June 29, 2017 Page 1

CITY MANAGER’S REPORT ~~~

June 29, 2017

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Hello everyone!

Did you know we have a Sister City?It’s Tula in Hidalgo, Mexico, and we are hosting a

visit by representatives from Tula this week. For more about our Sister City program, please

click here.

If you visited City Hall recently, you may have been greeted by the unfamiliar face of a

Toltec statue that we received from Tula. In the photo, Public Works staff Manuel Cano,

Ben Hirsch, John Gant, and Curtis

West carefully place the statue at a

City Hall entrance as part of our

welcome to Tula visitors.

To learn more about Tula’s Toltec

history, please check out this link:

https://delange.org/Tula/Tula.htm

Looking ahead to next week, I’m

very exciting to be participating in

the parade on Monday that is part of

our 4th of July celebration and, of

course, will be here to see the

fireworks on Tuesday night.

Happy Independence Day to all of

us!

Lorie

The City Manager’s Report from City of Benicia City Manager Lorie Tinfow is published

twice-monthly highlighting the activities of the departments of our full-service city.

Previous editions are available on the City of Benicia City Manager’s page. For additional

information on any items in this edition, please see Contact Information at the end of this

report.

June 29, 2017 Page 2

HOLIDAY CLOSURE: Benicia City Offices, Benicia Community Center and Benicia Public

Library will be closed Tuesday, July 4 in observance of Independence Day.

Requests for emergency water and sewer service may be made at the Benicia Police

Department, 200 East L Street, or 707.745.3411. – City Manager’s Office

FIRE SAFETY: The Benicia Fire Department

reminds you that all fireworks are illegal within

Benicia city limits. They want you to have fun but

stay safe, and invite you to enjoy the fireworks

display over the Benicia waterfront on the 4th of

July. Here’s a link to a short video reminder:

https://youtu.be/6NhNdHbdVuA

There will be a slight change to this year’s public

fireworks display. In an effort to increase public

safety, the launch location for the fireworks will

be moved from the parking lot at the end of First

Street to a floating barge located 1,000 feet off the

end of the First Street pier. In years past, we have

experienced difficulty with the prevailing wind

causing fireworks fallout to land in the

combustible vegetation and the crowd.

Because of the new location, boaters in the area

are required to maintain a clear distance of 1,000

feet from the fireworks barge. The US Coast Guard has issued a temporary safety zone for

navigable waters during the Independence Day fireworks display. This applies to all boaters

and kayakers. Click here for more information. Thank you for your understanding and

cooperation. – Fire Department

FIRST STREET SAFETY FOR THE TORCHLIGHT

PARADE: Please do not block access to the

sidewalk. Do not attach chains, ropes, etc. to the

street lights or sign poles to save your spots. Do not

place tape or any semi-permanent substance on the

sidewalks. Do allow enough room for a car door to

open on the passenger side of the parked car.

In the interest of Public Safety, NO chairs,

blankets, or other materials used to reserve space

may be placed along the route for the Torchlight

Parade prior to 9:00 AM on July 3. – City of

Benicia

June 29, 2017 Page 3

BENICIA ART WALK: Benicia Art Walk 2017 continues Saturday,

July 10, 2:00-6:00 PM, at eight amazing galleries in downtown

Benicia. Galleries have special activities going on like live music and

live demonstrations and, new this year, a drawing for $160 toward a

piece of art at the participating gallery of your choice. Look for the

bright blue banners, then stop by for a sip and stay for the fun.

Benicia Art Walk continues the second Saturdays in September and

October. Art Walk is always free and so is the parking.

Click here for the Benicia Art Walk 2017 brochure and map. More info

is available at www.visitbenicia.org/arts/visual-arts and

Facebook.com/BeniciaArtWalk. – Economic Development

YOUTH CITIZEN POLICE ACADEMY: The Benicia Police Department

encourages 7th and 8th

graders to attend the

Youth Citizen Police

Academy, July 31 -

August 4 from 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM, at

Benicia Middle School. The Academy will

cover a variety of topics related to law

enforcement through presentations, hands-

on activities, and a ton of fun!

Applications are being accepted until July 2

and are available online. For more

information, contact Sgt. Hart at

khart@ci.benicia.ca.us or 707.746.4244. – Police Department

PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM: On Friday, July 7 the City of Benicia Arts and Culture

Commission will be showing the classic

film Casablanca at the Majestic Theatre in

downtown Benicia. Here’s your chance to

see a classic and get a look inside the

historic theatre. Doors will open at 7:30

PM and the movie begins at 8:00. Tickets

are $20 and may be purchased at the

Benicia Public Library or online.

Funds raised at this event will go toward a

public art initiative for Benicia. For

further information contact Helaine

Bowles at hbowles@ci.benicia.ca.us or

707.746.4358. - Library

June 29, 2017 Page 4

PERSONNEL NEWS:

City of Benicia Job Opportunities: The Human Resources Department is accepting

applications for the following positions:

GED Instructor (Grant Funded), part-time, closing 07/02/17

Laboratory Technician I/II, full-time, closing 07/10/17

Department Aide, part-time, closing 07/11/17

Engineering Technician I/II, full-time, closing 07/17/17

To apply, the application and supplemental forms can be filed online at:

http://agency.governmentjobs.com/benicia/default.cfm. City of Benicia employment

applications may also be obtained from and must be

returned to the Human Resources Department at 250

East L Street, Benicia.

These job opportunities are open to any current City

of Benicia employees (full- or part-time) as well as

the general public. If you know of someone who may

be interested in applying, please let them know. -

Human Resources

Welcome from the Finance Department: The Finance

Department is pleased to welcome their new Senior Account

Clerk, Liza Ona. Liza comes to us from the investment

management industry and worked in the Finance Department at

BlackRock Inc. for the past 10 years. She graduated from U.C.

Davis with a degree in Sociology – Organizational Management.

Liza is a resident of Benicia and enjoys spending her free time

going on family outings. Finance Department staff are very

excited to work with her. - Finance

Education Matters: The City of Benicia recognizes the value of

professional development and the benefits that occur from having employees who are

lifelong learners. They wanted to recognize the accomplishment of one of their Fire

Department staff.

Division Chief Josh Chadwick, who is currently overseeing the day-to-day operations of

the Fire Department as the Acting Deputy Chief, recently

completed a significant educational milestone. Chief

Chadwick has been performing additional duties for the

past 9-months due to the assignment of the Fire Chief to

the City Manager’s Office. Regardless of these increased

responsibilities, he remained focused on his educational

goals and recently completed his Master of Science degree

in Emergency Services Management.

Completion of this level of education requires

commitment, dedication, and hard work. Congratulations

on your achievement, Josh! – Fire Department

June 29, 2017 Page 5

DISCOVER & GO: Are your kids already bored with summer? Discover & Go is your ticket

to a world of adventure, learning and fun!

This free program through the Benicia Public

Library allows you to reserve in advance and

print out free museum passes to many of the

local museums in the Bay Area without the

need to come to the Library.

Click here for a list of places to discover. All

you need is a Library card! – Library

SET-UP DRILL: On June 15th, staff from the Benicia Fire Department and the Benicia

Public Works Department joined efforts in conducting an Emergency Operations Center

(EOC) set-up drill. The City’s EOC is located in the Fire Department’s main headquarters

building on Military West. On a day-to-day basis, the room is utilized as a training

classroom. In the event of an incident requiring the activation of the EOC, the room must

be quickly reconfigured. This training focused on performing the reconfiguration with

limited staff.

The Fire Department will be scheduling similar drills with other City departments

throughout the summer. – Fire Department

POLICE DEPARTMENT MONTHLY REPORT: The Benicia Police

Department monthly report for May 2017 is now available. It contains a

monthly wrap-up of Community Services, Professional Development,

Statistics, and Interesting Case Summaries. Click here to read more. – Police

Department

From this... to this.

June 29, 2017 Page 6

UPDATE FROM THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT: Here’s an update from the

Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Wastewater Treatment Plant- Projects for May:

There are several preventative and corrective maintenance work orders completed each

month, as well as miscellaneous projects to benefit the operation of the City’s Wastewater

Treatment Plant, and its 23 pumping stations.

A major task for Wastewater Treatment Plant personnel this month was to begin a project

that would relocate and install all electrical power for the secondary and disinfection end of

the treatment plant above ground. This project will prove to be

extremely beneficial to the Wastewater Treatment Plant since it

will relocate the main power wire source for the most important

systems of the plant out of settling underground structures that

they currently run through. Towards the end of the month, as a

necessity to this project, all electricity to the Wastewater

Treatment Plant was shut down for 5 hours. During this critical

time, personnel managed a full plant diversion of flows, while

setting up enough temporary power to keep the offices open to the public. When power was

restored, all diverted water was returned to process for proper treatment.

During a regular preventative maintenance inspection, one of the Wastewater Treatment

Plant’s primary clarifiers was found to need repair. All repairs were completed, and the

clarifier is back on line.

Wastewater Treatment Plant - Maintenance:

Staff performed 76 preventive maintenance tasks as well as 15 corrective maintenance work

orders.

WWTP Plant Performance:

The Plant processed 65.05 million gallons of wastewater this last month with no Permit

exceedances.

Nutrient pollution removal: 98% Biochemical Oxygen Demand

(BOD)

Total Suspended Solids (TSS) = 99%

Water Quality Laboratory personnel performed 1,398 analyses on

319 samples.

The Effluent Acute Bioassy testing had a 100% survival rate.

The state permit limits on this test are that the plant maintain a yearly average of greater

than 80%, and cannot have more than two tests in a given 12-month period with less than a

70% survival rate. Thanks to the

abilities and experience of the

operations/maintenance team and

the water quality team at the

Benicia Wastewater Treatment

Plant, all permit levels are

regularly complied with. – Public

Works

CURRENT LIBRARY STATISTICS:

Total May visitors: 18,517

Record Day of visitors on May 24 with 1,078 visitors

Public Internet sessions: 2,717

Wireless Internet sessions: 2,714

Library Adult & Teen Facebook reaches: 14,045

-Library

June 29, 2017 Page 7

TORCH RUN FOR SPECIAL OLYMPICS: On June 21, the Benicia Police Department kicked

off the Solano County leg of the Northern

California Special Olympic Law

Enforcement Torch Run. Officers and

police & city personnel met at Alvarez

Ninth Street Park and ran 1.3 miles to the

Benicia State Recreation Area to hand off

the torch to Vallejo Police Department.

Several Special Olympic Athletes also took

part in the traditional run.

The Torch then made its way throughout

Solano County handing off to law

enforcement agencies until ending at the NorCal Special Olympics Summer Games, which

were held on June 23-25 at U.C. Davis. - Police

HAM RADIO TRAINING: Amateur Radio Operators from the Benicia Amateur Radio Club

(BARC) set up multiple Ham Radio stations at the Benicia Fire Museum for an event

called Field Day, which ran non-stop from 11:00 AM on Saturday, June 24 through 11:00

AM on Sunday, June 25.

The objective of the event was to test the

club’s radio equipment and operator skills by

communicating with clubs and operators

with similar stations throughout the United

States, Canada and beyond.

Many of the BARC Members are Benicia

Emergency Response Team members

(BERT) who will utilize these skills when

major disasters disable cellular telephone and

traditional radio communications. - Fire

Department

Special Olympic athlete Eric carries the torch

Benicia Police Department hands off to Vallejo Police Department

June 29, 2017 Page 8

BEST BEACH TOWNS IN THE US: Benicia

was recently named as one of the Best

Beach Towns to Live In in the U.S. by

Wallethub for its ranking in six key

dimensions: Affordability, Weather,

Safety, Economy, Education & Health, and

Quality of Life. They evaluated cities with

populations between 10,000 and 150,000

and at least one beach mentioned on

TripAdvisor. Benicia ranked #34 overall

and is the #2 affordable beach town in the

rankings.

To see how Benicia qualified, check out the

beach at Alvarez Ninth Street Park or the dog-friendly beach at the foot of First Street. –

Economic Development

~ CONTACT INFORMATION ~

The City Manager’s Report from City of Benicia City Manager Lorie Tinfow is published

twice-monthly. Email your questions or comments to edev@ci.benicia.ca.us. For additional

information on any of the items in this report, please contact one of the following

departments:

City Manager: 707.746.4200

City Attorney: 707.746.4216

Administrative Services (Finance, Human Resources, I.T): 707.746.4200

City Clerk: 707.746.4200

Community Development: 707.746.4280

Economic Development: 707.746.4202

Fire Department: 707.746.4275

Library: 707.746.4343

Parks & Community Services: 707.746.4285

Police Department: 707.746.4265

Public Works: 707.746.4240