose’s auditor’s office when he was in charge. A second staffer left recently for medical reasons, Oseguera said.

Oseguera’s previous goal of starting additional audits by July also looks unlikely. He said his staff won’t able to start work on additional audits until they complete the three they’re working on now.

But the auditor’s office is fully staffed again. Oseguera hired two new auditors in November.

So how does Oseguera measure up to the city’s previous auditor?

Oseguera has been the city auditor for 10 months, and if his office completes the three audits by July 1, his office’s number of independent audits will be similar to the output of former City Auditor Marty Kolkin’s office. Kolkin’s office usually produced two or three audits each year.

Oseguera pointed out that his attention has also been given to additional projects, besides the three audits now under way. He was responsible for overseeing a consultant’s audit of the Community Development Department. He is also working on a report that will be released next month on how the CDD is applying the findings of the consultant’s October report, he said.

City Councilman Steve Cohn, chair of the City Council’s audit committee, said he is satisfied with Oseguera and that Oseguera has been carrying out the council’s directions.

“It took him a while to get a team in place, and he’s lost a couple people he’s had to replace,” Cohn said.

With the current size of Oseguera’s staff, only one or two audits can be addressed at a time, Cohn said.

Community Development Department Director Max Fernandez said Oseguera has spent an extensive amount of time with his department.

“There’s a lot of work being produced from the CDD audit,” Fernandez said. “He’s done a lot, and there’s a lot more to go.”

Oseguera made a similar comment about the overhaul at the CDD. “They have a lot of work before them, and they’re making good progress at implementing some of these very difficult changes,” Oseguera said.

Read city audits from 2003-2008 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.

City protests Brown's redevelopment plan

2011-01-22T01:58:59Z

Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposal to slash redevelopment agencies spurred a protest and press conference at the Convention Center Friday, bringing together Sacramento leaders and about 100 officials from cities throughout the state.

Chris McKenzie, executive director of the League of California Cities, said that cities may consider suing the state if it disbands redevelopment agencies.

Brown’s office contends that local services, such as schools and public safety, could receive the funding currently used by redevelopment agencies if the agencies shut down. But city leaders in Sacramento and throughout the state argue that ending redevelopment agencies would seriously harm jobs and local development projects.

McKenzie said the governor’s proposal was ”seriously flawed” from a legal perspective.

“We would hate to have to take the state to court in order to uphold the will of the voters,” he said. “But we will do it, if we are forced to do it.”

Sacramento City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby presented figures on how Sacramento city and county would be affected if the two local governments no longer had redevelopment funds.

The city and county would lose 19,000 jobs, and $170 million in redevelopment project funds, according to Ashby and the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency.

A loss of $1.3 billion in economic activity would also be incurred, Ashby said. Affordable housing projects would lose millions of dollars, she said, and the city and county would lose $129 million in state funds that were leveraged with redevelopment funds.

Ashby pointed out that the Boys and Girls Club in Alkali Flat and the McClellan Business Park in Sacramento County are redevelopment projects.

Sacramento City Councilman Steve Cohn, who also appeared at the press conference, said, “I understand what a tough job the governor and the Legislature have in balancing the state budget, but it is bad policy to cut the very programs that generate revenues for local and state government.”

In an effort to short circuit a possible state decision to cut redevelopment agencies, many California cities have acted to safeguard their redevelopment funds over the past several days, according to multiple media outlets.

The city of Sacramento has not taken any action to bypass possible state action on redevelopment, but Mayor Kevin Johnson said at his weekly press conference on Tuesday that the city should consider doing so.

Brown’s administration continues to voice its support of the proposal to throw out redevelopment agencies. It is time “for everyone to act as Californians first to address the state budget deficit,” said H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for the California Department of Finance.

He asserted that the governor’s proposal is “legally sound.”

In the first year of Brown’s proposal, $1.7 billion would help repair the state’s general fund, and the remaining $200 million would go toward local governments, according to Palmer and the text of Brown’s proposal.

In the second year of the plan, $1.9 billion would go to local entities, Palmer said.

Meanwhile, local players in Sacramento, such as the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, are worried that the proposal could stymie development close to home.

Michael Ault, the partnership’s executive director, said at the press conference that redevelopment funding has benefited Central City projects, such as the IMAX Theatre and the Citizen Hotel.

“We know first-hand the impacts that redevelopment has played in the progress in the Central City,” Ault said.

Mark Hedlund, a spokesman for California Senate President Darrell Steinberg, told The Sacramento Press that Steinberg doesn’t want to act on the governor’s proposal immediately, but the idea of stopping redevelopment funding is not off the table.

“He’s not going to pursue an immediate freeze on redevelopment activities,” Hedlund said.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Sign shows Sacramento's siblings

2011-01-10T01:11:06Z

A new sign at City Hall has arms pointing to Sacramento’s 10 international sister cities, which include Matsuyama, Japan, and Hamilton, New Zealand.

The construction of the sign, which was erected Jan. 3, is intended to raise awareness of the program, which is designed to promote mutually beneficial relationships between cities.

“It’s a way to open up people’s eyes on both sides to other cultures, and there’s a potential for a business component,” said City Councilman Steve Cohn, a supporter of the program. “A lot of people don’t even know Sacramento has sister cities, and they thought this was a fun idea to make sure people knew.”

The Sister City program was started in the 1950s by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, said Starr Hurley, chairwoman of Sacramento’s Sister City Council.

On March 17, 1981, Sacramento got its first sister city: Matsuyama, Japan. The most recent sister city is Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank, which partnered with Sacramento on Dec. 15, 2009.

The new sign near the corner of 10th and I streets was the idea of former City Councilman Ray Tretheway, who saw a similar sign in front of the Los Angeles city hall.

“I took some pictures on my iPhone, brought them back, and said we should do it,” he said. “It went up lickety-split.”

Cohn described the sign as Tretheway’s “last hurrah.”

Hurley said the sister city program has a special focus on youth.

“We’re really working hard for the youth, and now it is wonderful with the Internet, so we can do Skype (audio/video communication) back and forth between the youths,” she said.

The Sister City Council is an all-volunteer organization that meets on the fifth floor of City Hall. The next meeting is Jan. 24, and Hurley said the public is always welcome.

Other Sacramento sister cities include Liestal, Switzerland – the birthplace of John Sutter; Chisinau,
Moldova, and Jinan, China, which has a “Sacramento Garden” in a city park that is a replica of the rose garden at the Capitol, according to Cohn.

“They really make a bigger deal of it than we do here,” he said, adding that he has been to both Jinan and Matsuyama.

For more information about Sacramento’s sister cities, click here.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Cohn retires from SMUD career

2011-01-08T02:02:01Z

City Councilman Steve Cohn retired from his attorney position at the Sacramento Municipal Utility District on New Year’s Eve.

Cohn, a chief assistant general counsel, was second-in-command in SMUD’s legal department. He served at SMUD for nearly 19 years. Before his career at SMUD, Cohn worked as an attorney for the California Energy Commission.

Cohn, 57, will continue to serve as the District 3 city councilman representing East Sacramento and parts of the Central City.

He said he chose to leave SMUD because he has a “pretty decent retirement.” Cohn also said that he has simultaneously held his SMUD job and City Council jobs for the past 16 years.

“I thought it would be nice to focus on one job for a change,” he said.

Cohn said he’s experiencing a slightly slower pace since he retired from SMUD. “People have really asked me: ‘How the heck do you do both those jobs?’ ” he said. “You just get used to moving back and forth, moving high speed” and not taking time off.

Now that he has fewer demands on his time, he said he wants to help advance local and regional rail and transit, as well as the city’s connections with state and national rail systems.

Retirement from SMUD provides “just a little more time to focus on some of the policy issues that really interest me,” he said.

Photo of Cohn by Brandon Darnell.

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.

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.

La Valentina affordable housing project kicks off

2010-12-10T01:21:47Z

Developers are promising to bring new life to a blighted section of Alkali Flat following the groundbreaking ceremony Thursday for 81 units of affordable housing adjacent to the Alkali Flat/La Valentina light rail station.

The site on the corner of 12th and D streets has been vacant for more than 20 years and previously housed an auto repair shop.

The new construction will include 63 apartments and 18 townhouses, the latter being the first “Net Zero” site designed for Sacramento, meaning all energy consumed on the site will be produced there.

“We’re here to bring, I think, the most contemporary, most cutting-edge design that we could bring to one of the oldest residential neighborhoods of Sacramento,” said Meea Kang, a principal at Domus Development, the San Francisco-based company in charge of the project. “We’re very pleased to be able to do that."

Kang said the $27 million project is being financed by a combination of private, state and local funding and will create and/or maintain about 400 jobs in the area. Construction is scheduled to be completed in summer 2012.

“We are tremendously excited about this project, because this is one of the first near-zero-energy projects in the Sacramento area,” said Paul Lau, assistant general manager of SMUD. “This meets all the requirements of a great project.”

SMUD contributed more than $400,000 in credits for the project’s energy conservation, Lau said.

Lau checked off a laundry list of energy-efficient features in the building, including solar roofing panels, sliding glass doors, energy-efficient windows, space heating, central air conditioning, compact fluorescent and LED lighting, and Energy Star appliances.

“The whole (City) Council is really excited about this project,” said City Councilman Steve Cohn, in whose district the project sits. “This project really hits all the sweet spots; this hits all the points that we are trying to do when we talk about Sacramento becoming the most livable city in America.”

Cohn applauded the fact that the site is “taking advantage of a 25-year investment” in the Alkali Flat/La Valentina light rail station and urged Sacramentans to rely more on walking, bicycles and public transit.

“These types of projects are going to do just that,” he said.

But it wasn’t just government officials and developers who saw the groundbreaking as a good thing Thursday.

“Affordable housing gets people off the street,” said Harvey Hayes, an area resident. “And the energy efficiency is big.”

Hayes said he believes people are speeding up the natural process of the Earth’s climate change, and in working to be more energy-efficient, that process can be slowed down.

“Anything and everything makes a difference,” he said.

Another local resident, Richard, who declined to give his last name, said the area has long been a haven for drug use and crime, but building new housing on what was formerly a derelict lot will help curtail that problem.

“This place is a slum,” he said. “(The new project) is going to help a lot with the drug situation.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Angelique Ashby sworn into office

2010-11-24T05:38:59Z

Angelique Ashby was officially sworn in on Tuesday as the new city councilwoman representing the areas of Alkali Flat, Gardenland/Northgate, and North and South Natomas.

The District 1 council seat was vacated by nine-year City Councilman Ray Tretheway, who lost his race against Ashby in June. Ashby, 35, is a first-time council member.

Her father, Patric Ashby, gained permission from City Clerk Shirley Concolino to read the new councilwoman her oath.

Ashby repeated the oath’s phrases after her father, which include a pledge to “well and faithfully discharge the duties” of her new office. She then took her seat at the City Council’s dais, or stage, and made remarks to the packed room at City Hall.

“I’m hopeful that I can help,” Ashby said. “That’s why I ran.”

Ashby also praised the council members for welcoming her to her new job.

“I just want to say that all the members of the council have been really generous to me – very nice,” she said. “Each one has spent some of their time with me – time on the weekend to show me their district. They’ve all come out and seen Natomas. They’re trying very hard to welcome me and I really appreciate that.”

Ashby said before the swearing in event that she still owns a consulting firm that contracts with public agencies, but added that she plans on spending the majority of her time working on city issues as a City Council member. The Sacramento County Office of Education was a former client of her consulting firm, and her current client is in Alpine County, she said.

Mayor Kevin Johnson, the Sacramento Police Officers Association and the Sacramento Area Fire Fighters Local 522 supported Ashby’s run for City Council.

“We are very excited to have Council member Angelique Ashby at the dais,” Johnson said at the swearing-in.

Councilman Steve Cohn was originally scheduled to be sworn in at the City Council meeting, but he said he would make his comments next week. Cohn has been a councilman since 1994, but Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno explained that council members are sworn in each time they are reelected.

Councilman Kevin McCarty gave Ashby a propeller-head cap as a welcoming gift, saying that he and Fong received the same gift when they were sworn in.

Ashby wore the cap for a few seconds, and then said she would give it to council newcomers Jay Schenirer and Darrell Fong when they are sworn in later this month. “Jay, Darrell: It’ll be waiting,” she said.

Photo by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Councilman walks out of chicken discussion

2010-11-17T02:14:52Z

The fate of chicken keeping in Sacramento is still undecided after Tuesday’s Law and Legislation Committee meeting when Councilman Steve Cohn walked out and prevented Sandy Sheedy and Lauren Hammond from voting down the ordinance advocated by CLUCK (Campaign to Legalize Urban Chicken Keeping).

Cohn was the only supportive voice on the committee. “What I’d like to do,” he said, “is allow more work to be done and have an actual ordinance be drafted.”

Hammond said, “I have never been enthusiastic about the idea.”

Cohn replied, “If you wanna kill it, kill it, but I’ll bring it back when you’re gone.”

This was a disappointing finale for CLUCK as supporters were left puzzled by Cohn’s abrupt departure and left wondering if their efforts had been wasted.

Members of CLUCK discussed principles they’d written for proper chicken keeping, which address health concerns, zoning plans, enforcement costs and license fees.

Reina Schwartz, director of the Sacramento's Department of General Services, said the cost of enforcement for proper chicken keeping would be about $30,000 annually.

“There is no evidence of how this will change if chicken keeping was made legal,” Schwartz said. “It will shift the nature of complaints, but not the volume.”

Sheedy, however, said she couldn’t understand how allowing chicken keeping wouldn’t make a difference in complaints if keeping were to be legalized and the backyard chicken population in Sacramento increased.

“We don’t have the staff to support this,” Sheedy said. “Our animal control staff is pushed to its limit already.”

Some residents agree.

“My neighbors have illegal chickens, and it’s a big problem,” said Todd Harlan. “When the wind blows, you smell them. When they fly up on the fence, the dogs get them.”

Those opposed to chicken keeping in Sacramento were concerned about avian flu, which Placerville veterinarian Jeanie Smith claimed was unwarranted.

“There are more deaths by traffic accidents in Sacramento annually than by avian flu worldwide,” she said. “There have been six historical outbreaks, and none in the western hemisphere.”

Community supporters encouraged the council to consider the educational benefits of teaching children how to raise animals for food. Some claimed chicken keeping would create an economic boost. Supporters said the same city ordinances used for cats and dogs could be applied to chickens.

“Sacramento is behind the times,” State Director of Pesticide Watch Paul Towers said, “and we urge Sacramento to see the value of backyard chickens.”

“Eight of the 10 Forbes ‘Most Livable Cities’ allow chicken keeping,” CLUCK supporter Joseph Calavita said. “All different kinds of communities already allow it.”

With no progress made by this meeting, members of CLUCK will have to wait until January to bring the ordinance back before the new council.

“It seems that enforcement is their biggest concern,” CLUCK member Susan Ballew said after the meeting was adjourned. “There just aren’t enough city resources.”

Measure B going down to defeat

2010-11-03T07:16:54Z

Sacramento residents won't see monthly utility rates drop next summer after voters overwhelmingly rejected Measure B at the polls Tuesday.

The initiative to roll back the city's rates for water, garbage and sewer services was failing by more than two to one late Tuesday night. With 287 out of 355 precincts counted, 41,328 – or 68 percent – of voters chose to stick with higher fees as of 10:55 p.m.

More than 19,000 voters, or nearly 32 percent, had voted for the Utilities Rate Hike Roll Back Act of 2010 sponsored by the Sacramento County Taxpayers League, according to Sacramento County's elections department.

The measure's opponents believe a rate decrease would have been a "risky approach" that ultimately would have led to the neglect of utility infrastructure, Sacramento City Councilman Steve Cohn said. He led a "No on Measure B" campaign with Councilman Kevin McCarty and local union leaders.

Sacramento voters know they have other avenues to bring about change in the city, he added.

"I think the tea party sort of anti-government, anti-tax (movement) – it doesn't have as strong an appeal in the city of Sacramento. Or, for that matter, it doesn't seem to have that much appeal in the state of California," Cohn said. "I think people realize they don't have to resort to a drastic measure like Measure B to have an impact on local politics."

In June 2009, the City Council had approved two rate increases totaling more than 18 percent.

The league filed the ballot initiative in February, a month after a Sacramento County Grand Jury issued a report saying the city and the utilities department may have diverted more than $21 million in utility revenues to other city programs supported by the city's general fund. The report also said utilities ratepayers may have paid for more than the cost of the utility services provided.

Measure B sought to revoke a 9.2 percent rate increase approved by the council. The measure also required voters to approve future rate increases that are higher than annual Consumer Price Index increases. The rate decrease would have taken effect in July.

Supporters blamed confusing ballot language and heavily financed opposition by city employee unions, contractors and city officials. Exit polls indicated voters were confused about whether a "yes" or "no" vote would roll back rates, Yes on Measure B Chairman Craig Powell said Tuesday night at an election night party in Curtis Park.

"Measure B was severely handicapped by ballot language approved by the City Council that was incomprehensible to voters," said Powell, who is also the league's attorney. "It was a cynical attempt to manipulate the electoral process. From early returns, it looks like that attempt was successful."

The taxpayers league raised about $60,000 to support the initiative. The No on Measure B campaign raised at least $170,000, Cohn said.

Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 447, led by Harry Rotz, and the California Building and Trades Council each contributed at least $50,000. Other unions and contractors also contributed to a fund that paid for mass mailings, radio ads and campaign signs against the measure in the final weeks of the campaign, Powell said.

Tuesday afternoon, Mayor Kevin Johnson said he opposed the measure. The Utilities Rate Advisory Commission, a citizen’s group that advises the City Council on utilities rates, also opposed Measure B.

Supporters believe their campaign for Measure B convinced other City Council members to join Johnson in calling for an audit of the department. Supporters also believe the campaign will encourage city officials to be more conservative when considering future rate hikes, he said.

"That's the beginning of reform," Powell said, promising to hold city leaders accountable for fixing the utility department's problems. "We're not walking away from this issue."