City Manager's Report  August 29, 2014

   FROM THE OFFICE OF THE

CITY MANAGER  

Spending Measure X Funds  

 This past week the City Council approved amending the FY 2015 Annual Budget to segregate $846,800 of revenue estimated to be received from the City's Measure X Sales and Use Tax. Measure X was passed by 65.2% of voters in Greenfield on June 5, 2012, adding a 1% Sales and Use Tax to the State's Sales and Use Tax rate of 7.5%. The additional 1% became effective October 1, 2012, and revenues began to be received in January 2013. Measure X is scheduled to sunset on October 1, 2017. When Measure X was approved, it was with the understanding of the voters that the new revenues would be used "To prevent potential reduction of services to the Police Department, restore Police staffing and services; maintain the financial viability of the City; ensure adequate park maintenance, restore City Hall service hours and return Recreation Programs for youth."

To ensure transparency and accountability, the City has specifically allocated $610,000 for Police Services, $133,300 for recreational programing and $90,000 for code enforcement.   The Budget and Finance Advisory Board will be charged with making sure these funds are properly spent on eligible expenses.

Measure X funds are of critical importance to the City. However, like the City of Soledad, Greenfield also recognizes that this measure is a short term fix to a long term problem. However, before considering asking voters to extend this measure in two years, the entire community needs to have a focused dialog about current levels of service in both the Police Department and Fire District.    Both public safety agencies are substantially underfunded and under staffed.   What levels are acceptable...depends on the community's defined expectations and willing to pay for public safety.  

As we all watch the tragic events unfold in Ferguson, it is so clear how important a properly trained and staffed Police Department is to every community.   It is, without a doubt, the most important function of local government. During the next year, I will be working very closely with both Police Chief Frese and Fire Chief Rich Foster assessing current staffing needs in both public safety departments and thinking about our collective future.  


 

Cleaning Up Greenfield!  

During the past six months, the City's Code Enforcement Officer has been patrolling the city and addressing may code violations concerning the storage of inoperable vehicles and trailers on private property and on city streets. Often, people are not aware that it is unlawful to park their car on their front lawn or the restrictions concerning storage of recreational vehicles. It's important to remember that it is unlawful in the City of Greenfield to park, store or leave standing upon any street or alley:

  • Any vehicle for seventy-two (72) or more consecutive hours;

  • Any dismantled motor vehicle that is in a state of disrepair.

  • Any vehicle in residential areas on any surface which is not on a permitted permanent surface.

  • Any recreational vehicle in the front and street side yards.

  • Any vehicle within any required clear vision triangle area on a corner lot.

During the past six months, the City has issued a number of violations for inoperable vehicles.  It is important to know that:  

  • It is unlawful and a misdemeanor for any person to abandon, park, store, leave or permit the abandonment, parking, storing, or leaving of any licensed or unlicensed vehicle or part thereof which is in an abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperable condition upon any private property or public property, not including highways, within the city for a period in excess of thirty (30) days unless such vehicle or part thereof is completely enclosed within a building in a lawful manner where it is not plainly visible from the street or other public or private property.

     

  • Any vehicle, trailer, or vessel which is inoperable and/or without current registration must be stored entirely within an enclosed structure and may not be parked or stored in any yard within a residential zoning district or neighborhood

     

  • The leaving of a vehicle on private property for a period of time in excess of thirty days (30) without permission of the owner or person in lawful possession or control of the property shall be prima fascia evidence that such vehicle has been abandoned by the owner and by the person in charge or control thereof, and the police department may thereupon remove such vehicle.  

 Finally, regarding the parking of recreational vehicles in the City and on private property, it is important to understand that recreation vehicles:

  • May only be parked on any highway (street) for a maximum period of seventy two (72) hours. Any request to extend this period must be submitted in writing to the chief of police for consideration and authorization.

     

  • Parking is only permitted outside of required front and street side yard setback areas and within interior side and rear yards when screened by a solid six foot (6') tall fence, wall, and/or landscape barrier.

The City's Code Officer has been addressing these, and other code issues, around the City. As the attachment activity sheet shows, the City is also making sure all residents comply with city ordinances concerning yards. The following governs garage and yard sales:

  • Garage/yard sales are permitted subject to obtaining a permit from the police department on any parcel where the sale operator resides, not to exceed two (2) sales per calendar year for a maximum of three (3) consecutive days and may only operate during daylight hours.

If you have any questions regarding City code regulations please call David Carrera at 831.674.5591, they can be found on the City's newly designed web page on the following tap: www.ci.greenfield.ca.us

 
  

 GREENFIELD EXPLORER GRADUATION CEREMONY HELD ON AUGUST 6, 2014 

 

 

Earlier this month The Explorer Program held its Graduation Ceremony and congratulated these young adults for their commitment and service to our community!  Job well done! 

 

Here are some of the pictures from the event as you can see, it was a full house!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
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 GREENFIELD'S FIRST  

COMMUNITY POLICE ACADEMY (CPA)

  

 

The Greenfield Community Police Academy (CPA) provides community members with an up close and personal look at police work and the Greenfield Police Department. The academy builds partnerships between police and community members by allowing Greenfield residents to participate in practical police training and education.

  
The CPA does not train participants to be future police officers; it is designed to inform citizens about police policies, procedures, laws, and resources, and to foster community support, safety and awareness. Participants learn about topics such as police selection and training, internal investigations, criminal law, patrol operations, communications, crime prevention, firearms training, critical incidents, narcotics, gangs, crime scene investigation (CSI), code and traffic enforcement and much more. 
 
Registration is now open for the Fall 2014 session. The first session will begin on Tuesday, September 3 at 6:30 pm.  The session runs once a week for 12 consecutive weeks. To apply: click here 

 

 
  

 

A NEW PARK FOR GREENFIELD!

COME TO THE COMMUNITY MEETING:

 

Last year Greenfield was honored to be the recipient of a $2.9 million grant from the State of California to develop a new 3-acre park at Apple Avenue and 3rd Street. In competing for this award, the City worked very closely with a Citizen Committee to identify the desired features of the park. A number of public meetings were held to receive ideas from the community. That was over three years ago. Now that an architectural team, led by Pacific Coast Land Design of Ventura, has been selected to design this new park, we want to start the design process with a community meeting to see if the desires of you, the residents of Greenfield, have changed since the program for the park was first developed more than three years ago.

 

The park concept included a basketball court, tennis court, gazebo/public gathering space, boulder garden, play area, picnic area, water splash/play area, a jogging/walking path, and open turf play area.


 Come meet with the architect on Tuesday, September 9th at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at the Civic Center. We especially would like to hear from those that will use the park and everything it has to offer - children, middle and high school students, elderly, adults, and parents. We want to once again hear your ideas so we can make sure that the park that is designed will include the features that you - the residents of Greenfield and the users of the park - want. Everyone is encouraged to come to this meeting. We want your ideas. We truly want this to be your park, but to do so we need to know what you would really like to have in a new park.

 

 

 

 
 

 SIDEWALKS AND KIDS!!!

I have wonderful news for our community, and especially the children who go to school every day at Oak Avenue Elementary and Vista Verde Middle Schools! Just last week we were awarded a grant from the State of California under a statewide Active Transportation and Safe Routes to School grant program. More than 770 applications were received statewide and grants were awarded for only 145 of those requests - less than 20%. We partnered with the cities of King City, Soledad, Gonzales, and Salinas, the Monterey County Health Department, and the Transportation Agency for Monterey County to submit a grant application to create better opportunities for safe walking and bicycling for our children to get to and from school. We were one of the lucky cities to be awarded this highly competitive grant. Greenfield's share of this grant is $815,000 to provide bicycle lanes, sidewalks, crosswalks, curb ramps, and pavement markings along Elm and Oak Avenues, and 12th and 13th Streets.

 

Every day more than 1,000 elementary and middle school students and their parents walk or bicycle to and from school at Oak Avenue Elementary and Vista Verde Middle Schools. As anyone who walks, bicycles, or drives on these streets knows, there are sections of Elm, Oak, 12th, and 13th that have no sidewalks, no curb ramps for parents with strollers or the disabled, and no pavement markings for bicycle lanes. There are stretches of dirt or inadequately paved walkways. These are not safe conditions for our children as they go to and from school each day.

 

With this $815,000 grant, we will be able to provide safe sidewalks, street crossings, and bicycle pathways for the students at Oak Avenue Elementary and Vista Verde Middle Schools. We will also be able to provide safe bicycle lanes connecting Patriot Park with the downtown business district. More than a mile of paved sidewalks will be provided, nearly three miles of marked bicycle pathways from Patriot Park to El Camino Real, and ADA ramps at each street intersection along these routes. These improvements along Elm, Oak, 12th, and 13th will provide safe pedestrian routes for people of all ages and disabilities and will enable students and adults to ride bicycles and walk in a safe manner to and from the Oak Avenue and Vista Verde schools, Patriot Park, and the downtown business corridor. We will also use the grant funds to install appropriate crosswalks, school/pedestrian warning signals, and other visual and safety measures at the primary street entrances to both the Oak Avenue Elementary and Vista Verde Middle schools.

 

In the next few months we will be having public meetings to get your feedback on the type of sidewalk, bicycle pathway, street crossing, and school entrance improvements you would like to see. We want your ideas on how we can best use these grant monies to improve our community and to make sure everyone who walks and rides bicycles can do so safely and along appropriate streets and sidewalks. Look here for more exciting news on this project in the coming months.

 

Here are a few pictures of some of the current conditions this grant will enable us to fix:

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 
PORTA-POTTIES???
 

 

In recent months there have been numerous instances of people having parties and large gatherings at their homes - with porta-potties being put on the street, on the landscape strip between the street and sidewalk, and even on people's front yards. Although porta-potties serve a useful purpose, they do present a number of obvious health and aesthetic issues.

 

The Greenfield Municipal Code includes a number of regulations that apply to the use of porta-potties on private property, whether for personal or commercial use. These regulations are designed to ensure porta-potties and other accessory structures "do not create public safety or nuisance issues, do not create an adverse aesthetic from street right of ways, and do not create a negative impact on surrounding properties" (section 17.46.010). The Municipal Code clearly specifies that such structures "shall not be located in a required front yard (section 17.46.020.A). Porta-potties cannot be placed in the City right of way (street, sidewalk, or landscape strip between the street and sidewalk) without a permit from the City.

 

To avoid the creation of public safety or nuisance issues, to protect the public health, to avoid adverse aesthetic views from street right of ways, and to avoid negative impacts on neighboring properties, any porta-potty located on private property must be located in the rear yard. They are not to be placed in the front or side yards, or on any public street, sidewalk, or right of way. Anyone who places a porta-potty anywhere other than in the rear yard will be subject to an immediate issuance of an administrative citation. The fine for a first violation will be $100 for each day that the violation occurs or continues. For a second violation within one year, the fine will be $200. For each additional violation within the same one year period, the fine will be $500.

 

Aside from legal regulations on the use and placement of porta-potties, where you place a porta-potty is also a matter of common courtesy, being a good neighbor, and being respectful to everyone else who lives in your neighborhood. Everyone has a right to enjoy their property, and have friends over for parties and gatherings. But your neighbors also have a right to enjoy their property. The preservation of the aesthetics of a neighborhood is important to everyone, and so too is protecting the public health. Please be respectful of your neighbors.

 

 
MCDONALD'S IS COMING!
 

Anyone who has been by Walnut and El Camino Real lately has seen a buzz of construction activity. YES, it's our new McDonald's. If all goes well, it should be open by Halloween - so be thinking about your first order.

 

While this is such exciting news, I also want to ask that drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists be very careful around this site - especially in the morning and afternoon hours when children are going to and from school. Orange safety dividers have been set up along El Camino Real to mark a pedestrian pathway. Please use this and don't walk in the bicycle lane or the street.

 

On Walnut Avenue, there are also orange dividers set up for a very narrow pedestrian walkway, but please use the other side of Walnut to walk. It's very easy to cross Walnut at either El Camino Real or 10th Street. Doing so will keep everyone safe - and ready to enjoy their first meal at McDonald's around Halloween!

 

  

WHAT IS A...

VERMICOMPOSTING TABLE???   

 

This upcoming school year, the Greenfield Community Science Workshop and the Monterey Agricultural & Rural Life Museum (MCARLM) will collaborate to design, construct, and grow a garden in King City's San Lorenzo Park. This worm table, or vermicomposting table, will be a component of our garden. Vermicomposting is the practice of using worms to transform organic waste (e.g. fruits and vegetables, meat, grains, cheese, bones, plants and flowers, etc.) into garden fertilizer. Vermicomposting is easy and convenient; you can set up your system in the corner of your backyard/garage/kitchen, it's odor-free, it does not make any noise, it does not use fuel or electricity, and it requires very little care. The advantages of vermicomposting are many: the system yields nutrient-rich fertilizer for your plants and garden, you save money by producing less trash, and you always have plenty of worms for fishing.

 

Our worm container is made out of wood. Wood containers deteriorate faster than plastic containers, but they allow better air circulation and tend to maintain healthier temperatures for worm colonies.  We will be using red worms for our container and shredded newspaper as our bedding material. Approximately 5000 red worm will inhabit our table and they will process 10-15 pounds of garbage per week...


 

Picture 1: Blanca Isabeles, a first-year college student and Greenfield CSW Intern, will be responsible for coordinating and facilitating student activities.


 

 

Picture 2: Anthony Garcia  puts the finishing touches on our vermicomposting table.   

 

 

 
Now Hiring!
 
The City of Greenfield is hiring for a new Management  Analyst.  Click here for full view of profile.
 
New Online Utility Bill Pay!
 
The City of Greenfield has implemented exciting new software, along with a new utility payment website. Please access the new utility payment website at www.ci.greenfield.ca.us and click on "Online Utility Bill Payment," to begin account set-up on the new utility payment website. We think you will like the capabilities of the new utility payment website. Thank you for your patience!
 
UPCOMING EVENTS....