Santa Paula Blog

The Draft EIR for the Fagan Canyon project will not be out by May 9.
Therefore, we are going to postpone this special Council meeting. The
meeting will be rescheduled for June.

The Public Works Department Streets Division will be closing the northbound lane of Palm Ave., between Main St & Santa Barbara this Thursday, March 31, 2005, between 7:00am to 4:30pm. Staff will be grinding the rut in the street and repaving. We will be doing work on Palm Ave. intermittently over the next few months, trying to repair holes in the street. Also, on Wednesday, April 6, staff will be working in the intersection of Palm and Santa Barbara, Palm will remain open, however Santa Barbara will be closed .

The Santa Paula City Council will be holding a town hall meeting to
encourage questions and dialogue with the community on Monday, April 4,
2005 at 6:30 PM at the Santa Paula High School Auditorium, 404 N. Sixth
Street. This will be the second time in two years that the City Council
has taken one of their regular meetings "on the road" into the community.
The purpose of the town hall meeting is to allow a dialogue between members
of the community and the City Council that the regular City Council meeting
format does not easily allow. Residents are encouraged to attend, ask
questions and receive answers to their questions from the City Council
and/or members of the City staff. Simultaneous Spanish translation will be
available as it is at all City Council meetings. The City Council meeting
will not be televised live on Adelphia Cable Channel 10 as usual, but will
be rebroadcast on Tuesday, April 5 at 4PM, Thursday, April 7 at 6 PM and
Sunday, April 10 at 1 PM. For further information about the meeting,
please contact Santa Paula City Clerk Josie Herrera at 805-933-4208.

The City of Santa Paula will be holding its annual Easter egg hunt and
Earth Day celebration this Saturday, March 26 from 11 AM to 2 PM at Glen
City School, 141 Steckel Drive. Children will be able to participate in
the Easter egg hunt at 11 AM and then participate in games and other
activities. The City's Public Works Department will have exhibits and
give-aways to celebrate Earth Day.

New this year is a special emphasis to reach out to the Santa Paula Spanish
speaking community. The City is using this event to help educate the
community about services provided by the City of Santa Paula. Each City
department will have a booth at the event with information in Spanish and
English about City services. The City has partnered with La Mejor radio
(96.7 FM) to help publicize the event on their popular Spanish language
radio station. As part of the partnership, the City purchased thirty-nine
thirty second radio advertisements which are being aired throughout the
week. La Mejor will also broadcast live from the event to provide
publicity on Saturday.

1. Approved loan to Glen Tavern Inn for kitchen improvements.

2. Approved fee increases for Police Department services.

3. Extended moratorium on condominium conversions to February 6, 2006.

Toyota commercial to be shot on Main Street all day on Thursday, March 24 between 10th Street and Mill Street. Prep for commercial will continue throughout the week.

1. Loan of $46,000 from City's CDBG economic development revolving fund for the Glenn Tavern Inn to assist with purchase of kitchen equipment.
2. Award of contract for the planting of new palm trees along Harvard Boulevard.
3. Consideration of fee increases for services provided by the Police Department.
4. Consideration of extension of moratorium of condominium conversions for an additional ten months and fifteen days.
5. Presentation of 2004 crime statistics. Presentation can be found on our website (PDF).

The following is the text of a press release issued by the City regarding some developments today on the Santa Paula Memorial Hospital front. The final piece has fallen into place on the package to re-open the hospital with Comstock Homes being the final highest bidder on the remaining hospital property at just over $10 million:

The City of Santa Paula welcomes the conclusion of the bidding process for the remaining land at the Santa Paula Memorial Hospital site and greets Comstock Homes to our community. "Today marks another milestone toward the re-opening of Santa Paula Memorial Hospital. Now that Comstock Homes has been awarded the right to purchase the remaining hospital property, the City and Comstock can conclude its discussions on a Development Agreement governing the development of the property and work through the land use approval process, " said Santa Paula City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz.

"Comstock Homes has an excellent reputation as a home builder throughout Southern California. Santa Paula is fortunate that a developer of such a high caliber will be working to bring a new neighborhood to the City. The purchase of the land by Comstock also secures the fate of Santa Paula Memorial Hospital and paves the way for the County of Ventura to re-open the hospital over the next several months," Bobkiewicz continued. "The hospital creditor's also deserve thanks from Santa Paula in being willing to craft such a creative deal in order to satisfy their needs and make sure that the community gets back their hospital. Thanks to the creditors, the County of Ventura and Comstock Homes, Santa Paula is on the verge of doing what very few communities in the country have done: reopen a closed hospital. Santa Paula Memorial Hospital will once again provide critical health care to the 60,000 residents of the Santa Clara Valley," Bobkiewicz concluded.

The City of Santa Paula welcomes the conclusion of the bidding process for
the remaining land at the Santa Paula Memorial Hospital site and greets
Comstock Homes to our community. "Today marks another milestone toward the
re-opening of Santa Paula Memorial Hospital. Now that Comstock Homes has
been awarded the right to purchase the remaining hospital property, the
City and Comstock can conclude its discussions on a Development Agreement
governing the development of the property and work through the land use
approval process, " said Santa Paula City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz.

"Comstock Homes has an excellent reputation as a home builder throughout
Southern California. Santa Paula is fortunate that a developer of such a
high caliber will be working to bring a new neighborhood to the City. The
purchase of the land by Comstock also secures the fate of Santa Paula
Memorial Hospital and paves the way for the County of Ventura to re-open
the hospital over the next several months," Bobkiewicz continued. "The
hospital creditor's also deserve thanks from Santa Paula in being willing
to craft such a creative deal in order to satisfy their needs and make sure
that the community gets back their hospital. Thanks to the creditors, the
County of Ventura and Comstock Homes, Santa Paula is on the verge of doing
what very few communities in the country have done: reopen a closed
hospital. Santa Paula Memorial Hospital will once again provide critical
health care to the 60,000 residents of the Santa Clara Valley," Bobkiewicz
concluded.

The City Council took the following actions this evening:

1. Approved FY 2005/06 Community Development Block Grant allocations (PDF).
2. Continued until March 21, 2005 meeting new ordinance establishing guidelines for annexation and the ending of 1999 moritorium on annexations.
3. Directed the City Attorney to submit new report evaluating potential conflicts of Councilmembers Procter and Aguirre to California Fair Political Practices Commission for revised opinion on conflict issue. City Council also directed City Attorney to include request for opinion on potential conflicts on Planning Commission members based on this new analysis.

Beginning tomorrow, east bound traffic on Harvard Blvd. will be affected for the next two weeks, by utility construction for the project located at 320 W. Harvard Blvd, (200 feet east of Steckel). The two lanes will converge to one and flip-flop as needed for the installation of the water and sewer lines.

1. Final action on allocation of $398,000 in Federal Community Development Block Grant funds. Recommendations for funding include $100,000 for improvements to Teague and Las Piedras Park and $50,000 for electrical improvements at Blanchard/Santa Paula Public Library.

2. Consideration of new ordinance to process land annexations to the City. This new ordinance is a requirement of a 1999 moratorium on annexations put in place to ensure that all future annexations are cost covering. There are several pending annexation issues before the City and the adoption of these new guidelines is a first step toward consideration of future annexation proposals.

3. Consideration of a report reviewing the conflicts of Councilmembers Procter and Aguirre as they pertain to their participation in decision making on the proposed Fagan Canyon project. Based on the findings of this economic study, staff is recommending that the City petition the California Fair Political Practices Commission for a revised ruling on the conflicts of interest if Procter and Aguirre on this project and to allow them to participate in the project.

Assemblywoman Audra Strickland's office has shared with the City a letter she has received from Caltrans updating efforts to repair Highway 150 on the way to Ojai. Design work for the improvements is nearing completion. Construction work is expected to begin within the next two weeks on the portion of highway that is undermined and unsafe for vehicle travel. This will take approximately two months to complete. Once the road is open, one-way traffic signals will be placed at three locations that will require further construction/restoration, and will continue until work is complete. The full text (and photos) of the letter (PDF) from Caltrans can be found on the City's website. Thanks to Assemblywoman Strickland and her staff for their great work on this issue.

The City of Santa Paula is holding a clean-up and community beautification
event on Saturday, March 12 from 8 AM to 12 Noon. This event will be
focused on improvements at the City's Veteran's Park as well as clean-up of
the City's entrance gateways. Volunteers are needed. People interested in
helping with the event can contact the Public Works Department at
805-933-4212 for more information or come to Veteran's Park on Saturday
morning for assignment.

The City of Santa Paula and Santa Paula Redevelopment Agency are in the
process of selecting a brand image that will represent our community.
Images were inspired by the City's Image Contest winner, and developed by a
team of graphics professionals.

A brand image is an image that stays in your mind, reminding you of Santa
Paula's best qualities. It captures the essential qualities of Santa Paula.

Residents will be able to vote now through Friday, March 18 on the image
they like the most. Voting will be done in three ways: first, people can
come to local banks in the downtown and vote by placing money in jars for
those logos they like. All money collected will be used to fund fireworks
this year on the 4th of July. Second, people can attend this month's Santa
Paula Chamber of Commerce mixer which will be hosted by the City on
Wednesday, March 16 at the City's California Oil Museum. Finally, folks
can vote on-line by sending an e-mail.

The proposed brands and further information on the contest can be found on
our website.

Lines continue to be long at the new Bob's Big Boy. Folks from the Limoneira Company say that on Saturday there were more hamburgers sold than at any other grand opening of a Big Boy in the USA.

Santa Paula Skate Park: - The skate park planter areas have been adopted by Blake Cowen, Eagle Scout. He has numerous volunteers and is working on contributions for the planting material. It is estimated that his project will be complete within the next month.

Teague Park Improvements Project: The design of this project was awarded to CPS Landscape Architecture on Feb. 7, 2005. Staff is currently working to execute the contract documents.

Water Distribution Pipeline Design Project: The this project was awarded to Hawks & Associates on February 22, 2005. Staff is currently working to execute the contract documents.

Arterial Overlay Project: Additional Street Striping is being scheduled for later this month.

Lighted Crosswalk Maintenance: Staff continues to pursue the material supplier for parts, in order to repair the three crosswalks that are not working.

Partners in Housing: Staff is meeting with the Contractor to establish the fees required for utility connections.

Heritage Park Villas: The tract map for this project has been found satisfactory for approval, signatures, and recording, by the County Surveyor's Office. The proposed map will go to Council for this action later this month.

Las Piedras Park Restrooms Upgrade: The Contractor will begin demolition of the existing park restrooms on March 3, 2005 with anticipated completion of the four new restrooms, handicapped accessible, by mid April.

Water/Wastewater Master Plan: The modeling work is already complete. The Plan is anticipated to be complete by the end of April.

Santa Paula Beautiful: The next event is scheduled for March 12, 2005 and will mainly be centered around the Veterans Park area. Scheduled items include, painting of the restroom facility, cleaning of the sand at the tot lot play area, cleaning up the surrounding park area including weed removal and maybe some planting of plant material. New park furnishings have been ordered for this site, but it is doubtful that they will arrive in time to be installed prior to the event.

Motor Oil and Latex Paint Event: The next event is scheduled for April 2, 2005
Community Drop-off Event: The next event is scheduled for April 30, 2005 Residents of Santa Paula are encouraged to bring large bulky items such as sofas, appliances, and mattresses to the City facility located at 600 South Palm Avenue for proper disposal. The facility will be set up to accommodate traffic flow in a one-way pattern. Areas will be designated for items requiring special handling such refrigerators. Areas will also be designated for metal and yard waste.

Implementation of New Refuse Service:
576 letters requesting cart information were sent out in January. We have received approximately 200 responses, the remaining customers that did not respond have been referred to accounting and will be billed per our records. Extra carts are in the process of being collected and delivered.

Ventura County Fire is planning for a controlled burn in the Sisar Road area of Upper Ojai March 3 and 4.

A report on the City's budget at midyear is available on the website as a PDF document.