OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER

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1 OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER TO: FROM: SUBJECT: Honorable Mayor and City Council Alan Tandy, City Manager AT General Information December 9, 2011 If you are viewing the document online, you can click the blue underlined words throughout the text, which will take you directly to the background files referenced for each applicable topic. Miscellaneous News The Convention and Visitors Bureau shared some good news this week. Construction employment in Kern County rose 7% between October 2010 and October That was the second largest rate gain among California metro areas, according to a new analysis of federal employment data released Monday by the Associated General Contractors of America. Only the San Jose area saw a greater rate of increase (9%). While we do not have statistical proof, our own road projects have to represent a significant piece of that gain. Kern gained 800 construction jobs during the 12-month period. That 7% gain ranked Kern 32 nd nationally among the nation s 337 metro areas. Most California metros saw either a drop in construction jobs, or no change at all. Nationwide, 146 metros lost construction jobs. The enclosed chart provides more information. I expect that next week s Council meeting will be rather lengthy, as there are several significant items on the agenda for your consideration. The public hearing regarding the High Speed Rail project is also scheduled, and it would not be surprising to see a full house for that item alone. We have some good news to report related to recent developments regarding the City s food waste recycling initiative. As of this week all major local school districts have demonstrated commitments to participate in the mutually beneficial program. A memo from Public Works is enclosed with additional details.

2 Honorable Mayor and City Council General Information December 9, 2011 Page 2 High Speed Rail News The title may say it all, High-speed rail is dead in America. Should we mourn it? An article in Wednesday s Slate Magazine provides a straightforward perspective on the project as a whole and why it is failing nationwide. Enclosed is an article from Tuesday s Sacramento Bee that clearly indicates how voters in California feel about the project. A new poll shows that while many initially voted in favor of the project, nearly 64% want the Legislature to call for a re-vote. Of those, 59% have said they would now reject the package. TRIP News The contractor for Westside Parkway Phase 6a began to move Allen Road traffic onto a bypass road today. The bypass is located just to the east of the existing road, between Stockdale Highway and Brimhall Road in the vicinity of the Westside Parkway construction, and will provide two lanes in each direction. This traffic shift is necessary to complete a new canal crossing in preparation of the Allen Road Bridge construction. This work will also require the closure of Rosarita Avenue at Allen Road. The contractor will extend the bypass road northward in the coming weeks to allow for continued traffic flow during construction of the Allen Road Bridge, which is scheduled to begin in early As always, additional information can be found at Event Schedule There are multiple public events scheduled for the next week at City facilities: Winter Playground at the Ice Sports Center Tickets: $11 per person Nutcracker Ballet at Rabobank Theater December 9 th (7:30 pm) December 10 th (1:00 and 7:30 pm) December 11 th (1:00 pm) Tickets: $34 and $38 Mannheim Steamroller at Rabobank Theater December 14 th at 7:30 pm Tickets: $36.50, $51.50, and $66.50

3 Honorable Mayor and City Council General Information December 9, 2011 Page 3 Reports For your information, we enclose the following information: The Streets Division work schedule for the week beginning December 12 th ; and The Recreation and Parks Department Monthly Report for November AT:rs:ch cc: Department Heads Roberta Gafford, City Clerk

4 Construction Employment by California Metropolitan Area or Division, October 2010 October 2011 (not seasonally adjusted) Area Industry October 2010 October mo. % change 12 mo. gain/loss National Rank San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara Construction 33,200 36,200 9% 3, Bakersfield-Delano Construction 12,200 13,000 7% Santa Rosa-Petaluma Construction 9,500 10,000 5% San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles Const, mining, logging 5,100 5,300 4% Stockton Construction 7,700 8,000 4% Sacramento--Arden-Arcade Roseville Construction 39,300 40,500 3% 1, San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City Construction 32,300 33,300 3% 1, Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario Construction 58,900 59,800 2% Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine Construction 67,400 68,200 1% Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta Construction 7,000 7,100 1% Chico Const, mining, logging 2,500 2,500 0% El Centro Const, mining, logging 1,300 1,300 0% Hanford-Corcoran Const, mining, logging % Yuba City Const, mining, logging 1,700 1,700 0% Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale Construction 103, ,100-1% 1, Fresno Construction 11,700 11,500-2% Salinas Construction 4,100 4,000-2% San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos Construction 55,100 53,700-3% 1, Santa Cruz-Watsonville Const, mining, logging 3,100 3,000-3% Vallejo-Fairfield Construction 7,500 7,300-3% Visalia-Porterville Const, mining, logging 3,900 3,800-3% Napa Const, mining, logging 2,600 2,500-4% Oakland-Fremont-Hayward Construction 48,400 46,600-4% 1, Merced Const, mining, logging 1,700 1,600-6% Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura Construction 11,300 10,500-7% Madera-Chowchilla Const, mining, logging 1,200 1,100-8% Modesto Const, mining, logging 6,000 5,500-8% Redding Const, mining, logging 3,000 2,400-20%

5 PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM TO: Alan Tandy, City Manager FROM: Raul Rojas, Public Works Director DATE: December 8, 2011 SUBJECT: School Recycling Update This week two noteworthy developments occurred regarding the new food waste recycling initiative with the schools. One, the Kern High School District met with Solid Waste staff and agreed to participate in their new food waste recycling program. Implementation begins this Monday and will take several months to complete. The second involves the junior high and elementary school districts. This week, the Panama/Buena Vista School District acknowledged that the last few schools were being completed for food waste recycling. Bakersfield City School District started the food waste recycling program last spring. Rosedale Union School District is currently implementing their program. With this week s developments, all major local school districts are clearly committed to the local refuse and recycling collection system. Most are participating in this innovative and mutually beneficial program. With this program, the schools save significantly on their refuse bill while doing the right thing by recycling. The City benefits by increasing diversion while providing the highest quality solutions to the school districts. A key to this program s success has been some creative solutions on handling this material after composting. Residual plastics and contamination were higher in this kind of collection program, as one would assume. Combining some available technologies for screening and cleaning of compost have allowed this somewhat dirtier material to be effectively cleaned and marketed. In fact, the Division feels so good about this program it has submitted several abstracts to national organizations and will be submitting award applications as well. This new program also demonstrates the cooperative relationship between the City, the local haulers, and the school districts. Haulers have helped contribute significantly to this program s success. By working together, the local system of collection, services and fees has shown itself to be superior to outside options.

6 - 1 - High-speed rail is dead in America. Should we mourn it? By Will Oremus Posted Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011, at 8:24 PM ET Posted Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011, at 8:24 PM ET Slate.com High-speed rail is dead in America. Should we mourn it? If you live in Los Angeles, Orlando, Cincinnati, Chicago, Milwaukee, Raleigh, or any number of other U.S. cities, chances are you ve read a news story that started something like this: Imagine stepping on a train in [your city] and stepping off in [another major city] just two-and-a-half hours later. This dream could become a reality in the next [unrealistic number] years, thanks to plans for a national network of high-speed rail lines. Well, you can stop imagining it now. High-speed rail isn t happening in America. Not anytime soon. Probably not ever. The questions now are (1) what killed it, and (2) should we mourn its passing? There was a brief burst of enthusiasm around the future of high-speed rail in January 2010, when President Obama announced $8 billion in federal stimulus spending to start building America s first nationwide program of high-speed intercity passenger rail service. Since then, however, the project s chances of success have been heading in one direction: downhill. First, Tea Party conservatives in Florida and wealthy liberal suburbanites in the Bay Area began questioning their states plans. Then, just as Joe Biden was calling for $53 billion in high-speed-rail spending over the next six years, a crop of freshly elected Republican governors turned down billions in federal money for lines in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Florida. Finally, Republicans in Congress zeroed out the federal high-speed rail budget last month. (To understand why conservatives hate trains, see my colleague Dave Weigel s story from earlier this year.) Though Republicans outright rejection of high-speed rail is short-sighted, so were many of the plans themselves. Rather than focus on the few corridors that need high-speed rail lines the most, the Obama administration doled out half a billion here and half a billion there, a strategy better-suited to currying political support than to addressing real infrastructure problems. Spread across 10 corridors, each between 100 and 600 miles long, Obama s rail system would have been, at best, a disjointed patchwork. The nation s most gridlocked corridor, along the East Coast between Washington, D.C. and Boston, was left out of the plans entirely. Worse, much of the money was allocated to projects that weren t high-speed rail at all. The Europeans define high-speed trains as those that travel at speeds of 155 miles per hour or more (or 125 mph for tracks that are upgraded, rather than newly built). Wisconsin s proposed $823 million Milwaukee-to- Madison line was to reach 110 mph, at most, in between stops in cities such as Brookfield and Oconomowoc. Ohio s version was even slower, with trains on an upgraded freight-rail track topping out at 79 mph. With stops, the trip from Cincinnati to Cleveland would have been significantly slower by rail than by car. Who would ride such a thing? Former Ohio governor Ted Strickland, a Democrat, bemoaned the jobs that would be lost when his Republican successor killed the project. But at a cost of $400 million, this was job creation of the sort that John Maynard Keynes himself would have eyed skeptically. Florida s $2.4 billion Tampa-to- Orlando line made more sense, but it was no surprise that Republican Gov. Rick Scott nixed it in February. By that time, high-speed rail had already become a punch line among fiscal conservatives. For all that, a line in California, connecting Los Angeles to San Francisco, still seemed to stand a chance. Unlike its counterparts elsewhere in the country, the California line would be true, dedicated high-speed rail, with trains running up to 220 mph. It would connect two metropolises of seven-million-plus people that are just far enough apart to make a drive unappetizing (six hours sans traffic) and a plane hop unwieldy. And the plans were already in place; the state had been working on a high-speed rail line for decades and lacked only the money to execute it. It was, it seemed, the perfect showcase for the Obama stimulus. This was more than just

7 - 2 - digging holes in the ground it was putting people to work building something that the country needed anyway. Not only is California s Interstate 5 congested and getting worse, but air traffic between San Francisco and Los Angeles is beginning to be a problem as well. Without high-speed trains, the state will need to build more highways, more airports, or both. But for a state that recently passed a law limiting greenhouse gas emissions, electric trains make far more environmental sense. And they re popular the state s voters had approved a $10 billion bond issue for the rail line even before Obama announced his own high-speed plans. So what went wrong? The project was oversold from the beginning, with projections of 100 million riders per year and healthy operating profits yes, profits, on a railroad leading to skepticism even among those inclined to support it. Along with the usual conservative opponents, the wealthy liberals living along the railroad s proposed path in Palo Alto and neighboring cities sufficiently motivated by the prospect of trains roaring literally through their backyards began to uncover holes in the financing scheme as well. Rather than take them seriously, the rail line s bullheaded backers attempted to steamroll the opposition, branding them NIMBYs and rotten apples. Sure, they were NIMBYs, but it didn t make them wrong. And when they leveraged their connections and media savvy to get state lawmakers, academics, and journalists like me to investigate, the findings that came back damaged the project s credibility. Under pressure to come up with more realistic projections, state rail authorities admitted last month that the project would take twice as long to build as they d originally claimed, attract fewer riders, and cost twice as much. The honesty was welcome, but it came too late: A poll released this week showed the public has turned against high-speed rail altogether, with nearly two-thirds saying they d like a chance to reconsider. Some will point out that California s high-speed rail plan still isn t dead, exactly. (It s more of a zombie, one blogger quipped.) State officials, backed by Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, have concentrated their efforts on building just one leg, from agricultural Fresno to dusty Bakersfield, as a sort of desperate foot-in-the-door tactic. They still have the Obama adminstration s support. We are not going to be dissuaded by critics, transportation secretary Ray LaHood said this week. "We are only at the beginning of this multi-generational process the simple fact is that the transportation challenges that are driving increased demand for rail are not going away." That s true, but the chances that California or the country will meet those challenges now look dim. The modern federal government isn t good at solving long-term problems (if it ever was). Most Republicans don t believe the government should solve problems. They believe big government, in fact, is the one of the only problems that can t be solved by the free market. Democrats, as seen in the failures of all of these railroad projects, err by assuming that the government can solve problems more effectively than it realistically can. Ultimately, high-speed rail s backers weren t as staunch as its detractors. Barack Obama and congressional Democrats put their political lives on the line for health care, addressing an immediate problem whose consequences were personal and visceral. The nation s outdated infrastructure is a major dilemma but one that doesn t feel as pressing to most voters and legislators. It s our children s problem now. If there s a silver lining to high-speed rail s spectacular failure, it s that these trains were outdated years ago. Even if all went according to the Obama administration s plans, the nation s rail network would have remained meager and backward by comparison to those in Japan and China. Those countries are already building trains that run via magnetic levitation. Suspended a few inches above a guideway, maglev trains fly through the air at speeds greater than 300 mph, with minimal wear and tear. At this point in their development, maglev tracks are dauntingly expensive to build. But those costs might well come down by the time America is ready to get serious about its transportation infrastructure. At this rate, there seems to be plenty of time.

8 Poll: Voters want a rethink of high speed rail - Sacramento News - Local of 1 12/9/ :45 PM The Associated Press Published Tuesday, Dec. 06, 2011 SAN FRANCISCO -- About two-thirds of California voters would like a second chance to decide whether to sell $9 billion in bonds to help pay for the state's high-speed rail system. The San Francisco Chronicle reports ( that a Field Poll released Tuesday indicates most would reject the measure in a new election. The idea of putting the bond measure before voters next year was endorsed by 64 percent of poll respondents. And 59 percent said they would vote it down, while 31 percent said they still support the bond measure. Ten percent were undecided. The poll follows recent announcements that the project, which aims to take travelers from San Francisco to Los Angeles in about 2 hours and 40 minutes, will cost more than expected and take longer to complete.

9 Page 1 of 2 STREETS DIVISION WORK SCHEDULE Week of Dec. 12, 2011 Dec. 16, 2011 Resurfacing/Reconstructing streets in the following areas: Reconstructing streets in the area south of Planz Rd and west of Wible Rd (weather permitting) Miscellaneous Streets Division projects: Video inspection of City owned Sewer & Storm lines to evaluate condition of pipes Repairing Curb & Gutters at Bus Stops in various areas Crack Sealing in the area north of Palm Ave (weather permitting) THIS SPACE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Week of Dec 12_2011_Work Schedule

10 Page 2 of 2 STREETS SWEEPING SCHEDULE Monday, Dec. 12, 2011 Between So. H St. & Union Avenue Pacheco Rd. & Hosking Rd. Between Stockdale Hwy. & Truxtun Ave. (ext.) Coffee Rd & Partridge Ave. Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2011 Between 99 Hwy. & So. H St. Ming Ave. & Panama Ln. Cul-De-Sacs on the north side of Magdelena Ave., west of So. H St. Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011 City areas between Brundage Ln. & Ming Ave. So. H St. & Union Ave. City areas between Wilson Rd. & Pacheco Rd. So. H St. & Union Ave. Between Casa Loma Dr. & Planz Rd. Madison Ave. & Cottonwood Dr. Between Planz Rd. & Brook St. Madison Ave. & Hale St. Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011 City areas between Stockdale Hwy. & Ming Ave. Ashe Rd. & Gosford Rd. Between El Portal/Laurelglen Blvd. & Ashe Rd. Ming Ave. & So. Halfmoon/Olympia Dr. Between Ashe Rd. & Stine Rd. Ming Ave. & So. Halfmoon/Edgemount Dr. Between Coffee Rd. & Wilson Rd. (ext.) White Ln. & So. Halfmoon/Olympia Dr. Friday, Dec. 16, 2011 Between Stockdale Hwy. & Ming Ave. Allen Rd. & Old River Rd. Between Old River Rd. & Coffee Rd. Ming Ave. & Ridge Oak/Westwold Dr. Between Ridge Oak/Westwold Dr. & White Ln. Old River Rd., east to the PG&E easement. Between White Ln. & Asperata Dr. Gosford Rd,, west to the PG&E easement. Between White Ln. & Cederwood Dr. Stine Rd. & Wilson Rd. (ext.) NOTE: If raining, there will be no street sweeping service and all street cleaning personnel will be assigned to cleaning plugged drains and part circle culverts. Week of Dec 12_2011_Work Schedule

11 Department of Recreation and Parks Date: December 9, 2011 To: From: Subject: Alan Tandy, City Manager Dianne Hoover, Director of Recreation & Parks November 2011 Monthly Report ADMINISTRATION: November Monthly Total Attendance: 35,435 (Includes all programs, reservations and volunteers combined for the month.) o Q Street Project is under construction. Completion estimated for summer o Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park Bleachers Installation scheduled for February Special Event Reservations: o November 6 Beach Park, Calvary Bible Westbrook Car Show, 1,000 o November 6 - TPRW, Leukemia Society Walk/Run, 375 o November 6 - Yokuts Park, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk/Run, 300 o November 13 Beach Park, Clubes de Peru Soccer, 200 o November 19 Yokuts Park, Bakersfield Homeless Shelter Turkey Trot, 250 o November 20 Beach Park, Clubes de Peru Soccer, 200 Total Attendance: 9,255 Reservations/Special Events AQUATICS: o Monthly attendance at the McMurtrey Aquatic Center decreased by 41% as compared to the same time last year. Total attendance for this November was 1,810. The decrease in attendance that has occurred over the past year is attributed to the following: o Garces Memorial High School utilized the McMurtrey Aquatic Center for water polo practice and games in 2009 and Garces water polo practice is now taking place at Garces High School s new pool. Water Polo attendance totaled 1,295 visitors during November o General programming such as swim team, aqua aerobics, deep water conditioning and special events have been reduced due to current budget constraints. o The 100 Mile Club Social took place at McMurtrey last year in November; this year the social was held in October. The Department of Recreation and Parks enhances the quality of life through a variety of programs, parks, and partnerships.

12 DEPARTMENT OF RECREATION AND PARKS NOVEMBER 2011 MONTHLY REPORT PAGE TWO o Kern River Divers did not hold practice this November; they are scheduled to resume practice in late January. o 100 Mile Club o The 100 mile lap swim club is currently made up of 286 active members. The club has swum a combined total of 87,355 miles! One year ago the club had swum a total of 67,352 miles. Aquatic activities currently taking place at the McMurtrey Aquatic Center Include: o Lap Swimming o 100 Mile Club o Water Walking o SCUBA o Diving o Lifeguard Courses o CPR & First Aid Courses o Make a Splash School Presentations Total Attendance: 1,810 ATHLETICS: Adult, Youth, Fitness and Adaptive Programs over-all attendance for the month of November was 20,015 which is an increase of 8.4% from last year s attendance of 18,457. Adult Softball League: o Connor s Concessions reported earning $8, in sales for the month of November at Mesa Marin Sports Complex. o Two big tournaments were held at the Mesa Marin Sports Complex this month. An ASA Softball Tournament on November 12 th and 13 th with 39 teams participating and an USSSA Softball Tournament on November 19 th and 20 th with 35 teams. Fifth Annual Disc Golf Championship o Kern County Disc Golf Club partnered with the City to host this tournament at the new disc golf course at the City in the Hills Park on Saturday, Nov. 5 th. o Attendance was down 50% from last year s Championship due to a new qualifying tournament being held the following weekend (Nov 12 th & 13 th ) at Hart Park Disc Golf Course sponsored by the Kern County Disc Golf Club. o First, second, and third place winners in each division received a special medal. First place winners get their name on the Championship Plaque that hangs in the Recreation and Parks office. Adult Adaptive Co-Rec Softball League o The teams completed the league on Thursday, Nov. 17 th with each team receiving a trophy and t-shirts. o Clients from each of the programs came out to cheer and celebrate with their team. The Department of Recreation and Parks enhances the quality of life through a variety of programs, parks, and partnerships.

13 DEPARTMENT OF RECREATION AND PARKS NOVEMBER 2011 MONTHLY REPORT PAGE THREE Donations: o Softball Trophies (4) $ Total Donations: $ Volunteer Donations: o Tennis Instructors (2) 65 $9.60/hr. $ o Disc Golf Tourn. Director 7 $9.60/hr. $67.20 Total Volunteer Hours: $ Other Sports Highlights: o Junior and High School Tennis Drill Classes continue this month at Jastro Park. Participants braved the cold to engage in tennis drills and games. o In addition to the above programs, staff is currently working on the following: CPRS District 15 Professional Development Conference Mesa Marin Softball Tournaments Spring Brochure Sports and Adaptive Classes and Programs Total Attendance: 20,015 DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. COMMUNITY CENTER: Overall attendance for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center was 2,871 which is an increase of 2% from November Healthy Cooking Class The cooking participants have been enjoying various vegetables from the MLK garden. They recently made a salad from mustard greens, chopped bell pepper, radishes and fresh mint. The salad dressing consisted of yogurt and various spices. Total Attendance: 2,871 SILVER CREEK COMMUNITY CENTER/SAUNDERS MULTI-USE FACILITY: Silver Creek Community Center Total attendance for the Silver Creek Community Center was The increase is due to higher attendance in Zumba and Clogging. The Silver Creek Community Center was rented a total of two (2) times for the month of November with a total revenue of $ Saunders Recreational Facility o Total overall attendance for the Saunders Recreational Facility was 322. The facility was rented one time for the month. Revenue generated was $ o Soccer League o Registration ended with a total of thirteen (13) teams enrolled. o Hockey Leagueo Currently there are thirty-one (31) participants registered. Total Attendance for Silver Creek & Saunders Recreational Facility : 1484 The Department of Recreation and Parks enhances the quality of life through a variety of programs, parks, and partnerships.

14 DEPARTMENT OF RECREATION AND PARKS NOVEMBER 2011 MONTHLY REPORT PAGE FOUR PARKS: Irrigation/turf hydro seed was completed at Mohawk/Truxtun extension at the East and West sides by Kern Sprinklers. TPRW-East lake - boulders/sand were placed at the shore line to prevent erosion by Water Resources from 11/ Ongoing renovations on streetscapes/medians at Olive Drive, Calloway Drive, Hageman Road, Coffee Road and Jewetta Road. A solar irrigation clock was installed by Kern Sprinkler at Coffee Road median. Two main line breaks occurred this month at TPRW. Repairs were done the same day by Area 1 craftworker. Park Mow crews began the final phase of reducing the height of turf in all Area 3 parks the week of November 14 th. Selected medians will be renovated for the same reason the week of November 28 th. Twenty Ollivier Middle School students participated in a clean-up in the afternoon at Stiern Park on November 17 th. Kroll Park Old metal shelter and tables at the playground area were removed by craftworkers on 11/18. Items to be replaced with new ones. Repairs to the irrigation system continue to be made by craftworkers at Sports Village. Tree Staff has completed trimming on Chester and in the downtown area. All trees at San Miguel Grove have been trimmed during the month of November. One (1) tree was removed and twelve trees trimmed at San Joaquin Hospital on 28 th and Chester. This was requested by hospital maintenance. Trees Trimmed: 85 Clearance: 188 Removals: 19 Service Tickets received: 195 Completed: 162 UPCOMING EVENTS: Youth Indoor Soccer League Begins December 11 th at Saunders Park. Kwanzaa at MLK, December 29 th Polar Bear Plunge at McMurtrey Aquatic Center, January 1 st The Department of Recreation and Parks enhances the quality of life through a variety of programs, parks, and partnerships.