Cassy Vaioleti-Matu, a Just Serve specialist for the Sacramento region, said, “I’m here to celebrate and commend the City of Citrus Heights,” which has so many residents who come together to help each other when needed. 

“This designation signals the City of Citrus Heights’ value of service as a city priority,” creating a culture of service that “uplifts individuals, strengthens neighborhoods and builds lasting connections,” said Vaioleti-Matu. 

Citrus Heights joins more than 200 Just Serve cities, and residents are encouraged to visit JustServe.org to explore volunteer opportunities. 

Vice Mayor Porsche Middleton said, “This is a wonderful, wonderful opportunity for us to showcase the fact that we have a lot of folks in our community that want to get involved.”

Senior Civil Engineer Daniel Kehrer with the General Services Department presented an overview of the city’s level of storm preparedness for the approaching winter season, including potential El Niño impacts. 

Citrus Heights doesn’t generally see as many significant flooding events as other parts of the county. But past flood events have occurred when local creeks and storm drains are overloaded from significant rainfall. So, the city’s preparation efforts focus on vegetation management along creeks and ensuring the storm drain system is free of debris.

Kehrer said current data predicts a strong El Niño season, which occurs when the surface level temperature of the Pacific Ocean is warmer than the ambient ocean temperature. El Niño years can result in warm, wet winters for some regions.

The city will be monitoring storms to ensure they are prepared to respond, and they have staff and contractors who are on call 24/7 to address storm impacts at any time.

Residents are encouraged to stay informed about upcoming storms, clear their gutters of debris and have sandbags ready. Self-service sandbags are available at City Hall and at C-Bar-C Park. More details are available at https://www.citrusheights.net/419/Be-Storm-Ready---Residential. 

The council then reviewed the 2027 Annual Action Plan for use of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program funds. This federal funding award is distributed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the city’s 2027 award is estimated to be $600,000.

Of that total, $120,000 is allocated for administration, $390,000 for capital projects and $90,000 for public services. 

The city plans to use the capital projects allocation for the 2026-27 Accessibility and Drainage Project, which will include sidewalk improvements throughout the city, such as 240 accessible curb ramps, repair of damaged sidewalks and relocation of drainage inlets. 

The city received seven applications from local public service agencies for the CBDG public service funding. The funding requests totaled $164,584, but only $90,000 will be available. The council’s Quality-of-Life Committee recommended four applications for funding approval: $20,000 to Campus Life Connection, $16,000 to Meals on Wheels, $29,556 to Sunrise Christian Food Ministry and $24,444 to Community Link Capital Region & Project Sentinel. 

Representatives from the organizations spoke during public comments about how the funding will support their programs. 

Official council action will be taken at the next meeting. 

The council also reviewed funding applications for the city’s Non-Profit Community Support Fund, which provides limited grants to nonprofit organizations benefiting Citrus Heights residents. The fiscal year 2026-27 budget includes $150,000 for the program, but the city received 26 applications totaling $775,207. 

The Quality-of-Life Committee recommended nine awards totaling $150,000, to support youth and community programs, housing assistance, food access, senior nutrition and arts programming: Big Brothers Big Sisters Program Pathways to Potential youth mentoring program ($12,700), Campus Life Connection youth and community support program ($22,500), Citrus Heights Arts Art Beat event ($5,000), Citrus Heights Community Marching Band operating costs ($6,800), Citrus Heights HART Rental Assistance Program ($40,000), Citrus Heights Rotary Shoes for Schools ($5,000), Meals on Wheels Senior Nutrition ($35,000), Purple Pageant Young Teen Society ($8,000) and Sunrise Christian Food Ministry food recovery and distribution ($15,000).

Two community garden project applications were recommended for award from a separate Community Projects Grant program: The Kiwanis Club’s Mesa Verde High School Garden Update ($2,190) and Sylvan Ranch Community Garden’s accessible deck and ramp construction ($2,000). 

Mayor MariJane Lopez-Taff, who serves on the Quality-of-Life Committee with Councilmember Kelsey Nelson, said it was difficult to decide how to award these limited funds with so many amazing projects to support.  

Councilmember Nelson attended the vote on this item with her new baby, and she said, “I think these organizations can do a lot of good with this money.”

The council voted 3-0 to approve the funding for the Art Beat event, with Vice Mayor Porsche Middleton recused due to a family member affiliation with the organization and Councilmember Jayna Karpinski-Costa absent. The rest of the awards were approved 4-0.  

Finally, the council considered whether to continue their opposition to state legislation permitting Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations (MEHKO). 

Assembly Bill 626 was introduced in 2019, and it gives counties the option to allow private residences be used as micro-restaurants, with food stored, prepared, and sold directly to consumers from the home, including alcohol sales.

The council in 2019 submitted concerns about food safety, operations and neighborhood impacts of MEHKOs, and Sacramento County did not opt in at that time. But the county will be reconsidering approval at their December meeting due to recent amendments to the legislation. 

City Manager Ash Feeney submitted a letter to the county stating that the concerns are still unresolved, and most cities within the county are also opposed. 

Councilmember Tim Schaefer said he can’t support it: “I just don’t think it’s wise to offer this kind of business and invite strangers into your residence where you live.” 

Councilmember Kelsey Nelson said she could see the benefit of offering local meals with fresh ingredients, but she agreed there were a lot of concerns. 

The council consensus was to oppose permission for this use. 

The next meeting of the Citrus Heights City Council is scheduled for Oct. 28.