July 2011 Council Update

Projects:

Euclid Street Reconstruction - Orangethorpe Avenue to 91 Freeway (Engineering): This project includes replacing deteriorated pavement and access ramps to comply with ADA regulations; installing traffic loops and striping; and replacing damaged curbs and gutters. The project is in the bidding phase, and construction is expected to begin in late August.

Richman Athletic Field Improvements (Engineering): The project was completed at the beginning of June and is in the maintenance period, which ends in September.

West Harbor Alley Improvement -

Amerige Avenue-Wilshire Avenue

(Engineering): In June, Council awarded this $215,175 project to Kormx, Inc. The project includes alley and sidewalk reconstruction, and improvements in landscaping, irrigation, and lighting between the Amerige and Wilshire entrances. Construction is expected to be completed in September.

Fox Block Temporary Parking Lot (Engineering): Construction was completed in June, and the lot is now fully operational.

Sewer Replacement and Road Reconstruction - Chapman Area, west of

Basque Avenue

(Engineering): Kana Pipeline, Inc., has begun installing sewer main and removing concrete at intersection corners. Access ramp installation will follow, as well as sidewalks, curbs, gutters and alley returns. The project is expected to be completed in mid-September.

Tennis Center Renovation (Parks and Recreation): The Fullerton Tennis Center renovation began July 5, and is expected to be completed Oct. 25. A grand opening is planned in November. Court availability will remain open throughout construction.

Hiltscher Trail Improvements (Parks and Recreation): The trail improvements (from

Euclid Street

to

La Mesa Avenue

) began early this month. Improvements will include enhanced trail staging areas, as well as a new trail alignment to create a better flow for different types of users and to cause the least amount of disruption to the neighboring homes. This section of the trail is closed during construction and will reopen in October.

Update on the Fox Theatre (Redevelopment and Economic Development): Work on the seismic retrofit of the Fox Theatre complex continues. Roof tile from the Firestone Building and Tea Room has been removed and cleaned. The tiles will be surveyed to determine which ones can be reused. Removal of the marquee is complete. The ”FOX ” letters were removed from the marquee and will be stored while the new marquee is fabricated during Phase 2 of the restoration project.

SOCO West Parking Structure (Redevelopment and Economic Development): Construction of the parking structure is under way, with shoring activities finished and excavation 80 percent completed.

Programs:

Fourth of July Festival (Parks and Recreation): Attendance in the stadium was estimated at 12,000, with an estimated 20,000 people in the surrounding streets, parks, and at the courthouse to watch the fireworks show. There was one minor incident at the end of the night: A woman fell as she was walking down the steps in the stadium. She landed hard on her left knee and hand. Fullerton Fire Paramedics provided medical attention, and she was taken to Anaheim Regional Hospital for follow-up. Traffic in the surrounding streets was heavy after the event, with no significant incidents reported.

Summer Concerts in the Park (Parks and Recreation): The Summer Concerts in the Park will be held Wednesdays, beginning July 13 and running through Aug. 17. The concerts will offer a variety of music genres from “Southbound” (‘70s and Southern Rock), “HELP” (a Beatles tribute group), “The James Harman Band” (blues), “The Mighty Cash Cats” (a Johnny Cash tribute group), “Yard Sale” (classic rock) and “The Lucky Stars” (country). A different Fullerton restaurant will sell food each week, and free crafts will be provided. Free shuttle service will be available to and from the parking structure at First Evangelical Free Church.

Foreclosure Prevention Workshop (Community Development): On June 11, the Orange County Home Ownership Preservation Collaborative, along with the Shalom Center Tree of Life and Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez’s office, partnered to provide a free foreclosure prevention workshop that provided counseling to distressed homeowners by nonprofit housing agencies and lender representatives. Approximately 207 persons attended the event, representing 83 households in Fullerton and local communities. The foreclosure prevention information was presented in English, and Korean and Spanish translators were provided. All attendees first met one-on-one with a housing counselor and then were able to meet one-on-one with their respective lender to discuss their individual situations. Five lenders and four nonprofit agencies participated in the event.

City-wide Clean-up (Maintenance Services): In April, the City Council directed Maintenance Services to implement a city-wide clean-up effort involving several projects. As of June 30, the status of that effort is as follows:

Landscape Projects:

• The
  

  Nutwood Avenue

  and

  Lemon Street

  improvements have been completed.
• The Juanita Cooke Trail survey has been completed and work is under way.

Graffiti Removal:

The three-person graffiti removal crew’s efforts have been augmented by an employee assigned to clean parking structures, who is also removing graffiti as he finds it during his cleaning rounds.

Pothole Repair:

The Street Division repaired potholes at 525 locations in May and June, compared with 335 for the same period in 2010. The Division will continue to use recycled asphalt to augment its regular asphalt purchases, increasing the amount of material available for pothole repair and other paving operations.

Street Sign Replacement:

The Street Division is completing the count and locations of street sign replacement.

Based on current ordering and installation times, installing of all 326 new signs should be completed by September.

Month in Review:

Website Statistics (Redevelopment and Economic Development): In June, the Department’s section on the City website had 1,736 hits.

Unemployment Rates (Redevelopment and Economic Development): Current unemployment rates are as follows: U.S. – 9.1 percent; California – 11.4 percent; Orange County – 8.5 percent; and Fullerton – 9.6 percent. This data was provided by the Orange County Workforce Investment Board.

Fire: In June, the Department had 915 requests for service, up slightly from the 904 requests in June 2010. Of the 915 requests, 673 were for emergency medical aid, 23 were for fires, eight were hazardous materials incidents, and 61 were service calls. Of the medical aid requests, 437 required advanced life support response and 236 required basic life support response. In addition, the Department responded on 84 automatic aid calls, and received 73 automatic aid responses.

Community Development: In June, the Department: issued 292 plan checks and permits; issued 427 building permits; conducted 1,612 building inspections; received 216 code enforcement complaints; handled 733 active code enforcement cases; closed 176 code enforcement complaints; and conducted 848 code enforcement inspections.

Major Building Permits (Community Development): In June, the following major permits were issued: Chick-fil-A Restaurant; parking structure for the Transportation Center; and parking structure for University Housing,

555 N. Commonwealth Ave.

Police: In June, the Department was dispatched to 3,529 calls for service and initiated 2,164 additional contacts. There were 1,055 criminal reports taken and 419 persons arrested for various criminal offenses.

Police Explorers (Police): In the last week of June, eight Fullerton Police Explorers, along with three Police Officers and a Cadet Adviser attended “Camp Superstars” in Lake Arrowhead. Explorers from around Southern California gathered for a week of team building and competition. It was the first chance many of our Explorers ever had to attend such a camp. At the conclusion of the week, Fullerton’s Post earned the “Badge of Honor” trophy, which was awarded for an “exemplary showing of teamwork, sportsmanship and character.”

Source: http://www.cityoffullerton.com/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=7491