Graduating seniors Tristyn Scott (center left) and Makenzie Dawson were awarded the 2025 Sustainability Scholarship, granted through Republic Services in partnership with the City of Citrus Heights and the San Juan Education Foundation. Photo courtesy of Republic Services

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - At the May 28 Citrus Heights City Council meeting, waste management agency Republic Services presented some highlights from 2024. 

Rather than being shipped several hours away for sorting, recyclables are now being processed at a facility in North Highlands.

This local focus reduces vehicle miles and provides more direct insight into the process. 

Also in 2024, Republic Services moved residential food waste to an Anaerobic Digestion Facility in Oroville, where it is used for electricity production. The residential compost program was also expanded, giving free compost to Citrus Heights residents at various locations throughout the city. 

Republic Services is contractually required to divert 40% of items away from landfills and last year hit its highest diversion rate at 50.7%, an 11.6% increase over 10 years. 

In partnership with the City of Citrus Heights and the San Juan Education Foundation, Republic Services announced the winners of the 2025 Sustainability Scholarship, which is awarded each year to Citrus Heights students graduating from the San Juan Unified School District. 

The scholarship is awarded to students pursuing a degree in sustainability or to benefit the environment. Applicants competed in an essay contest about their career goals and two winners were selected to receive $1,000 each. 

Makenzie Dawson from Mesa Verde High School plans to attend Sierra Community College where she’ll pursue a science degree to become a traveling veterinarian. 

Tristyn Scott from Del Campo High School will attend California State University, Monterey Bay for a marine science degree, focusing on the migration routes of great white sharks. 

City Council also heard a presentation by the Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito & Vector Control District, a regional agency that aims to protect residents from mosquitos and the diseases they carry. They set traps and track transmission levels in addition to helping residents reduce mosquito breeding areas. To report an infestation or learn more, visit online fightthebite.net.  

During Public Comment, a resident thanked the Citrus Heights Police Department IMPACT Team for improving the situation in his neighborhood. Because many of the problems involved trash and noise levels, he said, it took a while to be addressed but there is now significant improvement. 

The IMPACT Unit is comprised of specially-trained detectives in the areas of problem and community-oriented policing, street-level narcotic enforcement, violent offender monitoring, fugitive apprehension, general nuisance abatement and Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED), according to the Citrus Heights Police Department’s website.

City Council considered a request for a Letter of Public Convenience and Necessity (PCN) to allow a Type 21 license for the sale of beer, wine and spirits at Rangoon Grocery.

The approval of alcohol sale licenses is governed by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) but a Letter of Public Convenience and Necessity must be approved by City Council when the request involves an area with an overconcentration of active alcohol licenses. 

Rangoon Grocery, located at 7601 Sunrise Blvd., has been in operation since 2023 and focuses on Burmese and Asian grocery items. The license was requested to sell specialty alcoholic beverages from these cultures, such as a variety of saké, Vietnamese rice wines and draft beers, Japanese beers and whiskeys, Korean soju, Thailand Singha and Chang beer, and Chinese baijiu.

There are four active alcohol licenses in that census tract but only two of those include distilled spirits. The applicant submitted a detailed safety plan and the Citrus Heights Police Department had no objections to the license approval. 

Vice-Mayor MariJane Lopez-Taff asked if the Letter of Public Convenience and Necessity would carry over to a new owner if the store is sold and staff explained that any new business at the location would have to apply for its own alcohol license and undergo the same process. 

During Public Comment, several owners from other liquor stores in Citrus Heights spoke in opposition to the request, stating that allowing another store to sell alcohol would negatively impact their businesses. 

Some residents expressed concerns that there is plenty of homeless activity in that area and adding another liquor store would not improve the situation. 

Councilmember Tim Schafer said that particular location changed ownership many times in the past, and if the council can give this business “a real shot at survival,” it would “stabilize our business market there” Schaefer said it was a reasonable request because the alcohol the business plans to sell is specific to the cultures served there. 

Councilmember Kelsey Nelson agreed that the license would benefit “an underserved market.” 

Lopez-Taff said she was concerned about the homeless issues and the proximity to schools, so she would not support liquor sales at that location.

Mayor Jayna Karpinski-Costa said that issues surrounding homelessness would not be impacted and it wouldn’t be fair to deny businesses because of an issue it can’t control. She said the owner is responsible and the Citrus Heights Police Department doesn’t have any concerns about the license. Karpinski-Costa said the sales probably would not impact other businesses because Rangoon Grocery would offer specialty items.

“I’d like to give the guy a shot. I think that there is a public necessity to have those weird beverages. You know, they kind of go with the weird food that they sell,” Karpinski-Costa said

City Council voted 3-1 to approve the Letter of Public Convenience and Necessity, with Lopez-Taff dissenting and Councilmember Porsche Middleton absent. 

Council then heard a report about the city’s vacancies, recruitment and retention efforts, in compliance with Assembly Bill 2561, which went into effect in January and requires an annual public hearing. 

The city has a total of 210.75 budgeted staff positions and in 2024, filled 41 vacancies from a vacancy rate of 15% in January, reduced to 8% by December. 

The staff review looked at obstacles in recruitment and found that the process, language and format of employment applications need some improvement. So staff are working to redesign the process and make it more user-friendly. They are also working with Civic Match, a free service that expands candidate outreach to all the recently displaced federal workers. 

The city’s strengths include a high retention rate of 89%.

Karpinski-Costa said, “I really think our staff just enjoys the workplace and our policies and our culture that we have here.”

The council received and filed the report, as no action was required. 

Staff also provided an update about the newly implemented guidelines for the Neighborhood Clean-Up Program, which allows residents to set out bulky trash items for collection three times per year. 

Problems in the past included some residents putting out more items than allowed or putting the piles out more than 48 hours prior to the scheduled pick up, creating blight and encouraging scavenging. 

After exploring various options, new guidelines were approved last year and implemented this January. The new policy includes a $166.30 penalty, added to the customer’s bill, for not following the requirements. The new guidelines also allow for more flexibility in enforcement and customers can request extra time if needed. 

City Manager Ashley Feeney updated the council about a Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) project to replace a major transformer this winter at their Sunrise Substation, just south of Sayonara Drive. It will require modifications to the median and the removal of eight palm trees, which will be done this summer.

Karpinski-Costa asked to reopen the discussion of annexing some parcels at the corner of Fair Oaks Boulevard and Madison Avenue. Staff will investigate and report at a future City Council meeting. The next Citrus Heights City Council meeting is scheduled for June 11.