| Today was art appreciation day at the downtown plaza. Not
really, but it seemed like it. The Chico Palio kicked off Artoberfest with
a horse race and the Mayor's art awards were given out. Were you aware
of that Chico had a Mayor's art
award? I didn't know until I watched that Art Commission meeting a couple
of weeks back. I wonder if there is a Mayor's blogger award? I probably wouldn't get it, but maybe I would be a runner up. I think Blogging from the Darkside by Darth Raider would probably win. The art awards were given to Shakespeare in the Park for moving to the plaza and making their plays free to attend, a developer who voluntarily put art on his Hegan Lane project, and Paula Bush, an Art Commissioner in the last term. At first I thought Bush getting an art award was incestuous and an example of the Art Commissioners just picking one of their own. Since she didn't receive the award for her art, but for her 8 year commitment on the Art Commission, I'm pacified. There's nothing wrong with that. The Mayor wasn't in town so the awards were given by our last Mayor, Scott Gruendl. The Palio itself was a fun event. There were a few hiccups. The number of race teams was pretty small, I think there were 8 or 9. The crowd was good sized and grew larger when the Loyd Family Players started pounding their drums. But the city forgot to shut down the streets for the race. Luckily interim Assistant City Manager Dennis Beardsley was around. I saw him on the cell phone, and then directing traffic from Main Street to 5th. It took a little while but the roads got closed. One thing I love about Chico are the happy hippies that dance at the various events. It's fun to see adults that aren't constrained by the social behavior blockades most of us build as teenagers. Watching them also gives me the opportunity to develop a myriad of new dance moves that I'll use to embarass my son when he's older and entertaining the opposite sex. I think Chico Velo had the most horse-like "horse". They came in last place but did so with style. First place went to the speedy Boys and Girls Club of Chico, which was probably powered by pixie sticks. I think the Palio was put on by Friends of The Arts with funding from the City of Chico. They did a good job, and I could see it get better as time passes. |
| Notes: I often take a number of photos for things I'm going to post about. It's always a pain figuring out which ones to use. Today I took some video with my camera and created a larger video from clips, still images, and audio. It took a little time and is pretty amateurish, but if you like it I might do it more. |
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CI Challenge: Can you guess what it is? Winner: Tempra Board (with some help) see comments below for the answer. |
September 2007 Archives
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| Photo: Two of the four dispatch consoles at the police
department. All four are located in a cubicle roughly 10' x 20'. I used to think that the police pretty much drove around picking up the pieces after a crime. I know they can't be everywhere at once, and the chances of a patrol car rolling up just as someone's about to commit a crime are pretty low. They also don't have a lot of resources available to investigate crimes. So home burglaries will probably not get the CSI treatment often displayed by Hollywood. You don't even get the Law and Order "duh-duhhh" when they show up. That opinion changed after I went on a ride-along. Our police officers are continually dealing with minor incidents, some of which could escalate into crimes if left alone. Some are a public service, like the "cat in the tree". Others are pretty much a waste of time dealing with lame people. They also perform some dramatic crowd control when our student areas begin to boil over. I referenced the Police Facilities Needs Assessment (see document here) in a post last year. This document makes an argument for improved facilities for the local police. It's also a good reference on growth and crime statistics. It shows a gradual decline in officers per 1000 citizens from 1988 until now (1.67/1000 to 1.2/1000). It shows a similar decline in non-sworn employees per 1000 citizens during that time frame. Money and discussions at the city often relate to officers on the street. But there's some indication that support needs of the force are not being met. For example, the dispatch function is sometimes difficult to keep staffed. The job is intense, with some similarities to air traffic controllers. The facility in use is old, dark, and crowded and probably contributes to turnover. On weekends the police make use of the Public Works radio band for information exchanges, while the other channels are filled with calls for service. Bathroom and meal breaks can be sparse for dispatchers when the city is going full throttle on a Saturday night. The city recently spent $18,200 upgrading the dispatch room. That's less than we spent on a downtown plaza art treatment ($24,731) to enhance the $250K chess playing area. Still, with 45% of our General Fund ($22,087,995) going to the police department it's a difficult argument to make that we need to spend more. In fact our total sales tax income to the General Fund doesn't even cover the police department's cost (43% of income, or $18,264,100). I doubt we'll achieve the staffing levels we saw in the late 80's. With the inflationary cost of police work, and other human resources, it seems like we may need to concentrate on doing things differently. A discontinued police unit called TARGET (I don't know what the acronym stands for) was described to me that deserves some attention. This unit's job was to focus on crime plagued areas until the bad element could be identified and removed. There are a handful of low income housing areas in Chico that generate significant response calls. Creating a team to investigate problem areas, ensure property owners are doing their part, and remove the bad element could be effective. It seemed to work before. Although for PR purposes a new acronym might be chosen. The question of adequately funding our emergency services is a complex one. How much is enough, and how much can we really afford, will need to be answered by elected officials. But for the public to really engage in the conversation we need to be aware that it's not just officers on the streets, but also where and how they're housed, and how they're supported that needs to be discussed. |
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CI Challenge: Can you guess what it is? Winner: Gregg Payne, see comments below for the answer. |
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| I've been told that Planning Commissioner Steve O'Bryan has abruptly resigned from the Planning Commission. There's no word on why, and I only have one source (but a pretty good one) so take it as an interesting rumor to pay attention to. If it turns out that he has resigned it might be to spend more time concentrating on the CI Challenge. Or perhaps he was upset he hadn't been included in the Hardy Boys fun described in a previous post. Okay, it's probably a personal issue. Update: Here is an E-R story where Steve O'Bryan discusses why he resigned from the Planning Commission. It was not to spend more time on the CI Challenge. |
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| Beardsley Not A Hero, But Assistant Hero By: CI City Government Reporter Laura Kleinlittle Article Launched: 09/18/2007 12:09:07 AM PDT Most of Chico's population was unaware of the intense negotiations that occurred over the last few weeks. The City Manager appoints his staff, and so as Dave Burkland rose to the top there was a gap below him for an interim Assistant City Manager. The choices were pretty easy. Burkland was left to pick either General Services Director Dennis Beardsley or citizen activist Lon Glazner. Dennis "I am not a hero" Beardsley (see article for hero quote) has a long history with the city. He's quite possibly the greatest bureaucrat Chico has ever produced. He once took all four sides of a public argument in a single meeting. It's been said by Beardsley fans that in the last decade of public work he has never used the words "yes" or "no" when answering a question. And with Chico's budget problem his ability to work outside of cost constraints on the downtown plaza and Bidwell Park master plan are skills needed by the city. Beardsley also maintains a large collection of classic Hardy Boys DVDs at his city office, and many lunch hours were spent with Beardsley and Burkland recreating the adventures of Joe and Frank. The Mystery of the Old Municipal Building was a favorite theme. Beardsley clearly has the background, history, and personal connections necessary to move up one slot in the city hierarchy. The newcomer on the scene, Lon Glazner, rose to prominence with his failed bid to become Chico's first elected City Manager. Glazner actually showed up for his interview with Burkland dressed as a super hero. Unfortunately, Glazner's hero of choice was Wonder Woman. Burkland, a Marvel Comics fan, was not impressed and was hoping for something more "Fantastic Four-ish". This later prompted Beardsley's "I'm not a hero" quote when he showed up for a meeting dressed as the super villain Doctor Doom. Glazner's history of inane and pointless attempts at humor could be useful in disarming an angry public. But his inability to not answer questions is a liability. In the end the choice was clear. Burkland needed to draw from within the city's management structure for the number two man. Beardsley got the call. He was told to show up for duty as Assistant City Manager, and to bring the keys to the Old Municipal Building as well as flashlights packed with new batteries. Because after tonight's City Council meeting there are rumors that smugglers have invaded the abandoned downtown city building that must be addressed. And their friend Chet Morton (played by Councilor Tom Nickell) has had his jalopy Queen stolen from in front of the building. Frank and Joe are needed to put this mystery to rest. Note: Satire Alert - Beardsley and Burkland don't really play Hardy Boys (not sure about Nickell). Beardsley does use terms like "yes" and "no". In fact he once told me "no", and I said "well, let's see what the Park Commission has to say about that", they also told me "no". And the City Council, who we elect, has approved every project's budget that might have been excessive. |
| The Real Beardsley: Beardsley catches some flak for his management style, which is pretty bureaucratic. It's not really in his, or the city's interest to take sides on an issue before elected/appointed officials do. That sometimes creates the appearance of taking all sides of an issue, and bothers some people. But he is the guy that barbecues for the lifeguards at 1-mile every year, which is a nice gesture. I also saw another side of Beardsley when working on a project in Caper Acres. For that project he was helpful, somewhat decisive, and for the most part hands-off. That really helped us get our work done. In other news: The City Council meets tonight to discuss a number of issues. Party Ordinance: Council will discuss the revised party ordinance which is described as another police "tool". I'm not sure I support it, I'm not sure I don't support it, I'm just not sure I care. GSD Supplemental Budget Request: A request for $100K to finish the already $500K Bidwell Park master management plan. Most of the work on the plan relates to disc golf. Some of the $100K will be used to respond to the 23 pages of anti-disc golf legalese submitted by the Friends O' Park. It might be interesting to watch, I expect some Councilors will come to the defense of the FOBP, after they came under some public artillery fire. I submitted a long letter to the council on this subject. However, unlike the anti-disc golf folks I don't get to drink beer at Duffy's with councilors that support them. But I'm willing to do what it takes, so they can always invite me for a beer. Flynn Requests Ad-Hoc Downtown Study Group: You go girl. Not a bad idea, however I'd point to my last post, and the fact that an ad-hoc budget study group might be a higher priority. Nickell Wants Action Plan from Police on Recent Violence: I can almost hear Chief Hagerty's response. We need more ordinance tools and manpower. I've long been under the opinion that most police work involves picking up the pieces after a crime. That makes sense since most crimes occur quickly and the police by nature of their infrastructure are responding to crimes in progress or already committed. They can't be too preventative. I don't know what the police can do to stop people from shooting/stabbing each other. I do think Chico needs to avoid overreacting to these incidents. |
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CI Challenge: Can you guess what it is? Winner: Anthony Watts, see comments below for the answer. |
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| Yesterday's
E-R editorial was a good one. It focused on the budget
deficit that Chico faces and the responsibility city staff has to make recommendations.
When previously asked for their opinion city staff provided a list of 54
possible cost reduction/income generating ideas. The editorial correctly
points out that these are not recommendations. The list did come with a form of prioritization through a vaguely defined letter grade and a column suggesting how easy a line item may be to implement. Most of the listed items did not come with information necessary to determine the item's actual impact on the financial problem. Some items on the list relate to RDA funds which are not part of the General Fund deficit problem, but part of a separate capital projects funding shortfall. Another issue with the "budget matrix" is that it has become the de facto line of assault on the budget problem. This is problematic since a rigid discussion that focuses on each line item of the matrix diverts energy away from identifying and analyzing other unlisted options. The Finance Committee (Gruendl, Wahl, Flynn) recently cancelled tonight's planned public discussion on the budget problem. This was probably a good idea since the previous committee meetings identified a lack of information related to the items listed on the matrix. The lack of relevant information was recently confirmed by Councilor Gruendl (in this E-R story). Last month I emailed a suggestion to one of the Finance Committee members that staff include at least a 1 page description of each matrix item that identifies its fiscal significance. I doubt anyone on the Finance Committee needed me to point out the lack of information, but it's a good sign that after a couple of meetings they're asking staff for more details. Another recommendation I made was that the Council appoint a citizen's task force to identify, discuss, and recommend budget reduction items. The current process requires people that get paid by the city to make and prioritize the recommendations. Recent Finance Committee meetings have been attended primarily by city employees, who would be negatively impacted if some solutions were implemented. Chico currently has a well populated Sustainability Task Force and is moving towards forming a General Plan citizen's committee. Both of these groups are supposed to identify and recommend long term policy directions for the City. I would think that a projected $112 million budget shortfall would deserve equal if not greater attention. An advisory group of citizens addressing the budget problem would provide a valuable perspective in addition to that of the city staff. It would also be better informed than random opinions expressed at public meetings. The Chico City Council should form an A-Team of non-city employees to work concurrently with staff on budget solutions. |
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CI Challenge: Can you guess what it is? Winner: Tovey, see comments below for the answer. |
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| With
the wife and baby visiting relatives in San Francisco this weekend I was
left with the task of providing a couple of days of bachelor fun for my
son and I. At first I considered taking him bar-hopping Friday night, but
was unable to print an adequate fake ID. Then the kegger I had planned
fell through when all of my friends were out-of-town or preparing to take
their kids to the ubiquitous Saturday soccer games. So Friday night was lost to watching Voltron cartoons from the 1980's. These were ported to the tube through my PC using Netflix' new watch on demand service. That also gave me time to ponder the rest of the weekend's activities. There was the Sierra Nevada sponsored fencing competition, which had Saturday's contest at the CSUC BMU, and was free to the public. I believe today's event costs money and is at the brewery. We did that a couple of years ago and enjoyed it. But in determining the direction of Saturday's fun I had to consider all of Chico's many opportunities. This caused me to reflect on a comment my son had repeated a number of times in the last few months. He had recently stated "Dad, I've never gone fishing in all my six years of life". At first I wasn't sure how this was my problem. He could skip school and go fishing whenever he wanted. On the other hand I've got to work, write blogs, compose annoying letters to City Council members, and there's frisbee golfing advocacy that needs to be done. I'm a pretty busy guy. But with several neighbors that are avid fisher-people I was under significant peer pressure to make something happen. That's how we found ourselves at the S.E. Marler & Family Fish Farm (http://www.marlerfishfarm.com) located 9 miles south of Chico. It's across from Book Family Farm with the entrance on the east side of 99. The entrance is a little hard to find with the construction going on. The cost was $5 each for all day catch & release, and no license is required. As we checked in the manager stated that they have a lot of people that show up and really don't know what they 're doing, and that was alright with them. It was alright with me as well, as I was reaching back to my own childhood to recover information on how to tie the lures and cast the line. We spent about 3 hours on their ponds casting, talking, and just hanging out. Since we had an afternoon birthday party to attend we had to cut it short without landing the big one, but we did see a bunch of "whoppers" hop in and out of the water. The other fishermen were all dads with kids as well, and were having better luck. I'd recommend the farm to any parents that want to give their kids a shot at catching a piscine prize. And it looks like the farm is up for sale, so this may be a waning opportunity. As we walked out my son said "You know Dad, I don't think I need to go fishing anymore because it's not easy to catch fish." He must have caught the tell-tale signs of an incoming lecture. I probably stiffened, slowed my walk, and took a deeper breath, because before I could vocalize my pearls of wisdom he headed me off at the path, "But I'll bet the second time, or the third time, or the fourth time, or the fifth time is when you catch the fish. So let's keep trying". So while I didn't catch on camera that magical first fish, I did see a glimpse of what makes a mature person. Expectations aren't always met, and you don't quit just because things don't turn out like you wanted. That was nice. On the upside, we incorporated into our guy's weekend an after dark expedition wiping out local of monsters with matching disintegrator pistols. And the night ended with a 1990's remake of Godzilla vs. Kind Ghidorah, a touching and educational film about giant monsters whomping on each other. We've got a few more hours left of our bachelor party, and I think it would be a good idea to mix in a little professional football, and perhaps some dip. Because I'm really trying to build a well-rounded person, and that requires the NFL. |
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CI Challenge: Can you guess what it is? Winner: Tempra Board, see comments below for the answer. |
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| In the 9/13/07 E-R there was
a story about a 16 year-old who raped a 19 year
old CSU Chico student back in 2000. He wasn't caught at the time, but
DNA evidence was taken at the scene of that crime. The criminal was later
caught (2004) for committing armed robberies in Chico and is serving
8 years in prison for those acts. A recent law allows DNA to be drawn from criminals and compared to evidence collected at unsolved crimes. The fellow who allegedly committed a rape in 2000 is now being shipped up to Butte County to stand trial for a crime that he may have committed. He's facing a new 20 year sentence. Technology can have some frightening side effects. It seems to be removing a lot of the obscurity most people expect when they lead non-public lives. Cell phones designed to locate you in an emergency, could also be used to locate you for other reasons. The expanded market place of the Internet means that opportunities to purchase goods and services also expose your personal information to criminals. We've yet to see a technological society use these capabilities against its populace, but if human history tells us anything it will probably happen. In the case of DNA cross checking of incarcerated criminals I think this is an appropriate use of technological advances. Criminal recidivism is well documented, and once convicted your rights as a citizen in a free society are curtailed. Keeping bad people off the street is a good thing. It would be nice if we could keep them from going bad to start with but that's an advance we haven't achieved yet. But for some reason the news story triggered thoughts of technological changes that have occurred in my lifetime. Cell phones, wide use of computers and the Internet, high speed digital transmission of data, dramatic advances in the biological sciences, and many other advances are occurring around us. It's hard to see a "golden age" when you're living in it. But the explosion of advances created by science in the last 50-60 years is stunning when you sit down and ponder it. It really makes me wonder what I'll see before I die, and what my children will see. As somebody in the technology industry I can attest to how difficult something as common as a cell phone is to design and build. Somebody in the finance line of work could probably tell us how difficult it is to produce in such quantities that they can almost be given away. In the E-R story we see a connection between the hard sciences and social sciences. If those connections accelerate the face of society will change. |
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CI Challenge: Can you guess what it is? Winner: Gregg Payne, see comments below for the answer. |
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| The Chico Unified School District (CUSD) and Butte
College (BC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 9/12/07 to
pursue the
concept of an Early College High School, here
is the MOU. Actually BC signed it in August and
CUSD gave it the stamp of approval on Tuesday. The MOU allows the two
organizations to receive $400K from the Microsoft Vista Sucks, But
the CEO's a Nice Guy Foundation, often referred to as the Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The $400K is for planning only and the actual construction of a campus is not funded. It will be interesting to see if $400K is enough to plan a college-high school program. It would only cover 2/3 of the cost to plan a disc golf course. The Early-College concept allows students to attend the campus from 9th grade on. In 5 years they can earn a high school diploma and an Associate Degree. Students can accelerate the time frame to do it in 4 years. The campus would be limited to 400 students (I don't know why that is). A previous concept like this was floated to use unallocated school bond money to build the campus in Chico. This idea puts the campus at BC. The school would start with only a 9th grade and each year would add a grade. As far as student's costs go the high school portion of the school would be paid through regular public school funding. The college portion would probably be paid for through a college enrollment fee. This campus is supposed to address enrollment issues and attempt to retain at-risk students. The idea is that a lot of students are not interested in standard high school curriculum, and don't intend to go to college. These kids tend to drop out. If they can be interested in vocational training and retained through this program it's better for their future income, and for our community. One number thrown out was that a high school diploma results in an average annual income of $25K, while a junior college degree bumps that up to $49K. But there are lots of questions. Why would at risk students want to take a high school curriculum that would be harder than a standard high school? Why is CUSD pursuing a campus so far out of its district? Assuming at risk kids are not all well-to-do, how will they afford the college fees? Where will the funding come from? The presentation I heard, which was made by the leaders of CUSD and BC, was full of marketing terms. It was very business oriented and maybe that's because it was given to a business group. But They expressed concerns over competition, meeting the needs of the market, and targeting certain customers to shore up enrollment losses. Another business concept that was missing from the discussion was that of focusing on your core expertise. I wonder if this isn't a plan to shake loose bond money. Vocational training is a good option, I think. It's too bad it can't happen on existing campuses. I also wonder if our good high school students are being challenged, or if the curriculum is dumbed down. I honestly don't really know how our local schools stack up to competition, private or otherwise. I get most of my scholastic news from the Wooly Weekly (the news source for all things Emma Wilson), and I'm happy with that school so far. I think the Early College High School is a good idea, but it deserves watching since there are many hurdles it has to clear to be successful. |
| I sent an email to Mark Sorensen to ask his thoughts
on the Early College High School Program. He sent me back a great detailed opinion.
Mark went through the local education system, and I assume his three daughters
did the same more recently. With Mark's approval I'd like to post his email.
So let me know Mark, can I? But this brings up a good subtopic for this post. I've found it useful to maintain a stable of people whose opinions I can tap on serious subjects. This keeps me from having to form my own opinions . I've found my own opinion to often be bland, uninformed, and sometimes completely wrong. For example I once thought the $2 bill would really catch on. So here's who I keep on my list and what their expertise is. Mark Sorensen - trade schools / raising twins Larry Wahl - things that hover Mary Flynn - trigonometry / how to best use red felt pens Tom Nickell - things the police can do when they retire Anthony Watts - things to do to piss off the Beat Tom Gasgoyne - things to do to piss off Anthony Watts Gregg Payne - poles of destruction Tempra Board - european cars and airplanes Steve Bertagna - Fords from the 1960's Alan Chamberlain - words I've never used in conversation My Wife - how absolutely great I am, or am not David Little - funny ways to work "Little" into a sentence Dave Burkland - making sense out of Greg Jones' obscure filing system Evan Tcklinsgiy - memorizing hard to spell words Dave Brobst - how often I screw up its versus it's (pretty often) And that's just my short list. |
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CI Challenge: Can you guess what it is? Winner: Susan B. Anthony, who apparently posted a comment from the afterlife. That's the first time that's happened. |
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| In 2006 it looked like the City of Chico was moving forward
with helping pay for a needed expansion of the Butte
Humane Society. The facility has
long been considered too small to deal with the community's lost and abandoned
animals. In fiscal year 2005-6 the City Manager proposed ~$132K of RDA (redevelopment) money for capital project 12035 - Animal Shelter Expansion. The spending was approved by the City Council, but only $5,000 was actually spent. In the following fiscal year (2006-7) the City Manager proposed ~$600K of RDA money for the shelter's expansion. But the City Council approved $0. No money is proposed for this project next fiscal year. In addition, project #12035 (the Animal Shelter Expansion) has completely disappeared from the capital project lists and the long term RDA projects. It looks like it 's been cancelled. This occurred while the city was buying Comanche Creek for more than $1 million to ease our blight caused by a lack of open space. And after spending a quarter million dollars on chess tables and their environs to fix blight caused by a lack of chess tables. The Butte Humane Society is one of the oldest non-profits in our county, and has begun a capital campaign to fund it's own needs. Over the next couple of months I'll be looking more deeply into this topic. I want to find out why the animal shelter has disappeared from our capital project list. It seems odd that what should be a popular non-profit would have it's funding quietly removed. I also want to see how the organization is moving forward developing its own resources, and let people know how they might be able to help. |
| The Butte Humane Society is holding
an "adopt-a-thon" from
September 14th-16th, with the BIG day being Saturday, the 15th. There will
be a pet-fair and discounted adoption fees. The Butte Humane Society (530-343-7917)is
located at 2579 Fair Street in Chico. If you're looking for a new pet now
may be the time to rescue one. For the next few months I'll also be highlighting animals for adoption on Commission Impossible. Below is Lola, but many other animals needing a home can be found at www.buttehumane.org . This will be an ongoing effort that I'll continue to do throughout the year. |
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CI Challenge: Can you guess what it is? Winner: Tempra Board, see comments below for the answer. |
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| In an E-R
story this morning about CARD and
legal waivers there's one bold new piece of information. From the story... "Almost no one complains about this, according to CARD general manager Jack Visconti. He told the Enterprise-Record that in the eight years he's been with CARD, he's only heard of two people who objected to signing the waiver." First we lose City Manager Greg Jones, and now Steve Visconti is replaced by some guy named "Jack". Who is Jack Visconti? Is he Steve's recreationally challenged brother? Is it just coincidence Steve's been replaced by someone with the exact same last name? I'm deeply concerned! The story is about a waiver CARD has its "customers" sign agreeing that CARD will not be held liable for injuries due to negligence. CARD instructors are paid, but they generally are not established enough to be covered by their own insurance policy. The way CARD structures its classes is that anyone can propose one (as well as the suggest the cost). CARD takes a portion of the registration fee and provides a location and some marketing in return. If complaints occur CARD might not ask an instructor back. There are also camps and classes (like swimming) that are managed by CARD employees. Personally, I think a waiver at CARD is just fine. If someone is too afraid to take Karate because they won't be able to sue at a later date, they probably should just stay locked in their homes. As pointed out in the article anybody can still sue CARD even if they've signed a waiver. Chico's Mayor Andy Holcombe, who is an attorney, is afraid the waiver will make people think they can't sue CARD. My answer to that... good. We live in a litigious society with a whole lot of bottom feeders making money off of lawsuits. If somebody could guarantee me that only deeply injured individuals would sue, I'd be happy to see liability exemptions removed. Holcombe also states that the reason people have insurance is in case they're sued. He omits the fact that insurance costs are skyrocketing due to government regulation and excessive litigation. Insurance cost, and I'm not talking health insurance, have been increasing by leaps and bounds over the last decade. Plus insurance does not cover time lost dealing with law suits, and may not cover specific issues. Anybody that assumes the cost of a law suit is a burdon easily shouldered by insurance also misses the ongoing loss of capital that insurance costs force on business. Year after year you pay for protection against legal thugs who are assumed to be waiting in the wings to club you down. It's certainly not a bill I enjoy seeing get paid. The legal system is a nightmare of costs and undefined liability for a business. CARD should do whatever it can to protect itself from getting dragged into it. Today the only people with a lawyer going after CARD have a lawsuit to stop a cell tower from going into Hooker Oak Recreation Area. This group did include a board member of the Friends of Bidwell Park, John Merz. I think the City should take a page out of CARD's operating manual. Maybe we should have local non-profits who volunteer in the park sign a waiver not to sue the city for any reason. I think that would be a useful document to have on file. And whatever you people did with Steve Visconti, bring him back! He was doing a good job. Note: The city requires people to sign a similar liability waiver when you do volunteer projects in the park. I've signed this numerous times when working on various projects in Caper Acres. |
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![]() CI Challenge: Can you guess what it is? Winner: Mark Bohn, see comments below for the answer. |
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| In a previous blog entry I stated that the
city
should fund the Children's Playground improvements that
it has planned. The movement towards a playground re-design came at the
request of members
of the Chico Mother's Club, who felt the park was becoming unusable. Some
bad press related to finding a syringe in the playground bark helped move
the process forward. My personal experience at that play area was that
it was becoming a constant target of vandalism and a hangout for partyers
and transients. I quit taking my child there because of that. There had been at least one other attempt to raise private money and improve the area, but that group fell apart and was not able to raise any funds to accomplish the project. I believe the current play structures were paid for by a local service organization. Some readers felt that the money being spent on this project would be better spent elsewhere, and that the improvements were more a facade change than the dramatic improvements required to elicit change (I'm putting words in their mouths here, and they can correct me if necessary). So I emailed the General Services Director and asked him how the council adopted recommendations were to be implemented and funded. The response I received is below. There's no mention of a funding mechanism for "phase 2" of the project. In the city's list of capital projects this one is funded to $275,000, which would probably only implement the design on the table. It can be assumed that items identified as future improvements probably won't happen with today's budget problems, unless paid for by private or grant funding. There's a couple of things regarding this project to keep in mind. Beardsley has been directed to plan the project based on recommendations described below, and it the same time limiting the project to the dollar amount budgeted. That's not an easy job, and trade-offs are made based on those requirements. Another thing is that this project is well into it's planning stage with regards to public input, but it's not complete or approved. People with recommendations for changes can still communicate concerns to Beardsley and/or the Bidwell Park and Playground Commission. Dennis Beardsley's responses are in bold. My email request is in blue. I've added a couple of comments in bracketed italics for clarification. The rest of the text below are the minutes from an Internal Affairs Committee meeting from April last year. I didn't modify any of the response, including not fixing typos. |
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| Lon – the following are responses
to each point. Responses are in bold. Your original e-mail is included
in
its entirety. Dennis 9-7-07 -------------------------------------------- [blue text is the body of my email request for information] In May 2006 the Council unanimously supported the recommendations of the Internal Affairs committee for improved policing of Children’s Playground. The items approved are listed below. It appears as though some components of those recommendations may have been moved to phase 2 of the project (improved lighting?). I was also unable to find cameras or panic buttons as described in item P of the council agenda (item 16 below) in the current design. I support the improvements you are working on for Children’s Playground and spoke in support of them last May at the Council Meeting. Can anybody give me an indication when and how the items below are going to be accomplished, how they are budgeted, and if they are in Phase 2 when that phase will begin and with what funding? What is the anticipated final budget? I’ve had a couple of good questions on my blog on this topic, and I think it would be worthwhile to describe to the public that reads it how the policies that were adopted are going to be executed. If possible I would like to post your responses specific to the implementation of these policies to my blog as well. Thanks, Lon Glazner [in my email I attached the minutes for 4-12-06 meeting Internal Affairs Committee (Herbert, Schwab, Holcombe). The council unanimously adopted these measures at its May 2006 meeting. General Services Director responded to each point in bold below] COMMITTEE MATTERS REQUIRING COUNCIL ACTION A. Review and Consideration of Policies Pertaining to Management of Children’s Playground, Ringel Park, and City Plaza. The Committee discussed the possible development of a policy addressing safety concerns for Children’s Playground, Ringel Park and City Plaza, including types of uses available for children, uses that might detract from family uses, signs, lighting and other items. The Chief of Police and General Services Director recommended that consideration be given to establishing a curfew for Children’s Playground and establishing a no loitering area within 50 feet of the restrooms at Ringel Park and City Plaza. Nicole Jones and Ed McLaughlin addressed the Committee on this issue. Monya Jameson, Recreation Superintendent, Chico Area Recreation District (CARD) noted that CARD has many programs they could transfer to Children’s Park, for example; summer camps, intramural drop-in sports programs, and sports camps. The only areas of concern would be restroom facilities and parking. Staff suggested CARD partner with the University for restrooms facilities. Staff indicated that a cost analysis had been done on the Police Department recommendations and many of the designs were low cost, adding there is capital project money available in the budget to fund these renovations. Response: Many of the recommendations are little to no cost and are being pursued. However, GSD (General Services Department) is seeking ways to accomplish all items both with the funding that has been allocated, donations and potential service projects. Chair Herbert made a motion to accept the recommendations provided in the Police Department’s “Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design evaluation” which includes: (1) Post proper signs at all entrances to Park. Increase frequency of signs and size. Response: new signage is included in the project presented to the Bidwell Park and Playground Commission. Exactly what that signage will be and where has not been determined. Additional “No Smoking” signs have been added. (2) Install partitions on benches to prevent sleeping. Response: All new benches will have partitions. (3) Prune all trees and tree type shrubs to 7' to the first branch. Prune all bushes 12" from ground and no higher than 36". Response: GSD continues to prune trees and shrubbery to improve site lines. (4) Utilize more frequent placement of lighting and change to halide type lighting in order to identify faces at 25'. Response: Moving light poles that are in the proposed project are in the budget. In addition, GSD will be changing existing light fixtures through either the capital project under consideration or the operation and maintenance budget. GSD has not, as of this writing, changed fixtures and tested the 25’ criteria. However, we are confident that the improved lighting, which was upgraded in the early 1990s, will be a significant improvement over what no available. (5) On the east side of Presbyterian Church - Install motion sensor lights and/or halide type lighting. Also prune the Juniper trees to 7'. Response: Staff will be discussing this and other items with Church representatives. (6) Remodel the playground equipment to a style that allows for natural surveillance. Increase lighting to halide type in order to clearly identify faces at 25'. Response: The primary focus of the current scope of work is on providing a quality and diverse play area that will be attractive, safe and appeal to a wide age group. Related improvements such as lighting, picnic tables, landscaping and benches are part of the scope. Natural surveillance is an important component of the design criteria. (7) Install skate stop devices on all curbs. Response: Where necessary, skate stoppers will be installed outside the proposed capital project. Future improvements will be designed so as not to attract this activity. (8) Install halide type lights to prevent sleeping at night and for identification purposes. Install sitting partitions to prevent sleeping. Install surveillance cameras to monitor activity. Increase patrol during the high school lunch time and other high crime times of the day or night. Response: Lighting and bench changes addressed earlier. Based on proposals to install cameras at other locations, whether or not to install surveillance cameras at this location has not been resolved. Sufficient personnel in the Police Department to monitor cameras, legal requirements to keep recorded images and sufficient quality of images that can be used for prosecution have not been resolved. The Police Department and GSD continue to coordinate surveillance and patrol with available resources. (9) Prune all bushes 12" from the ground and to a height no greater than 36" along the creek bank. Response: This an on-going requirement that can be achieved based on available resources. Work continues in this area. (10) Install bollards from creek bank to creek alongside the bridge to maintain proper access control. Response: One of the projects identified during the recent public input was re-designing the pathway and flow patterns in the vicinity of the foot bridge. The metal structure intended to discourage bicycles needs to be replaced and path alignment changed. Access control would be part of the work which may be a candidate for a service organization or future capital project allocation. (11) Increase lighting on bridge between Bidwell Mansion and Children’s Playground. Response: Improved lighting would be consideration with future improvements for this area. (12) Provide adequate maintenance to all areas of the park. Response: The park is maintained daily and can be adjusted as needed. Additional costs for the proposed improvements are under consideration. (13) Install halide lighting on the northeast creek bank, prune all shrubs to 36" in height and 12" up from ground level. Install low barrier type fencing to properly define public space. Response: Related to above comments regarding general improvements. (14) East end of Physical Science Building - Install barrier plants, high fencing, etc. to reinforce this as being nonpublic space. Response: This item will be the agenda in discussing potential modifications with the University. That meeting has not been scheduled. (15) South side of Physical Science Building - Install unclimbable 10' fence and increase the intensity of corner light as well as the lighting pattern. Response: This item will be on the agenda in discussing potential modifications with the University. That meeting has not been scheduled. (16) Northwest entrance from University - Increase lighting and install panic duress button and surveillance cameras. Response: This item will be the agenda in discussing potential modifications with the University. Taking down the walls to the amphitheater was discussed, but not recommended at this time. Chair Herbert amended his motion to include a 10:00 p.m. to sunrise curfew for Children’s Playground. Councilmember Holcombe seconded the motion. Response: One of the most significant decisions made to date has been establishing closing times for Children’s Playground and other locations. Children’s Playground is now closed to the public, except for moving through the area, from 12 Midnight to 5:00 a.m. The Chief of Police will be making a report on the new policy in late 2008. Other options mentioned to improve the area were: (1) adoption of the “Park Project” by Chico High School; and (2) installation of a bike path near the Bidwell Park bridge. Response: GSD is continuously looking for projects to involve the public. Current discussions have identified some possibilities and staff will be working with Chico High School students and faculty to encourage participation in improving Children’s Playground later this year and into 2008. Chair Herbert made a motion to forward a recommendation to the Council to direct the City Attorney’s Office and the Police Department to work on an ordinance to supplement the state loitering law to allow the City to protect the entrance ways and path ways to all public restrooms. Councilmember Schwab seconded the motion. Response: The park closings have been approved and will be evaluated to determine if any further changes in policy are needed. Recommendation: The Committee accepted (3-0) the recommendations as provided by the Police Department and the 10:00 p.m. to sunrise curfew for Children’s Park. The Committee also directed staff (3-0) to work on an ordinance to supplement the state loitering law to allow the City to protect the entrance ways and path ways to all public restrooms. Lon, I hope the above helps explain the status of enhancements and proposed improvements to Children’s Playground. If there is anything else, please let me know. Dennis Beardsley |
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![]() ![]() CI Challenge: Can you guess what it is? Winner: Everyone but Gregg, but mostly Mark Sorensen, see comments below for answer, see photo to the left for Bert and Ernie. |
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| Here's a meeting of some interest:(From
this E-R story by Laura Urseny) "Another discussion
of the park's future is planned at 10 a.m. Saturday at McManus
School's multipurpose room, 988 East Ave." And there's this from the story... "Right now Ceres Highland Park is nothing more than an empty, dirt corner on Ceres Avenue, between Whitewood Way and Glenshire Lane." The neighborhood recently turned down developing a basic park (grass, kid's play area) at a cost of $47/year, and an advanced park (basketball, bathrooms) for $52/year. The city and others are trying to jump start the process again. The money would pay to maintain the park. Other public funds would build it (see plans here). I don't believe it can go out to another vote unless a year elapses between ballots (that's some vague recollection I have). But don't quote me on that... unless you use the little "quote" signs, then it's okay. And if you repeat this during a conversation use your fingers to make the "quote" gesture, and add "said Lon on Commission Impossible". Otherwise you're plagiarizing me. Back to the park... I hate to say this, but the "Friends of Ceres/Highland Park" are spearheading this effort. I'm sure they are very nice people and I hope they are successful. But they have shown a lack of creative naming skills. That may or may not indicate that other organizational shortcomings exist. Your group's name is incredibly important. It's the first thing people hear. "Friends of" groups are way too common, and some friends just can't be counted on. While I have a lot of nice friends there's a bunch that I wouldn't ask to go the extra mile for me. I like names that develop esprit de corps. Things like "Alliance" or "Coalition" are great. They give you the feeling that these people don't even like each other but have banded together for the greater good. A coalition will storm the beach with you, but they're not coming to your birthday party because they've got better things to do. There are lots of names that might work for a Ceres/Highland neighborhood park group. How about "The Highlanders", or "It's Time for A Park, Ceres-ously", maybe "The Nickel-Deuce Gang", "Coalition for Grass", or "The Dirt Devils". You could even pick names that make people feel bad about not joining you. "Neighbors for Healthy Kids" or "Highlanders Against Heart Disease". Those are just some of the ideas I came up with. I hope this park gets built, but unless the funding mechanism for neighborhood parks changes it's really up to the neighbors to make it happen. |
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| Quote of the Day: In an
E-R
story on Butte County's General Plan where the topic of growth was
cracked open comes this... "John Anderson of New Urban Builders said the process was like learning how to juggle flaming chain saws without learning how to avoid getting burned. He said posing possible growth areas gets everyone aggravated." I've always thought it was more like being in a light saber fight without knowing how to use The Force, but that's just me. Nice quote John. |
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![]() ![]() CI Challenge: Can you guess what it is? Winner(s): Trevor Hastings, Anthony Watts, see comments below for the answer. |
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| Note to readers: The CI Super Challenge was an interactive blog, and was updated as people made guesses for the challenge. If you didn't take part in the challenge, it won't make much sense to you...sorry. I figured I'd try something different today. If it's fun I might do it more often. The image above is the CI Super Challenge. If I did my work right each image above can be used as clues to solve the super challenge. When you guess what an image is please include the image number. As each image is correctly guessed I'll update the body of this post so people don't have to read through the comments to find the answers that have come in. For example if I had images of a bow, a bag of gold, and a sherrif, those clues might be a reference to Robin Hood. If other images were included such as a pirate ship, that might lead you to Eroll Flynn, who starred in Robin Hood locally. And if there were a picture of the Virgin Mary and a school book the answer could be Mary Flynn. The clues aren't in sequence and the nine images above create 3 clues (pretty much three images per clue) to what the super challenge is. Good luck. #1: a wild pig - Anthony Watts #2: frying pan - Mark Sorensen #3: flip flops, a loose fitting shoe - Tom Hall #4: wick in an oil lamp - Mark Sorensen #5: Paul Bunyan, a woodsman - Tom Hall #6: film canisters - Tom Hall #7: sedge - Mark Bohn, Mark Sorensen #8: door lock, used for closing - Tom Hall #9: a wedding dress - Sean Baber Images 1,2, and 3 (wild pig, frying pan, flip-flop a loose fitting shoe) constitute a clue - Answer: Kevin Bacon - Dave Brobst Images 4,7, and 8 (a wick, sedge, door lock used for closing) constitute a clue - Answer: Kyra Sedgewick - Dave Brobst Images 5,6, and 9 (Paul Bunyan a woodsman, film canister, a wedding dress) constitute a clue - Answer: The Woodsman - Dave Brobst Winner and Answer: And the first annual CI Super Challenge has been completed with Dave Brobst coming up with all the super clues. The correct answer was "The Woodsman", a movie with a not so nice story line of a molester who falls in love. And I'd like to thank Gavin Claridge who received a maximum sentence of 21 years in prison for molestation, and was the topic of the first E-R story I read today, for the inspiration. Goodbye Gavin, don't come back. |
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| Photo: Local Elks fighting mad over
lost income from cell tower. I'll keep this short since I've got a morning meeting. But a few things happened at the City Council last night that deserve mentioning. Elks Lodge A Complaint: The Chico Elk's Lodge was denied a use permit for a cell tower on its property. 4 of the 5 councilors thought that since they had selected a cell tower location at Hooker Oak Park (roughly across the street) that future cell towers should be there. The vice president of the Friends of Bidwell Park, John Merz, is currently suing the city to stop the Hooker Oak Cell tower from going in. Merz is also a Planning Commissioner. Councilor Wahl pointed out that a cell tower at this location would probably be needed in the future anyway and that the Elks put a lot of money back into the community through non-profit efforts. He also pointed out that the city's 500' setback from residences for cell towers is not a number based on scientific concerns, but that the city staff arbitrarily selected the number. I think Wahl made excellent points, but that the decision to keep the cell towers in the same location is not a bad one. If only board members of the Friends of Bidwell Park would quit suing us. Harrison Gets a Path: The Council passed a resolution naming the Potter Road bike path after recently deceased VP of Sierra Nevada Brewing Company Steve Harrison. The road will connect Honeyrun Road on Skyway with the Doe Mill area. Again, Wahl alone suggested the council take a little time to discuss this at a committee level before naming the path after Harrison. Councilor Gruendl referenced a letter he received from someone concerned about Harrison's position as a beer executive and the fact that he apparently committed suicide. I don't have a problem with the beer executive part, but naming things in our city after people that kill themselves is probably not a good ongoing practice. I should say that on the topic of Harrision's death I don't think anyone knows for sure whether it was an accident or a suicide. On Harrison's life I don't have any information, but he shouldn't be judged solely on how he died. A little more discussion would have been appropriate. Kim's Coup: Local architect and relative newcomer to Chico David Kim was appointed to the Architectural Review Board last night. David has posted here a couple of times, and even endorsed me for my failed run for City Manager. Congratulations David, thanks for helping out our community by taking part in the public process. I'll pass you some advice I heard from Tom Lando, our City Manager before Greg Jones. Don't focus on the color of screws used in a plan. He thought micro management was causing problems at the ARB. |
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![]()
CI Challenge: Can you guess what it is? Winner: Mark Sorensen, see comments below for answer. |
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| Photo: Local Chicoans discuss with concern
the shootings, DUI's, tubing, and downtown vomit over the weekend at
Labor
Day barbecue. Breaking News: The crack CI investigative news team has determined that several Chicoans were not shot over Labor Day weekend. A number of them also did not go tubing. If that's not a rare enough occurrence a subset of those already mentioned were also not arrested for DUI during the 3 day community "rave". When interviewed David Thunderballs, a local construction worker, said "Yeah, I had a little too much to drink on Labor Day, but my wife drove me and the kids home. All in all it was a fun day." When asked if he vomited downtown he answered "no". Thunderballs' neighbor, Jack Somersault, admitted to not being shot during any festivities. "I think I'd know if I were shot, who are you and why do you have a tape recorder at our party?" Somersault continued when questioned in detail. It's unclear how many people did not go tubing, or did not get arrested for open containers, over the weekend. But more and more people are coming forward with stories of mundane weekends. Trudy Bucksaplenty described a short trip to Wal-Mart and purchasing some perennial flowers at Home Depot as the most extensive activity she took part in. Trudy explained "I cleaned house a little on Sunday, but mostly just hung out with my kids." Here at CI were not entirely sure what's causing this counter-culture behavior from some Chico locals. Some have suggested adulthood might be to blame, others fear it may be a result of a Planning Commission gone crazy. One thing is certain, if this trend continues Chico will lose its hard earned Party Town image. |
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![]()
CI Challenge: Can you guess what it is? Winner(s): D. Erickson and Anthony Watts, see comments below for the answer. |
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| Chico's 2007 AirFest was a really enjoyable
event. My son and I ditched mom and the baby for the show. I had expected
to pay $15 for each of us to get in, but kids under twelve were free, so
as we walked in the gate we were already ahead of the game. We stayed until just around noon when
even with sunblock we were both starting to glow red. There was a large
crowd at the air show, and another large crowd parked on the roads surrounding
the airport trying
to get a freebie (at least 200 cars on Eaton and Cohasset alone). One of the nice things about being in a small town is that you often see city decision makers at these community events. Mayor Andy Holcombe gave a short speech at the event and was walking around afterwards kissing palms and pressing babies. Councilor Larry Wahl, who was a fighter pilot in an earlier life, was holding court between a couple of big jets. And even GSD Dennis Beardsley was taking a day off from directing general services to enjoy the show. There were allegedly some CI regulars at the AirFest. I saw Gregg Payne from about 200 feet away. That's as close as I'll get to him, because if you get too close and stand still for too long he'll paint a mural on you. And I saw Mark Sorensen at breakfast, who said he was on his way to the show (where do the ultra-hip and extremely influential movers and shakers of Commission Impossible break their fast? Cozy Diner, where else!). The show had a lot of aircraft. That included some experimental (homemade) planes and a single person helicopter. There were some rescue vehicles as well. An Oroville model club had a model building class where we built a rubber band powered paper and wood airplane. It flew pretty well, but I made the mistake of sitting right near the guy leading the class. Whenever I was not following the directions he would correct me over the microphone. I spent much of the class hearing the "voice of god" telling the world what I was doing wrong. My son's favorite part of the show were the Navy's "Tailhook Legacy" and the "Air Force Heritage" flights. These are formation flights of new and old military aircraft to show the dedication, commitment, and lineage of our country's military personnel and aircraft. The first on display was the Navy's F-18 and T-28 (shown above). Later the F-16 and P-51 flew for the Air Force. We left before the latter but were lucky enough to see most of it as we drove home (they flew right in front of us on Cohasset.) A great show was put on by the Chamber, organizers, sponsors, and especially the pilots. And a special nod goes out to the Chico Air Museum, who provided some really kid friendly aircraft to the public. |
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![]() ![]() CI Challenge: Can you guess what it is? Winner: Alan Chamberlain, see comments below for the answer. |













































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