COMMUNITY SERVICES
June Recognition - The Project Self-Sufficiency Program will honor 35 single parents at the annual June Recognition, which will be held at St. Wilfrid's Church on June 15 from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. They will be honored for finishing an important goal in their life. This year, there are six single parents receiving a BA from local colleges, eight with an AA, one RN, and various certifications. In addition to their contributions, the Project Self-Sufficiency Foundation will also be distributing Educational Scholarships donated by the community. Sincere thanks go to the Pacific Coast Mother's Club, Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, SOREF Trust, Marilyn Bernhardt, Laura Welsch, Soroptimists of Huntington Beach, Rainbow Disposal, Haydee Tillotson, Chevron Company, Board of Realtors, Aera Energy, Huntington Beach Dodge, Star Realty, Pat Bone, Ilona Miller, MOMS Club of H.B., Wal-Mart, Pier Realty, National Charity League Juniors, Judy and Mel Loschin, Claudia Jackson, and the MacNeel-Pierce Foundation. This year, the Foundation is responsible for a record amount $50,600!
Summer Day Camps - The new SANDS Bulletin has a summer day camp program for every child from six to seventeen:
| Art at the Beach; Discovery Summer Soccer Clinic; Dance Stars Cheerleading
Camp; Chess Camp; Funtime Day Camp; Gymnastics-Plus Camp; Junior
Spikers-Beach Volleyball Camp; Junior Tennis Camp; Mad Science Summer
Camps; Surf Camp-Beach Kids; Surf Camp-Surf Academy; Skyhawks Soccer/
Baseball/Basketball/Multi-Sport/Football/Beginning Golf/Volleyball Camps;
Spiker Camp Elite 2004; Summer Arts & Crafts Camp; and Sunshine Generation Song & Dance Performing Camp of Huntington Beach
|
Some camps begin as early as June 14, so mail registration now.
Marine Safety - Marine Safety Operation had a very busy Memorial Day Weekend. Large crowds showed up for the Association of Volleyball Professionals event south of the pier, and warm ocean and air temperatures kept the lifeguards active. Statistics for the three-day weekend were as follows: Beach attendance: 224,477; Rescues: 132; Preventative responses: 3,088; Law enforcement contacts: 200; Medical aids: 44; Lost children: 21.
Preparing Seniors - Michelle Yerke, Social Worker, and Jane Cameron, Firemed Coordinator, devised a plan to better prepare the frail elderly in Huntington Beach in case of a medical emergency. Firemed donated 100 Emergency Medical Information Forms with red adhesive pouches to Senior Services. Social Workers will provide these to low-income clients, help them complete the Emergency Card, and stick it in a prominent place. These forms provide information regarding the client's emergency contacts, hospital preference, insurance, medications, allergies, and medical problems. Utilizing these forms will give the Social Workers an opportunity to explain the benefits of Firemed to the seniors who have little support and are most likely to need emergency services.
Lifeguard Vehicles - On May 30, at the Association of Volleyball Professionals Tournament on the city beach sponsored by Nissan, the Mayor accepted keys to a new Nissan Frontier. This is the first in a fleet of 17 beach vehicles donated by Nissan North America, Inc to the city of Huntington Beach. This partnership was approved by the City Council on May 17 and is for a term of two years with options for two additional two-year terms. The city will utilize these vehicles to provide lifeguard services on the beach and pier as well as assisting in the Beach Maintenance and Parking/Camping Operations. The value of the vehicles is over $450,000.
Pier Swim - The 54th Annual Pier Swim will take place this Saturday, June 12. Although it is too late to pre-register, participants may still register in person by the pier starting at 8:00 a.m. Last year, over 260 people participated, so we are looking forward to another successful event at the beach.
Summer Swim Lessons - The first day of walk-in registration for the outdoor high school pools took place last Saturday. Over 1,000 children were enrolled for these classes on the first day. Staff will be on hand at Edison Community Center and Marina High School again this Saturday from 1:00-4:00 p.m. to take swim registration. Staff is also processing mail-in registration for the classes offered at the City Gym and will start taking walk-in registration on the 15th of June. Classes will start the week of June 21.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Job Creation - Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa - The Economic Development Department has successfully submitted the second annual report to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) showing a substantial percentage of jobs created for low-moderate income employees. Job Creation was cited as one of the eligibility criteria for a $6 million loan and the $2 million grant for the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa. To date, over 400 jobs have been created, and over 75% of those employees hired meet HUD's low and moderate-income levels.
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Recommendations - On Monday, June 7, City Council held a joint study session with the Citizens Participation Advisory Board (CPAB) to review recommendations for funding for the 2004/2005 program year. CPAB reviews applications for funding, and the CPAB recommendations and recommendations by city staff were reviewed by the City Council. The meeting was held at 5:00 p.m. in Room B-8 at Huntington Beach City Hall. A Public Hearing and City Council approval will be in August. For more information, please call the Economic Development Department at (714) 536-5529.
Community Job Center Update - The Luis M. Ochoa Community Job Center at 18131 Gothard continues to be well used by residents and contractors seeking to hire day laborers from a safe and supervised environment. For the month of May 2004, 64% of the 597 day laborers who came into the Job Center were matched with jobs, for a total of 381 employed. This brings our calendar year-to-date total to 2,182 people placed in temporary positions. The Job Center is a cooperative partnership of the city's Economic Development Department and the Coastline Community College District through its Orange County One-Stop Center.
Marketing Huntington Beach - Economic Development staff just returned from the largest annual gathering of retailers and shopping center professionals in the industry--the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Spring Convention at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The city presented a booth along with 511 other municipalities, developers, retail tenants, and brokers and markets our local retail opportunities to the nearly 37,000 real estate professionals attending the event. With attendance up 10% from last year, optimism ran strong that the economy was moving forward and that consumers were looking to spend their money in well designed, attractive stores. With two of Huntington Beach's key retail projects beginning this summer, the city looks forward to seeing increased sales revenues in the years to come.
Demolition of HB Mall is Almost Complete - By the end of this week, demolition of the former Huntington Beach Mall will be just about completed. The most significant work on the demolition of the former mall was performed the last two weeks. This week, the section closest to Montgomery Ward is being dismantled. Most of the materials comprising the former mall are being recycled. This includes brick material, concrete, steel, aluminum, and wood. Shortly, construction on the parking structure, the movie theater complex, and the food court will commence.
First SeaColony Homes Close Escrow - Christopher Homes has closed escrow on the first seven homes in the SeaColony community at the Waterfront. These first homebuyers have moved into their new homes. The city's Redevelopment Agency is expected to start receiving its participation payments with the close of escrow on the 29th home.
Downtown Business Improvement District (BID) Meeting - A meeting of downtown merchants was held at the Art Center on June 3, with about 20 business representatives in attendance to discuss formation of a new Business Improvement District. Though most were supportive of the concept of a BID, some merchants did not think their businesses would benefit from the proposed BID. In response to comments heard at the meeting, a survey will be sent to businesses in the proposed boundary area to preliminarily determine the level of support for a BID before bringing it before the City Council later this summer.
Auto Dealers Obtain Loan from Redevelopment Agency - This past week, the Redevelopment Agency's $474,000 loan funded to the Auto Dealer Association for the purpose of updating the reader board sign located along the 405 Freeway near Beach Boulevard. The loan will be repaid over a seven-year period at a 6% interest rate. The new sign will use LDC color technology. The current sign is black and white and has limitations on what it can display. The Huntington Beach Auto Dealers, through auto sales, generate the single largest amount of sales tax for the city. The reader board upgrade is designed to further reinforce the Beach Boulevard of Cars as the best place to make a new car purchase in Orange County.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Magnolia Oil Well Incident - On March 17, an oil well at the Ascon Nesi site at Magnolia and Hamilton sprayed oil over an adjoining neighborhood and the surrounding area. The city's cost for the subsequent clean up efforts totalled over $47,000, which covered Fire, Public Works, Police, Building, City Attorney, and Administration staff time; the equipment and apparatus used to mitigate the incident; and the operation of the Fire Emergency Operations Center. Of that amount, due to the efforts of Fire Department staff, $46,382.31 was recovered, which is all but $800 of the expenditures associated with the gusher.
PUBLIC WORKS
Upcoming Sidewalk Repairs - A large-scale concrete repair and tree replacement project will begin over the next few weeks. Nine city streets will have overgrown trees removed, replaced, and the adjacent concrete repaired. The homeowners on these streets signed petitions requesting the city to remove and replace the trees and repair the damage to curbs, gutters, and sidewalks. A list of petition streets is maintained, and repairs are typically completed in the order received as funding allows. Petitions for the current project streets were received in 1994. Sunlight Drive, Rambler Drive, Thunderbird Circle, and Sparrow Drive will be repaired using Measure M funds of approximately $500,000. Five of the streets (Fir Drive, Emerald Lane, Cypress Avenue, Michael Drive, and Darsy Drive) are in a designated Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Enhancement Area, and a CDBG grant in the amount of $380,000 will provide funding for these repairs.
Weekly Report Archive
May 25, 2004
May 18, 2004
May 11, 2004
May 04, 2004
Apr 27, 2004
Apr 20, 2004
Apr 13, 2004
Apr 06, 2004
Mar 30, 2004
Mar 23, 2004
Mar 16, 2004
Mar 09, 2004
Mar 02, 2004
Feb 24, 2004
Feb 17, 2004
Feb 10, 2004
Feb 03, 2004
Jan 27, 2004
Jan 20, 2004
Jan 13, 2004
Jan 06, 2004
Dec 30, 2003
Dec 23, 2003
Dec 16, 2003
Dec 09, 2003
Dec 02, 2003
