City Council Hears Plans for Holiday Festivities
Nov 18, 2018 12:00AM ● By Story by Shaunna BoydAlso Hears Update on the EchoWater Project
CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - The Citrus Heights City Council meeting on November 8 featured presentations about upcoming holiday festivities in the city. The annual Tree Lighting event will be held at City Hall Outdoor Plaza (6360 Fountain Square Drive) on Thursday, December 6 at 6:30 PM. The event will feature music by the Citrus Heights Community Marching Band and a cappella quartet Encore. Guests will enjoy photos with Santa, hot cocoa and cookies, train rides, and taking photos inside the human snow globe.
Sunrise MarketPlace is hosting four free pop-up Magical Moments events throughout the holiday season. A Laser Light Show with music presented by 98 Rock Radio will be held in LOWE’S parking lot on Thursday, November 29 from 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM. On Saturday, December 1, Birdcage Center will be transformed for Victorian Holiday from noon to 3:00 PM; the event will feature Santa Claus, sleigh rides, and music by KYMX Radio. The Winterfest Carnival on Saturday, December 15 will have games, a magic show, and many activities for the kids from noon to 3:00 PM at Sunrise Village on Sunrise Blvd. The final event of the season will be the Nutcracker Interlude Ballet, with two performances by the Sac Civic Ballet at 5:15 PM and 6:10 PM on Thursday, December 20 at Macys Court at Sunrise Mall.
A member of the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce spoke about some of the Chamber’s accomplishments during 2018. They gained 24 new members this year, and they have an 85% member retention rate, well above the national average of approximately 75%.
The Council heard an update about the EchoWater Project, which involves major upgrades of the existing Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in Elk Grove. The WWTP serves more than 1.4 million people in the cities of Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova, Folsom, Elk Grove, Sacramento, and West Sacramento. Renovations to the facility will improve the quality of water discharged into the Sacramento River and will allow the WWTP to meet the new treatment standards required by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board and State Water Resources Control Board.
The project, which is the biggest public works project in Sacramento’s history with a total budget of $1.7 billion, is being implemented by the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District. Construction is expected to be completed between 2021 and 2023. So far, nine phases of the project have been completed and nine are currently under construction, with two on track to be completed by the end of the year. Each phase of the project requires extensive planning. To mitigate for potential equipment failures or illness of essential crew members, the detailed project plans include ensuring backup equipment is available on site and that additional crew members are available on call during critical phases of construction. The project is currently on track to meet all the completion deadlines.
The following milestones will be met this winter: decommission the obsolete chemical handling system; begin Nitrifying Sidestream Treatment seeding and lime system commissioning; complete the Bradshaw Equalization Structure Pipeline; complete work to winterize Channel Air Blower Project site; complete Flow Equalization Project washdown system installation; complete Tertiary Treatment Facility mass excavation and site winterization, and then begin the concrete placement; and complete water-tightness testing in Biological Nutrient Removal basins 1 and 2.
Finally, the Council voted on modifications to the city’s compensation policy guidelines. The modifications included an update to labor market guidelines, the removal of references to employer paid member contributions, the removal of references to pay-for-performance, an update to the severance provision for the Chief of Police, and an update to the established amounts for health insurance that removes references to unused health benefits and clarifies benefits for part-time employees. The modifications were unanimously approved by the Council.