Friday, July 31, 2009

Planning Commission to Consider Salvation Army Application

PERMIT TO HELP FINALIZE SALE OF PROPERTY, REOPENING OF COMMUNITY CENTER

SUISUN CITY — The Suisun City Planning Commission will consider on Wednesday a conditional use permit and general plan finding necessary to re-open the center for family and youth activities.

After purchasing and renovating the property, The Salvation Army plans to operate
  • Family fitness and recreation center activities seven days a week, including fitness machines, aerobics classes, gymnaseum sports, swim lessons and pool operations.
  • After-school youth tutoring and supervised recreation activities.
  • Social assistance for local families, such as emergency pre-packaged food, applications for utility asistance programs, information and referrals to other agencies, and personal counseling.
  • Summer and Christmas seasonal activities.
  • Disaster response training and services as needed following a disaster.
  • Various community meetings and events, such as weddings, anniversaries, etc.
The Planning Commission review and action will help The Salvation Army finalize negotiations to purchase the facility formerly operated by the North Bay YMCA. The Suisun City Council may be asked to consider a sales proposal later this month.

The Planning Commission meeting will start at 7 p.m. Wednesday August 5 in the City Hall Council Chamber. >>READ MORE>>

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Suisun City Seeks Experts to Administer Neighborhood Stablization Program

SUISUN CITY - A request for proposals was formally issued seeking proposals from professional firms who can administer the Neighborhood Stabilization Program focused on vacant and foreclosed homes.

Suisun City was allocated $955,000 in HUD Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funding by the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). The City has seven months to use and obligate all NSP funding, with all funds to be expended by Sept. 30, 2011.

The goal of the program is to restore vitality to distressed neighborhoods by facilitating the acquisition, rehabilitation and resale of vacant and foreclosed single-family homes, as well as provide individual funding mechanisms for foreclosure rehabilitation to income eligible households, which might otherwise become sources of abandonment and blight within the community.

Moreover, the primary intent of the program is to rehab and fund as many homes as quickly and efficiently as possible. Projects must benefit moderate-income households (households at or below 120% of the Solano County Median Household Income). NSP funding is authorized under Title III of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, and under the American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008.

The City of Suisun City requests proposals from individuals, consultants and/or organizations with experience managing single-family rehabilitation and administering rehabilitation loans, in addition to experience with the acquisition and resale of residential property. Respondents to this RFP are encouraged to collaborate with non-profit organizations, local realtors, lenders and construction contractors to gain the organizational capacity needed to operate an NSP program and to secure resources to leverage NSP funding. Respondents must demonstrate the ability to provide services in a culturally-sensitive manner and have experience working with persons of low-income and non-English speaking households.

Additional NSP funds targeted to very low-income households (households at or below 50% of the Solano County Median Household Income) will become available from HCD in the near future. This RFP does not address very low-income NSP funding.

Responses are due no later than 2 p.m. August 20, 2009. For more information about this request, follow this link Projects Open for Bid - Suisun City, California (Solano County)

Monday, July 27, 2009

General Manager for Hampton Inn & Suites Suisun City Named by Basin Street Hospitality


Suisun City, Calif.
– Basin Street Hospitality, a division of Basin Street Properties (www.basin-street.com), a prominent Northern California and Northern Nevada real estate investor of commercial and mixed-use properties, named Hartmut Ott as general manager of the new Hampton Inn & Suites Suisun City Waterfront in Suisun City, Calif. The 102-room hotel, located at Two Harbor Center Drive adjacent to the city’s scenic waterfront, is part of the Hilton family of hotels and is scheduled to open in September 2009.

“We are excited to have Hartmut join the Basin Street Hospitality team and are confident that his extensive background in hotel management will contribute to the success of this hotel,” said Tom Birdsall, managing partner of Basin Street Hospitality. “His outstanding track record combined with his leadership skills will serve us well as we strive to provide the highest quality of service and standard of care to our guests. Hartmut has moved to Suisun City and is thrilled about the hotel’s great location along the expanding business corridor between the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento, and just minutes away from the Napa Valley. ”

Ott has been involved in the hospitality industry for more than 15 years and his experience spans hotel properties both domestically and internationally. Most recently, Ott served as the director of rooms at Cavallo Point in Sausalito where he was instrumental in launching the hotel opening last year. He was responsible for daily operations ensuring guest satisfaction and the hotel’s financial success. Previously, he was the general manager for the Seven Gables Inn, and held management positions at three Ritz-Carlton, Hotels & Resorts. He has worked for a number of hotels throughout the United States and Germany, and is a graduate of the Hotel Management School in Frankfurt, Germany.

“I look forward to welcoming guests to this hotel that is located in an increasingly popular destination spot for both business and leisure travelers, and with its beautiful waterfront location and high value features it is the ideal lodging option during these challenging economic times,” added Ott.

Like all Hampton Inn & Suites properties, this location features warm surroundings, high-quality accommodations, in-room conveniences, the latest technology and a friendly service culture. Other amenities include an outdoor pool and spa and meeting rooms. Guests also receive a complimentary hot breakfast, complimentary high-speed Internet access, flat screen TVs and the Hampton 100% satisfaction guarantee.

This is Basin Street Hospitality’s second new build hotel. The Hampton Inn & Suites Windsor - Sonoma Wine Country with 116 rooms in Windsor, Calif., opened in November 2008. In addition to the Hampton Inn & Suites hotels, Basin Street Hospitality’s portfolio includes the Sheraton Sonoma County, located in Petaluma, Calif., one of the top performing hotels in the region with guest satisfaction scores among the top five percent of its category, and the 78-room Holiday Inn Express in Corning, Calif. In Reno, Basin Street is planning a new hotel directly across the street from the city’s brand new 10,000-seat Triple A baseball stadium.

Basin Street owns residential, office, retail and hospitality properties in Northern California and Nevada and tenants at all properties receive discounts on rooms at all Basin Street Hospitality hotels.

Basin Street Properties, headquartered in Petaluma, Calif., is one of Northern California’s and Northern Nevada’s prominent developers, investors and managers of commercial properties. Basin Street has become widely recognized for its office, retail and mixed use developments. Founded more than 30 years ago, the company offers a broad range of real estate services, including development, property management, construction management, financial and asset management, and property acquisition and disposition. For more information on Basin Street Properties, please call 707.795.4477 or visit www.basin-street.com.

For more about Suisun City, go to VisitSuisunCity.com

Solano Interstate Highway Study Released for Comments

The Solano Transportation Authority has released the draft of a comprehensive study on the necessary expansion and improvement to the I-80/I-680/I-780 corridors through Solano County.

Meetings to receive public input are scheduled for
  • Tuesday (July 28), 6-7:30 p.m., at Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District Office (2490 Hilborn Road)
  • Wednesday (July 29), 6-7:30 p.m. at Solano Community College, Vallejo Extension (545 Columbus Parkway)
Written comments will be accepted by the STA through Aug. 12.

Key Links:

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Solano commuters an educated bunch - The Reporter

Solano commuters an educated bunch - The Reporter

Story excerpt:
If you are a commuter, riding a bus, the Baylink Ferry, Amtrak or BART train and surrounded by people from Solano County, then you are in educated company.

More than 27 percent of area residents, or more than one in four, who commute to work outside Solano County have at least a bachelor's degree, according to figures from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Only San Francisco and Alameda counties have more commuters who earned a bachelor's or graduate degrees, said Michael Ammann, president of the Solano Economic Development Corporation.

"The data says that Solano County contributes to the educated workforce that is driving the economic engine of neighboring counties within the northeast Bay," he said in a press release.

Right in the middle of this amazing population sits Suisun City, home to Solano County's Capitol Corridor station.
  • Across the street sits One Harbor Center (a three-story Class One Office Building)
  • Within a short walk Harbor Square (a brand new 40,000 square foot mixed use center with restaurant/retail on the first floor and office uses on the second)
  • New Hampton Inn & Suites Hotel overlooking the water set to open in September.

You need to consider Suisun City for any office relocations:
  • Halfway between the Bay Area and Sacramento
  • Straddling the Capitol Corridor route
  • A dozen unique independent restaurants within an easy walk
  • Plenty of parking
  • Beautiful waterfront setting
  • Community and business leaders focused on building the local economy
  • Educated workforce nearby eager to cut their commute times
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News About Suisun City, California | SCT Presents Shakespeare in the Park Production of Much Ado About Nothing

News About Suisun City, California | SCT Presents Shakespeare in the Park Production of Much Ado About Nothing

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Tuesday, July 21, 2009

State Budget Gimmicks to Hammer City Services

Local service cuts are nearly 20% of State’s “solution”

SUISUN CITY — The proposed State budget compromise would raid three sources of funding essential to providing necessary public services in Suisun City, and includes at least one maneuver that a state court has ruled to be unconstitutional.

“This state budget seems to be a repeat of prior magical acts by our confused legislators, using accounting gimmicks detested by accountants like me,” Mayor Pete Sanchez said. “It’s just a repeat of the usual ‘kicking the can’ down the road to handle another day.”

The budget compromise reached by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Legislative leaders relies on tapping local funding sources, including:

  • Borrowing $2 billion in Prop. 1A funding, which the State plans to repay in 2013;
  • Diverting $1 billion in gas taxes used for local road maintenance; and
  • Taking $1.7 billion in redevelopment funding earmarked for affordable housing projects.

Of the $26.3 billion budget gap the state needed to close, the compromise reached by the Governor and Legislative leaders would take $4.7 billion from local governments.

“We have all faced the challenges of the downturned economy,” City Manager Suzanne Bragdon said. “Now local governments have to deal with the downturned economy and the State’s mess? Twenty percent of the state’s mess! Give me a break!”

For Suisun City, this translates to

  • $285,000 from the General Fund – Monies to pay for police, fire, senior services, recreation programs and park maintenance;
  • $470,000 in gas taxes — Monies to repair pot holes, maintain street lights, provide litter control, and other basic road maintenance; and
  • an uncertain amount from redevelopment funds that could exceed $4 million.

In adopting its balanced $12 million budget for FY 2009-10, the Suisun City Council put $285,000 into a special contingency fund to protect against state action. Rather than augmenting the Police Department, Recreation or Public Works, the Council established a defense against the State.

But there is no defense against the State taking gas taxes. If adopted, this measure will strip away more than two-thirds of the money Suisun City uses to fill pot holes, repair streetlights, perform litter control and other routine roadway maintenance. Nearly half of the remaining $150,000 pays the PG&E bill to keep streetlights burning.

On June 16, 2009, the Suisun City Council adopted a resolution opposing the state proposal to take gas taxes.

Officials are working to quantify the potential impact on the Redevelopment Agency Affordable Housing Fund, but it could be enormous. The state proposes to take $1.7 billion statewide over the next two fiscal years. Last fall, when the state proposed to take $350 million statewide, the Suisun City Redevelopment Agency stood to lose $1.1 million.

“Assuming similar formulas are used this time around, our RDA losses could be more than $4 million,” City Manager Suzanne Bragdon said.

Most recently, Suisun City has used affordable housing money to provide loans to build the Cottonwood Creek affordable housing complex and create a first-time homebuyer program to return foreclosed properties to private ownership.

In April, the Sacramento Superior Court blocked the state’s earlier $350 million RDA shift when it ruled that it was an unconstitutional use of redevelopment funds.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Crime Drops 20% in First Half of 2009

Significant improvement a result of new beat system and proactive policing

SUISUN CITY — Crime in Suisun City declined 20 percent in the first six months of 2009, with 30 percent declines in violent crimes and property crimes leading the way, according to a recent study by the Suisun City Police Department.

Violent crime, such as rape, robbery and aggravated assault, was reduced by 30 percent or more, while burglaries declined by 30 percent and thefts were down by 28 percent.

This significant reduction in Suisun City’s overall crime rate is the result of a Beat System that enhances street patrols and crime response, as well as the continued proactive work by police officers and civilian staff during the past three years, Police Chief Ed Dadisho said.

>> Read more about the crime rate and the new Beat System >>

Friday, July 17, 2009

SUNSET AVENUE WEEKEND CLOSURES

New Railroad Crossing Arms Key Step to Enhance Public Safety

SUISUN CITY – Union Pacific Railroad will replace the automatic crossing guards on Sunset Avenue between Travis Boulevard and Railroad Avenue this weekend necessitating periodic roadway closures between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. both Saturday (July 18) and Sunday (July 19).

The closures were scheduled during for the weekend due to the lighter traffic flows. During the closures, motorists should watch for construction signs and detours indicating alternate routes. However, motorists are encouraged to avoid the area if possible to minimize any inconvenience.

The new guards will be installed in a two-step process. Beginning at 6 a.m. Saturday, crews will install the guard arm across the southbound lanes between Travis Boulevard and Railroad Avenue. This work will be completed by 2 p.m. On Sunday, crews will work on the arms across the northbound lanes following the same schedule.

Installation of the new warning gate assemblies is a key part of the roadway expansion and safety enhancements installed in recent months by the City of Suisun City and the Union Pacific Railroad. This installation is one of the final steps to complete this project.

CITY SEEKS PLANNING COMMISSION AND LIRBARY BOARD NOMINEES

SUISUN CITY – The City is now accepting applications from residents interested in serving the community by sitting on the Planning Commission or the Solano County Library Advisory Board.

All applications are due to the City Clerk by 6 p.m. Thursday July 30.

The Planning Commission has a variety of responsibilities related to zoning and planning matters. The Commission generally meets twice a month, or as business requires. There is one vacancy in a term expiring in January 2013.

The Solano County Library Advisory Council serves in an advisory capacity on matters of library services provided by the County Library. The Council generally meets once every two months in Fairfield. Terms are four years.

Click here for the full recruitment notice and application.