Published
in Rio Linda Elverta News December 9, 2004 - Scroll for other articles
NorthCAST
Service Area Manager named
County to bring services to
communities
(A news release from the
County of Sacramento
Municipal
Services Agency)
Sacramento, Calif. –Mark Manoff, a veteran civil servant with more than
20 years planning and economic development expertise, has been selected
as the County of Sacramento’s first service area manager. In
making the selection, the County has completed a critical step in its
effort to decentralize many government services and place them within
the unincorporated communities the County serves.
As the NorthCAST (North County Area Service Team) service area manager,
Manoff will lead staffing and opening of the North Area Community
Service Center. Slated to open early next year at Town Center on
Watt Avenue and Freedom Park Drive, the Service Center will house
various county departments to bring services closer to the
people. Some of the departments will be Planning and Community
Development, Transportation, Engineering and Administration, and
Building Inspection Division.
"Mr.
Manoff has served the McClellan community for several years and is well
known and highly respected by the residents and business leaders
there," Department of Neighborhood Services Interim Director Paul Lake
said. "I have confidence in him to set a high mark of what is
expected for future service area managers. He is definitely the person
for the job."
As NorthCAST service area manager, Manoff will serve as liaison with
surrounding communities and County government. In this role he
will, in part, be a visible point of contact for the residents and
businesses, aid neighborhood associations and assist in their
formation, work with communities for prioritization of services.
"The final structure of the North Area Community Service Center,
however, won’t be decided by me or center staff," Manoff said.
"It will be customized through our interaction with area residents to
bring those services they need to maintain and improve their
community’s quality of life."
The North Area Community Service Center is open to all residents and
businesses of unincorporated Sacramento County. Its location,
however, is centrally located to focus services for the 150,000 people
that reside in the NorthCAST region of Antelope, Elverta, Foothill
Farms, North Natomas (unincorporated area), North Highlands and Rio
Linda.
The North Area Community Service Center will serve as a pilot facility
to gauge benefits to the community and overall cost to the County
budget. Based on the County’s experience with this first service
center, the County may put other centers in other areas.
Selection of three additional service area managers is pending.
Each will serve, and be located within, three geographic areas defined
under the County’s Area Service Team (AST) format. They include:
Arden Arcade and Carmichael (AARCAST); Fair Oaks, Orangevale, Gold
River, Rosemont, Mather, Butterfield and Riviera East (FORCAST); and
South Sacramento and Vineyard (SouthCAST).
Published
in Rio Linda Elverta News December 9, 2004 - Scroll for other articles
Water
District seats new Board Members
Officers elected at special meeting
By Jay
O'Brien
A special meeting of the Rio Linda/Elverta Community Water District
(RLECWD) was held December 6, 2004, at the request of Director Mary
Harris. Given only the 72 hours notice required by law, there was not
enough time to announce the meeting in The Rio Linda Elverta NEWS.
Three new members of the Board were sworn into office by General
Manager Dave Andres. No incumbents were returned to office in the
November election; taking office were Darrell R. Nelson, Hal Morris and
James (Jim) Strutton. They replaced long-time incumbents Jerry Wickham,
Robert Blanchard and Mel Griffin. Wickham did not run for re-election.
Even though the District policy that was included in the meeting agenda
calls for election of President and Vice President at the regular
meeting in December, elections were held at this special meeting.
Darryl Nelson was elected President; there were no other nominees. With
Nelson presiding, incumbent Doug Cater was elected Vice President;
incumbent Harris was also nominated for this office.
After making Committee and Board appointments to the several
organizations in which RLECWD participates, President Nelson asked the
Board members to suggest ad hoc committees for him to appoint.
Harris requested "...an employee retiree health benefits committee; we
have some unfinished business that does need to be finished. And health
care is very expensive and we need to really take a look at this and
address it." Nelson appointed Harris and Strutton.
Strutton asked for "...a committee to look at the infrastructure that
we're building in this community, as to the current and future growth
and laying water mains and house hookups." Nelson asked if the master
plan would be reviewed. "It would be looking at this area and
determining whether this is the direction we need to go or if we need
to expand it." replied Strutton. Nelson appointed Strutton and Cater.
Morris asked for workshop sessions, not for an ad hoc committee. He
said "So I know the facts before I vote... I don't want to be voting on
stuff that I'm not sure of, if I don't know the answers."
Cater asked that the existing Community Services District Exploration
committee in which the Park District also participates be continued.
Nelson agreed, appointing Cater and Morris.
Nelson formed a "...committee to review the District policies, to
address the risks and assessments and controls," appointing Strutton
and Cater.
President Nelson stated "I would like to appoint Hal Morris as our
public relations czar. I would like for everything to go through him,
just to keep everything focused, and everything back to the board
before it's published." Morris accepted Nelson's appointment.
Nelson instructed his committees, "The lead person from each committee
should develop what they wanted to deliver from that committee, what
resources they would need, time line, the topics they want to go after
within that committee... I would like to further define them at the
next meeting." The next meeting was identified as the December 20
regular RLECWD Board meeting.
In response to a question from Andres about Director compensation for
his newly appointed ad hoc committees, Nelson stated "I was going to
assume that they were volunteer."
Ex-Board member Mel Griffin asked from the audience, "What was so
special about this meeting that it had to be called rather than wait
for the regular meeting night rather than spend $1500 of staff time and
ratepayer money, couldn't it have been done on the regular night?"
Harris replied "I called the meeting, and...the next SGA (Sacramento
Groundwater Authority) meeting is this Thursday... and there is
probably a meeting with either ACWA (Association of California Water
Agencies) or one of the other ones I think is in December. But, yes,
that was the reason. We have no representative still in force."
President Nelson added, "I can follow up on what Mary was saying. We're
trying to get started as a reform board, and ... we wanted to get a
head start."
General Manager Andres reminded the Board that the SGA appointment
would take an action by the County Board of Supervisors; thus the
existing representative would carry the District's vote Thursday, and
it was explained that the ACWA meeting concluded the previous week. No
appointments were identified that required the timing of the special
meeting.
The special meeting was one of the shortest on record; it was over in
just under an hour.
Board members may receive compensation of $100 for attending District
meetings, limited to $100 per day and six days per month.
Published
in Rio Linda Elverta News December 9, 2004 - Scroll for other articles
Dry Creek trestle removed
Flooding potential is gone
By Jay O'Brien
Erwin Hayer, Rio Linda's flooding and stormwater expert, is relieved
because Sacramento County has removed the trestle and pipes that used
to span Dry Creek just south of the bridge on Elkhorn Boulevard.
Hayer's two-year effort with the County has finally paid
off. The
long-abandoned pipes and their supporting structure were catching
debris that Hayer felt could block the stream and cause flooding of
nearby property.
In previous years, Mr. Hayer operated the Hayer Dam, before
Sacramento County took it over. In the summer, when the dam was in
place, the water level would come up, causing the debris to float clear
and flow downstream to the spillway of the dam. Hayer would then remove
the debris from the spillway. The dam was last in place in 2002. With
no dam in place for two years, debris accumulated in the Dry Creek
streambed.
Thanks to Hayer's insistence, the County recognized the
potential
danger. Last month the County removed the trestle and piers, down to
the water flowline. Michael Peterson from Sacramento County Water
Resources said, "Our drainage maintenance crews did a tremendous job as
overhead powerlines precluded the use of a crane or other boom-type
equipment, thus the removal was completed mostly by hand. In order to
minimize impacts to the creek, and to stay within the confines our Fish
and Game permit, we cut the trestles as close to the flowline as the
water would allow rather than pulling the trestle piers out of the
ground. The remaining portions of the piers should not cause any
blockage problems."
The three pictures depict Erwin's happiness that the trestle is gone;
the trestle after the County removed the debris; and finally a view
looking east showing how the trestle was impeding Dry Creek waterflow.
Congratulations, Erwin, and a big thank you from Rio Linda!
After the County removed the debris
Creek Water flow impeded by trestle
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