May 18, 2013

City Council Agenda Available

The Suisun City Council will meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 21, in the Council Chamber at City Hall.

Among the items on the agenda:

  • Start of annual update to Maintenance Assessment and Parking Districts
  • Endorsement of the United Way’s “Roadmap to Cut Poverty”
  • Discussion of process for selecting nonprofits for fundraising concessions at City events
  • Approval of a bingo license for the Blue Devils Performing Arts

The full agenda with staff reports is available under the agenda tab above.

Prescription Drug Take-Back Event on Saturday

SUISUN CITY – Residents can bring any expired, outdated or otherwise unneeded prescription medications to the Police Department this Saturday, May 18, to dispose of them free of charge.

The prescription take-back event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Police Department parking lot at the Civic Center.  A similar event last month, brought in about 227 pounds of unwanted medicines.

Prescription drug take-back events allow residents to remove medications from their homes that could be abused by other family members. Disposing of these drugs through the sewer system risks polluting local marshes and waterways because the treatment process cannot remove pharmaceuticals from the water before it is released.

Residents may leave pills in their original containers, and are asked to seal all liquids and creams.  Please don’t bring medical sharps to the event. Local medical facilities are equipped to accept medical sharps year around.

The event is sponsored by the Suisun City Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs (ATOD) City Team, the Suisun City Police Department and funded by the Solano County Board of Supervisors.

For more information call 707-421-7201.

 

Grizzly Island Trail Officially Opened

The Grizzly Island Trail officially opened Tuesday (May 14) with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Marina Blvd. and Highway 12 recognizing the many agencies that helped bring the latest edition to Suisun City’s recreational trail system to fruition.

The 0.9-mile concrete trail, which runs along the south side of Highway 12, provides a new safe route for students of Crystal Middle School and Crescent Elementary School that allows those children living south of Highway 12 to walk, bike or skate to school without having to cross the highway. Students from both schools were on hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

  Grizzly Island Trail Brochure (1.7 MiB, 22 hits)

Grizzly Island Trail enhances the pedestrian and bicycle connections with Lawler Ranch, Lawler Ranch Commercial Area, the Waterfront District, the Train Station, Solano County Government Center and Court Complex, and Downtown Fairfield.

Other major features of the Grizzly Island Trail include

  • Educational interpretive signs spaced evenly along the trail
  • Benches and trash receptacles
  • An outdoor classroom with a large paved area and signage overlooking Hill Slough, Rush Ranch and the hills beyond
  • School bus parking on Grizzly Island Road
  • A new lighted crosswalk and signage at Marina Blvd. and Lotz Way to increase pedestrian safety
  • Large monument signs

Grizzly Island Trail has four primary access points:

  • Marina Blvd. at Driftwood Drive
  • Marina Blvd. at Highway 12
  • Grizzly Island Road at Highway 12, and
  • Grizzly Island Road at McCoy Creek Way

Work on the $2 million grant-funded project has taken many years to complete and the help of many state and federal agencies, including

 

Hill Slough View from Grizzly Island Trail

 

 

One Bay Area

California has adopted a number of laws requiring metropolitan areas to coordinate long-term planning that impact wide ranging issues such as transportation, land use and housing.

In the Bay Area, this effort is called “One Bay Area” and is being organized by

Representatives of Suisun City and/or Solano County participate in each of these organizations.

To access information about One Bay Area and plans it is developing, visit www.OneBayArea.org.

Residents also can provide comments on the process through the “Bay Area Plan Town Hall” online conversation available through the One Bay Area web site.

Summer Spare the Air Season Started May 1

You may know May 1 for many things, but as the official start of the summer Spare the Air season likely is not among them. From now through the end of summer, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District will issue Spare the Air alerts when concentrations of ground-level ozone, or smog, are forecast to reach unhealthy levels.

Residents may subscribe to these alerts via email, or visit www.Suisun.com where the daily air status is listed on the lower right side of the homepage along with the weather forecast.

The Spare the Air program was established by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to reduce air pollution and to alert the public when air quality is forecast to be unhealthy.

During the summer, ozone pollution, or smog, can become a health problem in the Bay Area. Residents are urged to walk, bike, carpool, or take transit instead of driving alone, not just during Spare the Air Alerts, but regularly in order to reduce overall pollution.

During the winter, concentrations of particulate matter, or soot, can reach unhealthy levels. Between November and the end of February, the Air District will issue a Winter Spare the Air Alert which prohibits burning wood, firelogs or pellets in fireplaces, woodstoves, or outdoor fire pits, when air quality is forecast to be unhealthy.

To learn more about simple actions you can take to prevent air pollution and to sign up for email notification of Spare the Air Alerts, visit www.sparetheair.org. Information is also available in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog and Vietnamese at www.sparetheairnow.org.

Water Line Project to Impact Railroad Ave. Traffic

traffic conesTraffic on Railroad Avenue between Sunset Avenue and Marina Boulevard will be partially reduced to one lane in each direction weekdays through July due to water main construction.

The work, expected to start as early as May 2 and continuing through July 30, is being performed by Ghilotti Construction Company under contract with the City of Fairfield.

Construction will be performed from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, with elevated noise levels periodically. Due to the closure of some traffic lanes, drivers should expect delays and are advised to use alternate routes when possible.

In the construction zone, speed limits will be reduced to 25 mph and enforced.  Drivers should follow all road signs and worker instructions so the project may proceed as quickly and safely as possible.

Roadwork will start near Sunset then progress toward Marina Boulevard over the course of the project. Roadway that is disturbed will be repaved.

The project is being managed by the Fairfield Public Works Department.

Residents with specific questions or special coordination needs, should contact

  • Andre Libarle of Ghilotti Construction at 707-556-9145 or
  • Fairfield Public Works at 707-428-7478

Please see the complete notice of this work linked below.

  Notice - Water Main Construction (51.7 KiB, 25 hits)

Travis Sequestration Information

Team TravisSuisun City has a long history of supporting the mission and people associated with Travis Air Force Base.

As this critical installation and its personnel experience the budget reductions required be sequestration, we will provide links to information sources as they become available to help the community monitor this evolving situation.

On March 12, Travis issued a statement outlining known local impacts including the risk of furlough affecting more than 1,500 civilian employees at Travis, which carries a loss of nearly $12 million in salaries or roughly 20 percent of their income. The furlough would be implemented in late April and would entail the loss of one work day per week per appropriated fund employee.

For more about Travis impacts, please follow this link to the official site.

For more about broader sequestration impacts, visit the Department of Defense sequestration web site

 

 

Electric Lawn Mower Rebates Now Available

Suisun City residents can now take get a rebate of up to $120 for trading in their gas-powered lawn mower and buying an eligible electric mower.

Under the 2013 Yolo-Solano Mower Exchange program, residents who trade in a gas-powered lawn mower and purchase a new eligible electric mower will receive $120 rebates. Residents can choose from 29 eligible models made by 10 different brands. Participants can purchase their new mowers in local stores or online.

The program is sponsored by the Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District (AQMD) in partnership with the Bay Area AQMD.

To participate, fill out the form at ysaqmd.org/mowers or call (530) 757-3657. A packet including the forms necessary to participate will be mailed to you.

Only 250 rebates are available for the two counties. The program typically sells out its allotment. Voucher requests are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Vouchers will also be available at an information event at Home Depot in Woodland on March 9 from 1 to 3 p.m. Info on additional events can be found at facebook.com/YoloSolanoAir.

Thanks to funding from the Bay Area AQMD, all residents of Solano County will be eligible for the program in addition to Yolo County residents. Additional funding for the program is provided by the California Air Resources Board.

Gas-powered lawn and garden equipment contributes to air pollution. Studies show that exposure to air pollution can lead to serious health impacts, including lung ailments and increased risk for heart disease.

The mower exchange is both a way to protect neighbors’ health and to save money, said Mat Ehrhardt, executive director of Yolo-Solano AQMD.

“With our $120 rebate, you can get a new electric mower for cheaper than a comparable gas-powered mower,” Ehrhardt said. “In addition to that, you won’t need to buy gas to mow your lawn and you’ll smell only fresh-cut grass, not fumes.”

Questions on the program should be directed to Tom Hall at (530) 757-3657 or thall@ysaqmd.org.

Yolo-Solano AQMD is a public health agency committed to protecting human health and property from the harmful effects of air pollution. For more information, please visit our website at ysaqmd.org.

Crime Drops 17% in Suisun City During 2012

Crime in Suisun City declined 17 percent in 2012, continuing a five-year decline in incidents of the most serious types of crime, according to annual crime figures released by the Suisun City Police Department.

In 2007, the Police Department reported 912 Part I Crimes to the FBI. In 2012, only 620 occurred in the City, representing a 32% reduction in just five years.

Reductions in serious property crime led the overall decline with burglaries falling by 35% and thefts being reduced by 18%.

Violent crime, such as rape, robbery and aggravated assault, was reduced by 11% overall, and continued to be a rare occurrence in Suisun City. Only 58 incidents of serious violent crime against people were reported in 2012.

For detailed figures and more information, please visit the Police Department website.

Learn About Health Care in California

Click for more about health care in California

While health care reform has been a focus of political discussion, the State of California is moving forward to create a health care insurance exchange set to begin operations in October 2013.

Covered California launched a new consumer website to help answer questions on what this all means for individuals and businesses.