September 11, 2015
City Manager's Friday Update

As City Manager, my job, simply put, is to lead the organization as we carry out the policies desired by the community as expressed through their elected City Council representatives.  Pretty simple, right?  There's 20,000 residents in this town, about a dozen parks, more than 100 lane miles of streets, hundreds of acres of open space, extensive underground water and wastewater systems, water and wastewater treatment plants, and a lot more; in real life managing it all gets complicated and demands patience.  So, when I need a morale boost, I go up to the top of Oat Hill and walk slowly around the tank taking in the 360 degree view.  You know what I see?  A diverse and friendly community.  Beautiful wetlands trails.  A fantastic "new" park under construction.  A growing industrial area.  Our very own high school (and what a fine one it is).  Miles of hillside trails to the east.  Parents picking up their kids from school.  Bustling commercial areas.  Travelers making their way through town and commuters going to work (sometimes slowly!).  I like to imagine what the city looked like from the hill at incorporation 23 years ago, consider the progress made in those years, and ponder the vision for the next 23 years.  It's a big vision.  Let's, together, not get stuck in the details.  It's not about the stresses of today.  Let's make it about our community and what we can be, together.
Dana
On the Agenda... 
  
On September 15th, next Tuesday, the City Council will consider three matters you will find of interest.  First, they will discuss the need to prohibit camping on public property without a permit.  This would apply to parks, public open spaces, culverts, and similar areas owned by the City or other public agency.  The purpose of this is to help us effectively deal with homeless encampments.  The ordinance allows the City to issue permits for special events in parks or other City land if necessary.  The ordinance would not apply to private property.
 
Also, the City Council will hear an update about the proposed new industrial development south of the airport.  This project includes 2.2 million square feet of industrial space on 173 acres.  The Council will discuss the proposed traffic mitigations and water needs for the project. 
 
Finally, the City Council will talk about the Broadway District Specific Plan now underway.  This conversation will focus on highway design and posted speeds, and how they relate to each other.  The community vision for the highway corridor includes pedestrian facilities, landscaping, and a "welcoming" appearance.  However, with posted high speeds, this can be a challenge.  This conversation will be informal and informational, so please come hear participate in this discussion about concepts for moving forward on the highway design.
 
 
Since Our Last City Council Update...

At the September 1, 2015 City Council meeting, the Council adopted an ordinance increasing water charges by $2 per unit.  As you have read in these updates several times, the drought has taken a toll on the City's Water Fund and we are forced to increase rates in order to keep the fund, and your water supply, sustainable.  The increase will be included on your next water bill received later this month.

September 11th Remembrance Ceremony 



American Canyon High School Band
Looking for a New Friend?

Howdy! I'm Rocket and I'd love to be your new best friend. I have good leash manners and know some commands including sit and down. I'm a great companion who's always ready for some fun. Walks... toys... play time with other dogs... Count me in for all of the above! P-L-A-Y is my middle name. I love a good play session with other dogs too. My best playmate Kami was just adopted so I'm looking for a new playmate. Could it be you? Click here to learn how to meet me!
Napa Junction III

After many years of planning and design, the Napa Junction III project located at the northwest corner of Broadway & Napa Junction Road has officially broken ground and will commence with grading operations early next week.  This project will consist of a retail center located on the western portion of the property and the Canyon Ridge Apartment  project (148 units) on the eastern side.  During the dirt moving phase, the contractor will be very diligent about minimizing dust generated from the site by applying recycled water produced at the City's Wastewater Treatment Facility.  Look for future updates as the project progresses to transform this area into another commercial and residential area within our city.

Click here for other development project updates.
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In This Issue
Fire District News

Click here for the latest news from the Fire District.
Upcoming Events

September 13-19
Child Passenger 
Safety Week  
Wal-Mart Parking Lot
Tues., Sept. 15th, 2-4 PM

Sept.15 - Oct. 15
Latino Heritage Month


September 16
10 AM - 2 PM
2nd Annual Senior 
Center Open House 
2185 Elliott Drive
Click here for more info.

Customer Service Workshop
Thurs., Sept. 17, 5:30 - 7 PM
Ristorante La Strada
Click here for more info.

Sept. 19 - Nov. 16
Napa County Public Health free flu vaccines
Click here for more info.

September 19
Pharmaceutical/Sharps Take Back & FREE Shredding Event
More info here.

September 26
Drug Take Back 
(no sharps)
American Canyon
 Police Department
911 Donaldson Way E.
10 AM - 2 PM
Call 551-0600 for info.

September 27
Sunset / Moonrise Hike
6 - 9 PM
Recology Bins

Recology American Canyon will be replacing garbage, yardwaste and recycling bins citywide beginning in a few weeks through the end of the year. You may have noticed the large inventory of bins at our Corporation Yard recently. This project involves roughly 16,000 bins and is quite the undertaking! The result will be a nice uniform look throughout town on pick-up days and of course, nice new bins for everyone!
Volunteer Opportunities
 

Coastal Clean-Up Day is next weekend, Saturday, September 19th! Hundreds of volunteers turn out to help beautify our community. Volunteer check-in begins at 8:30 AM at Community Park II (Benton & Donaldson). Free lunch and raffles for volunteers. Also available - pharmaceutical and sharps take-back, confidential paper shredding and water conservation tips. To register to participate please contact program coordinator, Stacey Johnson, at (707) 647-5333.


North Bay Stand Down is a three-day encampment for homeless and/or at risk veterans and their families. During the three days, they are provided with medical, dental, vision, recovery, housing, employment and other social services (DMV, VA, etc), as well as food, clothing, showers, haircuts and a safe place to "stand down."

The event will be held this year at Dixon Fairgrounds on October 14, 15, 16, 2015 and is sponsored by Napa County and surrounding agencies. Community volunteers and service providers are needed to provide our veterans with a hand up.  Veterans (and their families) can self-register and do not need to be referred by any agency. All volunteers and veterans can register here.

ACHS Logo
2nd Annual "AC's Night Out", presented by American Canyon High School, will be held on Wednesday, October 14th. The event organizers are seeking participants to get involved. Click here for the flyer.
Whatever happened to...

The treatment plant processes waste water, separating out the solids form the liquids.  The liquid becomes recycled water which can be used for landscaping, and the solids are held in a storage pond. In the past, when this pond got full, the City would hire a contractor to empty and dispose of this waste, at a cost of $300,000 every few years.  In 2014, we decided there must be a more efficient way of dealing with this waste.
 
In October 2014, the City purchased a "screw press" to install at the Wastewater Treatment Plant.  The press, which cost $320,000, allows the staff to process the waste on-site, creating waste that is only 80% moisture and can be removed by Recology at no additional cost.  With this equipment, staff is now processing 6-8 dry tons of waste daily from the Wastewater plant at a cost of $40,000 per year - a fraction of the cost previously paid.  At this rate, the investment will pay for itself in about 5 years. 
 
Thanks to the Wastewater Treatment Plant staff for their creativity and hard work to make this happen. 
Mail Thieves Arrested

ACPD
Message from Chief Tracey Stuart:

Officers have been investigating several mail thefts that have occurred in American Canyon over the past months. The officers discovered that some personal checks that had been stolen from a mail box in American Canyon had been cashed at Target stores in Vallejo and Fairfield, and at a Raley's in Suisun. Officers obtained surveillance video from the stores and were able to identify a woman who was passing the stolen checks as Courtney Goodenough 25 years old. A man with her was identified as Aaron Mallory, 30 years old. 

On September 7, 2015 at about 10:00 am, an officer tracked Goodenough and Mallory to a Motel 6 room in Fairfield. Mallory is on probation with search and seizure terms, so officers went to his room to search. They searched both the room and the car. Among other items found, Officers located mail stolen from American Canyon, more of the checks Goodenough was on video cashing, heroin and methamphetamine. 

Goodenough was booked into Solano County jail for possession of methamphetamine, possession of stolen property and obtaining and using other people's information. Mallory was booked into Solano County jail for possession of stolen property and possession of heroin.

If we found mail belonging to you, we will call. If we don't call, we didn't find your mail and will keep looking. If you have questions please call us at 551-0600.
Construction Updates 

Kimberly Park Renovations - Work at Kimberly Park is on schedule and by the end of next week about 80% of the earthwork should be complete.  This will mean a reduction in the number of trucks hauling dirt away.  The next step will be to apply the topsoil that was reserved at the site.  
Newell Drive 4th Lane -The Newell Road 4th lane project is on schedule and the bulk of the excavation for the 4th lane should be finished by the end of today.  Next week curb and gutter work will begin.
Reclaimed Water Tank - This week the 3rd row of wall was completed on the Reclaimed Water Tank at the Wastewater Plant and now the crew is installing the roof.  The plumbing and electrical, which consist of piping, pumping and SCADA (computer) interface, design is being finalized.  Once the tank is complete the plumbing and electrical will be started.  We are estimating 6 more weeks to completion.  

AUGUST CONSERVATION UPDATE - Thanks to all of you, we have all met our conservation goal for the month of August!  Citywide, we used 26% less water in August 2015 than we consumed in August 2013.  Keep up the effort...we need to make our water supply last as long as possible.

FALL 2015 WATER-WISE LANDSCAPING WORKSHOP SERIES - Including "Smart Irrigation Choices" (9/16), "Soils, Mulches and More" (9/23) and "Perfect Plant Picks" (9/30). Offered on Wednesday evenings in September at Kennedy Park in Napa. Click here for info..

MAKE YOUR OWN RAINBARREL - AMERICAN CANYON FREE WORKSHOP Convert a 55 gallon food-grade plastic drum into a rain barrel to take home. Sunday, October 11th, 8:30 AM at Community Center Gym (Benton Way). Click here for more information.

CALIFORNIA'S NEW FRONT YARD: CREATING A LOW-WATER LANDSCAPE
 - 
Transform your water-intensive lawn in-to a beautiful, drought tolerant landscape that features low-water trees, native grasses, perennials, and shrubs. 
This workshop presents step-by-step methods of turf removal, soil amendment, and irrigation best practices that make the most out of each drop. Upcoming workshop in Fairfield on Thursday,
October 1, 2015, 8 AM - 3 PM, click here for details.

HOW-TO VIDEO LIBRARY Click here to learn how to check for leaks, change your irrigation system, how to perform self-audits of your water usage, and much more!

FREE RECYCLED WATER - 
Free recycled water station is located at the 
City's Corporation Yard,  205 Wetlands Edge Road; the station is open on a drop in basis from 8:00 AM to 3:30 PM, Monday - Friday. For more information check here.

***SPECIAL SATURDAY ACCESS TO RECYCLED WATER STATION - Saturdays, September 26th  and October 3rd from 9 AM - 1 PM. Click here to learn about the requirements and other important information. 

Parks and Recreation News
 
Program and Event Highlights 
 
Our 2nd Annual Senior Center Open House is scheduled for Wednesday, September 16th from 10 AM to 2 PM. See what your Senior Center has to offer with performances from our belly dancing group Raks Zeyna, Reader's Theatre, Sizzling Senior Dancers, as well as a showcase from our Watercolor Artists!! Make sure to come on through to the American Canyon Senior Center located at 2185 Elliott Dr.  Click here to view our flyer.

Please join the American Canyon Community & Parks Foundation for their Sunset / Moonrise Hike on Sunday, September 27th, 6 PM-9 PM.  Hike leaders, Eric Mckee of the Napa Resource Conservation District and Sande Sutter, will lead a short 1 mile walk to Glass Beach, where participants can watch the sun set and the moon rise, learn about local wildlife and the unique biology of the Wetlands.  After the hike, we'll enjoy dessert treats while viewing the moon close-up through a telescope. Click here to view their flyer.

Jr. Warriors Youth Winter Basketball League (ages 5-14) resident registration is here!  American Canyon residents are able to sign up at the Parks and Recreation office, 100 Benton Way, through October 30th.  Practices are held once a week for each age group beginning Monday, December 7, 2015.  Games will be played on Saturday mornings and are scheduled to begin on Saturday, January 19, 2016.

 Click here to view our Fall/Winter Activities Guide with all the classes and events happening in September 2015 through March 2016.




 
Upcoming activities:   
 
Class
Ages/Grades
Activity Date/Time
Cost
Location


6th-8th

Mon 3-5 PM
Wed 1-3 PM
 

FREE!
Please pre-register at Parks and Rec office 


Senior Multi-Use Center
 2185 Elliott Drive



6-17


Saturdays 
12-1:45 PM
Session 1: 
9/12/15-12/12/15
Show: 12/19/15
(no class 
11/14 & 12/5) 


$130/session
$30 non-refundable materials fee paid to instructor


Community Center Gym
 
For more information contact us at: (707) 648-7275